Building With Buyers: Startup Marketing and Growth Fueled By Customers

This episode is the 3rd in a 3-part series of episodes where I explore 3 topics: Positioning (two episodes ago) Strategic Narrative (last episode) Category Design (this episode) I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but not always fully understood. What are the key differences?  When should you use one method over another? What’s my take on them? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful and WHY? That's comin' in a BONUS episode this Friday. This episode was recorded for the Category First podcast. Josh Lowman (Founder and CCO at Gold Front) invited me on the show to literally help me category design my business. I love this episode because we are going deep on internal strategy. So I take a first pass and Josh has so much feedback for me, you gotta hear it. Also in this episode: Gold Front’s category strategy; The unique problem my business solves; Giving the problem a name that CEOs and Founders will connect with; How to get more specific with language. You can find Josh on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/joshlowman Check out Gold Front: www.goldfront.com Category First podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://pod.co/category-first For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Hiya! This episode is the 2nd in a 3-part series of episodes where I explore 3 topics: Positioning (last episode) Strategic Narrative (this one) Category Design (next time) I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but not always fully understood. What are the key differences?  When should you use one method over another? What’s my take on them? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful and WHY? Andy Raskin is the master of strategic narrative. He helps CEOs align their teams around a strategic narrative to power success in sales, marketing, fundraising, product and recruiting. Clients include VC-backed companies funded by top VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Google Ventures, and First Round Capital. Also in this episode: Quick review of strategic narrative; What's the best way to write it down; Strategic narrative is one story to rule it all, from the old way to the new way, but in many cases there are multiple new ways, so how do you convince someone that your way is the best new way; Investors and employees love old game vs. new game thinking and creating a movement but do prospects actually get it in a sales meeting; Should you position yourself as an expert and "teach" on a sales call; Why don’t more companies adopt the Strategic Narrative mindset; What’s the difference between Strategic Narrative and Category Design; Andy asks me his burning question. You can find Andy on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/andyraskin Andy's website: andyraskin.com Andy's podcast: ⁠andyraskin.com/podcast For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Happy New Year! I'll keep saying that until we're well into February. Winter is so much easier when there's something to celebrate! This episode kicks off a series of episodes where I’m going to explore three topics in-depth: Positioning Strategic Narrative Category Design I hear these concepts being thrown around all the time but not always fully understood. What are the key differences?  When should you use one method over another? What’s my take on them? Which one do I think is actually the most helpful and WHY? We start off with Positioning. I am a huge fan of April Dunford and the work that she does so I asked her to come back on the podcast for Round 2. This time we talk about how your Positioning feeds smoothly into your Sales Pitch. Also in this episode: April talks about her recent experience launching a podcast; The goal of a great sales pitch; What do great sales calls have in common; How to structure your sales pitch so that prospects are confident making choices; WHY does structuring your sales pitch in this way work better than other approaches out there; Applying the Sales Pitch process to my own business; Why companies hire April (HINT: alignment). You can find April on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford April's website: www.aprildunford.com April's podcast: Positioning with April Dunford For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Gotta love a BONUS on a Friday! In the last episode (Ep. 184) I didn’t get a chance to answer Merci and Derek's burning questions so I decided to put together this quick BONUS episode and do just that. Questions: 1) What are you seeing that’s working (with marketing) with your clients? 2) Which channel or method are startups underutilizing? For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Happy MLK Day! So I did this once before where I had a couple of startup founders join me on the show (check out Ep. 168) and I super loved the dynamic (listeners did too!) so I did it again.  These are a couple of companies that, at first glance, look and seem similar. They’ve got similar sized teams. They both talk about Growth or GTM which are seemingly similar concepts. But after digging deeper, I realize that they’ve got a bunch of differences. Who they’re for, what they do for their target buyer, pricing structures, etc. So one of the big takeaways from this episode is I ask a lot of clarifying questions. This is a helpful process, to bring in someone that doesn’t live and breathe your startup, tell them who you’re for and what you’ve built, and then see how much they understand. We also cover: Who's on their GTM team and hiring their first marketer; Why did they decide to go Freemium or Self-Serve right from the start;  What marketing big bets are they taking in 2024 and why; What's been the hardest thing about marketing; Why aren’t prospects inspired to take action, how do you get people to care about what you’re building; Merci and Derek ask me their burning questions and I'll answer them in this week's BONUS episode. About Panobi: Founded: 2022 Funding: Seed Description: The platform for growth. Metrics, experiments and reports in one place. About Ignition: Founded: 2021 Funding: Seed Description: The GTM Ops platform. AI-powered Research, Roadmapping, and GTM Enablement. You can find Merci on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/merci Learn more about Panobi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.panobi.com⁠ You can find Derek on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/derekosgood3 Learn more about Ignition: www.haveignition.com Link to MKT1 marketing org hiring article that I talk about: https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/marketing-org-chart For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

Emily Kramer, Co-Founder at MKT1, discusses warning signs before investing in startups, GTM strategy, MKT1 Capital Fund, and burning questions. The episode covers marketing strategies, unique advantages, and the significance of aligning tactics with business goals for startup growth.

Happy New Year! Wishing you a year filled with gratitude and grace, light over darkness. After 3 years of podcasting and 180+ episodes, I'm sharing with you what I've learned. For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off. OK, final episode of 2023! I swear this time, this was just too important to leave until next year. Just coming off the last episode with Natalie Marcotullio (Navattic) we talk a lot about measuring our marketing efforts. Huge challenge for marketers and founders and will continue to be a huge challenge because the methods we use for marketing continue to change over time: is the stuff we’re doing actually working? Should we start this marketing effort? Should we keep doing this marketing program? A lot of times we hear the question: "What's the ROI on this?" If you’re hearing that question and it makes you cringe, you’re not alone. For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

This episode is sponsored by Riverside, your all-in-one podcast and video platform. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.riverside.fm/Anna⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code MSM23 for 15% off. Merry Christmas! You can snuggle up to the fireplace with this final episode of 2023. I’ve been working with the Navattic team for 1+ years now as an advisor, great team and super love the space they're playing in and the problem they're solving. I’ve had Natalie on the show before, check out Ep. 139 “To Be The Company That Seems To Be Everywhere, You Need To Eliminate The Funnel Mindset.” This time we focused on the loaded question "what's the ROI?" on various marketing initiatives. About Navattic: Founded: 2020 Funding: Seed ($5.4M total) Description: Create interactive product demos to let prospects get hands-on with your product (without bugging engineering). In this episode: Why did you podcast; Why did you stop; Will you start back up again with the podcast; LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads vs. traditional paid ads and top learnings; The interactive demo space is so competitive, how’re you thinking about your positioning; AMA - Natalie asks me her burning question. You can find Natalie on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-marcotullio/⁠ Learn more about Navattic: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.navattic.com/ Check out their podcast Revenue on the Rocks: https://pod.co/revenue-on-the-rocks For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show! And whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: 1. fractional head of marketing for early stage startups >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ 2. sponsor my Top 5% podcast and get startup founders, marketers and VCs hearing about your brand >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcast.furmanovmarketing.com/⁠⁠ 3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up to get my monthly early stage startup marketing newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where I’m sharing playbooks and insights and cracking some jokes You can also find me hanging out on LinkedIn, definitely say hello and tell me what you're building >> ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov

In this episode, the podcast explores Step 10 of the MaaS process, which is Go-to-Market Strategy. It covers the significance of integrating previous work, prioritizing marketing channels, developing content, and creating a one-page marketing plan. The episode also provides tips for creating valuable content, highlighting the importance of original thinking, research, and content creation strategies.