B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks

When economic and market turbulence strikes without warning, SaaS founders and marketers naturally start to wonder... should we cut marketing budget, pivot our message, or hold the line? In Episode 83 of B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks, co-hosts Brian Graf and Stijn Hendrikse explore how B2B SaaS companies can not only survive but thrive when the economy takes a dip. You’ll hear why maintaining focus on customer value is more important than ever, and how to avoid knee-jerk reactions that can hurt long-term growth. Here’s what you’ll learn:Why value beats panic pricing: How to double down on real customer value and practice value-based pricing instead of slashing prices or entering a race to the bottom, ensuring your offering remains essential even as budgets tighten.Adapting your ICP and personas: How to re-evaluate your Ideal Customer Profile in a downturn – identifying which segments of your market still have budget or greater need for your solution – and adjusting your buyer personas (e.g. addressing newly empowered CFOs) to align with shifting priorities.Retention and expansion first: Why it’s crucial to prioritize customer retention and expansion over pure new customer acquisition during a recession. Learn ways to strengthen customer success, keep your existing clients happy, and grow revenue from your install base so you protect your ARR.Smart budget optimization: Guidance on trimming the fat in your marketing spend without killing your growth engine. Discover how to audit your channels and CAC, cut the underperforming tactics, and double down on the efficient strategies so your go-to-market stays lean and effective.Flexible pricing & “survivor” offers: Creative strategies to help customers stay on board. This includes shifting to usage-based or monthly pricing options, offering more flexible payment terms, or even introducing a limited-time “survivor package” – a pared-down, high-ROI product tier designed to prevent churn and attract budget-conscious buyers from less flexible competitors.Pivoting your content strategy: How to tweak your marketing messaging and content in tough times. Our hosts share why thought leadership alone isn’t enough in a downturn – and how creating practical “survival” guides, checklists, and playbooks for your audience can build trust and relevance. (Spoiler alert... help your champions justify your product internally by focusing on immediate execution and ROI, not just big ideas.)Rather than resorting to fear-driven cuts, you’ll learn how to strategically adjust your approach – protecting the customer base you’ve worked hard to build and seizing opportunities that competitors might miss. Brian and Stijn’s advice will help you keep your growth engine running strong (even on a leaner budget), align your product and messaging with what customers need right now, and ultimately come out of the downturn with a healthier, more focused business. B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to update your B2B Marketing Strategy in a recession8 B2B marketing tips to offer a modern and adaptive marketing strategy4 Red Flags in SaaS MarketingHiring great marketers in todays outsourced labor marketT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Feeling overwhelmed by a never ending to-do list, or struggling to balance high impact work with personal growth? The development matrix can help.In Episode 82 of B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks, co-hosts Brian Graf and Stijn Hendrikse dive into the Development Matrix – a simple but powerful framework for overloaded marketing leaders – and unpack how to tackle the never-ending to-do list that every B2B SaaS marketer and founder knows too well. Here’s what you’ll learn:The Development Matrix Framework: How to categorize your tasks into four quadrants based on how effective you are at them and how much they energize you, so you can clearly see what to keep doing and what to delegate.Prioritizing High-Impact Work: Why focusing on the tasks that generate the best outcomes (and letting go of the rest) drives better results and prevents you from getting bogged down in busywork.Delegation Done Right: Practical tips for deciding who should take on a task – whether it’s a team member who’ll find it exciting or an AI tool that can handle it – and how to delegate without simply “dumping” work on others.Avoiding Burnout: Insights on recognizing when a task you used to love has become a grind, and how handing it off at the right time keeps you fresh and your team motivated (no more burning the candle at both ends).Empowering Your Team: How using this framework not only frees up your time for strategic thinking, but also creates growth opportunities for your team through coaching and new responsibilities (a win-win for company culture).The “Who Not How” Mindset: Always asking “Who is best equipped to do this?” for each new project – including leveraging AI for support – so you’re continually optimizing your workload for maximum impact.Time always feels scarce in SaaS marketing! The Development Matrix is a great tool to prioritize work, focus on high-impact tasks, and still make room for personal growth. This approach helps avoid burnout while keeping you focused on the work you enjoy and excel at, rather than drowning in tasks that drain you. You’ll spend more time on what truly moves the needle (and what you love doing) and less on the minutiae that can be handled by others. It’s a valuable playbook for scaling your leadership, preventing burnout, and building a stronger team as your SaaS business continues to grow.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:BSMS 56 - A marketing team you can affordBSMS 38 - How to employ situational awareness as a go-to-market leaderBSMS 77 - Leveling up your go to marketT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Ever wish you could boost revenue without scrambling for new customers? You can! But only if you maximize the hidden growth opportunity in your existing customer base. In Episode 81 of B2B Marketing Snacks, co-hosts Brian Graf and Stijn Hendrikse welcome back B2B SaaS CMO Cecilia Pérez-Muskus to continue the discussion from Episode 80. Our very own B2B SaaS experts dig into how the best SaaS companies drive over 50% of their revenue from current customers (while the average is only ~28%). They have practical advice for you on using customer success, product usage data, and account-based marketing to capture a ton of untapped revenue.Here’s what you’ll learn:The biggest expansion mistakes to avoid: Why chasing new logos while ignoring current customers is a recipe for missed revenue (and even churn), and how great SaaS companies flip this script.“Land and Expand” done right: How starting with a small beachhead (a single team or use-case) can lead to multi-department wins and multi-location rollouts – without the long enterprise sales cycle.Aligning your team for growth: Tips on getting Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success on the same page to drive upsells. (Hint: your CSMs can become a second sales force when it comes to expansion, especially when they partner closely with sales reps.)Finding upsell gold in your data: How to spot upsell and cross-sell opportunities by analyzing product usage patterns and listening to customer feedback. You’ll discover ways to use surveys, support tickets, and in-app metrics to identify who’s ready for an upgrade (and who might need extra love).Account-based marketing for existing customers: Tactics for running one-to-one ABM campaigns targeting your current accounts – from personalized email outreach to tailored content that addresses each customer’s next potential “job to be done.”Key metrics and growth levers for expansion: Which expansion metrics matter most (think Net Revenue Retention and percent of revenue from expansions) and how to move the needle. Plus, why regularly revisiting your pricing and packaging can significantly boost customer lifetime value.Scaling isn’t just about landing new deals – it’s about maximizing value from your existing base to drive efficiency and profitability. You’ll come away with practical ideas to improve retention, increase each account’s revenue contribution, and get your team aligned on expansion as a growth strategy.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:BSMS 80 - Account expansion (part 1)FREE B2B SaaS Go-to-Market Checklist for Market ExpansionBSMS 63 - Expand your market with Ansoff’s MatrixBSMS 23 - Product led growth vs. sales led growthT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Scaling a SaaS company is about more than just landing new customers! It’s about maximizing the value of the ones you already have. This episode teaches you how to unlock expansion revenue, increase customer retention, and build a more profitable SaaS business. From upselling and cross-selling to deepening customer engagement, we dive into the real tactics that fuel scalable, efficient growth from the customers you already have. Net-new customer growth alone isn’t enough — you need to grow within your existing accounts.In Episode 80 of B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks, Brian Graf and special guest CMO Cecilia Pérez-Muskus break down:Why doubling down on account expansion is often the fastest path to sustainable revenue growthHow to align sales, marketing, and customer success for seamless upsells and cross-sellsCommon mistakes B2B SaaS companies make when trying to expand accounts (and how to avoid or fix them)The role of smart pricing and packaging in boosting account expansion successHow to measure and improve expansion revenue in a practical wayIf you’re seeing revenue plateau and want to drive growth without constantly chasing new customers, this is the episode for you.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:B2B SaaS Go-to-Market Checklist for Successful Market Expansion [Free Download]BSMS 31 - T2D3: How some software startups scale, where many failBSMS 43 - What to do when your numbers stallT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Hiring a marketing agency could be your next logical step for growth—but it can also be a costly mistake. The wrong agency can drain your budget, delay real solutions, and create more problems than it solves.In Episode 79 of B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks, Brian Graf and Stijn Hendrikse break down:When hiring a marketing agency makes sense—and when it doesn’tWhy early-stage SaaS companies often struggle with agenciesHow to tell if your company is ready for external marketing helpThe two types of agency partnerships (results vs. expertise) and how to pick the right oneIf you’re thinking about hiring a marketing agency, this episode will help you make a strategic, informed decision. You’ll have a clear framework for deciding if, when, and how to work with an agency—so you can scale smarter, without wasting time or money.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Measuring the ROI of Your SaaS Marketing AgencyMarketing-as-a-Service Agency: What It Is and Why It WorksTips for Choosing the Right Outsourced SaaS Marketing AgencyScaling SaaS: When to Hire a Specialized Marketing AgencyThe Secret to Series A SaaS Success: The Right Marketing AgencyT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

