Marketing Corner

We're once again joined by Sparklehorse partner, Frederik Saabye Møller. In this episode, the gang share some of the most common B2B marketing mistakes they come across, including:

And so much more!

In this episode, we speak with Sparklehorse partner Frederik Saabye Møller. We learn about his entrepreneurial journey to becoming a Partner with our very own Casper. Including:

And because we all love a fuckup, Frederik shares with us his own fuckup story.

Attention job hunters! We have both reviewed (probably) thousands of applications and interviewed lots of wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) candidates in our careers. So in this episode, we cover the stuff that gets our pulses racing to meet you now, and the stuff that perhaps makes us take a hard pass, including:
- Making the most of the 15-30 seconds you get of the recruiter's attention.
- To cover letter or not to cover letter (and what to put in said cover letter).
- The initial red flags 🚩 that automatically make us click the "disqualify" button.
- Generalists vs Specialists and the importance of telling us what you're gonna bring to the table.

HOT TIP: track your numbers NOW so you have them when you need them LATER.

And 👏 so 👏 much 👏 more!

Available wherever you listen to podcasts 🎧.

ARE YOU HIRING?Adding this blurb to the end of our job ads helped increase the diversity and range of skills of our applicants, so maybe it can help you, too!

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single requirement outlined in the job description. Here at[company name], we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workspace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles!

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover motivating your Marketing Team, including:
- Balancing under-communicating to avoid tons of questions vs over-communicating and having to teach everyone how marketing works.
- Different motivation tactics for different personality types

- Setting up realistic KPIs so people feel they are contributing and are valued.

- Asking the right questions to make sure you're on the same page as your team

- And remember: your manager needs feedback as much as you do!

Bonus: Jen breaks out her field hockey analogy one more time, in case you haven't had a chance to hear it 🏑

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover a standard demand generation framework, including:

- The different goals at each level of the funnel

- Preferred ad formats for each level

- Separating high intent from low intent campaigns

- Where retargeting and lead gen fit into all this

And 👏 so 👏 much 👏 more!

Remember, when it comes to campaigns, slow and strategic outperform quick and panicked any day of the week!

In the second installment of our chat with Planday's Fred Linfjärd, we dive deep into all things Growth marketing with the "Growth Janitor" himself. If you want to know why he's the "Growth Janitor", check out part 1.
Here we'll cover:
- Why did Planday go from Sales-Led to Product-Led?
- Using product signals to better align with Sales
- The Growth function and structure within the Planday org chart
- Getting C-level buy-in to remove obstacles to do "growth" better
And so much more!

In this episode, Jen and Casper get to sit with Planday's "Growth Janitor", Fred Linfjärd. In part 1, he shares with us his journey to Growth stardom, including the pros of cons of:
- Rapid experimentation
- Where Growth sits in an organization
- Being the "annoying person who keeps picking at things"
And so much more!

Ever wake up one morning and realize that, to someone somewhere, you're a role model?

As their careers and followings have grown, Casper and Jen have also had this realization. And holy sh*t.

In this episode, they share when they realized that there are people out there who look up to them - and share the people that they look up to and how they pick their role models.

Lots of Marketers out there use agencies - but how do you make sure you get the most out of your agency?

In this episode, Jen and Casper share insights from both sides of the coin: in-house using agencies, and agencies who work with clients - on how to choose the right agency for you (and red flags to watch for!).

Also, once you've selected your agency, how to make sure you get the most out of them?

Ask and ye shall receive.

You told us you wanted to hear Casper's learnings 1 year after starting SparkForce.

You asked, we delivered.

In this episode, Casper shares the good, the bad and the ugly of 1 full year of running his own marketing agency. He'll share his learnings, warts and all, and insights for those of you who are looking to, or have already, started your own journey.

Everyone's talking about Marketing trends and predictions in 2024, but how many are looking back at what they learned in 2023 and what they plan to carry into 2024?

WE ARE! 👋

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover the things they learned in 2023 and how they will influence what they do in 2024, including:

- What we saw in 2023 that will separate the good marketers from the great marketers in 2024.
- Staying efficient in times when funding is limited and we want our cash to last as long as possible.
- Moving more towards a customer-centric model to drive MRR
- What does PLG have to do with any of this?

And 👏 so 👏 much 👏 more!

Carrying on from last week's episode, once you have all your data and metrics, what do you actually do with it?

