Growth Science for B2B SaaS Companies from Mosaic Growth Solutions (Mosaic Growth Solutions)
Explore every episode of Growth Science for B2B SaaS Companies from Mosaic Growth Solutions
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Apr 2024 | 4/24/24: 95-5 Isn’t a Rule, Fix Your Reporting, Are Fractional CMOs being set up for success? | 00:14:41 | |
| |||
| 23 Apr 2024 | April 23, 2024: Contrarian Ways to Start a Business, Are NPS and Cust Sat Scores the Wrong Metrics to Reduce Churn?, And Increasing Button CTRs up to 55% | 00:19:35 | |
On First Round, Wade Foster, founder and CEO of Zapier, shares his contrarian takes on growing a business CEO of Hook, Firaas Rashid writes there is a better way than NPS/Cust Sat scores to understand and manage retention https://medium.com/hook-blog/why-i-started-hook-f1f39e9b04f6 Thomas McKinlay of Ariyh provides data-based research on how to increase button click through rates up to 55% https://tips.ariyh.com/p/make-cta-buttons-curvy | |||
| 18 Apr 2024 | B2B SaaS Updates: April 17, 2024 | 00:10:51 | |
In today's video on some of the most interesting content on growth and marketing we cover... Jason M. Lemkin asking "Is SaaS dead?" https://lnkd.in/ehd-9rVj An article from Maxio showing that growth has definitely slowed in SaaS https://lnkd.in/eq_8qwT9 GTM Partners asked B2B SaaS companies if they hit their revenue attainment goals in 2023 and the answer for most is no. https://lnkd.in/eHppM52n | |||
| 23 Aug 2024 | The Growth Path in B2B SaaS | 00:06:45 | |
Despite what you often see on LinkedIn or hear from agencies and consultants, there is no secret magic trick, tactic, or hack that will instantly create transformational growth for your company. There isn’t some hidden “growth door” that, once opened, will lead to immediate success. Instead, let’s talk about the growth path—a journey that you complete by walking it every day, step by step. Sometimes it will feel like you’re running, other times it might seem like you’re moving backward, but every company must walk this path to achieve growth. This can be a tough pill for some CEOs to swallow, especially when they’re chasing quick results. We once worked with a company whose CEO—let’s call him Ed—was always on the hunt for this elusive growth door. When Ed first became CEO, the company experienced rapid growth and secured investment from a PE firm. But with that investment came increased pressure to continue growing. Ed, feeling the weight of this pressure, constantly searched for the next growth tactic that would drive results. He was always trying to open new “doors” to find growth. They spent millions on paid media. They A/B tested endlessly. They invested in organic search, offered discounts, and cycled through various agencies and consultants. But despite all these efforts, none of the tactics led to sustainable, transformative growth. Even worse, Ed’s approach started to affect his team. Instead of focusing on long-term success, they chased quick fixes and vanity metrics to show short-term gains. These efforts might have delivered some minor wins, but they didn’t lead to the kind of enduring, meaningful growth that Ed was looking for. Sometimes, he’d have something positive to report at a monthly board meeting, but the next few months would bring nothing of substance. Eventually, the PE firm brought us in to help. Ed was a great guy, but he was stuck in a short-term mindset. We worked with him to shift his focus and establish a sustainable growth path. We advised him to stop chasing quick wins and instead concentrate on the fundamentals: the product, the brand, partnerships, and internal alignment. His team needed to focus on doing the right things every day, not on chasing the latest quick fix. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with these tactics—they can be very effective when done correctly. However, they’re not a magic door that will single-handedly drive growth. Significant gains can happen, but ongoing growth only comes from consistently following the right path. 𝗦𝗼, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵? - Know where you’re going: Establish a growth vision. - Know where you are: Set baselines and targets. - Know what to do: Learn and follow best practices. - Know to stay on the path: Say no to things that aren’t part of the vision. - Know the path: Develop a growth action plan. | |||
| 18 May 2024 | 5/17/24: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 | 00:10:03 | |
John James says the #1 mistake small brands make is emulating big brands https://lnkd.in/e4yXw4k5 Data shows it is a tough time to be a startup from Peter Walker of Carta https://lnkd.in/ewia3ywh Rick Bradberry from Forrester says the buying process has changed, so you can’t force your funnel on buyers https://lnkd.in/eZkdD--3 | |||
| 23 May 2024 | May 23, 2024: Opening new markets is a growth accelerator, but how do you do it?, There are fundamentals in marketing that don’t need to be based in data and The tide is turning in marketing | 00:14:54 | |
May 23, 2024: Opening new markets is a growth accelerator, but how do you do it?, There are fundamentals in marketing that don’t need to be based in data and The tide is turning in marketing Patrick Cumming says B2B marketers have become so obessed with data they have lost their ability to think and that there are some fundamental marketing principles that really make the difference: - You solved an urgent problem - You were discoverable on a relevant channel - You were top of mind from repeated touchpoints - You had an obvious point of differentiation that made you the superior choice A few days ago I shared Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth and one of the growth accelerators was “Find new space”, but how do we actually do that? Luckily Dave Kellogg recently gave a presentation on how to open new markets and shares the five potential dimensions: ● New products ● New use-cases ● New industries ● New geographies ● New channels
Carol Howley writes that the tide is turning in marketing and the hyper-focus on lead gen tactics has not met expectations and has led to buyer indifference. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/carolhowley_marketingstrategy-demandgeneration-brandbuilding-activity-7192931252478373888-TdZ8?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop | |||
| 24 Jun 2024 | 6/24/24: Talk about the problem you are solving, invest in social proof, and AI is going to transform search | 00:08:25 | |
Anthony Pierri says the one of the most common problems he sees on homepages is that companies don’t say what problem they are solving. My take: There are very few brand new categories, so companies are going to grow by taking customers from a competitor. How do you do this? Defining a problem based on insights from your competitors’ customers is a big opportunity to differentiate your company. Oren Greenberg says companies are investing too much in content and should be investing in social proof instead. My take: Word of mouth is the primary driver of growth, so companies need to find ways to make it easier for customers to share. Pete Blackshaw shares a clip of Elon Must saying that AI is going to replace search as we know it today. My take: Search engines (primarily Google) are the primary content economy of the Internet today. People create content in order to be ‘paid’ in traffic from search engines. We need to think about how content creators will get ‘paid’ in a world of AI or people will stop creating new content. | |||
| 22 May 2024 | 5/20/24: Professor Koen Pauwels breaks down Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth | 00:14:06 | |
In a terrific article, Professor Koen Pauwels reviews Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth and shares related data from his own research. He provides so much great information on core components of brand growth, I only had time to cover this one post in the video. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/prof-dr-koen-pauwels-0789713_brandgrowth-cmos-activity-7198054373309001728-_i2d/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios | |||
| 03 May 2024 | 5/3/2024 - Determine Your Future Growth through Share of Search, Thoughts on Scott Galloway's Advertising vs Product Comments and is Data-Driven Marketing a False God? | 00:14:24 | |
Adam Cartlidge reminds us that share of search impacts share of market https://lnkd.in/enPmAQxHLes Binet explains Share of Search and how it predicts growth Neil Krikul addresses Scott Galloway’s controversial comments on companies Investing in product vs advertising Chris Toy shares an update on his post on CMOs who said “Data-driven marketing is a false god”https://lnkd.in/euie-_Zc | |||
| 10 May 2024 | 5/10/24: Are B2B Buyers Cowards?, Top 3 Causes of Customer Churn, Starbuck’s Brand Failure, Customer Requests Can Stop Your Company from Growing | 00:12:36 | |
Forrester asks Are B2B Buyers Cowards? Retently looks into the causes of customer churn https://www.retently.com/blog/three-leading-causes-churn/ Dickie Bush - Starbuck’s major brand failure Danny Asling discusses the dangers of listening too much to customer requests… https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dannyasling_marketing-saas-activity-7194653378411397121-XGqY?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop | |||
| 19 Jun 2024 | 6/19/24: Why don’t marketers invest in brand?, Key takeaways from the Google algo leak and the CEO doubts the marketing team: | 00:11:07 | |
Mark Evans says brand building isn’t a priority for most B2B SaaS companies.and offers a few theories why. My thoughts:
Research shows that less than 40% of CEOs have confidence in their team's ability to execute the organization's 2024 growth strategy. Neeti Patel asks “What percentage of go-to-market professionals have confidence that their CEOs and executive leadership are aligned around a clearly defined and well-articulated growth strategy? “ My thoughts: This highlights the reasons some companies are struggling with growth. If a CEO thinks growth just comes from checking off a list of marketing tactics, that company is not going to achieve significant, sustainable growth. Growth comes from addressing foundational issues, brand, strategy and then last (and least) tactics. Andrew Ansley dives into the Google Algorithm leak and has some interesting insights. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7201322482815913985/ My take: Some people have given Google a hard time, but at least these main points are primarily focused on benefiting the user (apart from the overreliance on brand size).