As a B2B SaaS executive, it is fair to consider: Is my marketing team underperforming? With endless reports, unclear attribution models, and a constant flurry of activity, it can be tough to tell whether your team is actually moving the needle or just running in circles.In Episode 78 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, co-hosts Brian Graf and Stijn Hendrikse sit down with special guest CMO Antoine Vial to break down:The five key metrics that indicate whether your marketing team is strugglingHow to diagnose marketing underperformance strategically and tacticallyWhy team structure, data accuracy, and attribution models can make or break your effortsThe most common friction points between marketing, sales, and customer success—and how to align themBy the end of this episode, you’ll have a clear roadmap to assess and optimize your marketing team’s performance.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Measuring the ROI of Your SaaS Marketing Agency10 B2B SaaS Metrics & KPIs Every Founder Needs to Track to Optimize Performance7 Must-Know B2B SaaS Marketing Metric Benchmarks For SuccessT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

What does it take to truly level up in 2025? It’s not just about growing your GTM team—it’s about elevating your own leadership, optimizing your impact, and mastering the tools that will define the next era of growth.In this must-listen episode, Brian Graf sits down with Stijn Hendrikse and Antoine Vial to dive into their upcoming book, Level Up! Coaching Go-To-Market Leaders to Achieve Exponential Growth. They explore why coaching—both for your team and with AI—is the key to unlocking greater GTM efficiency, smarter decision-making, and lasting success.🔥 What You'll Learn:• Why coaching is a critical skill in working with today’s GTM teams• The surprising parallels between coaching AI and coaching people• How to leverage AI, automation, and remote teams to scale your marketing & sales impact• Actionable frameworks that GTM leaders can use to drive growth• How to level up your leadership, team, and technology for sustained success📖 Get Early Access to the Book!Sign up for the Early Bird program to receive exclusive content, coaching frameworks, and first access to Level Up! https://www.kalungi.com/level-up-early-bird-signupB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:2025 B2B SaaS Marketing Trends for Founders and ExecutivesBSMS 67 - The impact of AI on marketingUnlocking the power of AI: Transform your content creation processT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

When you're building pricing and packaging for your B2B SaaS company, you’ll want to consult the feature matrix first.This framework gives your team an unbiased look at the features your product delivers to customers. It looks at each feature based on two different factors: how many people utilize it and how many competitors offer it.In Episode 76 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, host Stijn Hendrikse and special guest Mike Northfield show you, step by step, how to:Set up a feature matrix with insider examples from Microsoft and othersSegment your features into different pricing tiersDeliver your product in a differentiated wayExpand ARPUShow maximum value to your customersB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Product marketing: How to position your product for success11-point checklist to build a SaaS product pricing strategyBest practices for your B2B SaaS pricing strategyBSMS 24 - Pricing and packaging your SaaS offering (Part 1)T2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

