Who is ServiceTitan?
ServiceTitan is the leading enterprise software platform for the multi-billion dollar home and commercial services industry. Over the years, ServiceTitan has attracted a loyal customer base and become the #1 operating system for many trade professions in the United States. Their most recent funding round (Series G) was in June of 2021, where they raised $200 million at a $9.5 billion valuation.
Background of the Initial Engagement
Our work with ServiceTitan began even before the inception of Webstacks. In July 2019, Nikan Shahidi, the founder of Webstacks, was working as a freelancer and had built a relationship with ServiceTitan through UpWork. In the beginning, he was brought in to provide design and development support for their marketing website.
Part 1: Working Within the Constraints of Hubspot
At the time, ServiceTitan was managing its content through Hubspot CMS. They had also just recently moved from Hubspot’s Marketing Hub to Marketo- a marketing automation software.
Overall, the health, design, and structure of their website was suboptimal. More specifically, there were two growing issues the ServiceTitan team wanted to resolve.
- The website lacked consistency. ServiceTitan’s branding, messaging, and design had become misaligned after working with a number of different contractors. This was a significant blocker to producing content.
- The website was considerably slow. Load times were having dramatic implications on user experience, and subsequently affecting the bottom line.
One of the first projects ServiceTitan needed help with was creating the V1 of the HVAC Load Calculator, which helps technicians measure the necessary amount of heating and cooling for a building. This was a massive success right off the bat, ranking at the very top in Google and becoming a source of quality leads. Fast forward to today, the interactive tool has undergone a few iterations, and it is still one of the most visited pages on ServiceTitan’s website.
Part 2: Web Redesign and Migration to Gatsby + Contentful
In November of 2019, ServiceTitan decided it was an opportune time to overhaul their website and its tech stack. Their future marketing plans were sure to outgrow their current component library and the limitations of Hubspot, which meant they needed a completely fresh start. The team needed to deploy technologies that were durable and would empower the team to carry out their aggressive marketing initiatives.
ServiceTitan’s marketing team already had a deep understanding of static site generators (SSG) and headless content management systems (CMS), which made the web planning and development processes incredibly smooth from the start.
Webstacks and the ServiceTitan team had ultimately decided on a tech stack that employed Gatsby.js, a React-based frontend framework, and Contentful, a headless CMS platform.
For ServiceTitan, the decision to work with Gatsby and Contentful came down to:
- Improving website performance and UX with a fast and flexible frontend.
- Needing a simplistic user interface for content editors and marketers.
- Wanting the ability to effortlessly build modular web pages without reliance on developers.
- Decreasing time to market with an API-driven CMS solution.
ServiceTitan had brought in an agency to handle the redesign, while Webstacks managed the development.
The agency’s project scope included:
- A design system
- Several illustrations
- And 5 core website pages
Speed to market was a critical component of this project. From start to finish, the website project was shipped in just under 100 days.
The methodology and processes used in delivering ServiceTitan’s website ultimately helped shape the best practices we now follow at Webtacks, which now allow us to complete client websites within a 90-120 day timeframe.
Flexibility at Scale
In January 2020, Webstacks was officially born. One of our first projects as an agency was to expand the modularity of ServiceTitan’s website by adding new components to the design system.
A modular-page architecture gives marketing teams the ability to create pages in Contentful, and add, edit, remove, and reorder page elements within their website- all without needing a developer.
Webstacks iteratively developed a system of reusable site components that were flexible enough for rapidly launching new product pages, landing pages, blogs, A/B tests, and other content types.
Producing new pages is only half the battle. Another challenge for enterprises like ServiceTitan is content governance. What happens when a product’s name or logo changes, and you need to update every place where it appears on your website?
Contentful makes content governance extremely easy with “entities”. Entities allow content managers to update a single asset in the CMS, which will automatically reflect those changes across the entire site.
The new Contentful framework gives ServiceTitan content editors the autonomy to quickly launch website campaigns at scale without having to wait for internal resources to free up from their engineering or product teams.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Webstacks team over the last couple of months. As our team's UI/UX Designer communication between development/design is critical, the Webstacks team has made this effortless. Not only are they extremely talented but more importantly they are fun and easy to work with. They truly feel part of our team at ServiceTitan. I love working with them to create amazing experiences and would highly recommend them!
