Grove AI
A 25% free-to-paid conversion rate
At a glance. Grove replaces the expensive SEO agency retainer with AI software. After relying on YouTube and spray-and-pray paid campaigns, Grove switched to targeted, data-enriched outreach with RELAY™: 6–7 qualified demo requests a month and a 25% free-to-paid conversion rate.
The constraint
Rowan turned his own SEO agency into software. Grove does much of what a junior marketer would, and challenges the $5,000-a-month agency retainer. A loyal YouTube following brought in the early business. Beyond that, growth meant spray-and-pray paid campaigns: trusting the algorithms and spending heavily. The real challenge was finding the right people and explaining why now was the time to drop their agency.
What we built
The list. Four-source verification to find the businesses that were growing and still paying for traditional SEO.
The enrichment. Specific information about each prospect in the outreach, the detail that made them perk up and see why they should talk to Grove.
The angle. The cost and inefficiency of the agency model they were paying for.
The play that worked
From spray-and-pray to targeted. Instead of paying algorithms to find buyers, every message went to a chosen person, with a reason that was specific to them.
Results
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Free-to-paid conversion | 25% |
| Qualified demo requests | 6–7 a month |
| Referral revenue | +11% |
| Reply rate after open | 58% |
6–7 qualified demo requests a month, a 25% free-to-paid conversion rate and 11% growth in referral revenue.
“Blackorange were great because it was more about a targeted approach: finding the right individuals, then enriching the outreach with specific information that made them perk up.”
Rowan StainsbyCEO, Grove AIWhat this means for you
For product-led SaaS, outbound works best on the accounts already growing into your product. Find them first, then show them what the old way costs.
Rowan StainsbyCEO, Grove AI
