Mark Donnigan Startup Marketing Consultant

Mark Donnigan constructs disruptive innovative startups. Mark's superpower is architecting go-to-market plans and marketing movements that drive real business results for technical and product-centric founders. Mark's development and market advancement experience covers twenty years as a transformative B2B marketing and company leader, driving demand, brand development, and strategy for start-up and growth-stage companies.

As a professional and virtual marketing leader (fractional-CMO), Mark Donnigan deals with startup creators and CEOs from B2B disruptive development technology business to assist them develop, bootstrap, and scale their marketing and go-to-market actions.

LEARN MORE: https://growthstage.marketing

Mark Donnigan has handled groups as big as 25, comprising SDRs, AEs, and marketing, producing $29mm/year. Mark brought spending plan obligations to $3mm/year for operations and $400k/year for marketing. Offer sizes differing from mid-five figures to mid-six figures every year.

As a startup marketing consultant, Mark Donnigan's inbound and outgoing marketing experience consist of building and mentoring high-performance teams that carry out as needed generation, brand and product marketing, PR, digital, and occasions where he develops and implements high-impact programs that drive earnings, produce ROI, activate the marketplace, and delivers business outcomes.

Mark Donnigan believes that the very best marketing specialists and marketing leaders are doers. Mark's marketing experience consists of all elements of need generation, ABM, SEO, e-mail marketing, paid marketing, events, PR (internal & firm), and item marketing.

Mark is an issue solver and a first-principles thinker who is imaginative and analytical. Mark constantly works cross-functionally and has shown success, building, leading, and mentoring marketing, sales, and business advancement groups that have actually produced more than $500mm in revenue/shareholder value.

Mark has actually found that building a classification should be the leading objective for every marketing leader and it is the foundation of his technique and approach. Mark Donnigan has extensive B2B marketing experience that includes structure and mentoring high-performance groups.

Mark Donnigan is a systems thinker, and he places a high value on team effort. Mark has substantial experience working alongside sales, item, operations, and finance to make sure that the company and earnings objectives of the company are always surpassed.

Development Phase Marketing exists to supply entrepreneurs and founders services for:

Architecting the market classification that is best suited to the distinct value proposition of your technology.
High impact marketing support so that you can reach your profits objectives and scale sustainably.
Attaining go-to-market positioning throughout the sales and marketing organizations.
Drawing out the greatest worth from every marketing dollar.
Insider understanding and insights about the B2B buying journey and how to navigate an increasingly fragmented customer choice hierarchy.
Operationalizing marketing, from system and process development to making the very first hires.

Thoughts on what it takes to be a successful online marketer and CMO today.

If you are a CEO who feels your B2B marketing does not have a clear connection to the company, you are not alone. A research study completed by the marketing consultancy Fournaise discovered that 80% of Chief Executives are not delighted with the work their top Marketing leader is doing. Examining what the present organization truth indicates for marketing leaders, I kept in mind the concept of a Peacetime leader and a Wartime leader from Ben Horowitz's book "The Hard Thing About Hard Things."

Horowitz explained the concept in a short article where he made up that the Peacetime CEO "concentrates on the huge image and empowers her individuals to make comprehensive choices." The Wartime CEO, on the other hand, "appreciates a speck of dust on a gnat's ass if it disrupted the prime regulation."

The Peacetime CEO "understands what to do with a huge advantage," while the Wartime CEO "is paranoid." Peacetime CEO "works to lower conflict," and Wartime CEO "heightens the contradictions."

Peacetime in organization is when an organization has the capability to grow in its core market due to a significant benefit vs. the competition. In times of peace, business concentrates on expanding the marketplace and boosting business's strengths. For CMO's, Peacetime is when we are totally free to be creative with our brand building by attending each exhibit with an even larger cubicle than last year's and investing exorbitantly on sponsorships, all under the guise of building the brand name.

Wartime is a various thing entirely because, in Wartime, the life and death of our business may be on the line.
As I compose this post, the entire world is battling an invisible opponent called COVID-19, which has actually let loose a frustrating dose of service uncertainty worldwide. For CMO's, the COVID-19 pandemic is service equivalent of war. No longer do our 2020 marketing techniques make excellent sense.

This is more than remaining in a space with the light on, and suddenly you find yourself in pitch-black darkness, so you walk tepidly, continuing in the very same guidelines knowing that you were heading toward the door prior to the lights got shut off. No, not just has the pandemic turned the lights out, its blown an enormous crater in our course that was not there previous to, and devoid of light in the room, can not be seen. However we need to avoid at all expenses falling under the crater.

No one longs for war, however a Wartime leader does not avoid the battle, rather, they recognize that Wartime is the single finest chance to leapfrog sidetracked competitors and take ground away. What follows is a set of ideas and concepts to help you find your "Wartime CMO combat plan."

