31 Quick Questions and Answers...
...about Running Your Earlyish Stage B2B Marketing Program
Hello Gobbledeers,
I wanted to try something a little different today.
Rather than just talking about messaging, language, ridiculous insurance ads about death and boxes of cereal written by product marketing, I thought we could zoom out a bit and talk about how to handle marketing at a software startup.
Marketing at later stage software companies is much more about building out the operational piece - I find this far less interesting, and there are lots and lots of people who are wayyyyyyy better at it than me*
(*I will deny writing that when I’m interviewing at Adobe).
I’ve had (and read) so many discussions about early stage marketing and how to prioritize getting stuff done that I thought it would be useful to give a little guide on how to think about the decisions you need to make when there’s fewer than 5 of you in the marketing department.
With that, the team at Gobbledy brings you 31 Quick Questions and Answers to Running Your Earlyish Stage B2B Marketing Program.
1) I’m building out the marketing team. Who’s my first hire?
Product Marketing, because all that matters in the beginning is telling people why your product is better than whatever they’re currently doing (or will make whatever they’re doing better).
2) So hiring a Product Marketing Manager is the first thing I should do?
No. Positioning is the first thing you should do. Everything comes from positioning.
3) People throw the word “positioning” around. What are you referring to?
Who, exactly, is your product for and why is it better than the alternatives. Defining the alternatives is important.
4) Why is that the first thing? Shouldn’t I just start writing about the product?
Because for your first 2 years everything you do should be explaining only to the people your product is for why it’s better than the alternatives. Remember to define the alternatives.
5) Why do you keep saying “define the alternatives”?
Because if you don’t define who you’re competing against, you won’t be happy with who your prospects think you’re competing against. It doesn’t have to be a company - it can be “apathy” or “manual work” or “banks” or “waiting for a taxi.” In fact, conceptual competitors are better than specific companies.
6) Some people say I should hire a content marketer first.
Those people aren’t wrong, but they’re also not correct. You should hire the PMM and give them 2 months to figure out why the product is better than the alternatives, specifically for your target segment. Then you can hire a content marketer to write blog posts and one-pagers and white papers and eBooks and whatnot 100% focused on what the PMM says are the differentiators.
7) That’s a lot of stuff for the Content person. What should they focus on?
They should write on-site content to build up SEO. Forget what I said about white papers and eBooks for now. You can compile the SEO-friendly content into an eBook later.
8) Can’t we hire an SEO agency later?
No. Any company that hires an SEO agency “later” has already lost any chance at getting organic traffic. Organic traffic is the gift that keeps on giving.
9) So how do I start an SEO program?
That’s the wrong question. The right question is “How do I build a content strategy around winning SEO?” The answer to that is - take the 5 key product differentiators your PMM comes up with, then think about your target segment and then list every question they could conceivably ask where your product differentiator is the answer.
Then start writing.
10) When should I start worrying about branding?
I used to think it was from day 1, but I’ve changed my mind (I’m flexible!). The beginning should be all about telling everyone who you’re for and why it’s better. I’ve found that early stage companies tend to get too cute with their branding and then they sound like 2 people starting something in their dorm room (as I wrote about here). You can re-brand later.
11) Should I run marketing ideas by our partners?
Never. Your partners have no idea. Unless you want to sound like your worst partner.
12) What’s the correct number of words?
Fewer words are always better than more words. Except sometimes. If you’ve ready any of my 712 columns about Volkswagen ads, sometimes more is more.
13) Why do heads of marketing get fired so often?
Because they’re focused on marketing metrics that justify what they’re doing without showing how they’re driving revenue.
14) But measuring and reporting MQLs is important. It shows how marketing is contributing.
That’s like sales reporting on the amount of steak they’ve bought for prospects, because steak dinners lead to meetings which lead to contracts. It’s true, but it’s stupid.
15) So MQLs are like dinner at Ruth’s Chris?
Yes, but without the steak. Or in my case, fish.
16) So what should marketing report on?
How many meetings were generated.
17) So don’t track MQLs?
You can track whatever you want to track to help you make marketing decisions. But don’t talk about those things outside of the marketing team (unless you’re asked for some reason. The first rule of marketing club…).
