Extreme Marketing: How to Succeed When It's All On the Line
As many of you know, I am a founder turned 18-year marketing leader who has helped countless startups grow 2x-3x each year. In a country where 90% fail, I've had to learn to operate in extreme conditions.
There were times in my career when I got hired as a last-ditch effort. Money's dried up. Pipeline has fallen off a cliff. I know that to survive and grow, a business MUST have multiple, direct, cost-effective channels to in-market buyers.
Many companies have great products and services, but are misaligned and don't know how to reach and inspire their best buyers. Today, I'll share with you how I address this challenge.
Know who you are and why you matter (now).
Who you are plays a role in who you'll attract.
Talk to internal stakeholders (department leaders, frontline salespeople and customer success) in order to better understand your company's DNA and purpose.
Research your market and the competition to identify your Role, Relevance and Value in the context of today's market.
Pay attention to what makes you special compared to the competition.
Be clear about who you are for and what they can achieve with your help.
When time is short and money is tight, you cannot afford to waste time on anything but your best buyers.
Whose cause are you ready to take up?
What are the outcomes you've helped others just like them achieve?
Explore the community around your best buyers.
Knowing how to reach and influence buyers is central to your success.
Interview your best buyers.
Identify the sources that influence them most.
Ask great questions like: How do they come to discover products and services like yours and what can you do to reach more people like them?
Align your sales and marketing efforts.
According to WBR Insights, "B2B buyers are nearly 70% through their buying research before ever contacting your company." This is why it is important to start by leveraging Marketing as your visual salesforce (selling with words and pictures).
Position the company with messages that resonate with your best buyers.
Unify sales and marketing around a single set of processes and tools.
Do outreach together, in tandem using multi-touch, reinforced approaches.
Track to the same set of performance metrics like qualified meetings, proposals, closes, account growth, retention and customer lifetime value.
When you go-to-market, start with channels that get you closest to your buyers.
You must meet people where they are.
Test the channels and messages that are best based on the insights you gleaned.
Communicate through influential co-workers, counterparts (at other companies), existing vendors, thought leaders and analysts.
Consider channels like live events, communities, podcasts, associations and direct mail.
Consider adding a layer of intent data so as to not waste time on buyers who are not in-market.
Pursue quality interactions, no compromises.
Trust is essential to relationships and how you show up says a lot about your intentions and integrity.
Leverage introductions from trusted partners, influencers and mutual connections.
Slow down and do the work to prepare for conversations: Who are they? What do they care about? What problems are they facing?
Focus on the relationship - having a good rapport, being a resource, and adding value at every touchpoint.
No one wants to fail. The approaches I have recommended (above), I've utilized many times in my career to extend the lifeline of companies and help resurrect their sales. While this approach is helpful in extreme situations, it's just as powerful when applied prior to a crisis. I hope it will aid you in whichever situation you find yourself in as a business leader.
