Growth Talks: Growth Marketing Strategies & Insights Right Side Up

Ever wondered when you should hire your first product marketer? 🤔 In this episode, Krystina Rubino sits down with Deanna Dong, Head of Product Marketing at Writer, a generative AI company. Formerly the VP of Marketing at Wealthfront, Deanna’s experience in early to late stage companies across AI, SaaS, healthcare, FinTech, and crypto gives her a unique perspective on the role of product marketing at any company.
Deanna dives deep into why product marketing is crucial for startups and what it takes to build this function from the ground up. Get tips on how to effectively align internal stakeholders, the importance of experimenting with positioning and messaging, and when to hire your first product marketer.
 
⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 Introducing Deanna Dong, Head of Product Marketing at Writer
01:15 Explaining the foundational role of product marketing in startup success
03:00 Exploration of product marketing's evolution from early to later stage companies
04:26 The importance of target audience identification and the pitfalls of a broad target approach
05:35 How product marketing gets operationalized through collaboration and internal alignment
06:24 Discussion on tactical steps for establishing effective product positioning
07:36 Utilizing customer feedback and competitive analysis to refine product marketing strategies
09:04 The challenges of aligning various team opinions and the strategies to manage them effectively
10:42 A/B test segment comparing different marketing strategies and personal preferences
27:44 The transition from early to later stages in product marketing roles and the ideal timing to hire a product marketing manager
31:25 Leveraging AI in product marketing and the future of the role in an AI-driven landscape
35:38 Deanna shares her personal career path and the lessons learned from navigating various roles and taking sabbaticals
45:32 Closing thoughts and the importance of figuring out personal career desires and goals
 
🔗 Mentioned in this episode
Writer: www.writer.com
Wealthfront: www.wealthfront.com
UserTesting: www.usertesting.com
 
🤝Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1000+ companies hit their growth goals.  Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: https://rightsideup.com/resources/growth-marketing-newsletter/
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

In this episode of Growth Talks, Krystina Rubino chats with Doug Hoggatt, VP of Marketing at Elfster, to explore the past, present, and future of growth marketing. Doug shares his extensive experience and insights from over 25 years in the industry, discussing the shift from early digital marketing strategies to today's complex landscape, the impact of cookie deprecation on the future of digital marketing, and the importance of leveraging offline channels earlier.
 
⏰ Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introducing Doug Hoggatt, VP Marketing of Elfster
00:01:42 - Doug's Background in Growth Marketing the last 25 years
00:03:53 - Exploring Alternatives to Online Channels
00:06:00 - Limitations of Remarketing and Lookalike Modeling
00:09:00 - Rise of Influencers in Marketing
00:14:09 - Timing and Strategic Approach to Channel Diversification
00:19:58 - Startup Mistakes in Marketing Spend
00:27:32 - A/B Testing with Doug: Insights on Personal Preferences
00:36:26 - Value of Direct Mail in Modern Marketing
00:40:15 - The Myth of Growth Hacking
00:42:57 - Closing Remarks and Acknowledgments
 
🔗 Mentioned in this episode
Elfster: www.elfster.com
LiftLab: https://www.liftlab.com/
More episodes of Growth Talks: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
 
🤝Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1000+ companies hit their growth goals.  Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: https://rightsideup.com/resources/growth-marketing-newsletter/
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

In this episode of Growth Talks, Krystina Rubino chats with Manbir Sodhia, SVP of Marketing at Whisker, the brand behind the innovative products including Litter-Robot, Feeder-Robot, and Litterbox. Manbir discusses how to build the foundation needed for sustainable DTC acquisition strategies, the importance of diversifying beyond Meta and Google, and how he leverages his secret weapon, a growth matrix, to build an experimentation mindset on his teams.
 
⏰ Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction and guest background
00:02:12 Manbir's transition from music to marketing
00:07:21 Building the foundation of DTC customer acquisition
00:14:15 Navigating channel expansion and market complexities
00:22:17 Adapting strategies in dynamic market conditions
00:30:28 Diversifying acquisition beyond Facebook and Google
00:45:56 The impact of authenticity and company culture on marketing
00:51:26 Manbir's perspective on growth "non-hacks"
00:53:03 Conclusion and appreciations
 
🔗 Links to check out
Learn more about Whisker: www.whisker.com
More episodes of Growth Talks: https://bit.ly/3xXGJJc
 
🤝Connect with Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a premium growth marketing agency that has helped more than 1000+ companies hit their growth goals. 
‣ Check us out and send us a note at: https://bit.ly/4bfaBQt
‣ Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3HWiJYD
‣ Subscribe to our marketing newsletter: https://rightsideup.com/resources/growth-marketing-newsletter/
‣ Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rightsideup/
‣ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightSideUpCo/
‣ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rightsideupco

Welcome to Growth Talks, Right Side Up’s new sit down series. Join us as we chat with growth leaders and marketing executives from leading brands and companies across industries and stages including Credit Karma, Coinbase, Whisker, and many more. Our guests will spill the tea, share their wins and war stories, and arm you with actionable insights on how to craft best-in-class strategies, execute with efficiency, and build your dream team.
From exploring the evolution of growth marketing over the past 15 years to walking the tightrope between brand and performance marketing without missing a beat to the epic saga of launching an ecommerce storefront from scratch—we'll dig into it all.