| |||
| 09 Oct 2024 | Challenger brands can grow by doing something incredible. | 00:03:21 | |
Think about brands like:- ChatGPT- Google - Zapier- Trader Joe’s- Costco- Zara- ZapposThese are large brands today, but they started by doing something so remarkable that word spread organically. Whether it was exceptional customer service, incredible value, unique experiences, or standout product features, they each found their "something incredible."We’ve worked with companies who did the same:Netcraft - They focused on being the best in the world at website takedowns. Offensive Security - They built a passionate community by offering training and certifications so intense customers were excited to share they passed the certification. Highway.ai - They built a product on mortgage industry knowledge and guidance that was unmatched. PenFed - Offered rates so low that the word spread organically from the military community they served to the broader world. What enabled this wasn't unique talent or massive resources. What they had was a vision to do something incredible.Yet, very few companies tap into this powerful growth lever. Why?They focus too much on their own idea. Founders and CEOs often believe their vision is the ‘incredible thing,’ but this mindset can stop them from identifying smaller, quicker wins that can still be transformative.They get stuck on what customers say they need. Gathering customer insights is crucial, but those insights should focus on identifying the problem, not dictating how to solve it. Companies can miss the chance to deliver something exceptional by just following customer instructions rather than addressing their real needs.They’re too distracted by what the competition is doing. Feature parity is the arch-nemesis of doing something incredible. Too many companies become preoccupied with matching competitors, instead of finding what they can be the best at and standing out.So, how do you find that "something incredible"?Set out to do something amazing - Understand that your company is capable of doing something incredible and move away from the “good enough” mindset.Narrow your focus - Identify a specific area where competitors are failing to meet a need or where you can over-deliver value and focus there. Build what customers actually need—not just what they say they need.Leverage your strengths - Assess what your team or product does/can do better than anyone else and double down on it.Doing something incredible is a growth strategy almost any company can use. It just takes the will to make it happen. | |||
| 09 May 2024 | 5/9/24: Often tests fail, Share your process, Assessing your company’s marketing maturity, What is marketing responsible for? | 00:14:18 | |
Jason Widup Talks About a Failurehttps://lnkd.in/eQtNbx4wJohn Bonini urges us to share the process not just the final resulthttps://lnkd.in/eC87q9mkHow to start assessing your marketing maturity from Mosaic Growth Solutionshttps://lnkd.in/eeYrEH-JPaul Stringer, PhD shares some data about what marketing is responsible forhttps://lnkd.in/etCwg-jF | |||
| 02 May 2024 | 5/2/2024: The 9 Principles of Storytelling, Challenger Brands Unite, SaaS Growth in the Future?, What 2 Founders Would Do Next Time | 00:14:15 | |
Jeremy Connell-Waite Shares His 9 Principles of Great Storytelling (and a lot more) Challenger Brands Unite Neal OGrady’s post highlighting that 52% of Fortune 500 companies from 2002 no longer exist How the most popular websites have changed since 1993 https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/most-popular-websites-by-web-traffic/ A Bright Spot in SaaS? - Sofia Faustino from ChartMogul shares some data Lessons to learn from founders who didn’t quite make it David Walsh on what he is doing this time to succeed https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dw1232_heres-how-i-wasted-12-months-building-a-activity-7190718985636622336-MR_A?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Raymond Kim shares what he will do differently next time https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7191784626137231360/ | |||
| 20 Jun 2024 | 3 Keys 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 Leaders) | 00:03:49 | |
Work is just that, work, but that doesn’t mean it should be joyless and lack meaning. Being fulfilled and inspired is important not just for you, but for the company as well because this is one of the foundational components of growth. Research from Gallup shows companies with highly engaged employees had 18% higher productivity and 23% greater profitability. What is joy? Joy isn't just being happy which is a short-term emotion, it is finding satisfaction in contributing meaningfully Here are three things you can do to find more joy in your work: 1. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 Being frustrated and wanting change are not the opposite of joy; these feelings mean you still care. What will keep you from finding joy in your work is indifference. Indifference means accepting the current situation as it is and not striving to make it better. Your response to broken processes, poor customer experiences, low performance etc… shouldn’t be, “That is just the way it is.” 2. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 Choose to tackle the big challenges rather than just working on small items. It is easy to just cross off the small items from your to-do list, but the potential to accomplish great and meaningful things in your job comes from taking on the big challenges. 3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘄𝘀 Every job has challenges and aspects you dislike, and sometimes those things are significant. There’s no way around that. But when you win, when you succeed, that feeling should be greater than the negatives. These points can help you understand if you are in the right role. If you aren’t given the opportunity to fix broken process or take on bigger challenges or the company doesn’t celebrate the wins, you are likely not in the right place. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 Leaders 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗼 There are many layers to driving growth but one of the key components of the foundation are engaged and inspired employees. If you are a leader within a company, you should ask yourself - Have we given employees the opportunity to fix broken processes? - Have we given employees real challenges to accomplish? - Have we taken the time to enjoy the wins as an organization and recognize strong contributions? No matter our role, we need to understand work isn’t always fun, but we should be able to find joy and meaning in the work we do. | |||
| 26 Mar 2024 | New Ways for a Established Business: Interview with Sebastian Traeger, CEO, Reliability.com | 00:27:10 | |
Interview with Sebastian Traeger, CEO, Reliability.com | |||
| 30 Apr 2024 | 4/30/24: Word of Mouth Means Revenue, NPS and Word of Mouth, a project to help drive WOM and why some companies struggle to grow post-investment | 00:12:47 | |
4/30/24: Word of Mouth Means Revenue, NPS and Word of Mouth, a project to help drive WOM and why some companies struggle to grow post-investmentA HockeyStack report highlights the impact WOM can have on revenuehttps://lnkd.in/ed-J4baKTwo studies that show NPS does impact online word of mouthhttps://lnkd.in/e8cC49kdhttps://lnkd.in/eRRNPjGJ Pete Crowley of RB2B outlines their new project to drive WOMhttps://lnkd.in/etahrN5fNeeti Patel from Mosaic Growth Solutions writes about why some companies struggle to grow post-investmenthttps://lnkd.in/ejz5z35F | |||
| 23 Sep 2024 | CEOs You Must Overcome the Marketing Playbook Mentality | 00:03:49 | |
The playbook mentality in marketing is one of the most damaging mindsets for an organization because it can lead your company to negative outcomes all while making it seem like you are doing the right thing. It is the “road to hell is paved with good intentions”.The most popular posts on LinkedIn are some sort of playbook, tips, hacks or rule; Increase your LinkedIn presence, here is how I closed X number of deals through cold email, the ABM playbook, tips to grow organic search through AI etc… Learning about what others have done is important, but just following a playbook will not lead to meaningful results and can be harmful. The playbook mindset is thinking that executing simple steps can replace complex ideas and hard work. It is very appealing, the promise of the playbook is that you follow these steps and you will achieve these results. Who doesn’t want a simple guide to success? Except it doesn't work that way. The deception is that you think you are doing the right thing because you are following steps that resulted in success for someone else. - Companies follow the product-led growth playbook and ruin their inbound marketing efforts.- Companies follow a Lean Startup playbook and put out low-quality MVPs that kill their business.- Teams execute the demand gen playbook wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars to no results. These companies thought they were doing the right thing while headed in the wrong direction. There is value in all of these strategies, but the value is never in simple steps. Why does the playbook mentality exist? Because it is easier. - It is easier to read an article on customer satisfaction than to talk to our customers and prospects- It is easier to have AI generate an article for SEO than create great content. - It is easier to justify the strategy by using someone else’s results than doing the analysis yourself. - It is easier to buy branded paid search terms than taking the time to build our brand awareness. It is so important to get out of that mindset. There is no playbook to get out of the playbook mindset, but there are some steps that will help get out of the marketing playbook mentality- Set a vision and create a brand based on truly understanding your customers’ needs. - Require your team to do customer research that has them communicating with customers and prospects- Give your team goals to go out and build relationships within the industry and their area of expertise- Before running any playbook, have them speak with others who have run the playbook to hear about the successes and challenges- Do not rely just on the results of others, have your team do their own analysis on how the changes will impact the business and define the goals of the effortIt would be great if there were simple steps we could follow to success, but success requires hard work and thinking. | |||