How to act as a Wartime CMO.

During Wartime, everybody remains in uncharted waters, but this is where the chance is for lots of business who previously had a difficult time to contend against bigger competitors and dominant market forces. Now, for the really very first time, you may be on comparable footing as your more effective competitors. It's the perfect opportunity to specify your future.

In a global decrease like what COVID-19 has actually activated, absolutely nothing makes sense. And yet, a few of your rivals will continue to perform their typical "tried and real" marketing playback, assuming that building the trademark name with business interactions messages from the CEO is going to contribute to their company objectives. Now is the perfect possibility for the Wartime CMO to take ground in the market.

Take strong action.

Imaginative marketing is required in Wartime more than ever. Now is the time to check your vital assumptions. As the worldwide business environment has changed, and the stability of the core organization called into question, CMO's should be all set to reassess their preliminary plan.
Consider that less customers will correspond to reduced need. And reduced need suggests markets will not respond as they did prior to the crisis.

Think about it in this manner, when people buy less, marketers invest less. However prior to you follow a slash and burn the marketing invest playbook, here are a number of things to be knowledgeable about:

Investment bank Cowen and Company analyzed the last 6 economic downturns considered that 1950 and found that spending on direct marketing grew during the previous economic declines. Significance, you will wish to consider your mix of brand name marketing carefully compared to sales activation marketing. It's not time to stop marketing. Remember, there will be offers throughout the board as media outlets see companies cut their advertising and marketing invests. Press marketing and branding drops in a downturn, but sales activation marketing constantly increases.

Shift spending to more quantifiable channels so that you can adjust rapidly. Speed is everything. Marketing initiatives able to be tracked with specificity will be a lot more valuable than broad mass-market projects. Slowdowns speed up the decline of interruption-based mass marketing. In its location will be an increased concentrate on measurable and relationship-based techniques.

Downturns create an opportunity for business that are more effective at turning marketing monetary investments into profits. In the middle of a sluggish down when marketers are cutting their costs is an enjoyable time to benefit from low CPMs and Licensed public accountants.

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising ended up a research study in 2008 that found, "Following a spending plan cut, a brand name will continue to acquire from the marketing financial investment made over the previous few years. This will lower any short-term service impacts, and will lead to a precariously misleading boost in short-term success. The longer-term company harm will be more significant, but will not be observed in the beginning."

Millward Brown reported in their research study "Marketing During Economic Decline: To Invest or Not to Invest?" that 60% of trademark name that went 'dark' throughout an economic recession by cutting their TV marketing invest for 6 months experienced a decrease in Brand name Use by 24% with a 28% reduction in Trademark name Image. Brands that cut their advertisement spending plan at a higher rate relative to their competitors were at an even higher danger of share loss.
There are an unbelievable variety of marketing studies that validate in a decline, trademark name that continue marketing and marketing efforts recuperate much faster. It takes strong action to invest when the information suggests that ROI is not possible. A Wartime CMO fights to keep the budget plan required to continue marketing.

Take complete advantage of the worth of each lead produced.

In a slowdown, risk-averse purchasers take even longer to research purchases, and this applies equally to B2B and B2C buyers. When you initially acknowledge a possibility, they will likely remain in the awareness phase of your funnel and will not be all set to engage with an SDR or BDR. Do not require this interaction. Marketing needs to make sure not to move a possibility through the funnel too quickly. Remember, the possibility's skilled life has actually been turned on its head. What was an issue simply a number of weeks or months back, is likely not top of mind today.

It's appealing in a sluggish down to tighten your grip on leads given that the reasoning is that now more than ever, all leads are vital. Here is where lead scoring can be a valuable tool to recognize highly engaged potential customers from those who are not most likely to become your clients. Now is the time for Marketers to hold on to MQL's for a prolonged period so that click here you can groom the prospect to the maximum possible degree prior to handing them off to sales as a SQL.

Without lead scoring and a perfect possibility tracking system throughout your digital channels, as numerous as 9 out of 10 MQL's who are not yet sales-ready might be lost. They will buy, simply not now. You do not wish to miss out on out on the future sale because you didn't keep in contact and include worth though the journey. In a "Wartime" economy, you ought to do whatever possible to enhance the worth of your MQL's.

CMO's that do a far better task of handling leads and developing early-stage potential customers into sales-ready leads will remain in the finest position to win throughout the crisis and most certainly once it has actually passed.

Focus on your present clients.

It's cheaper to grow earnings with your existing consumers. Think of whether now is the time to downsize your mass list building programs and concentrate on building much deeper relationships with those who already understand your service. This does not indicate to stop your requirement gen efforts, however it does suggest that you might wish to explore with product and sales how you can offer more to your existing clients.