How do you make sure that your relationship bank account with prospects and customers is always positive? If your SaaS company focuses only on what it wants, it will not succeed.Every relationship in B2B SaaS is like a bank account. This key concept from Steven Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is especially true in marketing for software.When you get to a point where your relationship makes it beneficial for both parties, then it's a win win.Topics discussed include:What “deposits” and “withdrawals” mean in the context of B2B SaaS marketingHow to build genuine relationship loyalty that can be “withdrawn” laterWhat offers truly make deposits vs making asks that don’t foster real relationships How to be relevant for your audience – and how they will be relevant for youWhy knowing your ICP audience and what they want is criticalB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Steven Covey: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective PeopleBSMS 42 - What research says about common SaaS startup misstepsBSMS 26 - How to define and create your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)T2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Why do some minimum viable SaaS products catch fire immediately, while others struggle to gain traction, even with solid execution? This is a challenge that keeps many early stage founders up at night.Building a great product is just the beginning. You've probably heard people say… “just turn on marketing and revenue will flow.” For some, it can be that simple, but often it isn't. In Episode 74 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, our hosts Brian and Stijn dive deep into the hows and whys of finding your true customers and nailing your ideal customer profile. This is absolutely crucial before you can hit the gas on growth. Topics discussed include:Why founders can’t cut corners on going from MVP straight into growth without the right customer understandingThe big difference between early adopters and true customers that will pay and help you growThe most important questions you need to answer in the market to gain traction: who’s it for and what’s it forHow to confirm when you’ve stepped from MVP to PMFHow to conduct Jobs to be Done (JTBD) research to get the best answersB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to use feedback to better your SaaS product and GTM strategy10 milestones to reach product-market fit (PMF) for B2B SaaSBSMS 31 - T2D3: How some software startups scale, where many failBSMS 26 - How to define and create your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)BSMS 5: When's the time to invest in marketing? Hint: at PMFT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Ready to future proof your SaaS marketing strategy and get the most out of your 2025 go to market? This episode is packed with insights you can take straight back to your company to grow faster. On Episode 73 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, our hosts Brian and Stijn navigate through trends such as AI's game changing role in marketing, to other significant changes in personalization, content strategy, and retention you don’t want to miss out on.  Topics discussed include:How AI has moved from optional to essential for B2B SaaS marketing teamsWhy hyper personalization and strategic content are no longer luxuries but are critical to your ability to drive growthThe rise of lean AI driven marketing teams and their game changing potential for startupsHow automation and data driven insights are reshaping customer attention.The latest strategies for B2B SaaS customer expansion B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:BSMS 67 - The impact of AI on marketingUnlocking the power of AI: Transform your content creation processB2B SaaS ABM strategy: 5 steps to personalizationEmail personalization best practicesT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Why do so many CRMs fall short of their potential to drive revenue generation and retention?With the right setup, usage, and maintenance, your CRM strategy will be the key to unlock your startup’s true revenue machine.On Episode 72 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, Brian and Stijn interview a special guest: Fadi George, co-founder and CTO of Kalungi and a RevOps master. He’s implemented Hubspot for so many companies that he created his own app to automate the process for B2B SaaS companies. Topics discussed include:What makes great CRMs great?How a CRM should support marketing, sales, customer success, the executive team, and moreHow to align your team with the right systems and culture to keep your CRM data cleanHow to generate more actionable dataB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:HubSpot CRM optimization for SaaS companies5 actionables to keep your HubSpot CRM clean24 CRM Solutions ranked by price and popularityT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

If your B2B SaaS company is sales-led, building the right partnership program can rapidly accelerate your growth and long term success.But not every software company succeeds at partnership marketing! If you have a lack of resources, not enough strategy or just poor execution and enablement, this powerful go to market motion will go nowhere.On Episode 71 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, host Brian Graf interviews a special guest: Antoine Vial, an Associate CMO at Kalungi, who is an expert in driving rapid growth in revenue with partnership opportunities for B2B SaaS companies.Topics discussed include:Aligning your product to the specific set of features and capabilities that potential partners have as prioritiesHow to compare the potential opportunity for partnerships vs other traditional marketing channels like paid media, content, ABM and SEOHow to incent and empower partners to recommend your software along with their ownWhy partnership plays can be better for sales-led companies than product-led onesExamples of successful partnership programs involving Amazon Web ServicesIndicators that show that partnerships will be an effective strategy for your software How to build the right incentive-building SLA for each relationship, to make it most likely to succeedHow to measure success of your B2B SaaS partnership programB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Partnerships & Channel Marketing: B2B SaaS Partner ProgramsBSMS 39 - When you should(n't) start channel partnerships5 Third-Party B2B Partnerships to Consider for Your SaaS BusinessPartnerships & channel marketing –do I need a B2B SaaS partner strategy?3 reasons to use channel partners for SaaS GTMT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

The B2B SaaS buying journey isn’t linear – it is much more complicated than that.At any one time, only 5% of your addressable market is actively in-market and seeking a solution. These prospects are ready to click that “schedule a demo” button after seeing your paid search ad or visiting your website’s pricing page. But what about the 95% who aren’t ready to buy? This is where demand creation comes into play. Allocating resources and time to create demand will help you be in the top 3 when those prospects become ready to buy. If you don’t feed this side, your pipeline will suffer down the road.On Episode 70 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, Brian and Stijn interview a special guest: Silvia Parra, an Associate CMO at Kalungi, who is an expert in balancing out these two sides of the buyer journey for B2B SaaS companies.Topics discussed include:Insider tips for correctly attributing traffic beyond simplistic “last touch" into a more nuanced understandingStrategies for nurturing subscribers, MQLs and SQLs as they move gradually through the funnelExamples of paid media and content strategies that workHow founders can correctly monitor and establish data goals that show progress in both demand creation and captureHow to build a pipeline that is filled with both prospects that are ready for immediate conversion and future growthB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Understanding Demand Creation vs. Demand Capture in B2B SaaSDemand generation is dead5 Key Steps To Improve Demand GenerationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

If you are under 30 and your career isn’t skyrocketing in marketing, should you move to product or supply chain?A recent episode of Scott Galloway’s celebrated podcast, Prof G Pod, made the claim that the true innovation and differentiators today for companies are on the product side and not on the marketing side. Galloway is an American public speaker, author, podcast host, entrepreneur, and clinical professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business.In Episode 69 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, Brian and Stijn unpack the truth and the not-so-true factors behind this claim. Topics discussed include:The fast-evolving role of the marketer in view of AI and the fast pace of technological changeWhere the true value of marketing liesThe symbiotic relationship between product and marketing to create truly legendary productsWhat “brand strategy” truly means in software today How to “future-proof” your marketing career to stay relevantB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:The Future of Marketing Part 1 – Scott GallowayUnlocking the power of AI: Transform your content creation processSaaS SEO best practices: dos and don'tsT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

For any new B2B SaaS company, the product launch is a critical moment in time. Done correctly, you gain traction and jumpstart getting revenue in the door. For more mature companies, it’s an new opportunity to connect with the market, bring excitement to your new product or product evolution and celebrate your users. Either way, a successful launch requires planning, coordination, and focus.In Episode 68 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, Brian and Stijn break the ideal SaaS product launch down for you so you can make the most of your next product launch. The launch window, brief as it is, sets the tone for your product's ability to be accepted and celebrated in the market.Topics discussed include:How to build buzz around your SaaS product launchExamples of both successful and unsuccessful product launchesDriving factors that determine organizational launch effectivenessBreaking down the stages of launch, especially where to startHow pricing factors into great launchesPitfalls to avoid in product launchesB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:S.T.O.P: 4 Steps to evolve a service and launch a SaaS productProduct marketing: How to position your product for successHow To Price SaaS Products And ServicesT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

