Welcome to the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks podcast. This series is dedicated to helping you become an expert in marketing so you can grow your software company's revenues quickly and set the foundation for long term marketing growth. Each week, we'll bring you short-form strategic and tactical concepts that you can adopt into your own playbook right away. Lessons

B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks

1 - Introducing B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks

This episode answers the question "How do I prioritize my marketing initiatives"? First, do a gut check. What's the status of your current marketing function? Then, ask how your marketing team can get closer to revenue and reduce funnel friction.Additional resources:

Dave Gerhardt - the "get closer to revenue" guy

Marketing is like driving a car - an article by Stijn Hendrikse

This episode answers the question "How do I prioritize my marketing initiatives"? First, do a gut check. What's the status of your current marketing function? Then, ask how your marketing team can get closer to revenue and reduce funnel friction.Additional resources:<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/">Dave Gerhardt</a> - the "get closer to revenue" guy</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.kalungi.com/blog/marketing-execution-or-driving-a-car">Marketing is like driving a car</a> - an article by Stijn Hendrikse</li>
</ul>

2 - What are your marketing priorities? Where do you start?

To make decisions about where and how you deploy and focus your teams, you need to answer the question: “where does our pipeline &amp; revenue come from?” Leadership ultimately has to decide who owns what part of revenue contribution, especially when you’re ramping up in the early stages. We identify that there are three main buckets where revenue can originate from: 
Relationships from sales organization (sales generated leads)
Outbound (prospecting and lead generation)
Inbound 
While marketing is usually a prime suspect in conversations when it comes to driving revenue, we posit the ideal mix is about ⅓ from each category — but those numbers can change depending on your market’s maturity and go-to-market strategy. Today we talk about all of this, including how to benchmark contributions, how to get started with attribution, tracking funnel stages, and common pitfalls as you’re starting to think about this (such as lacking data, or placing too much emphasis on one department). We also discuss our new offering, the T2D3 Masterclass. Designed for CMOs and marketing leaders (and anyone willing to learn), it’s a program that gives you everything you need to build, execute, and manage a complete go-to-market for your B2B SaaS company.

To make decisions about where and how you deploy and focus your teams, you need to answer the question: “where does our pipeline &amp; revenue come from?” Leadership ultimately has to decide who owns what part of revenue contribution, especially when you’re ramping up in the early stages. We identify that there are three main buckets where revenue can originate from: <ul>
<li>Relationships from sales organization (sales generated leads)</li>
<li>Outbound (prospecting and lead generation)</li>
<li>Inbound </li>
</ul>While marketing is usually a prime suspect in conversations when it comes to driving revenue, we posit the ideal mix is about ⅓ from each category — but those numbers can change depending on your market’s maturity and go-to-market strategy.  Today we talk about all of this, including how to benchmark contributions, how to get started with attribution, tracking funnel stages, and common pitfalls as you’re starting to think about this (such as lacking data, or placing too much emphasis on one department).  We also discuss our new offering, the <a href="https://www.t2d3.pro/b2b-saas-cmo-masterclass-marketing-certification">T2D3 Masterclass</a>. Designed for CMOs and marketing leaders (and anyone willing to learn), it’s a program that gives you everything you need to build, execute, and manage a complete go-to-market for your B2B SaaS company.

41 - What should marketing contribute to revenue?

Today’s topic comes from a user question on the T2D3 office hours voting app.“What should you look for in a new marketing leader? When should you bring marketing resources in house as you scale and at what level of seniority? […] When do you bring on the strategic marketing resource who helps you develop a true go to market?” It’s hard to bring on a marketing leader for an early stage (MVP) SaaS company. In the beginning, when getting to MVP, you need to answer critical strategic questions: What is your positioning? Who is your product for, and what is your product for? And more. These are questions your founder should ideally address. If you need to pull in outside help though, you must find someone who’s done it before; someone who understands the go-to-market options you have, and is strategic in thinking. Over time, as your growth stage changes, your marketing leader will change too. Once you’ve moved past MVP and are looking to get to PMF, the marketing leader you need is much more tactical. Then, once you’re looking for T2D3 growth, your leader should be strategic again. Today, we discuss all this, and go deep on how to hire the right people for your stage, including what interview questions to ask them, what they should know, and what they should do.  If you like this topic, check out a similar episode, episode 13. PMF checklist