| 08 Jul 2024 | 7/8/24: 𝗛𝗼𝗸𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 lessons, 3 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 | 00:11:50 | |
Mert Bürian breaks down Hoka’s growth and provides some great insights for all challenger brands. https://lnkd.in/e5-Z-QUu𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: - It isn’t Differentiation vs. Distinctiveness; Both are Critical for GrowthDifferentiation helps you stand out in the market, while distinctiveness makes your brand memorable. Successful brands leverage both to create a strong market presence.- Start by Owning a NicheBegin with a specific target audience and become the go-to brand within that niche. This focused approach can create a loyal customer base and drive word-of-mouth marketing.- Find Evangelists to Promote You Within That Niche Identify and nurture brand advocates who are passionate about your product. These evangelists can significantly amplify your reach and credibility within the niche.Lenny Rachitsky interviews Mike Maples, Jr, who shares three things successful founders do differently. https://lnkd.in/eHhqKXgUMike’s Three Things Successful Founders Do Differently- Movements- Storytelling- Disagreeableness𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻Have a compelling vision centered on your customers' success, not just your company's success. Inspire your team and your customers with this vision.𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴Effective storytelling builds emotional connections and makes your brand memorable. Develop and share stories that resonate with your audience across all channels.𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀Take a stand against challenges that hinder your customers' success. This creates a clear opposition and strengthens your brand’s identity and mission.Martí Gou, CEO of Gretel, announces they are shutting down and shares some valuable lessons from the experience. https://lnkd.in/edRTt5Eu𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲I hate stories like this. Martí and his team worked hard, had a passion, and tried to create a product that would improve people's lives, but they couldn't make it work. Martí offers many terrific insights, especially around MVPs:The concept of MVP, as many people understand it, is flawed. If you don't solve a pain point for users exceptionally well and seamlessly, it's going to be tough.Capturing a user's time and attention is one of the hardest things to do in business. If you manage to do that, you must provide immediate value, not use the user's time to improve your product. | |||
| 28 Aug 2024 | 8/28/24: Where to find B2B SaaS benchmarks and startup failures are through the roof | 00:10:00 | |
Ray Rike provides a terrific resource for finding benchmarks and some guidance on how to utilize benchmarks correctly. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rayrike_b2bsaas-benchmarks-activity-7232404615386836992-HlA2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop My take: I have seen some people railing against the use of benchmarks, but used the right way, they can be incredibly useful in identifying issues and setting priorities. There are many different aspects of marketing so it can be extremely difficult to know what to prioritize. Benchmarks shouldn't be your sole or even primary guide, but if one of your company’s metrics is significantly different than peers, it is worth looking into. Benchmarks help you quickly identify differences. Also, check out Omar Akhtar for benchmarks. Omar has some great data and a good post on how to use benchmarks. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/omarbilalakhtar_a-prospective-client-asked-me-a-great-question-activity-7232023554324672512-X1iD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Linas Beliūnas posts that startup failures are through the roof but also says this actually isn’t bad https://www.linkedin.com/posts/linasbeliunas_wild-the-rate-at-which-us-startups-are-going-activity-7232344786391711744-6z-4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop My take: Startup founders are either getting incredibly bad advice or not following good advice. Linas says the increase in the rate of failure isn't actually a negative, but to me, all of these failures seem wasteful. Not because startups are bad, but without the right approach they will never succeed. Following a path that won't succeed is a waste of time, money and emotions. For mid-sized brands, this also makes it clear that competition is increasing. To protect your business, this means that it is time to invest in brand and make sure you are so good in a specific area that customers can't switch away from you because they need what you offer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to know if your company can utilize marketing more effectively, send me a note. | |||
| 01 Oct 2024 | There is a marketing concept that is over 100 years old that any B2B company can implement to drive growth, but almost none do | 00:04:39 | |
Distinctiveness.Distinctiveness is making your brand easily identifiable by customers.There is a fair amount of recent discussion about distinctiveness, but it is far from a new concept. Mac Martin wrote the passage below in his book ‘Advertising Campaigns’ from 1917. The language and list are almost identical to what some of the biggest names in marketing use today.Martin wrote,‘Advertisers use many different ways to make their advertising distinctive and immediately identifiable.Among them are the following :1. The name2. The trade -mark3. A typical character4. A slogan5. Borders6. Backgrounds7. Styles of type faces8. Styles of type composition9. Technique of illustrations10. Style of copy11. Uniform proportions12. Color13. Position in the publication .’These elements, when done correctly, become distinctive brand assets. They work together to make your brand easily identifiable. But how do you measure if your assets are truly distinctive?Jenni Romaniuk’s Brand Asset Grid provides a way to quantify distinctiveness through two key metrics:Asset Recognition – How many people recognize the assetBrand Attribution – How many people can attribute the asset to the correct brandHere is what Peter Weinberg said about the B2B Institute’s research on distinctive brand assets in B2B,“But in B2B, we found almost no distinctive assets, in any category, for any brand. Instead, B2B brands are all drowning in a sea of sameness. Every brand is blue, every brand is saying the same things in the same way. “https://lnkd.in/ejnaPXeRWhy does it matter?Distinctive brand assets alone won’t make your brand successful, but there are three important reasons to focus on building them:Brand- Without distinctive assets, our marketing won’t be associated with our brand. Customers- Lack of distinctive assets makes it harder for your customers and prospects to find your brand.Competitors- A lack of distinctiveness may cause your prospects and customers to associate your marketing with your competitors. Why don’t B2B companies have distinctive brands?CEOs, you may not care, but you need to because many forces within your company are aligned against distinctiveness. - The new CMO wants to "refresh" the brand- The board is tired of seeing the same look- Your product team doesn’t have time to incorporate your brand assets into the product- You are worried about doing something too bold like creating a character- The marketing team thinks it is too "salesy" to strongly incorporate your brand in contentThe good news is that, if you are willing, your company will be alone in being distinctive. It is much better to play where there is no competition, then to sit still among the others. | |||
| 19 Apr 2024 | B2B SaaS: 4/19/24 - Adam Robinson brings it, promoting individual contributors, & partnerships | 00:08:20 | |
April 19, 2024 - Adam Robinson brings it, promoting individual contributors, and a partnership framework Articles covered in today’s video… Adam Robinson bringing the fire talking about 6Sense https://lnkd.in/eq2J5DrH Kieran Flanagan raising a great point about creating roles for individual contributors where they can progress in their careers without going into management https://lnkd.in/eUH_KNZz Mark Withington and Sebastian Arrese share a framework for making B2B SaaS partnerships successful https://lnkd.in/eyVUXmeB | |||
| 07 May 2024 | 5/7/24: We need to reclaim marketing, What is Marketing Science?, Is Your Price Too High? and generating emotion | 00:14:53 | |
5/7/24: We need to reclaim marketing, What is Marketing Science?, Is Your Price Too High? and generating emotionMats Georgson, Ph.D. says we need to reclaim marketing for what it really ishttps://lnkd.in/eBYkAsFqStephen Shaw interviews Prof. dr. Koen Pauwels about Marketing Science, hat tip to Peter Wagner for highlighting this interviewhttps://lnkd.in/e-68V6tJSharon McCarthy (she/her/hers) shares that it might not be your price, but that you aren’t showing value https://lnkd.in/e98T9fqnAndrew Tindall demonstrates how to generate emotion in your advertisinghttps://lnkd.in/e9KYE996 | |||
| 30 May 2024 | 5/30/24: Not Niching Down is a Mistake, Time to Retire Brand Marketing, Profitability Alone Isn’t Enough | 00:12:38 | |
Guillaume Moubeche Founder of lemlist, says that not niching down was the biggest mistake he made as a founder and lays out a roadmap for challenger brand growthhttps://lnkd.in/eyXebPqvShabahat Ali goes on a much-needed rant about brand and marketinghttps://lnkd.in/eZxRn4-eNeeti Patel, Co-Founder of Mosaic Growth Solutions, shares a SaaStr podcast that highlights that profitability alone is not enough, companies need to growhttps://lnkd.in/eCih6drN | |||
| 18 Apr 2024 | 4/17/24 Is SaaS Dead, SaaS growth is slowing and missing revenue goals | 00:07:05 | |
In today's video on some of the most interesting content on growth and marketing we cover... Jason M. Lemkin asking "Is SaaS dead?" https://lnkd.in/ehd-9rVj An article from Maxio showing that growth has definitely slowed in SaaS https://lnkd.in/eq_8qwT9 GTM Partners asked B2B SaaS companies if they hit their revenue attainment goals in 2023 and the answer for most is no. https://lnkd.in/eHppM52n | |||