With AI now baked into nearly every software solution, how can you get the most out of it to grow your SaaS company?  Used wisely, smaller teams can achieve more with less effort. However, AI isn't a magic solution for SaaS marketing. Used unwisely, it creates generic content, adds inaccuracies, and provides a negative impact on your brand in the mind of your ideal customer.If you're a marketer, SaaS founder, or executive wondering how to use AI effectively in your strategy, this discussion is full of practical insights whether you use ChatGPT, Perplexity or another tool.In Episode 67 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, Brian and Stijn share both the benefits and the critical limitations you need to keep in mind to make AI a powerful tool without compromising your brand’s authenticity.Topics discussed include:Everyday usage ideas to strategize in marketing successfullyEmpowering junior marketers to level up their game skillsTurning average, generic outputs from AI into great copyTraining AI over time to work faster for youLeaning into customer pain points and knowledge to get the best from AIFactchecking and keeping quality highB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Unlocking the power of AI: Transform your content creation processHow to build a content factoryT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Don't let a badly chosen or implemented acquisition TKO your software company's success trajectory.In Episode 66 of B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks, we tackle how to make sure a potential acquisition is the right move and, most importantly, how to get the most out of it.Growth by acquisition can be a powerful way to accelerate your go to market approach. Acquisitions allow you to:-quickly enter a new market-buy your way deeper into a market you already service-fill a team or product gap-generate new revenue-grow the balance sheetHowever, if done poorly or for the wrong reasons, an acquisition can stagnate revenue, increase costs, fracture your team culture, and stretch your team too thin to succeed.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:B2B SaaS mergers and acquisitions: dos and don’tsT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Strategy, growth targets, messaging, and funnel focus: get ready to solve four of the biggest problems that B2B SaaS marketing teams face on a daily basis.Identifying and eliminating problems in these areas for your organization needs to be a top priority. In Episode 65 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, we discuss how to unlock new levels of performance by fixing these common issues:How big should your GTM strategy be?Balancing strategic vs technical executionWhen to diversify your demand gen channelsSupporting your strategy with the right-sized marketing teamEnsuring AI doesn’t leave you with a “vanilla” strategy and positioningBalancing quick wins with proper foundational workUnderstanding the customer journey from start to finishGet ready to tackle these common issues and get more traction today in gathering new customers through a better funnel.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment! Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Pain, claim, gain: three key components of marketing communicationThe Six P's Of Marketing MessagingGoing from A-players to a team that fits your budgetT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Innovative products are the bread and butter of SaaS companies, and it can be tempting to try new things. But when it comes to launching new products, many B2B businesses can stumble at first.Episode 64 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast is the third and final episode in our Ansoff Matrix series. We discuss the right side of the famous Matrix: product development and diversification (“the pivot”) for B2B SaaS. We show you how to find the most efficient and authentic path to true new product-led growth for existing and new audiences. We dive into..Tried and true T2D3 strategies for marketing a new product to your existing audienceHow to manage new product development with what your users actually wantThe difficulties of pivoting to a new product and new audience – and useful examples of those who get it right. B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS strike an efficient balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is an asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to use Ansoff’s Matrix to Guide your SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy4-Step Company Branding Exercise [template included]T2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Selling an existing current product or service into a new group of software customers can be a big challenge. Today we dive into strategies for marketing expansion for your SaaS company using the wisdom found in the upper left quadrant of the famous Ansoff Matrix.In Episode 63 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, we talk through the indicators you should look for when considering a marketing expansion strategy and what new initiatives you can take to effectively sell into a new group of customers without changing your product or service. The Ansoff Matrix, named after mathematician Igor Ansoff, is almost 50 years old. However, as a SaaS founder, you will find its wisdom will ring exactly true for your software company today.Maybe you just got funded and have more capital to spend, but expectations for growth pace are now much higher too. Other signs that your current market isn’t providing what you need could be:Low retention from your marketA low or slow sales cycleLow average contract valueHigh customer acquisition costsMissing revenue targetsOf the four possible ways to grow a company (according to Ansoff’s Matrix), market expansion is more challenging than selling into a well-known customer type (“market penetration”). You won’t find it as easy to leverage your company's established strengths, brand awareness and market knowledge as key advantages.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to use Ansoff’s Matrix to Guide your SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy10 milestones to reach product-market fit (PMF) for B2B SaaSThe Best Product-Market-Fit Checklist for your B2B Marketing Strategy?T2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

The secrets to greater market penetration for your software company can be found in the lower left quadrant of the famous Ansoff Matrix.In Episode 62 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast, we show you how to use Ansoff's Matrix to make the most out of what you already have. You can expand your share of an existing SaaS market using your existing software products and/or services. You will need to attract new customers in the space, defend the customers you already have against rising competition, and perhaps even acquire a competitor to get the edge.The Ansoff Matrix, named after mathematician Igor Ansoff, is actually almost 50 years old. However, as a SaaS founder, you will find its wisdom will ring exactly true for your software company today.Options discussed include:Adjusting pricing to boost sales volumeBuilding new marketing engine to attract new customersAcquiring competitors to increase market shareBoosting product quality to discourage churnHow to choose the right priorities firstOf the four possible ways to grow a company (according to Ansoff’s Matrix), market penetration is probably the least challenging of the four. Leveraging your company's established strengths, brand awareness and market knowledge is a key advantage.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to use Ansoff’s Matrix to Guide your SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy4-Step Company Branding Exercise [template included]T2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

As a SaaS investor, how do you predict how fast a company will grow?You need to know if you're looking at a rocket – or a tugboat – in terms of potential speed and growth. What are its chances to expand fast in the market? Can it really take hold and nail a niche?In Episode 61 of the B2B Marketing Snacks podcast, we talk through all the factors to look for in a company that show it is primed for exponential marketing growth.This is relevant for: • Investors doing due diligence on software company targets• Leadership, employees or job applicants looking at their own companyLearn how to spot the hidden potential a company has from a marketing perspective. With this framework, you will know if you should invest your priceless time, effort and capital into a company. Or, if you should search somewhere else.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS rely on a balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key marketing asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Keep Your Friends Close, Your Investors CloserHow to Create a B2B SaaS Pitch Deck that Wins Over InvestorsEat your own dog food: strength-testing your SaaS productFinders fees for raising capital: How much should you pay your funding raisers?T2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

As a SaaS founder, hiring the right marketing leader for your startup is one of your most important yet tricky tasks. The wrong choice means lost time, revenue and resources when you need speed, scale and skill.How much experience is enough? Will they fit your culture? Are they going to get the growth results your investors demand, quickly enough? In this episode of B2B Marketing Snacks, our experts cover all the factors to consider before you go about hiring a B2B SaaS CMO, including:• Best qualities to look for in CMO candidates• Levels of candidate experience that work best for early-stage SaaS• Budgeting for the right marketing team• Hiring in-house vs agency vs fractional• How to assure correct culture fit• How to set expectations with a new leader• The impact of equity in hiring• How to maximize a new CMO's impact on your growthWith this expert perspective, you'll find the right marketing leaders for the right seats that can really move your company forward fast.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Hiring great marketers in today’s outsourced labor market10 CMO Interview Questions: Hiring A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)BSMS 13: What to look for in your CMO (or marketing leader)How to Hire a Top Growth Hacker: Job Description + Screening TipsTemplate - Marketing ROI Forecast & EstimationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

