Marketing Spark

07/04/2024

If you're tired of attending tech events where it's hard, if not impossible, to meet new people, here's something different.

On July 18 in Toronto, Nicole Klug and I are hosting a 50-person event designed to spark new connections and opportunities.

The top is AI and Marketing so a lot talk about.

More details here:

Where thoughtful conversations lead to genuine connections.

06/13/2024

Late notice, but I'm doing a free workshop today at noon EST on how to make your B2B SaaS homepages more engaging and conversion-friendly.

Although focused on B2B SaaS, it's also about Website and homepage design fundamentals.

Register here--->

Prospects decide in seconds if you're product matters to them. If the messaging, copy, navigation, design or calls-to-action fail to make an impact, people…

06/04/2024

It's hard to believe but when people land on your Website, they'll decide in seconds whether your company or product is relevant.

If not, they'll quickly click away and never come back.

On June 13 at noon EST, I'm doing a virtual workshop on how to turn your homepage into an engaging and conversion-friendly machine.

Register here:

Prospects decide in seconds if you're product matters to them. If the messaging, copy, navigation, design or calls-to-action fail to make an impact, people…

11/16/2023

This workshop is a must-attend for entrepreneurs and marketers eager to make their brands pop in a competitive market.

It's not just about listening; it's about doing. You'll be actively involved in creating and refining your brand's positioning and messaging.

By the end of the session, you'll walk away with inspiration and rock-solid ideas to make your brand more engaging and attractive to your ideal customers.

This workshop is a must-attend for entrepreneurs and marketers eager to make their brands pop in a competitive market. It's not just about listening; it's about doing. You'll be actively...

11/06/2023

08/05/2023

Marketers aren't magicians.

They can't instantly develop successful campaigns.

Yet many CEOs are frustrated when marketing doesn't instantly perform.

For many SaaS products, marketing is a slow-burn activity underpinned by clear positioning, strong brands, focused marketing, and happy customers.

Overnight success is rare. Campaigns that go viral are unicorns.

It's hard for marketing to put lipstick on a pig (aka a bad or uncompetitive product).

This is particularly relevant during challenging economic conditions when demand is softer, and priorities shift from growth to controlling costs.

It is harder for marketing to generate short-term results because prospects aren't ready to make purchases.

But investing in marketing is still important and necessary, so you'll be part of the consideration set when prospects are ready.

This five-minute whiteboard video by Rand Fishkin talks about the realities of marketing and how marketing doesn't equal sales.

It's smart and pragmatic advice for any CEO who believes marketers can perform magic.

CEO/Sales Leader: "Hey marketing team! We're behind on our quarterly sales goals and only have 3 weeks left. Do some marketing why doncha?! Crank up them

04/17/2023

Being different matters when it comes to branding and messaging.

But how different does your brand or product need to be?

Too little, and you'll blend into the crowd.

Too much, and you'll be seen as too far of a reach.

It's important to be different, but customers need to believe you.

Your story needs to be relatable, realistic and relevant.

So, how far do you push the envelope?

The answer: it depends.

Being moderately different may be enough in markets in which no competitor stands out.

The online accounting market, for example, is teeming with positioning around "all-in-one" or "effortlessly organize your books."

But it screams for a company to embrace creativity and boldness to rise above the fray.

In highly competitive markets, dynamic companies may want to be markedly different.

You need to discover the thing that helps you stand out and, at the same time, align with how your product delivers value to the customers that you want to attract.

A few straightforward ways to discover how you're different:

• Conduct a competitive audit. Identify direct and indirect competitors and dive into their Website messaging and marketing collateral.

• Reach out to prospects and customers. They'll tell you how you're different, or they don't see you as different but bought your product based on price or via a recommendation.

• Talk to employees up and down the organization. They'll provide various perspectives based on their experiences with the product and customers.

Being different is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you're vanilla ice cream competing against Ben & Jerry's.
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I've launched a live, cohort-based course (via Maven) on how to create brand positioning that makes an impact. It starts on May 9.

Positioning is a must-have, not a nice-to-have, because it underpins your business: marketing, sales, product development and HR.