| 11 Sep 2024 | People Don’t Care About Your Business | 00:05:00 | |
Some time ago we were brought in to work with a mid-sized B2B SaaS company and their CEO, let’s call him Jim. Jim had a big personality, and if he was in the room, you knew it. Everything he or his company did was "the best." The company had achieved some initial growth by tapping into Jim’s network, and their product was well-received by early customers. But when it came time to scale, growth stalled.They expanded their sales team and invested some money in marketing, but growth was hard. Worse yet, a new competitor was getting noticed, and Jim was frustrated. “We have a great product. Why don’t they care?” he asked.Here’s the hard truth: No one cares about your business… unless you give them a reason to.The Reality Check Many Companies Need: Most CEOs are deeply passionate about their companies and because of this, they think other people will care as well. But the truth is, most people don’t think about your company at all. They don’t care if it thrives or dies — unless you earn their care.People don’t like or dislike your company; they’re simply indifferent.Your business is just like any other, unless you deliver undeniable value or build an emotional connection.If you can’t get people to care, you will be ignored.Many companies worry about being liked or disliked, but being ignored is far worse. Research shows that for growth and retention, the biggest threat isn’t being disliked — it’s being ignored.Is your company acting like people care already or does it know that care must be earned? When companies approach prospects as if they care, they think:- The value they offer through their product or content is enough- People will be convinced to buy with one more email, call or ad - Their product features are what they should lead with- Relationships within the industry, customers and prospects aren’t necessaryThis misperception is what caused Jim’s company to struggle to grow. - Their existing customers valued the product, but it was in the “nice to have” category, not “must-have”- The company wasn’t creating any content that provided actual value to prospects or demonstrated expertise- Their marketing materials just talked about their product features and didn’t address prospect needs (and they wouldn’t add pricing to the website)- Demand gen tactics were ineffective and they tried to force people into the funnel- They lacked focus on relationships with partners and within the industryHere’s How to Earn Their Care:- Deliver value that’s impossible to overlook.- Create emotional connections.- Build relationships.Remember, the world doesn’t care about your business — but that’s your opportunity to make them care. Go beyond the ordinary. Deliver extraordinary value. Make an impact. Don’t let them ignore you. | |||
| 13 Nov 2024 | Is Your Pricing Strategy Holding Back Growth? | 00:03:00 | |
| |||
| 11 Oct 2024 | Why Your Data Might Be Leading You Astray: Simpson’s Paradox and the Danger of Misleading Results | 00:03:46 | |
Here’s a story that should be a wake-up call for B2B SaaS CEOs. Even when you think you’re doing everything right, your data might be leading you toward decisions that could undermine your growth.You’re the CEO of a B2B SaaS company focused on driving growth. Your CMO proposes shifting from your traditional inbound sales motion to a product-led growth (PLG) strategy. Being cautious, you decide to run a test rather than jump straight in.Here’s what happened:Q1 Results:Inbound: 582 opportunities, 183 deals, CVR = 31.44%PLG: 140 opportunities, 45 deals, CVR = 32.14%Encouraged by the results, you expand the PLG test in Q2.Q2 Results:Inbound: 48 opportunities, 12 deals, CVR = 25%PLG: 411 opportunities, 104 deals, CVR = 25.30%After two quarters, it seems like a no-brainer: PLG is outperforming inbound. The higher conversion rates suggest PLG is the future, right?Not so fast.When you combine the results from both quarters, the data tells a different story:Combined Results:Inbound (Q1 + Q2): 630 opportunities, 195 deals, CVR = 31%PLG (Q1 + Q2): 551 opportunities, 149 deals, CVR = 27%Suddenly, your traditional inbound motion is performing 15% better than PLG. How can that be?This is Simpson’s Paradox—a statistical phenomenon where trends that appear in separate data sets reverse when you combine them. Though I used a test of PLG to highlight the challenge, Simpson’s Paradox can occur in many areas:- College admissions- Medical treatments- Income distributions- Sports- A/B testing- And many more...In fact, in this example, the data comes from a real-life instance from baseball. In 1995 and 1996, David Justice had a higher batting average than Derek Jeter. But when you combine the two years, Jeter comes out on top. The data flips when looked at holistically.I’ve been hearing lately about how easy it is to use data to guide marketing decisions, but the truth is, even simple tests can lead you astray if you’re not careful. This example might seem straightforward, but that’s the point—even the simplest decisions can be wrong for reasons most people would overlook.The Lesson: What looks like straightforward data can be deceptively misleading. Before making any decisions, ask yourself:- Are we analyzing the data in the right way?- Are we weighing results properly across different cohorts and time periods?- Are we sure that short-term trends won’t reverse when looked at over time?Making the wrong call based on faulty interpretation of data can be costly. Making the right decision might not be easy. Always dig deeper—your growth depends on it. | |||
| 07 Aug 2024 | Don't Use a Performance Marketing Approach to Build Brand Awareness | 00:06:20 | |
| |||
| 22 Oct 2024 | Ever seen a small B2B brand take on industry giants and win? We did. But here’s why it didn’t last… | 00:03:29 | |
Four years ago, we conducted a marketing assessment for a B2B SaaS company. As always, we started with a competitive analysis. The results were predictable—big brands were dominating the market. But one smaller brand that was a competitor to our client stood out. Founded by industry veterans, they had built a brand and product that resonated deeply with their niche audience. They used their expertise to solve real problems, and it worked. They were growing and taking on industry leaders.Fast forward to today. We were brought back for another assessment. Once again, the big brands were growing. But that smaller brand that had been growing? They were now in decline.What changed?Since our last assessment, they had received private equity funding and they likely felt pressure to grow. Reading their press releases and looking at their marketing it is apparent they chose to dramatically expand the audience they were selling to and rebranded to appeal to that wider audience. In the process, they lost the things that made them differentiated and distinct.The results? Since their pivot and brand update, their share of search has fallen by 47% and they had to lay off almost 20% of their employees. The key takeaways?1. Brand “refreshes” can go terribly wrong - It is always tempting to pull the rebrand lever to drive growth, but is it really necessary? Building a distinctive brand takes years and you can wipe out your investment in an instant by rebranding. 2. As a B2B challenger brand, it is better to be loved by a smaller audience than just liked by many - When you are a big brand, you can offer an OK product and still grow. But as a smaller brand, you need to realize that buyers are risk averse and won't choose you unless they have a very compelling reason. Trying to appeal to many can cause a company to lose the aspects of their brand and product that provided that compelling reason to switch.3. Don’t change who you are to open new markets - Opening new markets can drive growth, but not at the expense of your identity. Growth strategies should build on your brand's strengths, not dilute them. | |||
| 22 Aug 2024 | 8/22/24: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 '𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀' 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁? 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 | 00:11:49 | |
Mimi Turner and Jann Martin Schwarz share research on ‘hidden buyers’ within Enterprise buying groups. These are the process experts within an organization, such as those in purchasing, finance, and legal. The research reveals that these hidden buyers hold nearly equal decision-making power as the product expert (or target buyer) on the buying committee. However, unlike the product expert, hidden buyers don’t engage in research and have little interest in the product itself. What do they care about? Brand familiarity and risk. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/real-job-b2b-marketing-give-buyer-group-permission-agree-schwarz-idyke/?trackingId=xXY5cgvTQY%2B3sd%2BFRfjG1w%3D%3D 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: There are two key takeaways for CEOs from this research: - Ensure your marketing team is building brand familiarity. - When involved in the sales process, the CEO doesn't need to be the product expert but should be prepared to assuage concerns around risk. Joe Daniels ✌️ highlights a concept he calls Difference Degradation, which suggests that over time, external pressures cause all SaaS companies to lose differentiation, leading to a scenario where all companies are competing in the same space. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/uptojoegood_b2b-saas-paradox-activity-7231608424520667136-UZ-J?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: When companies lack differentiation, the largest company with the most resources and awareness will ultimately win. We often see our challenger brand clients trying to catch up by reaching feature parity. However, a smarter strategy is to focus on being the best in a specific area. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: - If you just reach feature parity, you are now competing directly with a larger competitor who has more resources and awareness. You will lose. - Because they have more resources, your larger competitor likely has better functionality, even if you offer the same features. - The exit strategy for challenger brands is often acquisition by the market leader. Superior functionality in a specific area is much more attractive than subpar functionality across all areas. | |||
