Claim OwnershipThe Marketing Mix: Thought-starters for B2B Business Leaders
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Description
As the Founder or CEO of a start-up or small business, you know you need to take marketing seriously. But do you know how to get started?
The Marketing Mix is your guide to positioning, content marketing, demand generation, and sales enablement for growing B2B companies. We dig into the details by interviewing marketing specialists; by talking to leaders who’ve faced the same issues as you, in their company; and by taking deep dives into specific marketing topics.
Whether you’re interested in reaching a wider audience, picking the right channels, or building a marketing team, The Marketing Mix is in your corner.
Your host is Steve Cummins, who has built and run marketing teams at a number of tech companies, from Fortune 500 to fast-growth start-ups, and been part of several acquisitions along the way. As Principal and Chief Marketer at Solent Strategies, Steve now helps tech companies who are ready to punch above their weight.
29 Episodes
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On this episode, Kris Rudeegraap, CEO of Sendoso, talks about his journey from software sales - where he spotted a gap in the market - to being a company founder, and then the first CMO. He details Sendoso's early marketing strategies, including building a robust CRM database, focusing on field and event marketing, and creating educational content to establish their category. Kris goes on to talk about the importance of data-backed content, SEO strategies, and creating content for diff...
If you’re a founder or CEO of a growing business, you've probably been told that you have to focus your marketing around Google. Whether that’s ranking highly for a specific phrase or a set of keywords; or investing in ads to get more people to your website. Both of which can get expensive quickly! And there's a good chance that all this effort has left you frustrated. The game has changed drastically over the last year or two - impacting the value of both SEO and Google Ads. On this episod...
If you’re running a B2B tech company, you want your website to generate leads, and convert interest. Yet so many websites are built for vanity, not revenue. And that’s Sam Dunning’s goal with Breaking B2B - to change the way that tech companies and SaaS providers think about their web design. The website should be the hub to which you drive all of your marketing programs. And yet many of them are designed around good looks and fun messaging – rather than on educating prospects, an...
I was on my way to the New Jersey Digital Marketing Conference recently. And it occurred to me that the way we keep up with the latest in marketing strategy and techniques has changed significantly. A few years ago, it was all about in-person events, networking, and reading a few books. Now - post-covid - much of our marketing education is digital. TikTok, webinars, social media and, yes, podcasts. And as AI becomes a bigger and bigger part of the conversation, where do you go to keep up wi...
I’m talking with Chris Delany, the CEO of Semgeeks, about how the world of B2B digital marketing is changing. We look at the transition from basic SEO tactics and website design, to a full-bore strategy focused on creating a community across multiple channels. Chris explains how he’s shifted to a more integrated, multi-touch approach that focuses on a complex customer journey instead of the more traditional sales funnel. This reflects a broader change towards building a community, that keeps...
Responsible Marketing; Sustainability; Eco-friendly business practices. Whatever you call it, companies are increasingly exploring how to “do better.” And on this episode, we explore how businesses can embed Responsibility directly into their marketing strategies. Chad Hickey, CEO of Givsly; and Lauren Burke of Ljs Advisory, share their experience in integrating these practices into B2B events and campaigns. Reducing unnecessary tradeshow swag; creating thoughtful event activations; and show...
If you’re worried about how “search” is going to be impacted by AI…then you’ve clearly been paying attention! But beyond all the hype, what are the most likely outcomes in the next year or so. Should your SEO strategy be changing? Should your marketing investment be going in different places? Greg Brooks and his team at SearchTides spend their time thinking through these exact issues – based on data and their own experience. And on The Marketing Mix, Greg shares some of his thoughts on the c...
Are we ready to take advantage of AI in Marketing yet? Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is quoted as saying that AI could automate 95% of tasks currently performed by marketing agencies. I don’t agree with the number, but it’s a bold enough statement to pay attention to. And, for sure, AI is going to have a significant impact on how we “do” marketing over the next few years. So in this episode, I talk through the options that marketers should consider as they start to look into AI; share some exa...
In this episode, we talk with Chris Heffernan, the co-founder and CEO of Dlivrd. Think DoorDash, but for restaurant catering and same-day food delivery. Chris shares his insights on marketing as a founder, and how it has helped him scale his business. He discusses Dlivrd's unique positioning in the delivery ecosystem, at the intersection of technology, logistics and customer experience. They’ve created a business culture around the importance of a positive driver experience and building...