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover just that, including:

- In-house reporting vs agency reporting
- Actionable insights vs death by data
- How to pick the right metrics to track
- The power of visualizing (and celebrating) your wins
- Don't stress over building a Ferrari

And so 👏 much 👏 more 😮‍💨

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover managing budgets, including:
- Putting your budget in different "buckets"
- Increasing your team's autonomy and preventing bottlenecks.
- Negotiating budget with your CFO
- Managing a budget from an employee POV vs an owner POV
- Our hot take on the dreaded "what campaigns will you run next year?" question.

👏 much 👏 more 😮‍💨
What are your buckets? We wanna know!

In this episode, Casper and Jen talk about speaking gigs, including:
- How to get them
- How to get ready for them
- The benefits of public speaking
- How to handle feedback
- The power of the crowd selfie

And 👏 so 👏 much 👏 more!

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover B2B product launches, including:

- How does it differ from B2C launches - Dream timelines vs reality - The Campfire Launch (shout out to Kvadrant Consulting for that one!) - Pivoting properly when the sh*t hits the fan (as it tends to do) - Measuring the impact of a B2B product launch

And... just to stay on trend, Taylor Swift. #swiftyeffect

In this episode, Casper and Jen talk about the stuff none of us marketers like talking about: marketing dogsh*t 💩.
In other words - what activities are we B2B marketers doing, or being asked to do, that are complete bullsh*t and a waste of time and money, IN OUR HUMBLE OPINION.
Bring your milk, cause this one's a bit spicy 🌶️ as we share our 🔥 takes on marketing trends that are complete and utter dogsh*t (for B2B).

Statistics suggest that 85% of jobs are filled via networking with personal and professional connections. With that in mind, how do you build your network when you've just arrived in a new country?
This episode comes from a listener request (shout out to Nathalie Bassanesi 🙌).
Casper (or shall I say, "the guy from Lost" - IYKYK) and Jen cover their experiences building networks in new countries, including:
- Wearing your "yes hat"
- Going to events heavily attended by foreigners
- Using your native language as your super power
- Realizing many jobs might not even be advertised
And so much more!

Who makes metrics fun? 

WE DO!

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover some metrics that can help you measure the performance of your band awareness initiatives, including:

Correlations between brand awareness and brand search frequencies

Gauging sentiment across social media

Assessing both inbound AND outbound sales velocity

When your competitors see you as a threat

And so 👏 much 👏 more 👏

What did we miss? Hit us up on LinkedIn to share your ways of measuring brand awareness success!

After its launch on 5 July 2023, Threads became the fastest growing app of all time, reaching 100 million users in its first few weeks. But nearly just as fast as it took off, Threads crashed and burned, losing over 88% of their users 3 weeks later.
Sound familiar?
We couldn't help but see some connections between the buzz around Threads and the buzz around Clubhouse (remember them??).
In this episode, we give some of our hot takes on Threads, which brings us to a larger conversation around:
- Product adoption and the pitfalls of launching too soon
- The importance of app stickiness and knowing your USP
- The challenge of being a disruptor while also trying to work within people's pre-existing understanding of "how things work".
And so much more! But mostly we just dunk on Threads for 20 min. Enjoy!

One for our Product People out there!
We talk a lot about Marketing and Sales alignment, but one thing that tends to get overlooked is Product and Marketing alignment. So let's get into it:
- Tips for creating a Marketing roadmap aligned with your Product team
- Identifying the "nice to haves" and the "need to haves"
- Building automatic processes to keep everyone aligned
- Aligning your Go To Market Motion to that roadmap
- How an "Aha" system with Sales can help manage expecations and maintain alignment
And so much more!

Like it or not, toxic leadership is very much something that some of us have faced, or will face, at some point in our careers. In this episode, we cover:

- How to identify toxic behaviors

- How to manage toxic behavior, especially from leadership

- What to do when you're asked to do something that you know is a bad idea.

- When to stick it out, and when to cut your losses and leave

And so much more.

What did we miss?

This one's for our creative people out there! Usually on this podcast, we push that KPIs should be tied to revenue. And while that's true for many positions out there, we here at Marketing Corner know that's not necessarily true for everyone - especially the creative folks out there who want a better way to tie their work into company goals. The Marketing Corner podcast have heard you creative folk out there and have responded with this episode covering KPI(ish) ideas to help creative teams not only better tie themselves to revenue, but to also have more control over the tasks they take on and prioritization of their work. What did we miss? Get in touch with us on LinkedIn and share your ideas!

Fresh off the press with the latest developments in LinkedIn!