18) What should marketing work on next?
Probably what you’re working on now, only more. Own 1 channel and spend 80% of your effort there.
19) What channel should that be?
I have no idea. I wouldn’t have told ZipRecruiter to buy all the podcast inventory it could buy, but that worked for them.
20) But podcast advertising is expensive.
I didn’t say to buy podcast advertising. I said find 1 channel and own 90% of the share of voice there.
21) Why don’t sales and marketing leaders get along?
Who said they don’t get along?
22) Um, everyone?
It’s because sales leaders are trying to sell stuff, and marketing leaders spend a lot of their time talking about content syndication and attribution and how to define MGLs, MQLs, SALs, SQLs and other things people outside of marketing don’t care about.
23) Aren’t those things important?
Sure. Also, no. Marketing leaders should go back to point 1 - positioning. They need to position the marketing department. Who is the target market? The sales team. What’s the alternative to the current marketing team? Firing the CMO and bringing in someone new. Why are you better than the alternative? Because you generate more meetings than some other CMO who used to run marketing for a division at Salesforce.
24) How do I get more case studies?
Every contract from day 1 should have “you’ll do a case study for us” in it. Sales should be told they can trade away nearly everything else to close a deal, but they shouldn’t remove the case study clause unless they’ll lose the deal over it.
25) It’s better to get a case study than more revenue from the contract?
Absolutely. Every prospect wants to see a case study that’s as close as possible to however they define themselves. That Estonian bird seed company you’ve been pitching will ask for case studies from other Estonian bird seed companies. Maybe they’ll settle for Lithuanian bird seed. Maybe.
26) Should I run my new website/positioning/messaging by an analyst?
No. Analysts are good at analyzing what’s happening in the market and putting some structure around it. They are not good at helping you with your website/positioning/messaging (I’m a former analyst).
27) Can you give me some tips on how to re-design our website and have everyone in the company on board with the new site?
No.
28) That’s kinda nihilist, isn’t it?
Maybe? Re-doing a website is possibly the most thankless job in B2B marketing. If you do what you think is best and roll it out without everyone’s buy-in, you will get fired (or at least I got fired - in part - for that). If you ask for everyone’s buy-in, you’ll end up with a lowest common denominator pile of garbage and you should just stick with what ya got. It’s a lose/lose. Sorry.
29) So what should I do if we have to re-do our website? It sounds like both options are terrible.
You should do what you think is best, then ask forgiveness after, but know that it’s possible you won’t be working there at the end of the process.
30) Whaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!
I know. Turns out being a CMO is difficult.
31) Once I’ve been fired, how to I make sure it’s better next time?
In the interview process, tell people what they’re getting by hiring YOU. Everyone else they’re interviewing has positioning experience, messaging experience, demand gen experience. Why are they hiring YOU? What’s your brand? Don’t be afraid of telling the prospective employer what your brand is. Then when you get there, live up to your brand. B2B CMOs often feel like they have little control of their situation (often because the relationship with sales and the CEO aren’t as strong as they’d like). Own your personal brand. Live your personal brand. You know what you’re doing. When you’re interviewing, YOU’RE doing the selling, not the company. You’re selling your brand. If the company wants to buy that, fantastic. If they don’t, you dodged a bullet. But when they hire you, live that brand.
I feel I should give credit where’s it’s due - in 2013 Techcrunch published an article called “The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Starting and Running Your Business” that’s 50 quick questions and answers about how to start and run your business (well yes, obviously). It still holds up, and after you read today’s newsletter (and recommend it to your friends and colleagues) you should go read that.
Readers’ Corner
This week, I’m the reader and I’m sharing something that has nothing to do with gobbledy at all. I just watched Ali Saddiq’s comedy special Domino Effect on Youtube. Besides being funny as hell, it’s a masterclass in storytelling. Listen for how he drops details into the story early on that show up later. Yes, it’s standup. But it’s brilliant storytelling - a skill that’s incredibly difficult to pull off, whether in standup or software marketing.
Disagree with the 31 things? Let me know in the comments. Or even better, share with your colleagues and tell them how wrong this idiot is who writes this newsletter.