Loren Cribbs's Blog, page 3
June 18, 2024
4 Warning Signs That Offense is Controlling Your Life
In sports and the military, they say that "the best defense is a good offense." But in relationships, offense can take control of your life causing you to become so defensive that you are unable to find peace with others and have conflict at every corner. While you may want to win a game or a war, winning in relationships takes a different strategy.
Offense makes you more vulnerable. So you build a tough exterior and wall that no one can break through hoping that it will keep you safe. But not letting people in keeps the good out too. By fortifying walls to keep out negativity, you may shut out the warmth of genuine relationships and the beauty of meaningful interactions.
Choosing vulnerability over self-preservation can be daunting, but it is in these moments of openness that true connections are formed. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable means acknowledging the inherent risk of being hurt, but it also opens the door to profound experiences of empathy, understanding, and love. It is a delicate balance between protecting yourself by guarding your heart while remaining open to the world around you.
Embracing vulnerability does not mean abandoning all caution; it involves a willingness to be authentic and genuine in your interactions with others. When you begin to recognize that true strength lies not in building walls, but in having the courage to let them down, even if it means exposing your vulnerabilities.
Offense steals your hope and makes you believe nothing matters. You stop caring because you don’t think it’s worth it. Numbing your feelings won’t allow hurt to heal and you won’t make progress.
When you feel offended, it can lead you to a state of apathy where you stop caring about things that once held importance to you. This sense of disillusionment can be overwhelming, making it seem like your efforts are futile and not worth the trouble. Without allowing yourself to confront and address these feelings, you remain stuck in a cycle of stagnation, unable to move forward.
Relationships can look like this makeshift island I accidentally bought one time. It didn't come assembled, and as I started to put the pieces together, I realized the back was made of particle board, it wasn't real wood. It wasn't sturdy and it was never meant to be out in the middle of the kitchen, but rather against a wall hiding the back. When relationships hit turbulence, there comes a time when you just stop caring. You don’t even care if the back of the relationship is like a flimsy piece of particle board. You try to make do with what you’ve got, even if it’s not perfect. When you don’t see the point in caring anymore, not only is there no perfection, there also is no progress.
Offense throws a wrench into your idea of perfection. This causes you to become irritated by little details that never bothered you before. Everywhere you look you will see negative aspects instead of joy.
When an offense disrupts your sense of perfection, it can have a profound impact on your mindset and emotions. Suddenly, what used to bring you joy and contentment is overshadowed by a sense of irritation and dissatisfaction. The smallest imperfections that previously went unnoticed now seem to stand out prominently, casting a shadow over your usual optimism. This shift in perspective can color your interactions and experiences, making it challenging to find pleasure in the things that once brought you happiness.
These irritants in relationships are like a chemical in your laundry detergent that you don’t realize you are allergic to. You wash your favorite article of clothing, but one day, you realize you have a horrible rash on your skin. It’s your favorite piece, and you don’t know why it’s bothering you now, but one day you just stop wearing it. When you become irritated in a relationship, even one you once loved, you may have the inclination to disregard it—either fully in a divorce or breakup—or you may just close yourself off emotionally and physically. Irritants that damage your perfection scheme create offenses in your life.
Offense drives your need for defense. You start to think winning includes talking the most and getting the last word in. This mindset creates a win/lose dynamic where losing is not an option. However, the irony lies in the fact that when you are solely focused on offense, you never truly achieve victory.
The relentless pursuit of being right or getting in the last word can lead to a lack of empathy and connection with others. When winning becomes the sole objective, it can erode relationships and breed resentment. When offense turns to resentment, it becomes even harder to move forward.
Forgiveness is one the hardest truths to accept and act on when you are offended. You may have a notion that to forgive someone means you accept the behavior or that it will right the wrong. You may also believe that to forgive shows weakness, and you may be tempted to get the last word in as a sign of winning. Seeing who can be more stubborn and bitter is a game that no one will win—at least, it’s not a game worth winning in relationships.
