Finding Market Fit: Marketing Leaders in Tech

What founders should look for in a CMO, lessons in building great leadership teams, and why brand strategy comes before growth | Joanna Lord (Reforge, Skyscanner, ClassPass)

Jul 25, 2023

Joanna Lord, an executive in residence at Reforge, discusses the importance of brand strategy before growth, building accountable marketing orgs, and finding the right CMO. She emphasizes the relationship between marketing and product leaders, the four pillars of a brand strategy, and the qualities to look for in a CMO beyond specific domains. The podcast also explores the components of a high-performing organization and managing values and culture in high-performing organizations.

45:05

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Episode guests

Joanna Lord

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Establishing a strong brand strategy is crucial for efficient growth and marketing alignment.

When hiring marketing leaders, prioritize capabilities over specific roles or titles for a well-rounded team.

Deep dives

Building a High-Performing Marketing Organization

To build a high-performing marketing organization, it is important to prioritize accountability, efficiency, enthusiasm, and a culture of curiosity. The organization should be structured in a way that is fluid and adaptable to the changing needs of the business. The values and culture of the organization should be established by the founder or CEO, but it is important to constantly evaluate and potentially augment them as the company evolves. Hiring leaders with strong commercial acumen, emotional intelligence, and a kind and collaborative approach is crucial for building a successful organization. Additionally, an organization should be focused on delivering results, embracing innovation, and maintaining a strong sense of pride and enthusiasm for the work they do.

Introduction

2min

The Importance of Brand Strategy in Achieving Growth

17min

Hiring the First Marketing Leader or CMO

15min

Characteristics of a CMO and Developing Fluid Org Structures

4min

Components of a High Performing Organization

3min

Managing Values and Culture in High-Performing Organizations

3min

Joanna is an Executive in Residence at Reforge, marketing advisor and angel investor. For over 20 years she has helped build and scale companies across a number of categories, business models, and audiences. She was previously the CMO of Skyscanner, one of the largest travel marketplaces in the world, and CMO of ClassPass, a leading health and wellness platform.

We discuss:

Establishing the right brand strategy
Building the foundations of leadership with the right partners
A more effective way to find the right CMO for founders and CEOs
Building accountable and high performing marketing orgs

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Where to find Joanna

Joanna's LinkedIn Profile

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Joanna's refers to

Google's CMO Archetypes

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Where to find Patrick

Patrick's LinkedIn Profile

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(2:20) Why brand strategy comes before growth

(3:51) Connecting the brand strategy to the company and product strategies

(6:24) Breaking down the components of the brand strategy

(7:10) Companies who have done brand well

(10:22) If you don't have a 10X product, you should be thinking about your brand

(11:55) The four pillars of a brand strategy

(15:25) The relationship between a marketing and product leaders

(17:49) Short term and long term planning across the leadership team to sustain the growth model

(19:40) What to look for in a CMO or in a new marketing leader beyond the domains they spike on - growth, brand, or product marketing

(24:30) Why tenure among the C-level for CMOs is the shortest

(28:10) Lessons in building a great leadership team

(32:06) A lack of diversity in the team is a predetermined conversation

(34:35) The X factor has more power than experience

(35:24) Org structures and when and why to restructure

(38:27) Building high performing marketing organizations the commonalities behind them

(41:40) Ensuring the right values. Culture usually comes from the founder

(44:15) Where to find Joanna!

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Finding Market Fit: Marketing Leaders in Tech

What founders should look for in a CMO, lessons in building great leadership teams, and why brand strategy comes before growth | Joanna Lord (Reforge, Skyscanner, ClassPass)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Building a High-Performing Marketing Organization

The Importance of Brand Alignment

Considerations for Hiring Marketing Leaders

Developing Effective Org Structures

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts