Changing the World with Energy Storage and Inbound Marketing

Jonathan Matusky is a recent graduate of the Tepper School of Business MBA Program and is currently a Business Development Associate for Aquion Energy, an Energy Storage Startup in Pittsburgh PA. Over the last several months, Jonathan implemented an inboud marketing strategy at Aquion, which included web content development, email campaigns, and a blog launch. You can contact Jonathan at jmatusky[at]aquion-energy.com.

Tell me about your firm

Aquion Energy is a developer and manufacturer of energy storage systems based on our proprietary Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI) technology. Spun out of the research of Carnegie Mellon Professor Jay Whitacre, we provides a unique solution for stationary storage applications, including off-grid systems, renewable energy support, and grid-scale storage. Our batteries are safe, reliable, affordable, and unlike anything currently on the market.

Why did your firm go with an inbound marketing approach?

At Aquion, we believe in being "As Simple as Possible." We feel that inbound marketing is one of the most efficient, effective, and measureable ways to reach our audienece. We also feel that, even in the B2B space, marketing is changing. Customers are turning to the internet and search engines to find the solutions they need. 

What was your greatest challenge?

Creating the content necessary to make inbound marketing effective. We want to be careful to not overpromise and underdeliver, so we were cautious in the content we released on the website. But we've worked around that, particularly on the blog, by talking more about the industry and less about our particular solution (for now).

What was your biggest win?

We just got our first post on our new Aquion Blog (a potential customer). Very exciting.

Did you use marketing personas to hone your content strategy?

Yes, we developed several personas to help shape our content. They allowed us to ask questions like "What would Sam Sales (one of our personas) like to know about our batteries?" It also helped us avoid writing content that wasn't targeted at a specific audience.

Where do you see your inbound marketing strategy going in the next few months?

We are currently searching for a Director of Marketing and I think whoever we hire will greatly shape our marketing strategy. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic about inbound marketing, and we're hiring based on the DARC principles.

What advice would you give ot other B2B inbound marketers if you could do it again?

Sit down early and think about what content you already have and what you're comfortable releasing. Brainstorm potential ideas for downloadable content.  Nick, our Inbound Marketing Consultant helped us a lot on this, but we would have benefitted from taking on a little more ourselves.

You're a very busy person with a lot of stuff on your plate. How did you balance your time and priorities for getting ramped up?

While we were implementing our inbound marketing strategy, I was only working part-time and getting my MBA full time, so I certainly couldn't work as much as I wanted to. But I think that just goes to show that if we can do it, anyone can. Having a calendar of weekly goals and milestones really helped move it along (thanks Nick!) 

Anything you'd like to add?

At Aquion Energy, we're trying to change the world with our batteries. We also feel that inbound marketing is the future of how businesses will interact with their customers, and we're glad to be a part of it.