The Apostle Paul urges us, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Col. 3:13 NLT). Reading this verse and hearing about it sounds easier in theory than putting it to practice. The world tells us to get even when we are wronged or to make things right that are done to us unjustly. But the Bible teaches us that God forgave us—all of us—so we ought to extend the same treatment to others.
One of the hardest parts about offense is feeling the need to be defensive. Jesus reminds us: “When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don’t worry about defending yourselves—what you’ll say or how you’ll say it” (Luke 12:11 MSG). While this passage refers to believers who were persecuted for their trust in God, I think it’s a good way to view our relationships. We worry about defending ourselves in relationships. We want to be right, especially when you are in a struggling relationship.
How you handle the difficult situations you face alone as well as in a relationship is pretty telling for the condition of your heart and what you have let in. Paul declares, “Do everything without complaining and arguing” (Phil. 2:14 NLT). In your times of trials and in the wilderness, it is tempting to complain. You question why and are hurt, so you speak and act from your pain and offense. But instead of complaining or arguing for the last word, you can turn to Jesus and give him praise—praise for what he has done and what he will do in the future. It seems counterintuitive to what you want to do, but that’s the life of being a child of God. You praise when you do not know or understand, because you do know one day, you will see it come to pass. That hope and faith are things that no one and no experience can take away from you. If Paul could praise in prison in the Bible, you can praise through a divorce, separation, or relationship downfalls.
For more resources on how to deal with offense and live a life of redemption after a divorce, separation, or struggling relationship, you can buy my book Wings to Rise above Divorce.
May 2, 2024
How to Overcome Embarrassment After Divorce: Tips for Rebuilding Your Confidence
Can I share an embarrassing moment with you? This occurred after my divorce while I was trying to mark one of the last things off of my divorce to-do list. After my divorce, I was downtrodden, going through the divorce process of legal papers and contracts, sifting through my old life to determine what was worth taking into this new season and starting a business and working with new clients. Changing my name was another bullet on a very long divorce list.
When I changed my name the first time after getting married, I expected it to be a bureaucratic nightmare. I planned a few extra days after our honeymoon to account for changing my driver’s license at the DMV, visiting the Social Security office, and going to other places. I was pleasantly surprised when I was in and out of the Social Security office, and the man there even gave me tips for the DMV. Where I expected to take multiple days to get everything accomplished, God accomplished in one easy outing. People were pleasant and helpful and celebrated my marriage with me. The name change back to my maiden name was a different experience.
When I went to the DMV this time, I was almost home free when I decided to change my name and take the picture while I was there instead of getting a temporary card until my license expired. When I chose this route, the DMV agent got very weird, looked at me like I was suspicious, and called security to escort me out. Talk about embarrassing. I was already feeling the shame of having to check “divorce” as the reason for changing my name on all the paperwork and then telling people about it, but now I was actually being escorted away.
Given no explanation other than that I needed to call the Commonwealth of Virginia, I headed to my car with tears streaming down my face. I actually put on makeup for my photo, so I now had the raccoon eyes as black smears made their way down my cheeks. I gathered the courage and called the Virginia DMV, hoping for a better experience than in Pennsylvania. My mind was racing while I was inevitably on hold. What did I do? Did I lose my license? Did I do something I don’t remember? Was it a case of mistaken identity and some felon was out there with my name?
Finally, I got some answers when a most generous and calming lady answered the phone. She assured me that the problem was simple: the Commonwealth never got my license plate, so they thought I was still living there, and when my insurance expired, they flagged me as an outstanding driver without insurance. It didn’t register when I first moved to Pennsylvania because my insurance was still intact in Virginia.
With that last check mark behind me, I settled into my new life back in my original name. My mistakes behind me, my shame in the rearview mirror, my eyes ahead on God’s promises. Just like Abraham, I had been given a new name. And though it was always a part of God’s plan to bring me through to the promise fulfilled, I made a detour like Abraham did in Genesis. Rebuilding my confidence after my divorce was not easy. Not only was I learning to be confident again on my own, but I was starting a business that added a whole other level of imposter syndrome and fear.
Going through divorce and starting a business at the same time taught me seven important lessons to help you bounce back with confidence after suffering a blow or embarrassment.