Today’s topic comes from a user question on the <a href="https://www.t2d3.pro/office-hours-podcast">T2D3 office hours voting app</a>. “What should you look for in a new marketing leader? When should you bring marketing resources in house as you scale and at what level of seniority? […] When do you bring on the strategic marketing resource who helps you develop a true go to market?”  It’s hard to bring on a marketing leader for an early stage (MVP) SaaS company.  In the beginning, when getting to MVP, you need to answer critical strategic questions: What is your positioning? Who is your product for, and what is your product for? And more.  These are questions your founder should ideally address. If you need to pull in outside help though, you must find someone who’s done it before; someone who understands the go-to-market options you have, and is strategic in thinking.  Over time, as your growth stage changes, your marketing leader will change too. Once you’ve moved past MVP and are looking to get to PMF, the marketing leader you need is much more tactical. Then, once you’re looking for T2D3 growth, your leader should be strategic again.  Today, we discuss all this, and go deep on how to hire the right people for your stage, including what interview questions to ask them, what they should know, and what they should do.  If you like this topic, check out a similar episode, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/25t0pjOO090tSwiNbKMmBt?si=0935b48a00794734">episode 13</a>.  <a href="https://www.kalungi.com/blog/10-milestones-to-reach-product-market-fit">PMF checklist</a>

40 - When do you need a truly strategic marketing leader?

When and why should you or shouldn’t you partner with other companies? We tackle the 3 biggest factors you should look to when making a decision about whether to partner or not, and some of the potential risks and pitfalls. It’s very important to partner for the right reasons and at the right time—don’t start too early.

When and why should you or shouldn’t you partner with other companies?  We tackle the 3 biggest factors you should look to when making a decision about whether to partner or not, and some of the potential risks and pitfalls.  It’s very important to partner for the right reasons and at the right time—don’t start too early.

39 - When you should(n't) start channel partnerships

In today’s episode, Stijn discusses situational awareness as it relates to your go-to-market strategy. In other words, understanding your business’ stage in the T2D3 journey, as well as your market maturity, and how it affects your budget, pricing, and a number of other important factors in your GTM. Inside we provide examples, tactical advice, and stijn’s philosophy behind the framework.

In today’s episode, Stijn discusses situational awareness as it relates to your go-to-market strategy. In other words, understanding your business’ stage in the T2D3 journey, as well as your market maturity, and how it affects your budget, pricing, and a number of other important factors in your GTM.  Inside we provide examples, tactical advice, and stijn’s philosophy behind the framework.

38 - How to employ situational awareness as a go-to-market leader

Today we’re addressing a question from a member of our community about demand generation, and which channels to tackle first in your go-to-market. Our answer is simple: start with inbound. In our explanation, we discuss how to best approach inbound, why there is a need for it early on, as well as different channels and when and how they work best. During our time we also share with you our exciting new initiative. The content from today’s episode was taken directly from our new podcast, “Office Hours.” It’s an exclusive members only podcast hosted on T2D3.pro, where we answer community members' top voted questions in long form. Office Hours is also video recorded, which allows us to share graphics and content with you directly. It’s almost like having a fractional CMO in your pocket. You can learn more about it here.

Today we’re addressing a question from a member of our community about demand generation, and which channels to tackle first in your go-to-market.  Our answer is simple: start with inbound.  In our explanation, we discuss how to best approach inbound, why there is a need for it early on, as well as different channels and when and how they work best.  During our time we also share with you our exciting new initiative. The content from today’s episode was taken directly from our new podcast, “Office Hours.” It’s an exclusive members only podcast hosted on T2D3.pro, where we answer community members' top voted questions in long form. Office Hours is also video recorded, which allows us to share graphics and content with you directly. It’s almost like having a fractional CMO in your pocket. You can learn more about it <a href="https://www.t2d3.pro/office-hours-podcast">here</a>.

