The Versatile Marketing Leader: A Startup's Secret to Success
In the ever-shifting landscape of startups, marketing takes center stage in the pursuit of growth and profit. For tech startups constrained with limited resources and pressured to rapidly adapt to a changing landscape, having a marketing executive who not only formulates a strategic vision but also actively rolls up her sleeves to bring it to life is nothing short of essential. In this article, I'll delve into the myriad ways startups stand to gain from such an adaptable and dynamic marketing leader.
The Role of a Marketing Executive
A marketing executive should craft a meticulously defined marketing strategy that seamlessly aligns with the company's overarching goals. This person needs to possess the ability to see the big picture and develop forward-thinking, long-term plans that align with the company’s objectives while communicating them effectively to all stakeholders.
This person will be successful at harnessing the power of both her left and right brain. Most people think of marketers as right-brain dominant (creative, artistic, and imaginative enough to tell stories). While these are imperative qualities for someone writing marketing content and developing visual designs, a competent marketing executive also needs to have significant left-brain skills: analytics, strategic problem solving, organization, project management, and financial/budget management.
With this diverse mix of skills, a marketing executive can build a comprehensive marketing strategy by doing the following:
· Market Research and Competitive Analysis – Pinpointing opportunities and threats in the marketplace, and outlining product positioning for the benefit of analysts and the customers who trust them.
· Identifying Target Audiences – Defining the ideal customer profile (ICP) based on customer data and customizing segmentation strategies to cater to their unique needs.
· Curating Poignant Value Propositions – Developing a compelling message that sets the startup apart from its competitors while also speaking to the pain points of target personas, whether speaking to the business decision maker or end user/influencer.
· Budget Allocation and Resource Planning – Efficiently allocating resources to maximize return on investment (ROI) and fueling the journey toward success.
· Setting Clear Objectives and Goals – Defining success through specific, measurable, and achievable objectives, using key performance indicators (KPIs) as benchmarks, then course correcting tactics to improve on those outcomes via data-driven decisions.
· Selecting Appropriate Marketing Channels – Strategically choosing the most effective channels for reaching and engaging the target audience. Typically, this involves a combination of many channels to develop integrated marketing campaigns.
· Innovation – Generating inventive ideas and novel approaches to surmount marketing challenges, particularly in the era of automation and AI.
· Project Management and Leadership – Expertly managing campaigns, deadlines, and resources with efficiency and precision. Creating a marketing engine that is a “well-oiled machine” ready to accelerate when the time comes to grow the team, and then being able to delegate and inspire when specialists come on board.
The Value of An Experienced Marketer with a Bias Towards Action
Through the years, I’ve spoken to numerous entrepreneurs that want to kickstart their marketing activities with a few tactical activities to test the water. This might work to gain some datapoints as a frame of reference, but for the most part, without a strategic approach, the company is throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks. That means gambling with limited resources. One could argue that all marketing activities will be an experiment in the beginning, but the value a marketing executive provides is that educated approach – justification for the activities selected with a forecasted ROI. A more junior associate may be very proficient at acting on those plans but might struggle to decide which direction to take with the rationale to back it up.
Startups must be nimble enough to move quickly as the business evolves and the company receives funding. A marketing executive who has agility and can quickly make decisions empowers the team to pivot with changing market conditions. That deep understanding of the marketplace provides invaluable insights into customer behavior and preferences, equipping the startup to adapt swiftly. A marketing executive conducting end-to-end campaign management, can control all elements of those activities because of intimate involvement in each.
“A marketing executive who has agility and can quickly make decisions empowers the team to pivot with changing market conditions. That deep understanding of the marketplace provides invaluable insights into customer behavior and preferences, equipping the startup to adapt swiftly.”
At the beginning of a startup’s path to success, it would cost more for a marketing executive to onboard and explain processes to a junior associate or external vendor than it would for her to directly establish foundational assets and systems that serve as the framework for all motions to follow. Once momentum is established, a growing team and vendors can follow plans and processes that have been laid out by the marketing executive. Furthermore, outsourcing the implementation of such foundational strategies means ultimately losing the tribal knowledge that comes with the process of establishing those rudimentary principles when external vendors are exchanged for in-house personnel.
Lastly, a marketing executive that is hands-on builds relationships with customers and partners, interfacing with them to gain invaluable market and product research. Nurturing a rapport with customers allows for a direct line of feedback to improve products and subsequent marketing content.
A few examples of known brands where founding marketers were willing to get their hands dirtied with tactical execution are:
· Airbnb: Jonathan Mildenhall, Airbnb's CMO, played a pivotal role in building the brand through innovative marketing campaigns and hands-on execution.
· Dropbox: Sean Ellis, Head of Marketing at Dropbox, blended a growth hacking approach with strategic thinking, resulting in massive user acquisition.
· HubSpot: Kipp Bodnar, VP of Marketing at HubSpot, is renowned for his ability to harmonize strategy and hands-on execution, driving inbound marketing success.
These leaders saw the gravitas of implementing new strategies effectively and stepped in to help get them done right. To flourish in this dynamic environment, a marketing executive who excels in both strategy creation and hands-on execution is a treasured asset. By comprehending the distinctive challenges that startups face and embracing the benefits of this dual role, you can position your startup for marketing success and sustainable growth.
I personally have been praised by CEOs for my quick “time-to-market,” i.e. figuring out a strategy and implementing it in record time. My philosophy is to build a solid marketing foundation upon which the rest of the marketing structure can be added. Using that framework as a guide, my team and I can ideate on numerous campaign designs that help the company achieve its goals.
About the Author
Allison has an international MBA in marketing and entrepreneurialism, and has built her career on developing strategic marketing plans. By working with Microsoft for nearly a decade, she honed corporate marketing skills before transitioning to the startup world to help companies grow brand recognition and subsequently revenue. There, she explored various SaaS industries including cybersecurity, DevSecOps, telematics, and industrial IoT (IIoT). All of these industries leverage automation, machine learning, predictive analytics, and various forms of data management. It has been Allison’s pleasure to bring these powerful tools to light and watch as companies grow their business.
Visit her on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/AllisonQDurbin