Part 3: Scaling Content Production
ServiceTitan had devised a detailed content strategy which aimed to bring unparalleled value to potential and existing customers. Not only would it draw organic traffic, but it would also keep visitors on the website longer, and make them more likely to convert into a paying customer.
After the website launch, the demo landing page received another redesign in March 2020.
Simultaneously, the world was rapidly changing with the pandemic. ServiceTitan saw an opportunity to help its customer base navigate their businesses during this time of uncertainty. In just a 10 day period, Webstacks was able to assist in developing and launching the Coronavirus Resource Hub - which included news, articles, and playbooks. This content contained vital information for service companies, like how they should handle day-to-day operations, and how to keep your business afloat when times get tough.
This hub was greatly received, and was just the beginning of ServiceTitan’s growing content production.
Examples of Website Content Expansion
Next, a number of other campaigns were launched, introducing a very diverse set of content mediums to the ServiceTitan website.
Doing so was a tactical approach to rapidly increasing the number of customer journeys. There were now so many different paths for ServiceTitan's audience to take towards becoming a paying customer.
ServiceTitan Blog
The ServiceTitan Blog provides important insights, tutorials, and company updates, was refreshed and reorganized. While it is the most traditional form of content, it is still a very important source for their organic traffic. ServiceTitan uses a very detailed SEO strategy that allows them to rank for tons of highly relevant search queries.
Guides
ServiceTitan's guides are meant to help run service-based business operations. Each guide is a downloadable asset, and is an excellent way to capture emails from new website visitors.
Live and On-Demand Webinars
ServiceTitan hosts lots of free webinars to educate people on marketing, operations, and other key business functions in the services world. Viewers can attend live, or go back to watch them on-demand. These reoccurring events are a great way to keep people coming back to ServiceTitan for more valuable, interactive experiences.
"Toolbox for the Trades" Podcast
The Toolbox for the Trades podcast features in-depths interviews with experts across the service industries. Audio marketing has seen exponential growth in the past few years, and a podcast gives potential customers a different way to connect with ServiceTitan than tradition written content. It is also an excellent way to collaborate with important figures that ServiceTitan's audience may already be familiar with.
"Pantheon" User Conference
Pantheon is an annual, in-person event with live training sessions and keynotes from industry leaders. This summit is way to engage with existing customers, as well as draw in potential ones. Having a well-designed landing page really adds to the credibility and attraction of the event.
More Interactive Tools
Interactive tools can lead to highly valuable, engaging, and memorable interactions for web visitors. When developed with the right design and SEO expertise, their ROI can be exponentially greater than any other piece of content.
Throughout 2020, Webstacks helped develop several ServiceTitan tools.
An important reason these tools are so successful is because they are cross-functional. Each serves a unique purpose and provides unique value to ServiceTitan’s target audience of service business owners. Combined, they make for an extremely powerful marketing campaign and lead generation source.
The ServiceTitan website wouldn't be where it is today without the help of this awesome team. They've integrated seamlessly with our internal processes and tackled every project we've thrown at them with a careful eye for detail. They are the total package.
Part 4: Introducing Toolbox: The ServiceTitan Content Hub
In order for your content to scale, you must have the proper infrastructure to organize it all. With so much published, ServiceTitan needed a central repository for all their content. The Toolbox accomplishes just that - allowing users to seamlessly explore all the different types of content ServiceTitan has to offer.
Creating this hub was advantageous for 2 key reasons: 1) site architecture and 2) user experience.
Site Architecture
It is imperative for enterprise websites to practice healthy site architecture. This helps search engine crawlers understand the relationship between different pages, and the hierarchy of the entire website.
Additionally, the proper site structure will help you establish topical authority. Topical authority is the practice and strategy of demonstrating expertise on a certain topic to search engines.
Nowadays, search engines like Google highly value websites that produce related, authoritative content. By exhaustively covering topics and properly organizing that content, Google can better evaluate your expertise, and verify you as a valuable and trustworthy source for a topic.
If you can prove topical authority, Google will reward you with high rankings in search results for all pages that fall under that topic. Therefore, the Toolbox was a valuable means for ServiceTitan to interlink and holistically showcase authority across its plethora of niches in the service industry.
User Experience
Ideally, every page on your site should be no more than 3 clicks away from your homepage. Merging all ServiceTitan’s content into one hub greatly reduces the effort a user needs to exert for locating relevant information.
The Toolbox also significantly increases user engagement. With more relevant content readily available, visitors will be more likely to spend time on and interact with their website. Ultimately, this influences more meaningful digital experiences, and more conversions.
