Effective Customer Acquisition for Hardware Maintenance | Anastasiia Ivannikov from MacPaw

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us out on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Anastasiia from MacPaw, head of sales with them. How are you doing today, Anastasiia?

Anastasiia Ivannikov: I’m doing fine. Thank you, Ernesto, for having me today.

Ernesto: It’s a pleasure to have you on, and I’m sure our listeners, Anastasiia, are tuning in, wondering what MacPaw is all about. So, let’s kick it off with that. In your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Anastasiia: Yeah, of course. So, MacPaw is a company that creates tools designed to help people in various ways. Right now, our main focus is security and optimization. Most of your listeners have probably heard of our flagship product, CleanMyMac. In a nutshell, it’s a one-button macOS cleaner. It helps clean up your Mac, prevents malware, monitors performance, and more. But now, we offer much more than CleanMyMac. We also have products like Setapp, ClearVPN, and Moonlock, all focused on optimization and security. Initially, MacPaw was a B2C company, but now we’re also a B2B company, expanding our exposure globally with products like Setapp for Teams and CleanMyMac for Business, which is currently in beta.

Ernesto: Great to hear that. So, for our listeners to get a good understanding of MacPaw, what would you say is a key problem that you help clients solve?

Anastasiia: We make it easier for both tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy people to manage the health of their Macs, control their systems, and ensure there’s no malware. We also focus on cybersecurity. Additionally, with our Ukrainian roots, we support and help our country in various ways. That’s our main focus at the moment.

Ernesto: Great to hear. Is there a particular vertical segment you target, or are you open to different industries?

Anastasiia: Yes, we do have an ICP for industries and company size, and we focus mainly on tech companies like fintech, edtech, and software development companies. But we don’t limit ourselves to that. Any company with at least five employees using macOS is a potential client. We primarily focus on small to medium businesses, but we also work with larger enterprises like Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and even Apple itself. So, we have a wide range of ICPs and sub-ICPs.

Ernesto: Definitely a wide range! How would someone typically find out about MacPaw? Is there a top client acquisition channel?

Anastasiia: It depends on the product. We have significant brand awareness, and we’re proud that 1 in 5 Mac users has CleanMyMac installed. Our strong PR and marketing teams help with this. We use a mix of channels—traditional marketing like pay-per-click, PR, offline sales through conferences, LinkedIn, and email marketing. Our sales team actively connects LinkedIn and email marketing, and we utilize different strategies for different markets. Since last year, we became a global company with an office in Boston, allowing us to connect with our audience both online and offline.

Ernesto: Great! So, for our listeners tuning in, they can check you out at macpaw.com. What role does your website play in client acquisition?

Anastasiia: The website is essential. It’s informative and serves different purposes—one part focuses on recruitment, showcasing our values and how the company operates, and another part is purely product-focused. Each product has its own website. We rely heavily on customer feedback to ensure our website reflects real experiences and is intuitive. It’s both an informative and converting tool, and also serves as a communication channel for leads to self-serve or connect with sales reps.

Ernesto: Perfect. Let’s switch gears a bit and talk about you as a leader, Anastasiia. As head of sales at MacPaw, what are some key tasks you focus on day-to-day?

Anastasiia: Sometimes I feel like Google Maps, connecting different departments—whether it’s product, marketing, or sales. One of our products is in beta, so communication needs to be transparent and fast. I also supervise my team, which consists of four small departments: research, lead generation, sales, and client success. I make sure each team member understands their goals and works efficiently toward our objectives.

Ernesto: Sounds like you have a full plate but are well-organized!

Anastasiia: Like an octopus!

Ernesto: Definitely! Let’s jump into our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready?

Anastasiia: Of course.

Ernesto: Alright, first off, what’s the last book you read?

Anastasiia: The Choice by Dr. Edith Eger. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Ernesto: I’ll be sure to check it out! Next up, if there were no boundaries in technology, what’s one thing you’d want to fix for your role in marketing and sales?

Anastasiia: I’d love a tool that tells me about customer needs in real-time—like being notified immediately if someone in the world needs our product. There’s a product called 6sense that partly does this, but I think it could be taken to the next level.

Ernesto: That would be amazing! If there’s one repetitive task you could automate, what would it be?

Anastasiia: That was tough to answer because our team automates routine tasks as soon as they arise. We have bots and tools in place to handle most repetitive tasks already, so there’s nothing specific left to automate at the moment.

Ernesto: Perfect! Lastly, what’s one piece of advice you’d give yourself if you were restarting your journey in marketing and sales?

Anastasiia: Don’t be afraid to make bold moves, and never stop searching for new inspiration and information.

Ernesto: Great advice, not just for you but for our listeners as well. Anastasiia, we’re coming to the end of the show, but before we wrap up, I want to give you the last word. If someone forgets everything about this interview, what’s the one thing they should remember about MacPaw?

Anastasiia: If you need a tool to keep your MacBook or macOS device healthy, organized, and optimized, we definitely have a solution for you.

Ernesto: Absolutely! Listeners, you can check them out at macpaw.com. Anastasiia, thank you so much for being with us today, and to our listeners, thank you for tuning in. Looking forward to our next episode at Pathmonk Presents. Thanks a lot, Anastasiia.

Anastasiia: Thank you, Ernesto.