Building brand awareness in the market can take many forms. One channel that has gained a lot of momentum is LinkedIn. If your buying audience hangs out on LinkedIn, it can be a prime marketing channel for your company. It can play a pivotal role in reinforcing and expanding your company’s brand. And it’s a way to consistently stay in front of potential HR technology prospects and clients – without feeling intrusive – which can build credibility and trust over time.

(00:00:21) Why you should consider leveraging LinkedIn to reach HR tech buyers

(00:01:51) Know your audience and consistently engage with them to grow your LinkedIn presence

(00:05:29) Build a brand ambassador program with employees to expand company visibility

(00:10:23) Quality, consistency and engagement matter to maximize reach

(00:17:08) Leveraging the various content options on LinkedIn

(00:21:08) Amplifying reach with paid campaigns

(00:23:05) Understanding the account targeting options

(00:25:47) The different types of paid campaign options

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

In past episodes, we’ve been digging into the 12 levers that we believe need to be dialed in around your marketing efforts to optimize results. In this 6th and final episode of the multi-part series, we are wrapping up with the final two levers: marketing & sales alignment AND sales processes.

While the other levers are more directly owned by the marketing team, these last two go beyond the marketing team to encompass our friends on the sales team as well. You might be thinking these don’t belong on the list, but we felt we couldn’t skip talking about these last two levers, because quite frankly, if you don’t dial these in as well, your organization won’t be optimized for maximum success on the marketing front.

(00:00:25) Overview of the 12 marketing levers you need to dial in to optimize marketing performance

(00:01:02) The significance of marketing and sales alignment for organizational success

(00:02:39) Common misalignment issues and the red flags

(00:05:30) Conflict between Marketing's lead generation goals and Sales' quality concerns

(00:07:56) Leadership's expectations for marketing to drive sales and the implications

(00:09:01) You need higher converting leads for sales success

(00:12:23) Getting Sales leadership buy-in

(00:15:04) Clearly defining the roles of sales and marketing for better alignment

(00:17:27) Governance over sales tools created by sales reps and creating a process

(00:20:33) Analyzing win-loss trends to identify opportunities to improve sales and marketing tools

(00:22:27) Supporting sales processes through content and collateral

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, it’s crucial to fine-tune every element to drive optimal performance. In previous episodes, we delved into the first eight essential marketing levers out of the 12 we believe need to be dialed in to optimize your marketing performance. On this episode, we're shifting our focus to the next two critical components: Tactics and Measurement. These elements are not just about execution; they are about precision and impact. By implementing strategic tactics and rigorous measurement practices, we can refine our approach, ensuring that every effort is aligned with our goals for sustained growth and success.

(00:00:21) Exploring the 12 marketing levers and why they need to ALL be dialed in

(00:02:04) The importance of effective marketing tactics to drive growth

(00:03:44) The reality of the longer buying cycle and the necessity for more marketing touchpoints

(00:06:14) Building an omnichannel approach to effectively reach diverse decision-makers

(00:10:36) A need for tailored content strategies to engage multiple decision-makers

(00:11:06) Exploring the 3 pillars of demand generation: strategy, content and distribution

(00:18:21) Marketing measurement and the issues marketers face in evaluating program performance

(00:21:06) The reliability of data and its impact on marketing performance evaluation

(00:25:06) Importance of analyzing marketing data trends rather than just presenting raw numbers.

(00:31:06) Suggestions for developing a comprehensive reporting mechanism

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

With so many options in the HR tech market, standing out can be a daunting task, especially when your technology doesn't fit neatly into an existing category. But it’s clear that while building a new product category in HR tech or work tech is challenging, it can be also a strategic move that can lead to market leadership if done well.

Listen in to part 2 of our conversation with Sam Kuhnle, Vice President of Marketing at HR tech company, Loxo. In this episode, we continue to dig into how the Loxo team made the decision to create a new product category, what their experience has been and why they’ve committed to a long-term marketing strategy to achieve their vision of big growth.

(00:01:05) - Having a long-term mindset when declaring a new product category
(00:01:59) - Loxo's strong product-market fit and the challenge of building awareness in a crowded market
(00:05:46) - The shift from lead generation to demand generation
(00:06:31) - The impact of changing buyer behaviors on marketing costs and sales cycles
(00:10:32) - The time frame for seeing results and indicators of progress
(00:14:16) - Aligning sales and marketing efforts to drive revenue and foster trust with prospects
(00:17:00) - Evaluating if creating a new product category is the right move

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

The HR tech market is extensive – with a lot of options to solve the big challenges. According to Sapient Insights, there are 7 established product categories in HR tech, with 55 application categories within the main product categories. But what do you do when your technology doesn’t fit clearly into an existing category? This is a question that a lot of marketers in this space grapple with. Some will tell you to build your own category and lead the way to domination. Others will tell you that trying to create a whole new category is a big mistake.

