The Three Pillars of Modern Marketing
Marketing is evolving at such an immense speed, that it’s helpful to remind ourselves of the fundamentals sometimes. The following framework by Buffer's VP of Marketing Kevan Lee lays out the three major disciplines within marketing and the questions they are answering.
How to Create a New Category
First of all, what do we mean by "category creation"? When we talk about creation, we really mean positioning. So while HubSpot is a "marketing automation tool" (a category they did not create), they branded themselves as the inventors of inbound marketing (a category or term they did create).
Look at Alternatives, not Competitors
“Who are your competitors?” is the wrong question, says Brian Balfour, ex VP Growth at HubSpot.
Minimum Viable Niche: On Defining Target Audiences
If we have an amazing product that we believe in, we see it being "usable" in all kinds of situations and for all kinds of different industries and people. So we define our target audience way too broad.
The Five Essential Skills of a Modern Marketing Leader
As marketing leaders today we wear a dozen hats and are expected to be scientists (research, analytics, and running experiments), artists (writing, content and design) and managers (stakeholder management, leadership and business acumen).
Positioning is the Foundation of all Marketing Activities
Positioning is the act of deliberately defining how you are the best at something that a defined market cares a lot about. If we fail at positioning, we fail at marketing and sales.
Agile Sprints for Marketing Teams
Over the years, disciplines like product management and software development have adopted solid frameworks of how to work effectively and in a structured way. Marketing teams are more like: "Lets throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks".
100 True Fans
By embracing online networks, creators can bypass traditional gatekeepers and middlemen, get paid directly by a smaller base of fans, and live comfortably off the spoils.
Start with the Market: Selling Ice Cream on a busy beach
It seems so obvious, but selling into an existing market with a natural momentum is one of the best things you can do for your company's growth trajectory.