Positioning is a fundamental part of marketing strategy. But it’s not always explicitly defined, particularly in small, fast-growing companies. In many cases, it’s based purely on the original intent of the founder, and reflects early-adopters. But as a business scales, it’s worth taking time to think through the Why/Who/How of your product or service, so you can develop the messaging and the Go-To-Market strategy that’s going to have an impact. Sharon Scott knows how to craft a positioning ...
To kick off Season Two, Steve talks about marketing topics that have been top of mind since the last episode. He talks about the current state of the LinkedIn algorithm, (not great, but better than the alternative!); the need to productize your offering, whether it’s an actual product or a service; and the importance of positioning and defining your niche. Steve also introduces his Marketing Mentor program, working with small businesses and their marketing “team of one” to build in-house capa...
Search Engine Optimization; Demand Generation; and Content Marketing. Most of the conversations in this first season of the podcast have delved into one (or more) of these three key areas of marketing. In this final episode of Season 1, Steve selects a sound bite or two from each of his interviews, to remind everyone how smart his guests are! And to zero in on the #1 takeaway from each episode. He recaps his discussions with marketing practitioners, business owners, and an author. And...
The term Account Based Marketing, or ABM. has been hijacked by companies promoting platforms and tech solutions. But in essence, it's a methodology for reaching strategic accounts more effectively. In this episode, Mason Cosby discusses the true definition of account-based marketing and how it can be a viable strategy for smaller organizations. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the strategy rather than the tools and technology associated with ABM. Mason shares his concept of ...
Every marketing book tells you to get closer to your customer. And honestly, we don't really need to be told that! But it's not always so easy to do that as part of your day-to-day - particularly if "customer research" means in-person focus groups or Voice of the Customer projects. Fortunately, getting customer insights is now much easier, with online platforms making it accessible to businesses with limited resources. And on this episode, I'm talking to Justin Chen, co-founder of one such p...
A recent Linkedin post got some traction by suggesting that not all businesses need a website. Which honestly, is a bit of a headscratcher. As my friend Tim Peter wrote in a counterpoint, that's like saying you don't need a phone number or an email address to run a business. On this week's episode, I talk through why you DO need a website, even if it's just a simple one. I discuss the types of websites and their function; and give some pointers on how to work with freelancers or an ag...
In this episode of The Marketing Mix, we’re talking to Nikki Fabrizio about the power of using customer success stories - otherwise known as case studies - in content marketing. Nikki shares her experience in producing both written and video testimonials for a range of companies. She stresses the importance of finding the right clients for case studies - ensuring you have a diverse set of customers featured - and showcasing realistic, believable applications that have brought them resul...
Marketing attribution sounds like a great idea. And in theory, it is. Particularly if you’re selling directly to customers via an ecommerce page on your website. In many B2B scenarios, though, you’re selling through distributors, channel partners or third party websites. It’s not easy to track a buyer from the moment they first interact with your brand, all the way until they buy a product. When you encourage your customers to purchase from a partner, that customer will - at some point - leav...
You’re spending money on PPC ads, on improving SEO performance, and attending multiple events. How do you know which of these investments is paying off? That’s what Marketing Attribution is all about. In this episode of The Marketing Mix, we’re talking to Steffen Hedebrandt, CMO and co-founder of Dreamdata, about the importance of marketing attribution for small and mid-sized B2B companies. We discuss the challenges of tracking complex buyer journeys, and the different attribution mod...
Too many start-ups and small businesses waste their precious resources running Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns without linking them to activity that drives new business. It’s easy to get dazzled by vanity metrics, instead of targeting prospects who are ready to make a decision. So on this episode, we’re talking about the best way to approach Google Ads and PPC advertising, with Katie Kingsbery, Senior Account Manager at RevKey. Katie discusses the mechanics of Google Ads, the impo...
If you know that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, but aren’t sure where to get started, then this episode is for you. Charley’s experience at Conde Nast, Google, and a number of start-ups has given him an insight into how SEO can be used to fuel the growth for brands and businesses. And in this conversation, he explains the four pillars of SEO that he considers whenbuilding a strategy, and how he approaches each one. We also talk about when and how to find an agency or freelancer t...
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