So which answer is right? Listen in to this episode as we explore the topic with Sam Kuehnle, vice president of marketing at HR tech firm, Loxo – a company that decided to define and market a new product category within the market

(00:00:20) - The challenges and risks of creating a new product category

(00:02:00) - Sam Kuehnle’s background: From traditional advertising to digital marketing and demand gen

(00:04:53) - Exploring the crowded and complex HR tech market

(00:06:36) - Loxo's decision to create a new product category and the rationale behind it

(00:10:41) - The challenges of building awareness for a new product category

(00:13:34) - The need to win mindshare before market share – and educating the market

(00:17:14) - The struggle of balancing immediate leads with playing the long game to build trust, credibility and relationships

(00:18:12) - The reality of the slow initial growth and eventual rapid rise of a new product category

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

Marketing is often described as a complex game with elusive success formulas, challenging marketers to cut through the noise and capture the attention of potential customers. This episode, part of a series exploring 12 essential marketing levers, focuses on two pivotal elements: brand identity and awareness, and content. Understanding and fine-tuning these components can significantly enhance the performance of marketing programs, offering valuable insights for companies striving to optimize their marketing strategies.

Mastering brand identity and awareness, along with creating compelling content, are crucial steps in the journey toward marketing success. These levers, when properly adjusted, can drive impactful results and elevate a company's market presence.

(00:43) - The importance of brand recognition
(03:19) - Potential brand issues that can hinder your company’s success
(13:31) - Creating a content strategy to align with the buyer's mindset and buying process
(19:36) - Understanding the buyer's pain points and tailoring messaging to resonate better
(20:34) - Assessing and categorizing existing content for strengths, gaps, and weaknesses
(24:35) - Creating pillar content strategies and content loops that keeps the audience engaged
(26:30) - The critical role of these marketing levers in driving optimal marketing results

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

Marketing is a challenging game to play. And figuring out the magic formula to success is not an easy feat. As marketers, we’ve got a hard job: break through the clutter of a noisy market to get the attention of prospects and win them over.

The reality is marketing is a very nuanced element of a company’s success. If just one component is not dialed in, it can throw everything off. That’s why we’ve defined 12 marketing levers to dial in. Each one plays a role in how your programs perform. In this episode, we talk about the importance of scale and the contact database in optimizing your company’s growth potential.

(01:55) - Indicators and challenges of scaling marketing efforts within an organization
(02:12) - Insufficient resources, budget constraints and time-consuming programs impact ability to scale
(07:24) - Documenting standard operating procedures to systematize processes for rapid growth
(16:21) - Considerations for building and implementing a marketing technology stack
(18:46) - The importance of your contact database the potential pitfalls of neglecting it
(21:15) - Challenges in organizing and cleaning up contact data – and what you need to consider
(27:27) - The importance of assessing and adjusting all of the 12 marketing programs to optimize for success

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.

AI isn't just a buzzword. Over the last year, it's become a pivotal component in almost every HR solution, with many companies integrating AI into their technology platform to enhance their offerings. Marketers are keenly positioning AI at the forefront of their strategies, hoping to capitalize on this trend to stand out in the highly competitive HR tech arena.

However, amidst this rush, it's crucial to understand how HR tech buyers are reacting to these AI-driven narratives. Are they convinced by the promise of AI, or is there skepticism about its practical benefits?

This episode is part 2 of a 2-part conversation where we dig in on this topic with Bennet Sung, fractional CMO at HR tech company, MeBeBot, to talk about how the market is responding to AI and what that means for the marketing approach.

01:10 - Buyer hesitation: AI solutions have a more complex and lengthy sales cycle 02:16 - CIOs and CISOs are getting involved in the purchase decision
06:39 - Marketers need to creating impactful marketing tools and a sales playbook to support the needs of buyers
14:12 - Helping HR teams understand where and how AI can provide value
17:24 - Focusing message positioning on addressing pain points to differentiate AI solutions

The Demand Gen Fix is hosted by Deanna Shimota, CEO of GrowthMode Marketing. Listen to our team of marketing experts and featured guests drop knowledge on how HR tech companies can maximize the success of their marketing for today’s B2B prospects. Learn more at www.growthmodemarketing.com.