During the fall of a marriage, your lamp may be completely out. Not only will that keep you from letting your light shine or allowing God to show you a glimpse of where you need to go next, but you are also, instead, sitting alone in darkness. You may be literally sitting in the dark, crying and wondering how you got there. If you’re like me, you may not even want to tell anyone what you are going through because you’re embarrassed. I felt like I failed at everything—my marriage and my career. I just held it all in, not prepared for what was ahead. In order to move forward--even just a tiny step--in confidence, you will need a little glimmer of light. Proverbs 31:18 tells us that a "lamp does not go out, but it burns continually through the night [she is prepared for whatever lies ahead]” (AMP).
Feeling shaken after divorce, you may have forgotten who you are. For so long you held the word spouse as an identifier and now you may not know how to reconcile having the prefix "ex" before it. Or more embarrassing for you could be living with the label "divorced." During this time, to build confidence, you will need to remember what God can do in and through you. Your most important identity is as a child of God. Through His strength you are wonderfully made and highly capable. When you remember that truth, you will start to see positive traits in you and you can focus on your strengths instead of shortcomings. Philippians 4:13 reminds us: "I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (NIV).
When you are down, the last thing you want is to be around people who will kick you when you're down. You may be wondering how that could even happen, but when you go through a divorce, new friendships may be needed. Old friendships may leave. Maybe you find that friends are forced to pick sides. Maybe you discover through your divorce who your "real" friends are. The ones who will be positive, lend a loving ear, talk to you in truth, and even try new things. By finding safe people where you can be vulnerable, you will discover a confidence in you to try new things with them. Life is less scary when you have good people around you. Ecclesiastes 4:12 exclaims: "And though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken" (AMP).
Going through a complicated event like divorce can leave your mind racing. During this time, you may be tempted to overanalyze, overcomplicate, and overstate ideas, thoughts, and emotions. One way to gain confidence back is to set achievable goals. You can tackle one thing at a time. It doesn't have to be giant. As you crush these simple goals, take time to celebrate every small win. These wins will give you momentum to thrust you forward. Psalm 116:6 assures us: "The LORD protects the simple (childlike); I was brought low [humbled and discouraged], and He saved me (AMP).
When you have a disruption to your life and are facing embarrassment, the worst thing to do is compare your situation, life, or self to someone else. Not only do you need to eliminate comparison, but you also will need to eliminate negative self-talk. The more you compare apples to oranges, the more likely you are to think negatively about yourself and your life. Instead, try to visualize success. What can you do in YOUR life to move closer to living confidently and freely? Philippians 4:8 teaches us: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things" (NIV).
Laughing after divorce may seem too difficult. You may think the only laughter you have is cynical--like you are laughing at hope instead of laughing with joy at the possibility of hope. When you allow yourself to laugh, you open up the gates of letting good things in. When you put up walls you may keep out what could harm you, but you also keep out what could bring you joy. When you laugh, you can start to dream again. To have confidence is to laugh even when things are hard. Job 8:21 boasts: "He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy” (NLT).
Sometimes the most necessary way forward is to face your fear head-on. You may have suffered an embarrassment and want to avoid the feelings, scene, and people involved. Hiding from what hurt you won't help you heal any faster. You need to step outside of your comfort zone in order to build your confidence. With every step outside of your comfort zone, you will learn to trust God a little more with each step. As you take these faith risks, you will discover that you no longer let fear dictate how you live--your faith will lead. Psalm 34:4 promises us: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears" (ESV).
Remember that building confidence is a continuous process. Be patient with yourself and keep practicing these tips consistently. As you continually pray, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, and heed to God's plan, you will find that over time, you'll notice positive changes in how you perceive yourself and your abilities to rebuild confidence after divorce.
If you found these tips encouraging, consider buying my book, Wings to Rise above Divorce for more ways to find forgiveness, redemption, and renewal during turbulent separations.
April 4, 2024
Rethinking your future while healing from divorce
When you are healing from divorce, you have to think about the future differently. The hopes and dreams you once had on your wedding day slowly disappear through separation and divorce leaving you in the rubble wondering where to go next. When you get married, you think about all the little details that make up the wedding day, and you have all the hope for the future, but facing separation and divorce and leave you feeling less. Less than what you thought life was supposed to look like. You once had it all but that time has ended. The difference between soaring and plummeting can change in an instance.
