#253 Lifecycle Marketing | In this episode, we’re joined by two expert lifecycle marketers: Charlotte Hardin, Lifecycle Marketing Manager at Rebuy Engine, and Naomi West, Senior Product Manager at Customer.io. Charlotte and Naomi bring years of hands-on experience running email, onboarding, and retention programs inside B2B SaaS companies.

They break down how B2B teams can use lifecycle marketing to drive more revenue, boost product engagement, and strengthen customer relationships, without needing a massive team.

Charlotte and Naomi cover:

How top B2B teams build high-performing welcome sequences, and why they’re constantly worth revisiting
The role of experimentation and how to prioritize AB tests that deliver learnings (even with small audiences)
Strategic ways to keep users engaged post-onboarding, including behavior-based triggers and surprise-and-delight moments

Timestamps

(00:00) - – Intro
(03:37) - – Meet Charlotte and Naomi
(05:22) - – How they define lifecycle marketing
(07:07) - – What they’ve changed their minds about recently
(10:17) - – Plain text vs. designed emails
(12:07) - – Their frameworks for experimentation
(14:37) - – How to test in low-volume environments
(16:57) - – Common mistakes in A/B testing
(18:07) - – What a day in lifecycle marketing looks like
(20:17) - – How they (actually) use AI in their workflows
(24:07) - – Building a reporting foundation for lifecycle
(28:53) - – Naomi’s example of measuring aha moments
(30:53) - – Quick definitions of lifecycle marketing
(32:23) - – Tips for writing lifecycle campaigns that actually matter
(32:53) - – Favorite lifecycle campaigns they’ve run
(34:53) - – Why revamping welcome flows is always worth it
(36:53) - - Frameworks they use for building new flows
(39:53) - – What to do *after* onboarding ends
(41:23) - – Using behavior-based triggers and milestones
(43:23) - – Surprise and delight moments in B2B
(44:53) - – Creating assets with a lean team
(47:53) - – Systems and templates that save time
(49:53) - – Navigating multi-year sales cycles with lifecycle content
(52:53) - – Why benchmarks are often misleading
(54:53) - – Final advice: audit often, talk to your team, and keep learning
(56:53) - – Wrap-up and where to find Naomi and Charlotte

Join 50,000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Today’s episode is brought to you by Paramark.

It’s November. 2026 planning is already here. And the stuff you’re doing right now will decide how next year plays out.

But here’s the problem: most teams are still planning next year's marketing strategy based on the WRONG DATA because of broken attribution and a misleading gut feel. And you can’t make smart budget calls if you’re just guessing what’s working, what’s not, and where to put your next dollar.

That’s where Paramark comes in. They help you replace the guesswork with actual insight backed by $2 billion in analyzed marketing data. They’ve figured out what actually drives incremental growth across every channel including LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, Google, CTV, even OOH.

And right now, they’re offering a private 1:1 consultation with their CEO and CMO, Pranav and Sam, who have led marketing teams at companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Microsoft, and Shutterfly.

In this 45-minute strategy session, they’ll help you measure the real impact of every marketing dollar, pull insights from your current media mix, and design a 2026 roadmap that’s rooted in data, not gut.

This is a heck of an offer. And it’s real. And will go fast. So if you want to future-proof your marketing strategy for 2026, don’t miss out on this offer.

Grab your spot at paramark.com/brand-consult.

***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.

They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more

Unbelievable? 4 Apr 2009 Did Jesus rise from the dead? A Muslim perpective