As a SaaS founder, the pressure to move too fast can be relentless. It can be tempting to cut corners and try and gamble on your scale through quick wins and growth hacks. More often than not, these initiatives become distractions that end up wasting time, money, and resources only to deliver subpar results. In this episode of B2B Marketing Snacks, we detail the right foundation for a B2B software company – for both the quick wins and the long term scaling goals. Growth is much more likely to be smooth, consistent, and ROI positive, when you start off right.It is essential to do some good up front research, audit what's working, what's not, and why, and make some early, tough decisions about prioritization and focus. Then, you can align the right resources and go to market with confidence!  Listen in as we help you with effective strategies for: Building a great go to market planConvincing the rest of your leadership team to buy inScaling your company to the next levelB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:B2B SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy Essential Resources | Kalungi, Inc.Checklist for New Market Entry Go-to-Market Strategy[eBook] How to create a go-to-market strategy for B2B SaaS companiesTemplate - Marketing ROI Forecast & EstimationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

You have all the experience, connections and drive needed to crush your next top marketing role. Now, what is the best path to getting hired today as a chief marketing officer?Like the famous fable of "the cobbler’s shoes" (in which the cobbler’s kids had no shoes because he was too busy working for others), too many potential CMOs spend too little time on their go to market strategy. They hope social media posts and thought leadership alone will attract clients over time. To get ahead, any potential CMO should treat themselves as seriously as any company would. This means developing a complete plan to identify the right niches and market efficiently to them. As an experienced or aspiring CMO or fractional CMO (fCMO), this podcast will teach you:• How and why to pick the right niches to focus on• How to build a story and packaging around your experience and interests• How to create ICP and persona maps for your target companies• How to identify key advantages and unique value propositions you can own• How best to showcase and package your skills for potential clients• How to prepare for interviews and how much research to bring with youFrom strategy to execution to interviews, this podcast will give you all the tools you need to land the chief marketing officer job of your dreams.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!  The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to Kick Off Your First Fractional CMO Meeting Why are CMOs fired more than any other executive?Nailing your B2B SaaS ICP (and what most people get wrong)Template - Marketing ROI Forecast & EstimationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Congratulations, you’re the new CMO for a B2B SaaS company! What do you do first?Learn the ins and outs of “making moves” as a new marketing leader: how fast to move and how to tackle all the big and urgent issues you'll face early on. It’s vital to avoid pitfalls and maximize your impact in the short term while building for the medium and long term too.Getting hired as marketing leader at a software company – whether fractional or full-time – means you are probably inheriting a strategy already in play… for better or for worse. It can be tempting to make big changes quickly, to capitalize on your momentum when you're new, but it can be dangerous if you don't take precautions and follow the right implementation steps.As a brand new leader in the company, you will learn how to:• Identify which strategy is the right strategy• How to set initial OKRs• Make changes that will be effective both in speed and execution • How to identify underperforming areas and focus on strengths• How to delineate marketing problems from people problems, so the right issues get corrected • The most important marketing metrics to identify firstB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:How to Kick Off Your First Fractional CMO Meeting Why are CMOs fired more than any other executive?How to monitor and measure the success of your SEO strategyTemplate - Marketing ROI Forecast & EstimationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

The best B2B SaaS marketing teams are built, not bought. For any software marketing leader, CEO or founder, a crucial part of your job is to teach the new, young, relatively inexperienced people on your team.Small software companies don’t have the big HR budgets that large companies have to hire A-level players. They have to rely on their ability to bring in less experienced, highly motivated people and teach them well according to proven playbooks. Offering support and training develops the exact valuable go-to-market skills you require. It also increases loyalty from your team members as you teach and invest in them.As a senior marketing manager, your performance is not based just on how good you are doing. It's based on how good your team is doing. The more that you can scale yourself through your team, the more success you'll see!Topics covered in this episode include:What traits to look for in new, less-experienced hiresSituational leadership to maximize employee developmentApplying varied leadership styles to match the experience of employeesLeveling up marketing abilities with templatesIdentifying best fit roles for young team membersWhat it means to truly delegate and elevate tasksHow fractionals can scale themselves effectively within small B2B SaaS organizationsB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:3 traits of an effective marketing leader (Situational Leadership)Ultimate check-list to evaluate a B2B fractional CMO for SaaSBSMS 13: What to look for in your CMO (or marketing leader)18 Questions To Boost The Impact Of Your Leadership Team MeetingsTemplate - Marketing ROI Forecast & EstimationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

If you’ve tried outsourcing marketing for your B2B SaaS company, you know managing several agencies at one time can be more than a headache. It can mean significant coordination, time, and effort spent even just to get started. Every agency has its own onboarding process, internal project management approach, reporting cycle and more. As a result, founders can suffer what’s known as “agency fatigue.” Symptoms include extreme frustration and feelings of being overwhelmed from the time and resource drain that comes from working with uncoordinated tactical agencies. It isn’t easy to get the right combination of experienced strategic oversight and crack tactical execution. This is especially true as your company grows quickly from stage to stage.Recommendations discussed in this podcast include: Putting foundational marketing blocks in place early, such as ICP, Personas, Messaging & Positioning and Brand VoiceGetting strategy and execution under one organization for efficiency and clarityChoosing the right 30, 60 and 90-day KPIs to assure the right accountabilityDeveloping a strategy that strikes a balance between long term marketing growth and quick wins/ testsB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiB2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Stijn Hendrikse - How to hold a SaaS marketing agency accountable for results6 Questions To Manage Your Digital Marketing AgencyThe cost of outsourcing your B2B SaaS marketing to an agencyThe importance of a startup marketing agency —and why you may need oneTemplate - Marketing ROI Forecast & EstimationT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

