What do you do when all your marketing results stink? Sometimes you have a problem that is underpinning all of your marketing efforts. This presentation talks about testing you can do to see if you have a problem with your underlying positioning and strategy.

1. April Dunford @aprildunford RocketWatcher.com
What to do when all of your
marketing results stink
MARKETING
STRATEGY HACKS

2. Been there, done that,
have a closet full of ugly t-shirts
6: Startups
4: Exits
3: Big Co’s (because, exits)
$2B: Exit value
10: Launches
0 - $20M: Budgets

3. Sometimes it feels like
nothing works

4. Signs You May Have a Problem
Tactical Optimization Can’t Fix
• Growth is stalled.
• Your metrics overall kinda suck.
• Your lead quality is low.
• Your sales team hates you.

5. There May Be an Underlying Problem
That’s Holding You Back

6. Example
Situation: Acquisition - inherited team, programs.
Responsible for $300M pipeline, $10M budget
Target: banking and insurance CIO’s
Problem: Flat to negative growth
Hypothesis 1: Lousy execution
Action: Optimization freak out
Result: meh
Hypothesis 2: Stale tactics
Action: New tactics testing
Result: underwhelming
Conclusion: “Dude the Economy blows,
let it ride”

7. Wait,
WHAT!?
Then I sit on sales calls to hear my best
rep do calls with IT leads…
Could you
pass me to
the head
of sales?
My best rep
Me

8. All My
Amazing
Marketing
Stuff
Messaging
Email lists
Content
Events
Call scripts
Web
content
Ad
Campaigns
Landing
Pages

9. Perfectly
optimized
for the
WRONG
BUYERS
Messaging
Email lists
Content
Events
Call scripts
Web
content
Ad
Campaigns
Landing
Pages

10. Messaging
Email lists
Content
Events
Call scripts
Web
content
Ad
Campaigns
Landing
Pages

11. It’s
Strategy
Hack
Time

12. Advanced
Easy
Market Strategy:
2 Things To Hack Around With
1. Target “Buyers”
2. Market

13. 1/ Finding the best
marketing target

14. Potential Marketing Targets (B2B)
SolutionEnd Users
Managers
Functional
Execs
Overlay
Functions
(IT, HR,
Finance)
Cross-
Functional
Execs
Who is
important
shifts as the
market
shifts

15. How to Select the Best Target
1. Who does our value resonate with the
most?
2. Who is the easiest to reach?
3. Who has the most influence on a
purchase?
4. Which audience is underserved (Where
is the competition the weakest)?

16. Example: Picking a Target
End Users Function
Heads
C-Level
Execs
Understand
the Value
H M M
Easy to Reach H M L
Purchase
Influence
L M H
Underserved H L L
Solution: Tool for business analysts to improve
requirements management process

17. Example: Picking a Target
End Users Function
Heads
C-Level
Execs
Understand
the Value
H M M
Easy to Reach H M L
Purchase
Influence
L M H
Underserved H L L
Solution: Tool for business analysts to improve
requirements management process
Selling
Here

18. Example: Picking a Target
End Users Function
Heads
C-Level
Execs
Understand
the Value
H M M
Easy to Reach H M L
Purchase
Influence
L M H
Underserved H L L
Solution: Tool for business analysts to improve
requirements management process
But this
looks
Interesting
(and scary)

19. Can We Really Sell Here?
End
Users
Function
Heads
C-Level
Execs
Understand
the Value
H M M
Easy to
Reach
H M L
Purchase
Influence
L M H
Underserved H L L
Tests:
ü Marketing Content
(making the case to
your boss for XX)
ü Offerings - Free Trial,
Free for end users,
managers pay later
ü Pricing Models – per
user vs. per enterprise
More deals, higher close rates,
increased pipeline velocity

20. 2/ Finding the best market to
position your solution in

21. Every Product Can be Positioned in
More than One Market
VS.

22. Sometimes the
Market You’re
Currently
Positioned in
Just Sucks

23. Market Frame of Reference Signals
Many Things to Your Market
1. Competitive comparable
2. What you are good at (and bad at)
3. What your price should be
4. Who you are for

24. I know
what you
are, you’re a
Data
Warehouse
But I thought I
was a
database!
Market Repositioning Example

25. Positioning Comparison
Database Data Warehouse
Competitive
Alternative
Oracle, Microsoft Crummy startups
Expected
Strengths
Be better than my
current database at
everything
Be better than my database
at running a wicked fast
query on a big data set
Expected
Price
$$ $$$$
Who is This
For?
Pretty much every
business
Businesses who need to
analyze a big data set

26. Positioning Comparison
Database Data Warehouse
Competitive
Alternative
Oracle, Microsoft Crummy startups
Expected
Strengths
Be better than my
current database at
everything
Be better than my database
at running a wicked fast
query on a big data set
Expected
Price
$$ $$$$
Who is This
For?
Pretty much every
business
Businesses who need to
analyze a big data set

27. How Can You Tell if Your
Market Positioning is a
Problem?

28. Testing Your Positioning
Symptoms Tests
Prospects don’t
get what you do
Test messaging that sets you against a different
comparison product.
Your value prop
is weak
Interviews/Surveys – why do current customers love your
stuff? Does it match your messaging?
Prospects think
you’re “me too”
Interview/survey customers – what do they think sets you
apart? Does that match your messaging?
Competitors are
killing you
Interview/survey customers - what was #1 buying reason?
Is there a different market that cares more about that?

29. What is it
As short as possible statement
that describes what you are.
Target Segment
The specific target market you are
targeting in the short term
Market Category
The market that you compete in
Competitive Alternatives
If your customers don’t use you,
what do they use
Key Benefit
The biggest benefit that your
target market derives from your
offering
Primary Differentiation
The one thing that sets you apart
the most from the competitive
alternatives
Capture and Revisit Your Positioning
RocketWatcher.com

30. Thanks!
@aprildunford
RocketWatcher.com