| 12 Sep 2024 | History shows that frequency is probably wasting your advertising spend | 00:05:57 | |
In the early 1900s, there was a marketing “law” known as cumulative value. Publishers used this concept to convince advertisers that they needed to advertise frequently and consistently in their publications. The idea was that repeated exposure would maximize the impact of an advertisement on readers.William A. Shryer, outlined the reasoning behind cumulative value in his 1912 book ‘Advertising Analytics’:- A single ad placement isn't an effective test of its success.- To gauge effectiveness, an ad must run at least three times in a publication.- Consistent repetition will eventually yield profitable returns.- Sporadic ad placements won't work; persistence is key.- The longer you run your ads, the more profitable they become.But Shryer himself wasn’t convinced. He stated:“Their cumulative value theory attracted me mightily, first because it violated every principle of psychology, logic, and reason and nevertheless appeared to be the guiding principle of every seller of space I met, as well as the accepted belief of most advertisers.”Shryer set out to test this theory through empirical research, meticulously tracking the performance of hundreds of ads across different advertisers. The results were surprising: contrary to the cumulative value “law,” the first ad placement had the most significant impact, while the benefits of additional exposure were limited.As Shryer wrote:“The first insertion of a tried piece of copy in a new medium will pay better, in every way, than any subsequent insertion of the same copy in the same magazine.”Now, you might wonder why you should care about what someone you never heard of said over 100 years ago about a law that is never discussed.Here’s why: much of today’s marketing still relies on the idea of cumulative value. Companies invest in martech assuming that if one email works, wouldn't a workflow that will send 5 or 10 or 15 be better? Do a Google search and you will see many results that recommend prospects need to see an ad 7 or 9 or 15 times to act.But if cumulative value isn’t true, how much money are we wasting on ineffective marketing?Many modern studies also cast doubt on the cumulative value theory. For instance, Shryer's book brought to mind a post from Dale W. Harrison where he referenced a study (link in comments), which found that “ad response is ENTIRELY flat after the initial exposure to a given brand's advertising.”https://lnkd.in/eNU5fm3FI don't know if there is a definitive answer, but there is enough research to at least make us question this belief and ask why it is so entrenched in marketing. | |||
| 13 May 2024 | 5/13/24: Jason Lemkin says some brands have lost trust, Devin Reed’s content mission is trust, B2B SaaS and A/B Testing for Incremental Revenue, LinkedIn Algorithm Hacks | 00:14:54 | |
Jason M. Lemkin talks about the importance of trust and how some brands have lost ithttps://lnkd.in/etGrTdhC Devin Reed, Head of Content for Clari says his content mission is trusthttps://lnkd.in/er2NhWHwCan B2B SaaS Companies Use A/B Testing to Determine If Their Marketing Efforts Are Driving Incremental Revenue?https://lnkd.in/eNmCdZbKSamantha McKenna provides terrific LinkedIn algorithm hacks https://lnkd.in/e2c9jRWM | |||
| 22 May 2024 | 5/22/24: A Winning Playbook from Peep Laja, Small Brands Grow by Stealing Competitors' Customers and a Theoretical Organizational Structure Built based on Ehrenberg-Bass Research | 00:14:07 | |
Peep Laja lays out a playbook for winning and it starts by finding a niche and being the best in that niche. A few of the key points from the playbook:1. Find a niche2. Know your ICP3. Solve a specific problem better than anyone else4. Differentiate strongly and build mental availabilityhttps://lnkd.in/e5f7UUg4Kantar’s Blueprint for Growth has data that shows how small companies can quickly figure out how to accomplish the playbook steps that Peep lays out. Small brands get their customers from the market leaders, so:- Defining your initial ICP starts with the customers of market leaders- The problem you need to solve is whatever is causing the market leaders’ customers to churn- You aggressively differentiate- Building mental availability can be very expensive for small brands, but by focusing on your competitors' customers, your target audience just got a lot smaller- Don’t waste resources on building category awarenesshttps://lnkd.in/e8K8Y4iNThe Ehrenberg-Bass Institute (EBI) has produced some very interesting research that describes growth, but their research can be light on practical advice. I consider what a company’s organizational structure could look like if we truly followed their research. https://lnkd.in/eKbsBTj8 | |||
| 07 May 2024 | 5/6/24: Grow by focusing on the customer, AI has the potential to deliver 1 to 1 software, A Huge Mistake in Marketing Reporting, and How Popular is Founder-Led Growth? | 00:12:52 | |
Jill Rowley talks about how companies win by focusing on the customer and how HubSpot is doing that through AIhttps://lnkd.in/esafNgAsPieter Kemps shares that AI will usher in a new era of one to one softwarehttps://lnkd.in/eYs45PG9Kamil Rextin on one of my biggest pet peeves, mixing Lead Source vs Conversion Eventshttps://lnkd.in/eFCG8f8uHow Prevalent is Founder-Led Growth? Research shows is may not be as popular as it appears on LinkedIn.https://lnkd.in/erignX69Share comments below and follow for daily updates. | |||
| 14 Jun 2024 | 6/11/24: 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 from a 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, retire brand marketing & make switching easy | 00:13:13 | |
6/11/24: 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 Dan Cremons stresses the importance of doing due diligence on a company’s organization https://lnkd.in/ewyP-PRTQuite a few people have written about the need to retire demand generation but it is also time to retire the term brand marketing because the term diminishes the importance of brand and potential performancehttps://lnkd.in/ePm56yPqJason M. Lemkin highlights the pain of switching vendors which makes me think about the need for companies to develop a strategy to make switching easier https://lnkd.in/eMtGk5Uv | |||
| 24 Oct 2024 | The Counterintuitive Way to Build Your B2B Brand | 00:05:25 | |
| |||
| 11 Apr 2024 | Doing What it Takes: Interview with Edson Olds, COO, CMO, ISEP Study Abroad | 00:32:49 | |
Join us on this exciting episode of "Growth Science" as we sit down with Edson Olds, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of ISEP Study Abroad. Edson brings a wealth of experience in the education sector and shares his insights on the evolving landscape of study abroad programs. 📚 About ISEP Study Abroad: ISEP is a leading provider of study abroad programs for college and university students worldwide. With a membership of approximately 350 universities across 50+ countries, they facilitate international student mobility and foster educational experiences across the globe. Celebrating over 40 years of service, ISEP has been instrumental in supporting nearly 3,000 students annually through their diverse and comprehensive study programs. 🌟 In this Interview: Edson shares his journey from starting in marketing and advertising to his role in higher education. The strategic shift from B2C to a B2B2C marketing approach, enhancing relationships with universities and ensuring successful student experiences. Insights into ISEP’s response to changing student needs, competitive analysis, and focus on efficient program management. The impact of COVID-19 on study abroad and the strategies ISEP employed to bounce back stronger. The power of saying "no" to maintain focus and efficiency in a membership-based organization. How ISEP uses data-driven decisions to improve and expand their program offerings. Edson's perspective on the importance of AI in marketing and operations, especially for small and mid-sized businesses, as we step into 2024. 🔍 Key Takeaways: The evolving role of marketing in education and how it contributes to organizational growth. The importance of customer experience and satisfaction in retaining and expanding university partnerships. Leveraging technology and AI to enhance the student and university experience. 🚀 Looking Ahead: Edson's vision for ISEP in 2024, focusing on embracing technological advancements in AI, enhancing user experience, and constantly innovating to stay ahead in the dynamic field of international education. 📺 Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insightful interviews from Mosaic Growth Solutions. Share your thoughts on how AI and technology are reshaping education and study abroad experiences! #Education #StudyAbroad #ISEP #MarketingStrategy #GrowthScience #AIinEducation #HigherEdMarketing #InternationalEducation #EdsonOldsInterview For more information about ISEP Study Abroad, visit their website: https://www.isepstudyabroad.org/ | |||
| 10 Oct 2024 | Product-Market Fit to Scale: A Key to Creating a Growth Engine | 00:02:48 | |
As a B2B SaaS CEO, just acquiring a few more customers is not the goal —you’re building something that solves a pain so well that it drives its own growth. That’s where product-market fit to scale comes into play. So, what is product-market fit really?Product-market fit (PMF) occurs when a company's product successfully satisfies a strong market demand. Marc Andreessen, who coined the term, describes it as "being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market." But here’s the next level: Product-market fit to scale means your product is so strong that growth starts to happen organically. This is the inflection point where customer acquisition costs (CAC) drop, word of mouth accelerates, and the business grows without an over-reliance on aggressive marketing. We always hear about scaling stories from giants like Apple, Amazon, or Tesla, but product-market fit to scale often happens much earlier.