In Peacetime, marketing groups are working on autopilot in pursuit of driving MQL's to please sales reps. For a business that has actually acquired traction on their way to ending up being a category king or queen, this method, though expensive feels great because of the amazing volume of activity that is being produced. Nevertheless, without cautious analysis, the high degree of activity fools numerous CMO's and management groups into thinking that their need generation engine is carefully tuned when, in reality, it's producing huge contamination, i.e. extremely high CAC, greater than average churn for the category, low CLTV, and so on.

Marketing must line up with sales.

A brand-focused Marketing leader concerns the business with a remarkable education and pedigree, having actually held considerable titles with huge business. There was a time when the marketing group might handle all corporate and item information and messaging with the marketplace. If a purchaser preferred to discover out about a new item or explore whether a service may meet their requirement, they had no option but to call business.

Actions to issues such as, Who's genuine and who isn't? - Who's product works, and whose does not? - What's coming? Now where offered with a single post on the appropriate forum or LinkedIn group. As a result, the power shifted to the buyer.

We understand that online marketers are no longer in control of the buyer's journey. It is essential to specify a funnel that outlines evictions a possibility should hand down the method to doing organization with business. Purchasers can get in touch with us on the platform of their choosing. As the buying group has broadened to as numerous as two lots individuals, the idea that they will follow our process as we have actually recommended is hardly ever genuine.

You need a worth developer CMO who is revenue-focused.

A revenue-focused CMO will handle the engine behind a CEO's development strategy. The shift from companies being physical product developers or service companies, to digital innovation companies where the product is distributed as software application or software application as a service through the Internet, has reduced the function of marketing. And get more information is the element a revenue-focused CMO who is a worth designer is what all start-ups and disruptive development companies need today.

Today, marketing needs greater levels of technical ability as a result of the surge of digital media and the marketing technologies that are related to internet marketing. This transformation has been highlighted by Forrester, pointing out a 20-year-old transition to digital as the driving force behind CMOs moving from being brand-builders to profits motorists. Forrester goes on to report that a value developer, revenue-driven Online marketer, ought to be a story maker and not simply a writer.

The CMO today should be an expert at producing and leading creative engagement and service approach to establish a classification for the business to dominate.

Here are a couple of methods that a revenue-driven CMO requirement to run:

They will work thoroughly with the sales group to discover and map the buyer's journey. Where presumptions do not match what is taking place in the market, a worth designer CMO will leave the workplace and hang out in the field. This leader understands that you can not drive profits if you aren't near to where the sale occurs.

A revenue-focused CMO produces content targeted at each phase of the buyer's journey. Think about the buyer's journey as a set of gates where the material reacts to the main concerns a buyer has at each action so that they can complete the purchasing journey.
The new generation CMO will collect engagement metrics for each gate while assessing the success of the end-to-end marketing cycle to deliver the most timely and qualified result in their sellers. A value developer CMO sees marketing as close allies to the sales group.

The revenue-centered CMO is always discovering from and fine-tuning the procedure so that they can improve the amount and quality of leads that added to the pipeline and closed organization.
Incomes attribution and marketing ROI designs will show real results, not theorized or "presumed" requirements. This details is crucial for the revenue-focused CMO to solve given that they care about marketing's influence on business.

A revenue-focused CMO will focus on how their marketing efforts map to closed/won deals that drive the earnings and organization goals of the service. Vanity metrics like traffic, click-thru rates, CPM, and CTA conversions tell simply a piece of the story.

What to try to discover in your next CMO.

In the dynamic state of business today, dealing with an efficient CMO is amongst the most tough things to do. Every market, business, and market area is numerous. Even where you can recognize potential customers from the exact same organization neighborhood or environment, it's insufficient to simply have a look at years of experience or education. You require to examine the motivations and believed patterns of the individual. Ask:
Is the CMO an issue solver?

The most considerable risk today is on the marketplace side and not innovation. A marketing leader who isn't a concern solver will struggle to deal with the fast-changing nature of the marketplace and neighborhood building.

Are they a doer?
In many marketing groups, there will be particular professionals who can work at the greatest level throughout the series of capabilities required. It's incumbent for a marketing leader to command consider a doer. The CMO, who INFO can show functional ability in the core areas that the group operates, will be more reputable than a manager just.

Has the CMO held cross-functional positions?

The finest way to guarantee that you bring in a CMO who is revenue and not brand-driven is to hire somebody who has actually shown up through product, sales, and corporate method. Having direct exposure to the inner functions of product and sales is especially advantageous as service approach is ending up being a more considerable part of the CMO's series of obligations.

Do they think in systems or method service in a structured way?