How do you stand up a marketing team fast? Where do you find the best marketing talent? How far and how fast should you expect these experts to go? Today’s software founders have an array of choices for rapid growth: internal hires, fractional hires, agencies and/or tactical specialists – but you can’t (and shouldn't) have it all.Typical startups have one of three needs when it comes to getting customers:Emergency triage: There is bleeding that must be stopped before we can worry about the futureDietary consultation: We’ve been taking on a lot of carbs and need to lose weightStrength coach: We want to go faster and stay healthyStabilizing a critical problem, increasing marketing efficiency and driving faster scale are all great goals. We’re here to help you decide between the CMOs, fCMOs, agencies, consultants, specialists and even AI tools that service these needs. B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiAt the end of the day, sales typically begins as the job of the founder or the CEO and scalable, sustainable growth is always the goal. Over time, the volume of pipeline flow and the growth of the business means that a marketing chief is often the next hire, even though that may not always be the best option. B2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment!The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world.Resources shared in this episode:Vaughan Immerwahr - How to choose the best outsourced SaaS marketing agencyMike Northfield - Key metrics for B2B SaaS marketing and sales leadersVaughan Immerwahr - What makes B2B SaaS marketing unique?Template - Define your marketing and sales lifecycle stagesT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

In B2B SaaS, the expectations for a $10,000/mo marketing team are totally different from a $100,000/mo one. As a Founder, CEO, COO or CMO, you need a way to know:• How do I forecast the amount of lead gen and revenue results to expect?• How large a marketing team do I really need?B2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book). With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment.B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software:Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiBrian Graf: CEO of KalungiBefore you spend a single dollar on building a marketing team, you need to know how much is “just right.” Leaders who are tasked – directly or indirectly – with budgeting and reporting oversight for growing SaaS revenue, like CFOs and COOs (as well as their fractional counterparts) can struggle how to get this marketing function right at first. Where to point the effort? How quick to move? How far to go? There are GTM priorities, bandwidth, competitors, frictions, multiple focuses to consider. Some things yield quick returns and others create deep trends that will need time to unfold.If all expectations are correct, results get delivered as promised and the revenue arrives on schedule. Any needed course corrections get identified and made early. If not, you could be in for a rough journey.Top founders and COOs in B2B SaaS inspect what they expect. This episode will help you know what to expect so you will be inspecting the right things and getting what you expect!Resources shared in this episode:Kalungi - Calculate your marketing budgetStijn Hendrikse - A guide to sales strategy & performance management Stijn Hendrikse - How to coach B2B sales teamsStijn Hendrikse - How to present marketing reports to your board (w/ template)Template - Define your marketing and sales lifecycle stagesT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topicsABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKSSince 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth.Meet our Marketing Snacks Podcast Hosts: Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 Masterclass & Book, Founder of KalungiAs a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader, Stijn has contributed to the success of 20+ startups as a C-level executive, including Chief Revenue Officer of Acumatica, CEO of MightyCall, a SaaS contact center solution, and leading the initial global Go-to-Market for Atera, a B2B SaaS Unicorn. Before focusing on startups, Stijn led global SMB Marketing and B2B Product Marketing for Microsoft’s Office platform.Brian Graf: CEO of KalungiAs CEO of Kalungi, Brian provides high-level strategy, tactical execution, and business leadership expertise to drive long-term growth for B2B SaaS. Brian has successfully led clients in all aspects of marketing growth, from positioning and messaging to event support, product announcements, and channel-spend optimizations, generating qualified leads and brand awareness for clients while prioritizing ROI. Before Kalungi, Brian worked in television advertising, specializing in business intelligence and campaign optimization, and earned his MBA at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business with a focus in finance and marketing.Visit Kalungi.com to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

Many sales forecasts are inaccurate. Let's make yours more predictable:1. Ground your projections in actual data instead of feelings. Many forecasts are based on opinion rather than actual data. If you’ve been in business for 3 or more months, you likely have access to data you can use. Let’s say you had 20 demos and 2 closed-won deals in the past three months—with this information, you can start to build a picture of your conversion rates. Roughly 10% of your demos convert to closed-won deals. And you can use that number as a starting point to calculate pipeline stage probabilities and weighted pipeline metrics based on actual historical data.2. Maintain good deal stage hygiene.Data hygiene always suffers when changes are made to pipeline stage names, conversion rate assumptions, or entry/exit criteria. This typically happens when sales or marketing leadership changes. If a stage is added or removed, it can have many downstream effects on reporting and conversion rate assumptions. The best way to avoid this is by being thoughtful and deliberate when building your deal stages—and sticking to them. Here are some best practices for deal stage setup: Only keep the necessary stages. 3–7 stages should cover most B2B scenarios. Too many stages can make upkeep harder for your sales team.Don’t allow for "parking lot" stages. Don't create stages that collect stalled deals. A typical example of this is “Discovery call no-show.” Instead of a unique deal stage, that should be converted to a property with a Yes/No value.Make stage entry/exit criteria discrete. Binary (yes/no) criteria should determine deal entry into each stage. For example, “Stage 1: Demo call scheduled” is clear, well-defined, and verifiable. A deal can only enter this stage if a prospect has a scheduled demo call calendar event with your sales rep. This is much more concrete than Stage 1: “Demoing,” which leaves room for ambiguity and subjective interpretation.Deals should only travel in one direction. Deals should never move backward in your funnel—you can’t ‘un-present’ a demo or proposal. Install rules to close out stalled deals (which inflate your pipeline), but never move deals backward.Percentage closure forecasts from stage to stage should be meaningful. For example, if a deal moves from Stage 1 to Stage 2, the change in the forecasted close rate should be significant—15% or more. If the forecast difference between two different stages is small (5%–10%), consider combining them into a single stage.Hold salespeople accountable for accurate data. What often seems like unimportant data entry has important implications for analyzing your marketing efforts, funnel dynamics, and ICP strategies.____Links shared in this episode:Stijn Hendrikse - A guide to sales strategy & performance management Stijn Hendrikse - How to coach B2B sales teamsMike Northfield - How to define an MQL for B2B SaaSTemplate - Define your marketing and sales lifecycle stagesT2D3 CMO MasterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topics

A simple 4-step approach to get your goals back on track:Define the problem. Write it down—be specific. Make sure everyone agrees on the problem. This step is incomplete until everyone interprets the problem in the same way.Uncover the ~real~ root cause. People often jump too quickly to conclusions and favor obvious explanations for symptoms. Most problems are nuanced with many contributing factors. Try to unpack all of the potential causes.Document all possible solutions. Once you’ve uncovered the root cause, go from theory to execution. List out all of the things you can do to move the needle.Build the plan and execute. Prioritize your to-do list and get after it. ____Links shared in this episode:T2D3 CMO Masterclass: t2d3.pro/masterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topics: kalungi.com/podcast