Here’s how to evaluate your readiness to scale:
The key to product-market to scale is maintaining customer focus. Understand their needs, why they love your product, focus on those use cases, and give them reasons to talk about it. Start small, nail the solution for a targeted audience, and let their love for your product drive organic growth. Scaling without excessive spend on customer acquisition? That’s the goal. | |||
| 07 Mar 2024 | Cybersecurity and AI - Interview with Matt Shea, Chief Strategy Officer, Mixmode.ai | 00:34:03 | |
Join us as we sit down and talk with Matt Shea, Chief Strategy Officer, Mixmode.ai about cybersecurity, AI and business best practices. | |||
| 17 Sep 2024 | A Great Evangelist | 00:13:03 | |
I often emphasize the need to find evangelists for your company. While the concept is gaining traction, it still doesn’t get nearly enough attention. This is a huge missed opportunity. Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand the incredible impact of evangelists. Simply put, there’s almost no other marketing activity that can deliver such immediate and significant results. In this post, I am going to share two examples of the power of evangelists. The first case is from when I led marketing for Pentagon Federal Credit Union. PenFed was the second largest federal credit union, but compared to the big banks it was a relatively small player and my marketing budget was a rounding error compared to the budgets of the big FIs. While we may not have had big budgets, we did have exceptional products with the lowest mortgage rates, highest savings account rates and the richest credit card rewards. Our cards were so good they attracted the attention of Curtis Arnold founder of cardratings.com. While there were credit card comparison sites whose primary focus was to generate affiliate revenue, cardratings.com was not one of them. Curtis’s mission was to find the best credit cards for his users. Because we had a great product and treated our members well, PenFed was a good match with Curtis’s mission. The power of evangelism was really demonstrated in earned media. Financial reporters trusted Curtis and he was often their source when they wanted to write an article on the best credit cards. PenFed was at the top of his list. This led to coverage in the NY Times, USA Today, Money Magazine, Forbes, Fortune, Kiplinger’s, the WSJ, The Today Show, and more—worth millions in exposure and thousands of new cardholders. No other marketing tactic could have matched Curtis’s impact. Can this work in B2B? Absolutely. My second example is more recent and comes from Mark Kosoglow. He recently wrote a post about trying to find a good CRM for his business. In the post he described his selection process and why he eventually chose NetHunt CRM. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mkosoglow_when-i-resigned-as-cro-at-catalyst-i-got-activity-7212432051625492481-hSEk Two weeks later he posted an update, NetHunt shared that they had received over 200 signups from Mark’s post. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mkosoglow_if-i-mention-a-product-in-a-post-a-couple-activity-7219728726773673984-QN_O Once again, there is almost no marketing activity NetHunt could have implemented that would have that big impact so quickly. Curtis and Mark probably do not think of themselves as evangelists, but they meet the three requirements of a great evangelist. The 3 Traits of a Great Evangelist - A person who believes in the product - A person who has authority and is trusted - A person who has an audience Great evangelists can have a significant impact on growth, has your company found yours? | |||
| 14 Jun 2024 | 6/14/24: 𝗣𝗣𝗖 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗢𝗻, 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 Is 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆? | 00:12:45 | |
Liam Moroney Says that Advertising in B2B SaaS Does Not Equal PPC https://www.linkedin.com/posts/liammoroney_the-term-ppc-became-synonymous-with-ads-in-activity-7206400934854148096-hBmH?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop My thoughts: - Most PPC is not advertising instead it is about physical availability - Brands need to use PPC to be easy to find and easy to buy - It has limited impact on mental availability Byron Sharp makes the point that paid search isn’t really advertising, it is more life shelf-space in a store. What does this mean? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-paid-search-like-shelf-space-byron-sharp/ His takeaways: - Paid search should always be on - Its impact should be measurable - Physical and mental availability are both needed If you are having trouble wrapping your mind around physical availability, take a look at Dollar General, this discount chain shows exactly what physical availability looks like. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7204122389754884096/ My insights: - Physical availability is a powerful factor in driving growth - Does physical availability apply to B2B SaaS? - How can we take the lessons from Dollar General and apply them to B2B SaaS? | |||
| 18 Apr 2024 | B2B SaaS GTM Efficiency, Making Markets, Key Metrics and the Fundamentsl: Apr 18th, 2024 | 00:07:33 | |
For April 18th, I am covering 4 great articles: David Spitz uncovers the GTM mess in SaaS from an efficiency perspective https://lnkd.in/eenB_xNi Kyle Poyar lays out a key metric to measure your company’s efficiency and provides benchmarks https://lnkd.in/esBDmerx Tomasz Tunguz shares his thoughts on whether market size is the right question, or should we be thinking about making the market. https://lnkd.in/eM9k5SXR Mosaic Growth Solutions posted an article on addressing the growth fundamentals first in order to drive transformational growth https://lnkd.in/eChswvmj | |||
| 29 Apr 2024 | 4/29/24: Dave Gerhardt drops the mic, cutting through the noise for PMF and a scientific way to brand growth | 00:13:50 | |
Dave Gerhardt drops the mic sharing what your company needs to do now to grow Rob Snyder shares a way to cut through the confusion to find Product Market Fit https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rsnyder1_b2b-product-market-fit-playbook-for-0-1m-activity-7169325649604657152-QmHz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios A scientific way to drive brand growth with Ty Heath, Jon Lombardo, and Peter Weinberg from The B2B Institute experts https://partnerships.nature.com/blog/the-scientific-approach-to-brand-growth/ | |||
| 01 May 2024 | 5/1/2024: Your Brand is Too Safe, Personalized Interactive Demos Boost Results, Founder-Led Ideas, Time to Get Rid of Brand vs Performance? | 00:14:08 | |
Clay Ostrom takes a look at brand differentiation and finds that companies are playing it too safe https://www.linkedin.com/posts/clayostrom_positioning-messaging-differentiation-activity-7191102768714022913-4W71?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Natalie Marcotullio lays out exactly how Navattic was able to drive a 6.3x increase in MQLs from a personalized interactive demo Andy Mewborn shares his founder-led playbook David Tiltman says data shows that it is time to retire the performance vs brand ad model https://www.linkedin.com/posts/david-tiltman-5a2a6614_is-it-time-to-retire-brand-vs-performance-activity-7191179268905730048--EL4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop | |||
| 26 Sep 2024 | A Company That Hasn’t Struggled... | 00:03:06 | |
A Company That Hasn’t Struggled...After working with many different companies, we’ve seen a wide range of situations:- Those that took 20 years to find success.- Those that fought tooth and nail to grow.- Those that nearly failed.- And a rare few that seemed to grow without facing any real challenges.The hardest to work with?The ones that haven’t faced real struggles.Why? - They're slow to recognize challenges.- They think they already have all the answers.- They haven’t had to define who they truly are.But when the challenges come (and they always do), when they are tested, they don't know what to do. They double down on their existing playbook or act rashly. Neither approach will help them pull through the struggle. If I were an investor, I’d look for companies that have been tested and overcome adversity. These are the ones that will succeed. They know they don’t have all the answers. They remain humble in victories and resilient in tough times.It's tough out there for many companies, not just startups. We've seen the same challenges with mid-sized businesses as well. But out of those struggles lies the potential for growth and success.That said, being tested doesn’t guarantee success. Here's what the resilient companies we’ve worked with did to turn challenges into growth:--> They knew who they were and why they existed – staying committed to their vision and customers.--> They learned – from successes, failures, peers, and best practices.--> They focused on the fundamentals – both the hard (financials) and the soft (execution).--> They were honest – recognizing challenges early and communicating clearly with their teams.If your company makes it through adversity, you emerge stronger—not despite the challenges, but because of them. | |||
| 16 May 2024 | 5/16/24: 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗦𝗘𝗢 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻 2024, AI Growth? | 00:14:41 | |
Taylor Udell, Head of Growth at Champify shows how they doubled their homepage conversion rateshttps://lnkd.in/eMMy3TSvEmilia Korczynska, Head of Marketing at Userpilot, does a great job summarizing what she learned from Kevin Indig about SEO in 2024https://lnkd.in/eqvN93njDharmesh Shah from HubSpot looks into the future and sees AI enabling millions of small businesseshttps://lnkd.in/eMXV2sDj | |||
| 11 Apr 2024 | Growth from Fortune 500 to Startups: Interview with Rosa Ziebell, Founder, Alta Growth Partners | 00:31:28 | |
Join us in this insightful episode of Growth Science, where we sit down with Rosa Ziebell, the Founder of Alta Growth Partners. With her rich background in consumer packaged goods marketing and strategy consulting, Rosa brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. In this episode, Rosa shares her journey from working in large corporations like Clorox to venturing into the dynamic world of startups. She delves into the contrasts between marketing in a massive, established company and a lean, agile startup, highlighting the opportunities for creativity and risk-taking in smaller business environments. Key discussion points include: The power of understanding your customer: Rosa emphasizes the importance of knowing who's buying your product and what keeps them up at night. The test-and-learn approach: Learn how embracing failure can be a critical part of successful marketing in a startup environment. The role of brand alignment and strategy: Discover why having a North Star and a cohesive understanding of your brand is crucial for company growth. The evolving marketing funnel: Rosa discusses how research, both qualitative and quantitative, plays a significant role in understanding your audience and refining marketing strategies. The impact of AI on marketing: Get Rosa's take on how artificial intelligence is transforming the marketing landscape and leveling the playing field for smaller companies. Rosa's unique insights and experience make this interview a must-watch for anyone interested in the intersection of marketing, growth, and innovation. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, a marketing professional, or just curious about the world of business growth, there's something in this interview for you. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more episodes of Growth Science, where we explore the secrets behind successful businesses and innovative marketing strategies. | |||