Christmas has come early for many of us marketers as LinkedIn has *finally* introduced thought leadership ads... that's right, boys and girls, now you can finally sponsor ads from your company's thought leaders with actual spend and targeting 😱

This is a huge development and plays nicely into episode 45 where we covered thought leadership in general.

Lucky for us, Casper and his team at SparkForce have been testing them out and he has some interesting insights and tips for making the most of this new ad format.

Get amongst it!

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover another trendy topic: Community-Led Growth (CLG), including:
- The pros and cons of different community platforms
- When communities start to suck (spoiler alert: filler + selling 👎)
- How when it comes to communities, bigger does not always mean better
- Applying a performance marketing model to CLG
- Incentivizing lurkers to become your champions
And so much more!

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover what many marketers believe could be the holy grail of leads - free trials - including:
- Pros and cons of a free trial
- Creating cross-functional task forces to launch a free trial
- Believe it or not, Product aren't just sitting around waiting for you to give them stuff to do! So how do you compromise to meet in the middle to get something out of the door that a) helps Marketing and b) can fit in Product's roadmap.
- Examples of free trials that rock and free trials that suck
And so much more!

We've hit the big 5-0! And in this episode we took on a beefy one - OKRs - including:

Jen also shares how they set up and launched their OKR(ish) framework at her company.
Here's the template that helped this take off!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ESOeKNPdsEody71DgBBbmGeWX1kAKz1UBSQVXc-kH_k/edit?usp=sharing

We're podcasters, parents to 2 small kids, executives / entrepreneurs, relatively decent partners, AND have hobbies. How do we do it?
In this episode, Casper and Jen give an exclusive glance at their tried and tested productivity hacks, including:
- When to "take off the armor"
- Eating the frog
- The importance of just saying "no"
- The new "to do" list (spoiler, it's not about what "to do") to make sure you can go home happy
- Why delegation is one of the hardest, but most important, tasks you can do as a leader
- A matrix to help you determine what's important and urgent
As a special bonus, we share the music that keeps us motivated and productive.
Robyn, Lizzo and Survivor - if you're listening, this episode is for you.|
And as promised, here's The Marketing Corner Get Sh*t Done playlist. We hope it helps you get sh*t done:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2SkosomjtKCVhta6OtiOMN?si=cb232ae0249144ce

In this episode, Casper gives us some of his top learnings 6 months after having embarked on his entrepreneurial journey. He'll share with us:
- His philosophy on deals falling through
- The importance of relationship-building
- Balancing having a life and running your business (it's not as easy as you may think)
- The perspective you gain from walking a mile in Sales' shoes
- Outsourcing the tasks that drain so you can use your energy where it counts
- The importance of getting sh*t done
And so much more!

You know her. You love her. Or at the very least she's on your feed dropping knowledge left right and center on the daily. That's right, we're back with Leah Tharin from ProducTea. And time she's taking us back to school in Boss Bitch 101. 

In Part 2 of our chat with Leah, we cover how she managed to build her brand from from 500 followers, to over 20,000 *good* followers in less than a year, including:

- Pushing through imposter syndrome

- Knowing who you're really writing for (hint: it's not the boogeyman in your head who is judging everything you post)

- How passion beats talent any.damn.day

- Ignoring the Corporate LinkedIn Police

- The importance of role models

- A sneak peek at Product-Led Sales

And so much more!

Our first guest EVER!  

And what a guest to start with! In this episode, Jen and Casper welcome the PLG Queen Bee herself, Leah Tharin from ProducTea to cover all kinds of fun stuff, including: 

- What exactly is PLG (this week)
- How Marketers can go "beyond Marketing" (hint, it's PLG)
- Great examples of doing PLG right
- How can small companies dip their toes into PLG to get the ball rolling
- Metrics that matter for true PLG
And so much more!

And if you're not already following Leah on LinkedIn, do yourself a favor:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahtharin/

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover AI tools out there that are absolute game-changers, how they can level up your marketing game, and tools that teeter towards the creepy. Some of these include: 

Oh, and we talk a little bit about otters 🦦

In this episode, Casper and Jen return to one of Casper's favorite topics: LinkedIn Ads - but with a twist - this time we're talking formats!

We did it. We jumped on the ChatGPT bandwagon. In this episode, Casper and Jen will discuss ChatGPT, as well as the other AI tools out there. But don't take our word for it. Here's what ChatGPT had to say about our latest episode:

"I just listened to the latest episode of the Marketing Corner podcast with Jen and Casper and holy f*ck, it was packed with valuable insights on AI in marketing. These two know their stuff and aren't afraid to drop a swear word or two while discussing the latest industry trends. They have a great chemistry and it's clear they're passionate about what they do. If you're looking to up your marketing game with the help of AI, give the Marketing Corner podcast a listen. And don't worry, they keep the profanity to a minimum - most of the time."