Jason Fried (37Signals) recently published an open challenge to the software subscription model—their stance is that customers should once again be able to buy and own software products. To pay for them once and own the source code.We discuss both models' pros and cons and speculate why Jason and the 37Signals teams introduced this strategy and manifesto. Here are some of our key takeaways:In the last few years, many software companies were able to get away with neglecting the second “s” in SaaS (service). But given the state of the tech industry, that’s now sometimes a determinant factor in whether or not someone continues using a product. We talk more about this in episode 44.Whether you sell software in a subscription model or through one-time version purchases or pay-per-update, there will almost always be a need for product innovation and support—to help customers succeed with the product and to maintain compatibility with hardware and browser changes. That can be paid for in service subscription fees (hence, the term, SaaS), or in other ways: for example, you could buy and own a software product, but the tradeoff is that you may need to coordinate and pay for server space, technical expertise to maintain it, and you’re stuck with a single version. The software world has trended toward the first model the last 10 years, but now people are starting to challenge this concept. For many products that aren’t consistently improving (or, in some cases, becoming bloated or harder to use)—customers often wonder, “What am I paying a continuous subscription for?” Supporting a pay-once model is an interesting positioning and differentiation play—and could be one of the underlying components of 37Signals’ strategy. For customers who’ve ever felt burned by the traditional SaaS model, a product that supports a pay-once philosophy could help you stand out from the competition.___Links shared in this episode:37Signals manifesto: once.comT2D3 CMO Masterclass: t2d3.pro/masterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topics: kalungi.com/podcast

Google has always guarded its search ranking factors. But thanks to the recent antitrust suit between the DOJ and Google, we now get a glimpse into the inner workings of their ranking systems through previously confidential internal documents. Here’s what we’ve confirmed about the process so far:Whenever new content is published and indexed on the internet, Google’s goal is to (as fast as possible) understand how relevant it is for searchers using its engine.Google uses three main factors of a document (or article) to do this:- Body - What a document says about itself (i.e., what do the URL, meta title, meta description, and body text signal about the content—will this be relevant for any existing search terms?)- Anchor - What the web says about the document (i.e., which other websites link to the document, do they also have authority in the same domain, what words are used in the hyperlink?) - User interactions - How readers respond to a document (i.e., clicks on the website, time spent on the result, clicks beyond the result page, subsequent searches, etc.) User interactions are the most critical ranking factor. If users show they're satisfied with the content delivered by a particular search query, Google further strengthens the relationship between the two. Here are some of the ways a user can signal satisfaction with the delivered content:- The user stays on the page- The user clicks through to other pages from the result content- The user doesn’t leave the page and returns to Google to continue their search (Google sees this kind of behavior—a bounce—as an indicator that they didn't get what they came for).The first few days after your content is indexed are critical. Google will ‘test’ your content with select audiences and search queries it thinks could match. It will continue to serve the content if user response signals are good. If user response is poor, it will deprioritize it or experiment with its delivery in alternate search queries. Content that summarizes information won’t cut it anymore. There are tools for that now. Content that will win will take information and add specificity, insights, and real-world examples that can only be gained from experience.____Links shared in this episode:Eric Hoffer - philosopher and master of original thoughtSearch Engine Land article - 7 must-see Google Search ranking documents in antitrust trial exhibitsT2D3 CMO Masterclass: t2d3.pro/masterclassSubmit and vote on our podcast topics: kalungi.com/podcast

Our best practices for presenting your marketing plan to the board of directors as companies are in the thick of 2024 planning.General guidelines:First, there are general guidelines you should always keep in mind when presenting your plan to the board:Come prepared - Don’t present plans that aren’t pressure tested. If you ask for money, be ready to answer questions about the specifics—results, how you’ll get there, data behind your hypotheses. Lead with the red - You’re not expected to be perfect at your job, but you do need to show that you’re the perfect person for your job. There will always be things that don’t go according to plan—you need to differentiate between what's relevant and irrelevant. Leading with things that can be done better can give you credibility. Don’t hide things that aren't working right now.Come with solutions - Prioritize and propose solutions for the things that didn’t go well. There are many ways to add revenue to the bottom line without creating new leads or MQLs. Think about other levers you can pull to impact revenue—here are 50+ examples to consider.Adopt a GTM mindset - Approach these conversations with the perspective that you are a go-to-market leader, not just a marketing leader. Everything in your company is intertwined. Ensure you're aligned with (and supporting) your other GTM leaders—Sales, Product, Success, etc.—in their efforts. Don’t present a marketing plan; present a holistic go-to-market approach and demonstrate how marketing’s role fits into it.Presenting your plan to the board.Your goal at the board meeting is to get alignment between the board and the CEO on three core metrics:Overall growth target - Your company’s reasonable growth aspiration. Consider what’s happening in the overall market and category you play in. This number gives you a foundation to forecast what you need to generate from your funnel.Net-revenue retention (NRR) - What will your revenue look like after expansions, upsells, churn, and contractions? For context, 2–3% churn is best-in-class. Aim for NRR above 100%.Profitability - What's the balance between growth and the cost of that growth? For every dollar that you spend, what will get returned?____Links shared in this episode:The Ansoff Matrix exercise for aligning your team around your growth priorities50+ growth lever examples for your go-to-market plan Jason Lemkin’s C10/C60/C90 frameworkT2D3 CMO MasterclassSuggest a topic for our podcast____About B2B SaaS Marketing SnacksB2B SaaS Marketing Snacks (BSMS) is a podcast produced by Kalungi that simplifies complex marketing topics in small bites. Hosted by Mike Northfield, Kalungi’s Chief Evangelist, and Stijn Hendrikse, Kalungi’s co-founder.Kalungi is a marketing agency that works with early-stage software startups. Kalungi is an instant-on marketing department that builds and deploys go-to markets for early-stage B2B SaaS companies using T2D3 methodologies. Clients get access to a strategic marketing leader that can be held accountable to results and is supported by a team of tactical marketing specialists.

Strong product marketing is crucial for early-stage software companies. But it’s also the most significant gap for many.Whether it’s your first marketing hire or someone from your founding team, someone on your team should be able to connect their deep understanding of your product (features, capabilities, value delivery) with an overarching go-to-market plan.Some of the core product marketing capabilities your team needs are:Positioning: Understand your market and the competition. Create a point of view & product narrative. What makes you unique, different, or better than the alternatives?Packaging & Pricing: Make difficult decisions about product packages and pricing that maximize revenue per user and support your go-to-market motion (product-led growth, marketing-led growth, or sales-led growth).Messaging: Clarify your point of view with compelling communication that acknowledges your best-fit customers, who they are, how they buy, and where they are in the buying process. Turn features and functionalities into capabilities, outcomes, and benefits. Promotion: Enable your sales force, create content that creates and captures demand, and decide which channels to invest in.Links shared in this episode: t2d3.pro/masterclassSubmit and vote on questions for us to answer: https://www.kalungi.com/podcast ____B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks (BSMS) is a podcast produced by Kalungi that simplifies complex marketing topics in small bites. BSMS is hosted by Mike Northfield, Kalungi’s Chief Evangelist, and Stijn Hendrikse, a co-founder of Kalungi.Kalungi is a marketing agency that works with early-stage software startups. Kalungi is an instant marketing department that builds and deploys complete go-to-markets using T2D3 methodologies. Full-service clients get access to a strategic marketing leader (Associate CMO) and a team of tactical marketing specialists that can be held accountable to results.