| 08 May 2024 | 5/8/24: Be More Scientific in Marketing, Growing B2B SaaS Brands Invested More in Brand Awareness, Hubspot’s GTM Guide Ignores the Two Most Important Growth Factors and Storytelling and Leadership | 00:14:40 | |
Olivia Kory Lays out 3 Points about Being More Scientific With Our Marketing https://www.linkedin.com/posts/olivia-kory-50230812_paid-media-is-often-the-largest-expense-on-activity-7193292485647872000-KC3e?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Omar Akhtar Founder of Benchmarker finds that B2B SaaS Companies Who Met Their Growth Goals Invested More in Brand Awareness https://www.linkedin.com/posts/omarbilalakhtar_new-research-i-surveyed-200-b2b-saas-companies-activity-7171134949280927745-xknC?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop A Hubspot Guide on Go To Market Ignores the Most Important Factors in Growth https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/gtm-strategy Clare Schmitt Writes About Storytelling and Leadership https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-storytelling-leadership-communication-clare-schmitt-s5gxe/?trackingId=0m71LvnNR9ywT5p8v1S0wg%3D%3D | |||
| 15 May 2024 | 5/15/24: SGE is live!, A method for tying influencer marketing to growth, & who hates lead scoring? | 00:12:43 | |
Google’s SGE has gone live… Bart Goralewicz shares some data on the impact on search results Search Engine Journal explains what you should do to optimize your site for SGE https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-rolls-out-sge-ai-powered-overviews/516279/ Conor Begley posts about some very interesting data tying influencer marketing to growth https://www.linkedin.com/posts/conormbegley_the-problem-one-of-the-most-common-activity-7194121562768175105-3kI2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Kacyn Goranson says she hates lead scoring…. | |||
| 26 Apr 2024 | April 25, 2024: The Real B2B Buyer’s Journey with Data, Google’s Update Crushed One Type of Website, and Reid Hoffman Interviewed by AI Reid | 00:14:31 | |
Alon Even’s posts about the way B2B buyers really buy vs. how it has been traditionally viewed Wynter shares data on how B2B SaaS marketing leaders buy software in 2024 https://wynter.com/2024-b2b-saas-buyer-journey-report Google’s March Algorithm update did crush one type of site, Jake Ward discusses the impact Reid Hoffman is interviewed by an AI version of himself and it is pretty amazing https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/me-myself-ai-qa-my-avatar-reid-hoffman-71unf/ | |||
| 25 Jun 2024 | B2B marketers can be pretty arrogant | 00:02:47 | |
Have you seen the Jerry Seinfeld bit on Life cereal? He says… Too much arrogance. Everywhere. Even the food industry. Where in the world do you get your balls to call a breakfast cereal LIFE? What do they see in their little square oat cereal that makes them think that it should be named after our very existence? “How about Oaties, Squaries, Brownies?” “Oh no, this is much bigger than that. This is LIFE, I tell you. It’s LIFE.” Many B2B marketers (including me) can be the same. We could choose any relationship to describe the B2B buying process, but instead it goes like this…. Buying B2B software is like buying a pack of gum No, that is not meaningful enough. OK, buying B2B software is like buying a car. We need something bigger. OK, how about buying life insurance? No, this is more important than that! I know…buying B2B software is like finding a spouse We have all heard this punchline to the analogy, (I have used it) “You don’t ask someone to marry you on a first date.” Marketers could choose any relationship for their analogy, but many choose the most important relationship in peoples’ lives,, the one that impacts your entire life, emotionally and financially, for 50 years (if we are lucky) and usually involves caring for and raising kids, extending its impact. If B2B software is like marriage, it must be pretty powerful software we are selling. I guess if you really worked at it you could stretch it to make it work… The first date is like a demo Your friends and family are the buying committee Your mom is a decision maker Your date is qualified for a long-term commitment if they show up the first time Looking at your LinkedIn profile is a signal that they are ready to get married Apart from cute one-liners like not asking people to marry you on a first date or poorly written cold emails are like cheezy pick up lines, dating and the B2B buying process are really not alike. There is one area that should be the same, be open and honest in your communication. Building trust is the key to a good relationship and will serve as a foundation into the future. | |||
| 22 Apr 2024 | April 22, 2024 - Managing Faux Focus, Brand is Bigger than Marketing, 10x Request a Demos, and Using AI in Marketing | 00:14:13 | |
Dave Kellog lays out how to keep your company from having a Faux Focus https://kellblog.com/2024/04/19/how-to-detect-if-your-startup-has-a-faux-focus/ Udi Ledergor, Chief Evangelist at Gong, makes the case that brand is bigger than marketing
Pierce Healy, CEO of Zelta AI, lays out the process his team used to 10X request a demos Michelle Taite, CMO of Mailchimp at Intuit walks us through how MailChimp has achieved success using AI in marketing https://hbr.org/2024/04/how-one-marketing-team-made-ai-part-of-its-daily-work | |||
| 12 Nov 2024 | The Demand Gen Death Spiral | 00:02:46 | |
The Demand Gen Death SpiralWe were recently brought in to do an assessment for a B2B SaaS company, when we looked at their data we quickly realized then were in what I call the "demand gen death spiral." Sounds ominous, doesn’t it? It should—this is a place no company wants to be, yet many end up there.When we recognize this spiral during an assessment, it’s like watching a horror movie where the characters make the choice to go down into the basement. You can see the disaster coming and wonder: why head in this direction?So, what exactly is the demand gen death spiral?The demand gen death spiral happens when companies divert resources from effective strategies to double down on ineffective demand generation tactics. This reallocation causes performance to decline even faster, while marketing teams and agencies cherry-pick positive data points to justify the increased spend. This selective view hides the bigger picture of overall performance decline.Warning Signs You’re in the Demand Gen Death Spiral:- Missing revenue targets- Decline in branded search impressions year over year- Drop in direct traffic year over year- A high percentage of paid search revenue tied to branded search terms- Rising cost per click and overreliance on PMax campaigns- Spending across multiple channels that generates high volumes of low-quality leadsUnfortunately, many B2B SaaS companies are caught in this cycle.How to Escape the Demand Gen Death Spiral:Stop, reassess, and return to marketing fundamentals. Shift your focus to understanding core performance metrics and building a strategy grounded in your brand and true value creation. | |||
| 27 Jun 2024 | 6/26/24: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 | 00:13:49 | |
After receiving investment, B2B SaaS companies are in a challenging position as they need to grow 3X to 5X over the next 3 to 5 years. To achieve this transformational growth there are four fundamental challenges that must be overcome:- Lack of a growth vision- Lack of strong reporting - Lack of a growth culture- Lack of alignmentIn this episode, Neeti Patel provides insights on the challenges and how companies need to address them to drive transformational growth. Neeti also provides a few tips on how to make the transition smoother:- Investors should start having conversations around performance goals and reporting expectations with leadership, pre-investment- Identify some quick wins to help build momentum and excitement early on- The investors and company leadership need to be aligned on the growth vision | |||
| 26 Apr 2024 | April 26, 2024 - Improving Your LinkedIn Presence, Great Reporting, The Impact of Removing Self-Service Signups, and things to test in your first 90 days | 00:13:56 | |
April 26, 2024 Justin Rowe does the math on increasing your LinkedIn presence Ray Rike lays out what great reporting looks like and why it matters https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7189247071051235328/ Peep Laja says Wynter removed their self-service sign up to increase demos, it didn't work Kyle Poyar shares his tips on finding quick wins in the first 90 days https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kyle-poyar_growth-quickwins-marketing-activity-7189591547330408449-XA0j?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop | |||
| 27 Jun 2024 | 𝗪𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲-𝗢𝘂𝘁 | 00:04:03 | |
There are endless posts and articles telling us what we should do, but the problem is that almost all of them address the outside.We need to address the inside first.𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲?The answers to these questions form the inside:- Who am I doing this for?- What problems are they having?- How can I fix the problem?- Why am I doing this?- How do I measure success?- How do I treat people?𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲?The tactics. The list of what is on the outside is long, but in marketing, some items include: SEO, social media, paid advertising, writing, content, messaging, design, conversion rate optimization, testing, etc.𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲-𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. If we are driven by the fundamentals, it will cause us to execute the tactics in a way that drives value for our users. 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲. Working from the inside will make our tactics better, but the reverse will not be true. Being great at the tactics will never answer who we are doing this for, what problems they have, and how we can fix the problem.𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘃𝘀. 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲; 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵. Sometimes the relationship between inside and outside is presented as one or the other, but they are not at odds, inside drives outside. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲-𝗼𝘂𝘁?Below are three indicators that you are working from the inside-out.𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Do we implement tactics in response to the way we answered the inside questions, or are we simply chasing metrics? If we are driven by the inside, we will know our audience and utilize tactics to help them with their challenges.𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 - If you are working from the inside, you will want to go beyond just tactics and begin to learn more about your users and engage with them. What does that look like? It could be listening to sales and customer support calls, looking at customer feedback surveys, participating in events and communities or something as simple as commenting on LinkedIn.𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - If you are driven by the inside, your tactics (and metrics) will improve. If you are producing value, users should engage with you, give you feedback, and want to do business with you. | |||
