The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

#212: Marketing Leadership | Lessons for First-Time Marketing Leaders with Michael Cole, SVP of Everflow

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Jan 21, 2025

Michael Cole, SVP of Marketing at Everflow, shares his inspiring journey of building Everflow's marketing function from the ground up. He reveals effective strategies for transforming satisfied customers into referral partners and discusses the delicate balance between organic growth and paid advertising. Michael emphasizes the importance of flexibility in team structures and collaboration with complementary businesses. His insights on delegation and accountability shed light on leading a thriving marketing team, making it a must-listen for aspiring marketing leaders.

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ANECDOTE

From Customer to Marketer

Michael Cole was customer #23 of Everflow before joining the marketing team.
He scaled Everflow's revenue using his expertise as a power user.

ADVICE

First 90 Days as a Marketer

Start by understanding the company's current growth and channels.
Organize existing data before developing new marketing strategies.

ADVICE

Referral Program

Leverage happy customers for referrals; it's a powerful growth engine.
Ask customer success to identify happy customers and encourage referrals.

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In this episode, Dave sits down with Michael Cole, SVP of Marketing at Everflow, a partner marketing platform that helps companies manage referral and affiliate programs. Michael discusses his journey from being Everflow’s first marketing hire to leading a marketing team of 16, and shares strategies for building a marketing function from the ground up.

Dave and Michael cover:

How Everflow turns happy customers into referral partners
What it’s like to be a first-time marketing leader
Building a marketing function from scratch

Timestamps

(00:00) - - Introduction to Michael
(05:45) - - Michael’s journey to marketing leadership
(10:32) - - Understanding company growth before developing your strategy
(13:36) - - Turning happy customers into referrals
(17:41) - - Scaling a successful team
(24:12) - - Referrals vs. paid ads
(28:29) - - Organic vs. paid strategies
(30:56) - - Growing organically and spreading through word-of-mouth
(32:42) - - Finding complementary business partnerships
(38:55) - - Enhancing content creation
(41:55) - - Delegation and accountability in a strong team
(42:54) - - Strategizing for growth
(46:04) - - Closing remarks

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