Later on, the Toolbox evolved into an immersive platform with a login system, bookmarking, and other personalization features.
Scaling Content Even More
Seeing such significant returns on their investment into content, ServiceTitan continued to add to the Toolbox. From late 2020 into early 2021, there were many more additions and upgrades to the site. Through content marketing, ServiceTitan was providing an extraordinary amount of value for free.
Service business owners could come to ServiceTitan for plenty of unique resources that would help them run their own businesses and ultimately make more money. Naturally, many of these users would also receive value from becoming a paying customer. Here, we'll highlight a few more initiatives that were key in driving people towards the ServiceTitan platform.
Contractor Playbook
The Contractor Playbook is a step-by-step guide to running a field service business more efficiently. Similar to an eBook, the content is extremely detailed and contains 15 chapters of the best practices across industries. From starting a business, growing it, to eventually selling it, the Contractor Playbook provides invaluable information that every contractor could benefit from.
Templates
The free downloadable templates are applicable to various service business processes, such as service checklists, work orders, and invoices. These are documents that owners can implement directly into their day-to-day operations, and gain value from immediately. Moreover, ServiceTitan gives detailed guides and tutorials that explain exactly how to use each template, making adoption seamless.
Growth Series
The Growth Series is an 8-week masterclass on scaling service business operations. This in-depth training is 100% free, and targets business operators who are eager to advance their business - which is an ideal candidate for ServiceTitan's products.
Comparison Hub
The comparison pages include detailed head-to-head comparisons against ServiceTitan’s competitors and alternatives. Potential customers can view tables that directly compare the features of ServiceTitan and another platform. This content also opens a perfect opportunity to drive users towards receiving a demo.
The Webstacks team have become an essential part of our Marketing team at ServiceTitan. Their quick problem-solving skills and innovative thinking is just what we need as a rapidly-growing startup.
Working With ServiceTitan Subsidiaries: Aspire and FieldRoutes
ServiceTitan has experienced exponential growth over the last couple years, with a significant portion of this being attributable to acquisitions. An important component of this process was streamlining website operations, more specifically aligning all the websites on the same tech stack as ServiceTitan.
Already familiar with Webstacks and its processes, ServiceTitan was able to save a ton of time and resources by redeploying the same website strategy to the sister companies.
The Aspire Engagement
In May of 2022, Webstacks was introduced to Aspire, a leading software provider for the landscaping industry. The leadership team at ServiceTitan wanted us to replicate the entire website evolution process with Aspire, as their marketing site was ready to rapidly expand, and migrate to a modern tech stack.
So far, we’ve implemented a fresh design system, several interactive tools, and an entire resource center. Currently, our team is in the process of moving from Hubspot CMS to Contentful, which will dramatically enhance Aspire’s ability to create pages, make edits, and publish new content.
The Field Routes Engagement
Another child company of ServiceTitan, Field Routes focuses on other field services such as pest control and lawn care.
Prior to our engagement, Field Routes’ website was already using Gatsby as the front-end, but hosted their content on Kontent.ai. In November of 2022, Webstacks migrated Field Routes to Contenful’s CMS to achieve a better content editor experience.
In the meantime, Webstacks was also redesigning the entire website. At the end of March 2023, the new and improved Field Routes site was launched. Today, Field Routes is equipped with a proper brand identity, and an exponentially better user experience.
ServiceTitan's Website is in Trusting Hands
ServiceTitan is a prime example of how a SaaS marketing website should evolve over time:
- Publishing content within a traditional CMS.
- Expanding content production, while beginning to experience the pain points of a traditional CMS.
- Revamping with a modular design system that is built for scale.
- Upgrading to a headless CMS, powered by a robust front-end framework.
- Scaling content production velocity and distribution.
As a parent company, ServiceTitan also saw the value in taking this long-term approach to the marketing website and applying it to its subsidiaries.
Both Aspire and Field Routes followed the same website maturity path as ServiceTitan. Now, each entity has a beautiful, highly performant website constructed from the same well-established blueprint. The website is no longer a constraint - it is able to fulfill its purpose as a highly customizable, content machine.
All in all, ServiceTitan’s marketing team embraced a culture of continuous improvement. They shared the same perspective as Webstacks - that a website is not a project, because it is never finished.
Rather, the website should be viewed as a product that goes through the same ongoing refinements and expansions that any other SaaS product does.