| 27 Aug 2024 | Brand Value in B2B SaaS | 00:05:10 | |
“A manufacturer whose plant is estimated to be worth about two million dollars recently remarked : "If I were forced to choose between sacrificing my plant and the good-will which this company has established thru continuous advertising for the last twenty years, I should willingly say, ' Burn down the plant . I can obtain capital to rebuild it tomorrow, because our advertising has created a demand which has a bankable value and will bring new capital . '” This is a passage from a textbook called ‘Advertising Campaigns’ written by Mac Martin in 1917. It is hard to imagine a mid-sized B2B SaaS CEO today reaching a similar conclusion. I have no idea if the manufacturer’s brand was worth more than the plant, but I do know the concept that a brand has actual value is rarely expressed by SaaS CEOs today. Having worked with many different B2B SaaS companies I have never had a CEO assign value to their brand. A few CEOs might say we need to improve our brand or increase brand awareness, but they wouldn’t have an answer if asked what their brand was worth. Yet in 1917, the manufacturer was very aware of the value of his brand. Why does it matter if a CEO knows that their brand has value? It matters because if they don't see the value, it will affect investment decisions. While a CEO will never have to choose between burning down a factory or maintaining the brand, the same decision is made writ small with every budgeting decision. Do we add or take money from brand? Without understanding value, it is easier not to invest in brand because the impact seems illusory. Two examples that highlight that a brand has real value: 1. Warren Buffet invested in Coca-Cola in 1988 because he saw its brand value as a moat 2. Research shows that large and growing brands continue to grow for a time after stopping advertising Three takeaways: - Your brand has value: It is important to realize that your brand is more than how your company is perceived, it has an actual value. Imagine there were two SaaS companies in a category that were similar in almost every way, but every prospect in the category was familiar with one of the companies, but very few were familiar with the other. Which company is worth more? - Think about brand Investment: When making investment decisions it is important to understand the value of brand is more than the measurable impact it has on current sales or perceptions. An investment in brand is also an investment in future growth. - Brand is bigger than advertising - Investment decisions on brand are about more than just whether you should increase or decrease your advertising spend. It is important to think about brand impact in other areas as well. Over 100 years ago it was understood that brand had a value and that is still understood among many consumer good companies today, but it seems like the lesson has never been learned for many in B2B SaaS. | |||
| 22 May 2024 | 5/21/24: Should marketers shift budget from technology to customer experience, interactive demos for the win, and how you can prompt AI to do much more than write terrible blog posts | 00:14:08 | |
Tom Morton looks at the new Gartner CMO survey and has a couple of key takeaways:
Adam Holmgren says that GetAccept has a new revenue driver and it is interactive demos. Key data points:
Mike Taylor shows how you can train AI to do so much more than just write a blog post. In his article, he follows five steps to train AI to be increasingly effective in identifying spam comments. | |||
| 03 Oct 2024 | How to Build a Distinctive B2B Brand (And the Popular Advice That Keeps You From Doing It) | 00:05:30 | |
Building a distinctive brand is crucial for being easily identifiable to customers and prospects. But there's some misguided advice out there about how to do it. The common advice is that we need distinctive brand assets (DBAs). But our goal shouldn't be to build distinctive assets - it should be to build a distinctive brand. Here's the reality: B2B brands rarely achieve individual distinctive brand assets. Research from the B2B Institute shows that in the CRM category, only Microsoft's logo qualifies as a distinctive brand asset. Not even Salesforce or HubSpot have managed this feat. In their research, the only B2B brands that have created truly distinctive individual assets are Google, Microsoft, and Amazon - giants that are also consumer brands. Research: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/brand-assets-are-important-in-b2b-marketing/? The Truth About Brand Distinctiveness As Nick Liddell points out in his terrific LinkedIn article: "...it’s much more helpful and realistic to think about how your brand elements work collectively to create fame and uniqueness, rather than obsessing about wringing as much fame or uniqueness as possible from each individual element." Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/brand-strategists-toolkit-25-distinctive-assets-grid-nick-liddell/ Despite this reality, thinking about distinctive brand assets remains valuable. B2B brands often suffer from being too safe and similar. Approaching asset development with the idea that we want to create assets that could be famous and unique will push you to be bolder and more distinct.
One final note (and a piece of constructive feedback for Haris): always include your brand name. Distinctiveness makes your brand recognizable, but if people don’t associate it with your company, it won’t drive business. When I went to write this post, I remembered Haris's brand but not his name—it took effort to find him. Prospects won't do that. The Challenge of Individual Distinctive Assets | |||
| 24 Sep 2024 | When Data Leads to Bad Decisions | 00:05:56 | |
There’s a famous quote often attributed to W. Edwards Deming: “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” Pretty catchy, and it’s a mindset many of us default to. But Kevin Gray nails it better: “With data, you’re just another person with an opinion. Data by themselves have no meaning.” https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hard-hat-stats-some-common-uncommon-sense-june-23-2024-kevin-gray-gegwc/ One of the hardest jobs for a CEO is determining what opinion on the data is correct. Two recent stories showcase this challenge: Amazon’s massive losses on smart devices and Nike’s recent struggles as part of a data-driven pivot. These stories are intriguing, but I’m more interested in how the decisions behind them were made. In an article by Dana Mattioli, Amazon’s continued investment (and losses) in smart devices were driven by a metric called "downstream impact" (DSI). This internal measure aimed to track how a product influenced spending across Amazon’s ecosystem but had significant flaws, including double-counting revenue. Why bet so much on DSI? It was developed by a team that included a Nobel laureate—in a world of opinions on data, this team would have a strong argument. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dana-mattioli-7b09779_alexa-is-in-millions-of-householdsand-amazon-activity-7221495240203866112-b8_I/ Another example is highlighted by Massimo Giunco’s recent article on Nike which breaks down three critical decisions by CEO John Donahue that have hurt Nike: - Eliminating categories from the organization (brand, product development, and sales). - Becoming a DTC-led company, moving away from wholesale. - Centralizing and digitizing marketing, making it heavily data-driven. Nike used data science to help make these decisions. The result? Nike has lost billions in market cap, its share price has hit lows not seen since 2018 and it now has a new CEO. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nike-epic-saga-value-destruction-massimo-giunco-llplf/ Both articles point out that data played a key role in these strategic choices. If data is the Holy Grail of decision-making, how did these decisions go so wrong? It’s clear that data alone isn’t enough. What does this mean for CEOs and marketing? Marketing teams are flooded with data yet still make poor choices—pursuing ineffective growth strategies, wasting money on unproductive marketing channels, and rolling out initiatives that damaged the customer experience. So what can CEOs do? Before making significant marketing decisions, make sure your team addresses these points: - Ensure the decision aligns with your company’s vision and principles. - Explain how it supports customer needs and enhances the experience. - Present opposing viewpoints. - Define how success will be measured using real numbers, not vanity metrics. - Set clear goals and decision criteria upfront. If these steps don’t lead to clarity, you have to trust your gut. | |||
| 14 May 2024 | 5/14/24: Critical Update for Email, AI Will Require a Different Approach to Content, A Hot Pub in London Has Great Growth Lessons, The Law of Double Jeopardy Says Retention Isn’t a Growth Strategy | 00:14:56 | |
Critical update from Pasha Irshad on how to maintain your email health Nathan Thompson Head of Content Strategy at Copy.ai says AI is going to require a different approach to content Shane O Leary shares growth lessons from a pub in London that is one of hottest spots in the world Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s Professor Jenni Romaniuk says customer acquisition is the only way to grow and an introduction to the Law of Double Jeopardy https://www.marketingweek.com/customer-acquisition-growth-strategy-b2b/ | |||
| 03 Sep 2024 | The Shibumi Shade Shows How to Run the Challenger Playbook to Grow Your Business | 00:12:44 | |
How did three entrepreneurs grow Shibumi to $75 million in sales with almost no advertising? They followed the challenger playbook almost to perfection. Here’s how they did it: - Differentiate based on customer needs and competitor weaknesses. - Be the best in the world where you differentiate. - Validate your product-market fit through word of mouth and emotional resonance. - Build a distinctive brand and product. - Capture your competitors' customers as you grow. - Continuously improve what you do best. - Expand by entering adjacent markets. These steps can work for almost any challenger brand. If you’re wondering whether your company could leverage marketing more effectively, feel free to reach out. Article: https://slate.com/life/2024/07/shibumi-shade-beach-cover-north-carolina.html | |||