Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, Victoria Sakal explores effective go-to-market strategies and the delicate balance between data-driven insights and intuition in marketing. She discusses common challenges companies face, such as organizational disconnects and the struggle to be proactive in rapidly changing markets. Victoria emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, monitoring trends, and using an innovation pipeline framework to guide strategy development. She advocates for quality over quantity in marketing efforts, recommending targeted campaigns for specific audiences rather than broad, unfocused approaches. Sakal underscores the value of curiosity and asking better questions to drive growth and innovation in marketing and product development.

About the guest

With a passion for turning complex inputs on customers, market dynamics, and competitors into smart strategies that drive growth, Victoria has spent the last decade helping companies ask better questions to get better data, source more powerful insights, and stay on top of important dynamics that matter. Previously at Morning Consult and Kantar, Victoria now focuses on all things demand gen, product marketing, market research, and growth strategies to deliver more value for Wonder users.

Connect with Victoria Sakal

Key takeaways
- Balance data-driven insights with intuition for effective marketing decisions

- Focus on customer needs and problems when developing go-to-market strategies

- Use an innovation pipeline framework to guide strategy from problem identification to launch

- Prioritize quality over quantity in marketing by targeting specific audiences with tailored messages

- Stay informed through industry newsletters, podcasts, and thought leaders

- Embrace curiosity and ask better questions to drive growth and innovation

- Align different parts of the organization for cohesive go-to-market execution

- Adapt agile approaches to market research for speed and relevance

Quotes

"Being a degree off at your starting point can leave you a mile off down the road." -Victoria Sakal

Recommended Resource

Newsletters:

- Scott Clary's newsletter on mental models and business inspiration

- James Clear's newsletter on life frameworks and processes

- Seth Godin's daily digestible content

Podcasts:-

Lenny's Podcast, which covers product strategy and related disciplines
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