02/23/2022

What was it like to work with Michael Dubin when he was getting Dollar Shave Club off the ground?

On the latest episode of the Marketing Spark podcast, Dave Fink talks about Dubin's creativity, enthusiasm, and perfect timing.

A key part of Dollar Shave Club's success was tapping into the direct-to-consumer model just as it was starting to emerge.

As important, the social media landscape was less noisy, which played a key role in Dollar Shave Club's iconic video going viral.

Fink is now CEO of Postie, which helps brand embrace the power of direct mail marketing, which is a $61-billion global market.

Listen to our conversation:

‎Show Marketing Spark (The B2B SaaS Marketing Podcast), Ep Exploring the World of Direct Mail Marketing - Feb 23, 2022

02/17/2022

Every market has fierce competition.

It makes strategic positioning more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and establish how you're unique.

On Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. EST, I'm doing a live podcast with Full Funnel on why strategic positioning matters and how to create positioning that makes an impact.

Join me and Mark Evans, CEO Spark talking about developing a strategic positioning for B2B tech companies. We'll cover: Positioning red flags or how to identify your...

12/11/2021

Cold outreach sucks.

And it’s only exacerbated by sales and business development reps who spend their days dialling and emailing so-called prospects.

SDRs and BDRs are expensive and, let’s be honest, not effective.

But for many B2B SaaS companies, they’re a blunt instrument to turn prospects into customers.

What would happen if B2B SaaS companies did less cold outreach and, instead, did more and better marketing?

Rather than annoying prospects who gave an email address, do marketing and sales that educate and engage so prospects come to you.

B2B SaaS companies need to take a hard look at how they spend money to attract and win customers.

Is the current model working? If not, what’s the better approach?

Today’s customers are well educated, they do their research, solicit recommendations, and they decide when they want to engage.

BDRs and SDRs are an out-of-date approach. What they do doesn’t align with what customers want or how they make purchases.

Modern marketing is about embracing a buyer-centric sales and marketing mix that generates better prospects.

For more insight into the future of B2B SaaS marketing and sales, listen to my Marketing Spark podcast interview with Nelson Gilliat

Listen to this episode from Marketing Spark (The B2B SaaS Marketing Podcast) on Spotify. Many B2B marketers are throttled by the need to generate MQLs. Their campaigns and activities are measured by how many email addresses are collected and fed to an army of business development and sales reps. Nel...

11/12/2021

Want a “hack” to make it easier to create content.

Don’t think about it. Just do it.

The best content often happens when you’re inspired, excited, and instigated.

They emerge when you’re listening to a podcast, reading an article, playing sports, while you’re showering, or walking the dog.

They are ideas begging to be crafted and shared.

To capitalize on them, I would recommend two approaches:

1. Write them immediately. Don’t worry about the grammar or quality. Just get it out of your head and onto paper. The faster the idea gets out of your head, the better.

After the initial editorial burst, there’s time to enhance, research, and polish.

2. Create a content marketing idea repository

In the book “Storyworthy”, Matthew Dicks says a key to storytelling success is capturing ideas on a regular basis.

Dicks recommends an approach called “Homework for Life”, which involves writing down story ideas at the end of each day.

If you did that every day, there would be no lack of content ideas in the pipeline.

As much as you need to create content, let it flow rather than force it out. Let the words rumble out.

As marketers, there’s too much of a focus on production rather than idea generation. It’s why many marketers lean heavily on SEO tools

How do you generate and capture ideas for content?

More: I’m exploring the idea of doing a monthly ask-me-anything (about marketing) season via Zoom. Let me know if you’re interested.

11/11/2021

I'm going to be in Ottawa next week for the SaaS North conference.

Needless to say, I'm excited to be attending an in-person conference for the first time in what seems like forever.

I'm going to SaaS North with a client, eLabs Inc.

Over the past 10 months, I've helped eLabs reposition its business to focus on the fast-growing subscription market.

eLabs offers a robust subscription invoicing and billing platform that automates many processes.

If you're at SaaS North and want to connect, let's connect.