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How did you get into lifecycle marketing? 

It started at Telstra, where I worked on their First 100 Days onboarding program. That was my first experience seeing how data and timing could genuinely help customers get value faster, and it hooked me straight away.

After that, I moved into the agency world, managing CRM and automation projects for brands like AAMI, Suncorp, Telstra, and more. That gave me a great understanding of how big programs operate behind the scenes and how data, creative, and delivery all connect.

My first hands-on lifecycle role was at Deliveroo, where I started building programs myself. From there I joined Depop, Trainline, and later Linktree, where I led CRM during a huge growth period, from around 20 million to over 70 million users globally. That’s where I really found my groove, treating lifecycle like product management for relationships and designing journeys that create trust and emotion, not just transactions.

These days, I focus on helping brands grow through smarter automation, cleaner data, and more meaningful customer experiences.

How do you see AI impacting the role of marketers in the next five years?

AI is quickly becoming less of a tool and more of a thought partner. It will sit beside us, not beneath us, helping us think, plan, and decide faster.

I see it acting as a true copilot for marketers. It will analyse performance, surface insights, and highlight what really matters so we can focus on high-impact decisions. It’s already helping us test ideas, uncover trends, and predict outcomes that used to take whole teams weeks to find.

Because of that, I think teams will naturally get leaner. We’ll be able to do more with less, but with deeper thinking. The work will shift from execution to orchestration, from managing tasks to guiding strategy.

That said, AI will never eliminate the human need. It can process a million data points in seconds, but it can’t read a room, sense tone, or understand emotion. It can show you what worked, but not why it resonated. That’s still the human layer — empathy, creativity, and judgment — that turns insights into meaningful experiences.

In lifecycle, I think we’ll see more dynamic, self-optimising programs that adapt in real time to behaviour and intent. But the story behind them, the emotion and connection, will always come from us.

What could SaaS and B2B brands do to instantly improve their lifecycle marketing program?

Start by simplifying. A lot of SaaS lifecycle programs try to tackle everything at once. Choose one key moment to nail first, like activation, conversion, or retention, and build from there.

Next, reduce friction. Think about what your users are feeling, not just what you want them to do. Are they unsure, curious, or overwhelmed? Speak directly to that.

And finally, sound like a person. You can still be professional and friendly at the same time. People connect with warmth and honesty far more than corporate polish.

The brands that win will be the ones that combine clarity, empathy, and focus, and use data to support great storytelling, not replace it.

What’s in your toolbox?

I keep things pretty simple. I work on a MacBook Pro connected to a pair of MSI gaming monitors, with a Fifine microphone and a Logitech C920 webcam for calls and recordings. The space has warm lighting that keeps things calm and focused, and my Groodle, Obi, is usually asleep under the desk somewhere, keeping me company.

Day to day, I use Braze, Stripo, Figma, Slack, ChatGPT, and the Google Suite. That combo covers everything from strategy and design to collaboration and content creation without overcomplicating things.

What are some of your favorite trends in email design and content?

I love how clean and intentional email design has become. The best ones now feel calm and easy to digest, with strong typography, generous white space, and clear hierarchy.

I’m also a big fan of modular design systems. Once you’ve built the foundations, you can remix and personalise endlessly without reinventing the wheel every time.

And personality matters more than ever. The brands that stand out sound human. They take small risks, they have a sense of humour, and they feel like real people talking to you, not templates talking at you.

What’s your favorite email campaign of all time? Why?

The Analytics Weekly campaign I designed at Linktree. It pulled in each creator’s personal metrics like lifetime profile clicks, profile views, and click-through rate, and turned them into a weekly email that felt both data-driven and human.

One of the most rewarding parts was figuring out how to make it efficient. I used Liquid syntax to calculate uplifts and milestones directly inside the template, which meant we didn’t need to pipe in as many data fields through Braze. It reduced complexity and kept the experience clean, dynamic, and scalable.

What made it memorable was how it resonated. Our community loved it, with people sharing screenshots on X and saying how motivating it was to see their growth each week. Even our VCs reached out to my CEO to say how much they loved the campaign, and he passed that feedback on to me. It was one of those moments where everything clicked — the strategy, the technical craft, and the emotional connection with users.

What’s your advice for new marketers entering the industry in the next few years?

Don’t think of CRM as a marketing channel. It’s part of the product.

The best lifecycle programs don’t sit in a silo — they’re built hand in hand with product, data, and engineering. Every message, trigger, and workflow should be an extension of the product experience, not an interruption. It’s not just about sending campaigns or being clever with copy. It’s about architecture, logic, and timing — the operational backbone that makes every touchpoint feel seamless and genuinely useful.

And above all, be customer-focused. Ask yourself what people actually want to receive, what will help them succeed, and what will make your emails feel worth opening. CRM done well adds value; it doesn’t demand attention.

If you’re working in lifecycle, get close to your product and data teams. Understand how things are tracked, triggered, and connected. That’s where the real opportunities lie. The best CRM leaders I’ve met don’t just send messages — they shape the system and design experiences that feel less like marketing and more like a natural part of the journey.

Want to chat with Justin? You can catch him on LinkedIn.

Much love,
Andy

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @emaillove