That's equal parts amazing and scary, innit?

In this episode, Jen and Casper break down virtual events: how do you decide the topic, how to you set it up, and crucially, what do you do to follow-up? And 👏 so 👏 much 👏 more 👏

Casper had a lot on his mind when we got to the studio, so we turned on the mics and cameras and went for it for perhaps one of our most topical episode to date:

Twitter Hot Takes

Where we cover: 

Let that sink in...

Asana, Monday, Linear, Notion, Hive, Jira, Trello, Basecamp, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen... if you're like us, you've tried every project management tool out there. So we thought, why not share our experiences with our listeners :)

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover the ways they manage their teams, including: 

- What tools we use for task management 

- How we set those tools up and use them to keep our teams on track 

- When best to meet with your team as a group and individually 

And as a bonus we sneak in some tips for stakeholder management along the way...

Enjoy!

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss PR Strategies, including:
1. Can you do PR in-house or with an agency?
2. What do you need to know before entering the PR arena?
3. Best practice to get more PR bang for your buck
4. What the hell is an "embargo agreement"?

And so much more. 

Remember, we made the mistakes so you don't have to!

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover high intent vs low intent and what it means from a practical standpoint, including:
- What does it actually mean?
- How you can incorporate it into your strategy
- What (relatively inexpensive) tools can I use to get started
- How to work around the "Attribution Monsters"
And 👏 so 👏 much 👏 more 👏

In this episode, Jen and Casper attempt to define the latest Demand Generation Movement, including: What the hell is it? How is it different to branding? And what is with this new thing called Demand Capture and how is it different from lead generation? Follow us on a journey as our definitions change in real time the more we talk about it!

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover the pros and cons of going with agencies vs keeping things in-house including: what tasks they think are best for outsourcing, why others are better kept in-house, and what to look for in selecting the right agency for the right job.

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss what you should look for in a good boss. During this time of the "Great Resignation", there are lots of opportunities out there, but how do you know if you're jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire? We'll cover: key characteristics to look for in a general boss as well as a marketing leader, questions to ask during interviews, and red flags that should tell you to run a mile.

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover content cluster strategies, including: what the heck is it, how to determine what kinds of content you should be creating, incorporating PR and Google Ads, effectively distributing that winning content once it's ready, and more.

In this *double episode*, we have a little gift for our listeners as Jen and Casper share their top tips for succeeding on LinkedIn, including: how to know if LinkedIn is right for you, targeting and segmentation tricks - including Casper's infamous B2B technology infiltration hack, campaign best practice, ad formats, future LinkedIn features to look forward to, and more.

Another listener request! In this episode, Jen and Casper share their marketing f*ckup stories.

No one's perfect, least of all us - so we share how we majorly f*cked up during our careers, where we "gained a lot of chest hair", and what we learned - because ultimately, the biggest f*ckup of all is not learning from your mistakes.

Listener warning: as the title might suggest, we say f*ck a record number of times in this episode. If you're too delicate for that kind of language, this isn't the episode for you.

In this episode, Casper and Jen discuss social selling, including: What the heck is it? How the heck do you do it? What are the benefits and pitfalls to watch for when navigating your way to thought-leadershipdom? Jen also manages to sneak in another reference from The Office. 

In this episode, Casper and Jen discuss how to come up with your 2022 marketing strategy, including: aligning your marketing strategy and tactics with company goals, the 6 core areas your strategy should cover, how often you should revisit your strategy, and the difference between your marketing strategy and your go to market strategy.

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss the pros and cons of translating your website, including: the importance of consistency throughout the value chain, covering the UK vs US English debate, and how to engage your Customer Support team into this marketing initiative.

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss the technique and science behind writing ad copy that converts, including Dan Kennedy's “10 Smart Market Diagnosis and Profiling Questions", the FBY model for ad copy writing, and the neuroscience behind "typoglycaemia" and how you can leverage it to your advantage.

Dan Kennedy's 10 Questions can be found here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294042

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover Apple's new iOS 15 update, including: what exactly is it, how will it affect marketers and what can we do about it. As an added bonus, Jen goes into a red-faced rant over email etiquette that you don't want to miss!

