By Pranjalee Lahri | 15 March 2024
6 marketing must-dos for all B2B founders
I work with companies across the growth spectrum – from very early stage start-ups to 15+ year bootstrapped companies.
If there is one similarity amongst all, it is: their hunger to grow.
Yes, the MO of a bootstrapped company is quite different to its start-up counterpart but no matter which side of the lane you are at, the core marketing fundamentals remain unchanged.
So, if you are a Founder, CEO or a founding marketer, BEFORE you consider kickstarting your marketing engine, do this:
1. Fix your website
I call this the ‘Leaky bucket syndrome’. Companies launch head-first into digital marketing only to have a website that doesn’t attract, engage and convert users. So much for the efforts and dollars spent! Even if you are operating in a conservative industry with low/no digital footprint, today’s buyer journey is non-linear – zigging and zagging between online and physical worlds.
Solution: Messaging, SEO, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), integration with marketing automation/ CRM tools – are some basic website checks for inbound readiness.
2. Identify your GTM strategy
B2B SaaS companies typically follow one or a combination of these go-to-market strategies:
- Product Led Growth (PLG) – think free trial, freemium
- Sales Led Growth (SLG) – think outbound, relationship-based, consultative selling
- Marketing Led Growth (SLG) – think inbound, digital marketing
- Partner Led Growth – think collaborating with complementary providers of services/ products, or OEMs or consulting firms
- Founder Led Growth – think the Founder/ CEO driving majority of brand awareness and leads
Hybrid approaches typically manifest as companies using one primary GTM motion and other to scale/ accelerate it. Example: using PLG to drive initial customer acquisition and then using SLG to drive expansion and upselling.
Solution: Get a clear understanding of:
- Your target market segment (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
- Ease of use of your product (can users truly self-serve with minimal tooltips and nudges?)
- Buying process and buying committee (how much does relationship and influence work?)
- ACV (is it a small or substantial investment?)
- Complexity of solution (does it need solutioning?)
This should help in identifying the right GTM strategy for your business.
3. Detail out the lead nurture and handoff process
Even if you have got #1 and #2 covered, without clear ownership of duties and process operationalization, your hard-earned leads could face the ultimate fate: drop off due to negligence in handling.
Solution: If you have nailed your positioning, messaging and targeting, the best way to handle inbound “Demo and Pricing” leads is by passing them directly to AEs (get a calendar integration done to make the CX even more frictionless). But you can’t treat other leads coming from Trial, eBooks, Case Studies etc. in the same way. Design automated nurture sequences, involve Inside Sales for additional reachouts, use lead scoring mechanisms to gauge the ripeness and rightness of the lead before passing it to Sales.
4. Build your sales enablement arsenal
Image this: You have set out to purchase a high value item but don’t get the required documentation/ proof to commit the dollar investment? This is exactly what your prospects face when they have raised their hand (high-intent leads) for talking to you and you don’t have the right collaterals to support them on their purchase journey.
Solution: Gong calls or a rudimentary route of “attending Sales demo” will help you identify commonly asked objections, documents, proof points etc. Use this insight to build a repository of collaterals that your Inside Sales and Sales can use to fast-track the customer journey down-funnel.
5. Define the big picture
Without a clear understanding of the larger business goal, many companies make bets on short-term plays (like Google PPC ads for demo/ trial) while ignoring the long-term initiatives (like brand building, organic marketing). Myopic goals result into myopic returns.
Solution: Say your business goal is to grow 3x over the next 2 years. With a 6-7 month sales cycle for your target Enterprise segment, your marketing plan needs to account for lead gen as well as pipeline building. This includes both paid and organic marketing, digital and offline marketing – oftentimes an integrated, multi-touchpoint, multithreaded approach.
6. Be where your buyers are
It’s natural for founders to get overwhelmed with the plethora of marketing channels out there. What transpires thereafter is a half-baked, non-sustainable run in multiple directions that drains the budgets and efforts, with less than appealing ROI.
Solution: Ground your answer to “do I need to invest in LinkedIn marketing or events or whatever” in a deep understanding of your ideal customer profile (ICP). Conduct customer research on your existing client base to uncover these insights.