As digital has actually exploded the number of marketing user interface points, allowing buyers to disaggregate business from the purchasing journey, a CMO must have the ability to think about systems and structures rather of securely defined marketing lanes. It is no longer sufficient to prepare in concerns to the social task, material marketing task, occasions, and PR, all as separate activities. The successful CMO will begin with business goal they are serving and be all set to question whatever.

Can they connect outside the walls of business to the marketplace?

To wind up being a story-maker, you must deserve listening to. A CMO is in the perfect position to presume the evangelistic function for the organization. The most effective CMO's in any market are highly visible spokespeople for their service.
Are they a motivator?

As the CMO will need to work cross-functionally to make sure that they have placing with item and sales, the marketing head should be an incentive. To establish a category needs conversation, negotiation, and the capability to try to find and reach an arrangement.

Do they allow their group, or run by command and control?

A CMO who tries to lead with ultimate authority will struggle to accomplish organization goals of the company. Marketing groups today should work as engineering groups operate in an agile style. Instead of nicely arranged 90-day project cadences, a nimble marketing group performs a constant flow of initiatives while keeping the versatility to change as the marketplace or business requirements determine.

Does the CMO comprehend category style?

I have in fact composed about category style and why every organization needs to own a classification to accomplish its ideal capacity. There is a framework for carrying out classification design. Still, whether a Marketer follows the summary or approaches classification design another method, a CMO must be putting regular thought and preparation into how they define the classification they mean to control. Without input from the CEO and other members of the executive group, there is no other way to complete a correct category style.

The Wartime CMO will require to increase the responsibility of marketing by showing the impact of each marketing activity on the pipeline as figured out by revenue contribution.
In a decrease, marketing should move the understanding of being a cost center to an earnings driver. Reporting beyond the variety of marketing certified leads produced to consist of the overall possibility worth for each lead source is an excellent way to represent the function marketing is playing to drive the economic objectives of organization.

Research studies have actually revealed that an effectively designed landing page can double your conversion rate over sending out traffic to the house page, which tends to do not have the appropriate call to action that matches the ad. Since of this, examining landing pages can increase conversions as much as 50% or more. Together, these methods can supply a 2.5 X increase for every single dollar you invest in marketing. Yes, conversion rate optimization makes a difference.

During Wartime, every marketing dollar is valuable, and a Wartime CMO understands that winning will not boil down to a single technique or "silver bullet" method. Instead, many little things executed well. The CMO, who can not understand the interaction of copy, messaging, creative design, and development, will struggle to find and recognize quickly where little adjustments can use much better conversions.

This content method worked, for a season, sort-of. However with the increase of Google RankBrain, the approach has actually not worked for lots of years. Without remaining in the middle of a crisis, you require to stop this inefficient activity. Now as budgets are under pressure and every marketing activity should count, the method that we do content marketing requires to be upgraded.

Now, the content that we develop requirements to interest someone trying to growth stage marketing consultant find our option, and it should include purchaser intent activates like keywords and expressions that a purchaser would utilize as they get near to purchasing choice. A Havas Group research study exposed that 84% of people anticipate brand name names to produce content, yet 60% of the content produced is of bad quality or unimportant, stopping working to satisfy the needs of the audience. Regardless of a 71% connection in between content effectiveness and a brand's impact on personal health, just 40% of the world's leading 1,500 trademark name produce material that meets this requirement. Trademark name's are failing to produce significant material.

Stop producing assembly line content that is simply implied to establish the brand or present the item. Rather, content needs to target specific personalities to fix any holdups avoiding the possibility from proceeding. This material will take longer to produce and require a higher community and product knowledge level.

CMO's in Wartime must have an excellent understanding of the buyer mind and their psychological requirements so that they can produce material that alleviates worry and addresses the sincere issues they have.

CMO's in Wartime double down on Category Style so that their organization will come out as the leader, making them the dominant option, putting them in the enviable position to take as much as 76% of the economics from the entire category.

Learn more about Classification Design.

The B2B sales procedure today is fragmented and complex, with lots of stakeholders needing to validate a purchase choice. This renders basic marketing ROI and attribution techniques less useful for anything besides scholastic research study.

The marketing function today breaks down into three functional pillars making up Product, Requirement Generation, and Classification Style. Due to the fact that lots of marketing leaders have actually not totally welcomed category style, it's a surprisingly easy way to beat an incumbent throughout a crisis. As quickly as the sector begins to go over the classification as you have actually specified it, your company will wind up being the category and the obvious choice.

To do Classification Style needs a different working cadence. Wartime is the ideal time to embark on Classification Style provided that definitely nothing is "typical" throughout a crisis.
To manage the obstacle of building a Classification King organization requires a lots of grit, decision, and a steadfast drive to win. For the Wartime CMO, who takes on the difficulty, there can be no bigger pot-o-gold if successful.

Read the book Play Larger to learn everything about category design.