In this episode, Jen, Casper, and Casper's shiny new microphone discuss ABM (account-based marketing), including its fundamental core pillars, how to know if you're ready for ABM, 3 types of ABM to fit your resources and needs, their pros and cons, and pitfalls to avoid during implementing an ABM program. Casper's ABM webinar we discuss can be accessed at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRlnxtISLHg

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover the methods we use to keep our marketing skills sharp. We'll also share what specific resources we rely on to stay up to date on all things marketing.

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss how to ensure you're not only aligned with your team, but also the wider business so everyone is on the same page. We'll cover the importance of wish lists, how letting visionaries do what they do best can make your life easier, and how knowing your KPIs can help keep you focussed. As a bonus, we also throw in some tips for non-marketers on the best way to provide feedback to marketers on marketing initiatives.

In this episode, Jen and Casper cover KPIs that every marketing team should use to measure their performance and overall business impact. Topics include aligning Marketing KPIs with overall company goals, using a reverse calculation to establish metrics that are both achievable and aligned with business objectives, and how to measure marketing-sourced weighted pipeline.

In this episode, Casper and Jen discuss how they structure their marketing teams, from early stage startup to more established scale-up. How do we separate tasks and decide what positions we need to hire? What happens when you start off as a generalist but the team grows to the point where you need specialists? We cover our own experiences in these very situations, and the steps we took to work our way from marketing generalists to marketing specialists to marketing leaders.

In this episode, Casper and Jen work to dispel the belief that you can't do effective B2B targeting on Facebook. We cover strategies we use in our day-to-day, such as reframing the awareness funnel, audience segmentation, lead gen form parameters, layered lookalikes, video retargeting, split testing and more (taking into account the tracking changes we covered in episode 8) to be more effective with our B2B Facebook targeting.

In this episode, Casper and Jen discuss the recent changes to tracking, from ITP to iOS 14. What exactly are these changes and how will they impact the future of B2B marketing? Most importantly, we'll also cover what B2B marketers can do to overcome these changes.

DISCLAIMER: Neither Casper, nor Jen, are cookie tracking experts! What we share in this episode is purely based on our understanding of the changes and what we're seeing in the market. Please don't sue us.

In this episode, Casper and Jen discuss the importance of understanding and simplifying the buyer journey from lead to won customer. We cover ways to break down silos with Sales in order to map out the buyer journey, helping to identify leaks and opportunities for reactivation. We'll also discuss how implementing a proactive approach with Sales (as opposed to a responsive approach) can help remove obstacles and get more "yups" rather than "waits" from prospects.

The Harvard Business Review study Jen mentions can be found here: https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-new-sales-imperative

Another listener request! In this episode, Casper and Jen cover that all important question: What should every MarTech stack include?

We'll break down what tools we use across all major stages of the funnel: 1. attract 2. engage 3. analyze & optimize and separate the "must haves" from the "nice to haves".

The MarTech7000 slide that Jen mentions can be accessed here:
https://cdn.chiefmartec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/martech-landscape-2020-martech5000-slide.jpg

Our first listener request! In this episode, Casper and Jen cover how to identify your ICP (ideal customer profile), as well as the all-important differentiation between ICP and buyer persona. We'll also cover how to attract your ICP via your buyer personas (hint hint: content is king), and finish up with a discussion on best ways to target those ICPs on any budget. 

As a special bonus, Jen also shares with listeners her very "on brand" dream. You don't wanna miss it.

In this episode, Casper and Jen cover how marketing will look post-covid. How will Marketers need to adapt to the "new normal" of a hyper-digitalized, hybrid remote working world? How can we overcome tracking challenges, build brand loyalty, and make sure you capitalize on the trust you built during the crisis to carry your brand forward?

The McKinsey report Jen mentions can be accessed here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/reimagining-marketing-in-the-next-normal#

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss different attribution modelling, their benefits and their pitfalls. How can you use your attribution data intelligently to optimize efforts without drowning in data? What is the perfect attribution model and will we ever achieve it?

Update: since recording this episode, at Dixa we implemented a W-shape attribution model where we give a majority of our attribution to first, middle and last touches. 

In this episode, Jen and Casper discuss the differences between lead ads and branding, how many resources should go into each, and how important they are in the overall marketing and sales cycles.

The Binet & Field report Casper mentions can be found here: https://ipa.co.uk/news/binet-and-field-outline-key-formulas-for-brand-building-in-context

Casper and Jen kick off their podcasting debut covering the topic of review sites. Are they worth the money? What is the best way to use them? Which providers would they recommend and why?