The content playbook that worked in the 2010s doesn’t work anymore. Things like keyword search volume, word count, and post date/time don’t have the same impact they used to. Instead of working backward from keyword to content, good content marketing does the reverse—start with a question you think you can answer better than someone else. Don’t worry about the keywords for now.There are two steps to nailing good content in 2023:Understand the problem. Who are you talking to? What are the questions they’re asking? Articulate the problem in terms your audience will connect with.Look at existing content on the topic and ask yourself: “Can I add real value to these results?” Be critical: will your point of view make a meaningful contribution? If you can solve a problem better than others—you can probably say something about it.Google is overflowing with content by folks who chose a keyword to rank for, then wrote content that tries to rank for it without expertise on the topic. As a result, so much B2B content is generic, basic, and long-winded. Strong content strategy starts with a common problem or question and expert-level content. SEO considerations should only come after you’ve created content worth being consumed. Here are four criteria that should be fulfilled before you create new content:There is a collection of people who share a problemYou understand and can articulate that problemYou can expertly solve their problem (or answer their question) better than othersPeople can find your answerSome things will make your content perform better (proper markup, strong UX, good core web vitals, backlinks, interlinking, etc.), but if you don’t start with a foundation of valuable material—it won’t get you far. Links shared in this episode:Free content marketing hub from Kalungi: https://www.kalungi.com/content-playbook Executive SaaS marketing frameworks by Stijn and Mike: https://www.t2d3.pro/ Instant marketing team for early-stage software startups: https://www.kalungi.com/services/full-service-b2b-saas-marketing-team  Submit and vote on questions for us to answer: https://www.kalungi.com/podcast ____B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks (BSMS) is a podcast that simplifies complex marketing topics in small bites, produced by Kalungi. Hosted by Mike Northfield, Kalungi’s Chief Evangelist, and Stijn Hendrikse, Kalungi’s co-founder.Kalungi is a marketing agency that works with early-stage software startups. Kalungi acts as an instant marketing department that will build and deploy a company's complete go-to-market using T2D3 methodologies. Full-service clients get access to a strategic marketing leader and a team of tactical marketing specialists who can be held accountable for results.

The true definition of product-market fit is highly contested online. But one thing is clear from our experience: most founders think they’ve hit PMF far before they truly have. What does product-market fit (PMF) actually mean; and how should your go-to-market techniques change once you get to PMF? Product-market fit means finding a defensible beachhead of customers (a cluster of similar customers) who pay, stay, and refer others like them. In this episode, Stijn shares a simple list of 10 milestones we use to measure a company's journeys toward product-market fit. As with everything we share, it’s just a model for reference—not gospel.Resources:See how we assemble and launch complete marketing functions at Kalungi.comSelf-paced education, certification, templates & guides for your go-to-market at t2d3.proSchedule a free GTM audit & diagnosis with one of our Associate CMOsSuggest and vote on podcast topics at kalungi.com/podcast

2022 and 2023 brought new pressure to the software industry that many mature industries have felt for a long time. Here’s our take on what happened and where we go from here. What happened?2010–2021 were the years of plenty, with an extra push in the back from COVIDSince growth capital was so cheap, it was easy to get away with mediocre performance The bar of performance was not high enoughGrowth was seen as a metric of success, not profit Where do we go?Add discipline to how you run, just do the basics really wellDeliver at a higher standard of executionWhen you apply success metrics and business expectations of other industries to many companies in the software industry, software performance is poorPeople got more excited about growth than things like CAC, and getting the most out of the customers and funnel they already hadDo your research. Find out where your competitors are lacking quality and invest your efforts in that. Want to know more about Kalungi or have a chat with our team about your company? Go to kalungi.com and book a free 30-minute meeting.Want to learn about the T2D3 method? Get the book and certification at t2d3.proTell us what you think or suggest a topic for the next episode here!

Today we talk about what to do when your company is falling behind. What are the first things you should focus on? How do you prioritize your problems? It’s easy to get caught in the weeds and forget that SaaS companies are relatively simple. Before anything else, take a step back and look at the three core levers for ARR growth:Monetize (expansion)Upsell and monetize your existing audience & customersGrow number of units per account (i.e., expand user penetration).Increase ARPU (price optimization & cross-sells).Drive advocacy: Turn referrals into new opportunities.Retain (reduce churn)Make sure your existing customers stay with youRenew customer commitments (minimize churn).Minimize down-sells by existing customers.Increase features usage and/or usage frequency by existing users.Win (acquisition)Get new customers in the doorIncrease win rate (conversion rate from Opp to Win)Increase average sales price/deal size (ACV)Grow opportunity volume. Make the funnel biggerEach of the three levers has a specific set of core metrics that you can use to assess their health. Some examples:Expansion: Users per account, number of users that upgrade, average revenue per unit, cross sells, pricing and packagingRetention: Number of down-sells, feature usage/frequency, NPS/CSAT scoresAcquisition: Average sales price/deal size (ACV), opportunity volume, conversion rate from opp to winWe also share more frameworks for problem-solving and identifying issues within your business. All that and more in this episode. Thanks for listening. P.S. This topic is also covered in the T2D3 Masterclass lecture 13, “Inspect what you expect”. 

Today we talk about our marketing audit. It’s a 15 category scorecard where we dig into the details of and assess our clients' full marketing and sales functions. Typically our clients score about 32 points out of 75.Today we’re diving into all the categories, and discussing what clients usually get right, and what they usually get wrong.  From the first 8 audits we’ve analyzed, we’ve picked up some trends. Here’s a quick look: Best things: 1. PMF 2. Content marketing 3. Brand and websiteWorst things: 1. ABM2. Marketing tech (martech) 3. Paid media campaigns (including search) We’ll post a more detailed deep dive on the trends on the T2D3.pro blog. 

To make decisions about where and how you deploy and focus your teams, you need to answer the question: “where does our pipeline & 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.

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

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 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?