37 - What demand generation channels should you start with?

Especially when ramping up, software companies have a ‘need for speed’ and it is oftentimes best to contract with outside talent. Today, in addition to a special product announcement, Mike and Stijn discuss best practices for when and how to best outsource some or all of your marketing function. Do you go for a piecemeal solution, with multiple agencies for specific problems? This can be a great choice, especially when you only have one or two jobs to be done. But, we’ve seen many startups suffer from agency fatigue, and struggle to onboard and manage a quickly growing team of agencies.Do you instead outsource your entire marketing function? This can be great for accountability to large growth targets, and ease of use, but if you’re not sure what direction your business is going in, and haven’t reached PMF,  it can be a waste of precious time and money. Inside, Mike and Stijn discuss the philosophy of hiring an agency or outsourced marketing team, and how to approach it. Some of the questions they address are: How do you hire someone to do a job you don’t fully understand? How do you hold them accountable, and reach your growth targets in a cost and time effective way?They also emphasize the importance of strategic patience and tactical impatience—the idea that it’s essential to wait on strategic long term goals, but simultaneously focus on short term tactics.

Especially when ramping up, software companies have a ‘need for speed’ and it is oftentimes best to contract with outside talent.  Today, in addition to a special product announcement, Mike and Stijn discuss best practices for when and how to best outsource some or all of your marketing function.  Do you go for a piecemeal solution, with multiple agencies for specific problems?  This can be a great choice, especially when you only have one or two jobs to be done. But, we’ve seen many startups suffer from agency fatigue, and struggle to onboard and manage a quickly growing team of agencies. Do you instead outsource your entire marketing function? This can be great for accountability to large growth targets, and ease of use, but if you’re not sure what direction your business is going in, and haven’t reached PMF,  it can be a waste of precious time and money.  Inside, Mike and Stijn discuss the philosophy of hiring an agency or outsourced marketing team, and how to approach it.  Some of the questions they address are: How do you hire someone to do a job you don’t fully understand? How do you hold them accountable, and reach your growth targets in a cost and time effective way? They also emphasize the importance of strategic patience and tactical impatience—the idea that it’s essential to wait on strategic long term goals, but simultaneously focus on short term tactics.

36 - When and how to use an agency (or agencies), or outsource your entire marketing function

Today Mike and Stijn discuss early stage B2B content marketing efforts, specifically how to tackle SEO (Search Engine Optimization). They address how you can find your own priority keywords when you’re getting started, best practices, and Stijn shares a bit about how he built the inbound engine for T2D3, along with his typical strategy and approach. Inside you’ll find information about tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, and Ahrefs, and you’ll see what kind of data you should be looking at. If you’re unfamiliar with SEO entirely, or want a more full picture, check out episode 6 first, where Mike and Stijn discuss how you can create your first content marketing strategy and get your inbound engine up and running.

Today Mike and Stijn discuss early stage B2B content marketing efforts, specifically how to tackle SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  They address how you can find your own priority keywords when you’re getting started, best practices, and Stijn shares a bit about how he built the inbound engine for T2D3, along with his typical strategy and approach.  Inside you’ll find information about tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, and Ahrefs, and you’ll see what kind of data you should be looking at.  If you’re unfamiliar with SEO entirely, or want a more full picture, check out <a href="https://www.kalungi.com/b2b-saas-marketing-snacks-podcast/b2b-content-marketing-get-started">episode 6</a> first, where Mike and Stijn discuss how you can create your first content marketing strategy and get your inbound engine up and running.

