The Marketing Mix Steve Cummins - Solent Strategies

If you’ve ever wondered if the traditional marketing funnel still makes sense, you’re on the same wavelength as Georgiana (Gia) Laudi, co-author of “Forget the Funnel.”

Gia would rather talk about Customer Led Growth, an alternate approach - applied particularly to SaaS marketing and recurring revenue models - focused on a deeper understanding of the experience of the “best customers.”

On this episode of The Marketing Mix, Gia highlights the shortcomings of some standard marketing strategies including MQL/SQLs and Pirate (AARRR) metrics; and explains how a Customer Led Growth process can provide much deeper insights.

We talk about the challenges of developing the right messaging in Founder-led start-ups, as the product evolves and the customer base expands. And how the “Voice of the Customer” process has changed with the use of platforms like G2 and Capterra, but still requires in depth customer interviews. 

Gia walks through part of the Customer Led Growth process they have developed at Forget the Funnel, including how they select the customers, and the focus on “Jobs to be Done.” She also shares some of her favorite customer questions and insights.

If you’re intrigued by the conversation, you should check out Gia’s book “Forget the Funnel”. 

Should your marketing agency focus on B2B Manufacturers? 
There are more than 250,000 manufacturing companies in the US, with the majority of them producing B2B products. And the buyer profiles, their motivations, and the decision processes they go through, are not the same as a B2C, or even a regular B2B customer.

Ian Loew, of Lform Design, talks about his decision to specialize his web design company on B2B Manufacturers, and explains some of the unique aspects of their website requirements: the need to integrate with an ERP system; the large volumes of data behind the scenes; and the fact that the target audience is often highly technical and prefers self-service tools like calculators and product selectors.

We talk about the pros and cons of Wordpress against a custom design. And Ian shares his thoughts on how prospective web designers can get started, whether it’s back end or front-end programming (hint: just start something).


Some of Ian's favorite resources for design inspiration:
Awwwards
Dribbble
Smashing Magazine
Colossal
Wired Magazine

To connect with Ian, or find out more about the work they do at Lform Design:
Ian's LinkedIn Profile
Lform's website

Highlights and Timestamps:
03:40    Integrating ERP systems with custom web designs for B2B Manufacturers
05:50    Exploring the benefits of WordPress vs custom website design
09:40    The website design process – Discovery, Design, Coding, Content, Launch
11:30    Design considerations for website development
14:30    Working effectively with Client requests and priorities
17:05    How to get started in web design and development
22:10    New Jersey Proud! Explaining the focus on B2B Manufacturing and NJ businesses
24:00    Ian’s go-to resources for design inspiration
25:40    Sipping a Manhattan…or a really good tequila on the rocks!

Brian Cobb, Creative Director at Opengear, shares his thoughts on how AI tools can streamline the creative process. We go beyond the social media “sound bites” about the evils of  ChatGPT and DALL-E (!) to talk about real world applications in marketing design.
What are some ways that AI can be integrated into existing tools and processes that Creatives and Designers currently use? [04:45] 
How can we tap into the power of AI to optimize the higher-level thinking, and automate some of the repetitive tasks to free up more time for creativity? What does this mean for the concept of an Organizing Idea? [10:12]
It looks as though Adobe are taking a thoughtful approach, releasing a beta version of Firefly and incorporating AI tools into the Cloud Experience Suite. They focus on “Creators First” – offering their tools as a “Creative Copilot” – and are being careful to consider copyright issues, and respecting their core audience of professional designers and creators. [15:18]
Brian’s varied career has taken him through a number of agency roles, and in-house or corporate marketing roles. He compares the skill sets and mindset needed for each, and talks about the constant need to be “selling” during the agency creative process. [23:52]
And of course, Brian shares his favorite cocktail: a Dark and Stormy made the traditional way. [34:20]
To connect with Brian, visit his website at BrianCobbCreative.com, or look him up on LinkedIn.
Brian mentioned some websites and other resources for creative inspiration:
https://www.commarts.com
https://theinspirationgrid.com
https://www.thisiscolossal.com
https://www.ai-ap.com
https://www.pentagram.com
https://coolhunting.com
https://www.luerzersarchive.com
https://www.wired.com
https://adage.com
https://www.adweek.com
https://www.mmm-online.com/home
The Book of Gossage https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1109060
Ogilvy on Advertising https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/641601

Timestamps:
0:02:19
Brian describes his Professional journey post-military, with experience in multiple agencies and in-house roles 
 0:04:45
Exploring the Impact of AI on Creative Roles
0:08:33
Discussing the Benefits of AI in Creative Processes
0:15:42
Adobe Creative Suite: Keeping the Core Audience in Mind
0:19:14
Discussion of Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative and Its Impact on Creators
0:24:25
The Dynamics of Selling Creative Work in an Agency Setting
0:31:06
How Brian Stays Up-to-Date with Marketing Trends
0:34:20
Brian’s drink of choice – the Dark and Stormy

On this episode, we talk to Charley Karpiuk, Growth Marketing Manager at Airtame.

His career path hasn't been traditional, with his first Marketing experience coming from promoting his own music events as a DJ, and starting an English language school in Japan. These both showed him the importance of community building, and the value of remaining adaptable to the situation.

Charley talks about the pros and cons of using funnels to design marketing strategies [12:45], their application in B2B and B2B2C, and how to measure their success [20:15].

Generative AI and ChatGPT are the hot topics right now. So we talk specifically about how that may impact search over the next year or two, and how we think Google may react to Bing's quick adoption of AI [24:45].

And since this is the Marketing Mix, we ask Charley about his favorite cocktail - his own creation called a 'Citron de Charles' (said with a french accent!). Hear the recipe at [35:50].

To connect with Charley, find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskarpiuk/

In the episode, I mention a New York Times article about Bing's AI Chatbot. The full article is here: A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled by Kevin Roose.

Timestamps:

0:03:55  Creating a Community of Japanese Housewives and Word of Mouth Marketing
0:06:31 Exploring Different Personas and Strategies for Community Building
0:11:13 The Benefits of a Degree in Philosophy for Marketing
0:12:48 The Usefulness of Funnels in Marketing
0:18:27 KPIs and Leading Indicators for Digital Marketing Funnels
0:21:33 Funnel Strategies for B2B2C Marketing
0:22:32 Differences Between B2B and B2C Marketing 

0:25:25 Exploring the Impact of Chatbots on Search Engine Results
0:35:50 A French Twist on a Screwdriver [Cocktail Recipe]