35 - Getting started with SEO

Today we’re addressing a question from a community member around the idea of expanding your beachhead, and what it means for your go-to-market. We discuss how and when you should introduce new verticals and industries you service into your website and other assets. We discuss our philosophy, tracking technologies like Hotjar, Clarity, and Google Search Console, as well as the customer journey and how you should optimize your website with landing pages and overall structure. Some questions we answer are: How many verticals do I advertise on my website? How many should  I say I service? What signals should I be looking at and how should I rationalize adding new audiences I service onto my website, and when?

Today we’re addressing a question from a community member around the idea of expanding your beachhead, and what it means for your go-to-market. We discuss how and when you should introduce new verticals and industries you service into your website and other assets.  We discuss our philosophy, tracking technologies like Hotjar, Clarity, and Google Search Console, as well as the customer journey and how you should optimize your website with landing pages and overall structure.  Some questions we answer are: How many verticals do I advertise on my website? How many should  I say I service? What signals should I be looking at and how should I rationalize adding new audiences I service onto my website, and when?

34 - New verticals and your go-to-market

Mike and Stijn talk about why saying “no” can help you find early success.Every large company started small. And most started by doing one thing really well, then built more offerings or repositioned as they grew. While (understandably) founders don’t prefer restrictive positioning, we’re convinced there is a lot of power in building your initial customer base by providing a specialized service for a small &amp; committed audience. Today we share some of the stories we use in workshops to illustrate this idea, including:
A bar in New York
A club in the Netherlands
Amazon 
We’ve discussed finding your niche before a few times: In episode 14, we talked about how big (or small) your niche should be. In episode 15, we discussed how to position yourself within your niche. If you’re looking for a tactical rundown, check those out after you finish here.

Mike and Stijn talk about why saying “no” can help you find early success. Every large company started small. And most started by doing one thing really well, then built more offerings or repositioned as they grew.  While (understandably) founders don’t prefer restrictive positioning, we’re convinced there is a lot of power in building your initial customer base by providing a specialized service for a small &amp; committed audience.  Today we share some of the stories we use in workshops to illustrate this idea, including:<ul>
<li>A bar in New York</li>
<li>A club in the Netherlands</li>
<li>Amazon </li>
</ul>We’ve discussed finding your niche before a few times: In episode 14, we talked about how big (or small) your niche should be. In episode 15, we discussed how to position yourself within your niche. If you’re looking for a tactical rundown, check those out after you finish here.

33 - Why you should narrow your positioning

OKRs are hands down the best goal tracking system we’ve found for SaaS. In Episode 11, we discussed how to create them for your marketing team. Today, we’re going deeper, and talking about how to most effectively use, and manage them throughout your organization, from a leadership perspective. We provide our framework, address common mistakes, and provide insight and best practices into how to succeed using OKRs. Some of the questions we answer inside include: 
Should OKRs ‘cascade’ down through your organization? 
How do you manage your team's OKRs and check in on progress? 
When should OKRs be action vs. results based, and how should they change over time?

OKRs are hands down the best goal tracking system we’ve found for SaaS. In Episode 11, we discussed how to create them for your marketing team. Today, we’re going deeper, and talking about how to most effectively use, and manage them throughout your organization, from a leadership perspective.  We provide our framework, address common mistakes, and provide insight and best practices into how to succeed using OKRs.  Some of the questions we answer inside include: <ul>
<li>Should OKRs ‘cascade’ down through your organization? </li>
<li>How do you manage your team's OKRs and check in on progress? </li>
<li>When should OKRs be action vs. results based, and how should they change over time? </li>
</ul>

32 - How to manage your team’s OKRs

Short-form marketing strategies, frameworks, and tactical advice to help early-stage B2B software (SaaS) companies go from MVP to PMF, then scale fast. Hosted by Mike Northfield, Associate CMO at Kalungi, and Stijn Hendrikse, Co-Founder at Kalungi, CMO/CEO/Sales Leader for tens of B2B SaaS companies and ex-Microsoft Product Marketing Leader for Office 365.

B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks

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