No matter where you find yourself right now—in a lacking marriage, separated, or divorced—you will find the hope for a better future and a way to step out of the murky mud, not with your own clawing and slipping but with the power that comes when God reaches down and lends you his wings—like he did with David in Psalm 40.
Psalm 40:1-2 says "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand" (NIV). When you feel hopeless and stuck in the mud after your marriage unravels, only God can give you the wings to rise above it all. No pit is too deep for God to lift you. But we find the word "patiently" found in the first verse. Being patient while you are going through a separation or healing from divorce is difficult. You want assurance and help in the moment. When it's not clear what the future holds, being patient is not easy, but that is where faith comes in. Faith while you put your hope and wait patiently on the Lord can bring you comfort.
When you cannot find the words, try praying out verses 11-13 from Psalm 40: "Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me" (NIV). Keep reciting this prayer when you are faced with trials of uncertainty while healing from divorce. When you feel as though others are against you, cannot understand what you are going through, or lack the full truth of your situation, allow God to come in and rescue every part of it.
When you sit in the darkness of divorce, separation, or marital trouble, you will have a hard time seeing the light and hope for the future. When you have negative thoughts, it’s hard to flood your mind with enough positive ones to cancel out the negativity. That’s how we all feel about relationships at times, don’t we? We feel we have to try harder or put on fake smiles or do things we don’t want to in order to impress someone or make them think better of us.
The beauty in our relationship with God is that we don’t have to be someone else. Even at our worst or darkest moments, he gives us light. You only need to accept it and follow it. If you seek wisdom and God’s Word, all the negative thoughts the enemy tries to put in your head can be quenched. You don’t have to do it on your own, all alone in the dark. You also don't have to put on fake smiles while going through your divorce. You can feel the pain and address so that you can look toward the future.
God may not have designed us for divorce, but he will provide for you during that time. Don’t believe the lie that fear should win and let it make you give up on faith. Don’t believe the lie of fear that you have made too many mistakes to be used by God for his glory. Have faith that in this moment, God can come in and show you clarity for how to steward relationships that he brings to you in the future. Have faith that you can still have a pure heart, and he can make you white as snow.
Losing faith is easy when you are going through a divorce and that loss can infiltrate all parts of life. One faithless act can lead to you not having faith in your future and maybe even in the goodness of God. You let that loss of faith bleed into bad decisions. You know God has promises for you for the future that are better than you can imagine, but your past hurts too much for you to believe, and it makes your present situation one you would rather escape from than to turn to God.
Faith is looking toward the future despite what you see in your circumstances—faith is loving and forgiving someone, even though you’ve been hurt. Trust is different from faith because you generally have trust issues because of what has been done. While similar to faith, trust in relationships is more tangible. It’s easier to see where it’s been broken, and trust may impact your faith. When you have strong faith, in your relationships and in God, your actions will show it—the result is your trust.
Whenever I question God and get scared of his plan for my life, he always shows me a sign and confirms it, easing any insecurity I had. Even on the days when I don’t see movement or feel like I’m pressing forward with no vision, I am content with where I am. I trust in God’s plan and know that even during the lackluster times or even the downright muddy times, he is still there. Whenever I start to feel uneasy or worry about my future, just like David, I recite, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Ps. 23:1 NIV). Because that’s the truth. I have all that I need in Christ but also with what he has already given me. For every bad day that I have, he brings two wonderful ones.
When you choose to believe in God’s promises, even when you may have questioned them a time or two, you can walk in redemption and renewal. Renewal can be a time when you are unsure of what the future will hold because of the newness. That’s where faith comes into play. You believe that this new thing God is doing will bring blessings to you, your family, and the Kingdom.
In your times of trials and in the wilderness, it is tempting to complain. You question why and are hurt, so you speak and act from your pain. But instead of complaining or arguing for the last word, you can turn to Jesus and give him praise—praise for what he has done and what he will do in the future. It seems counterintuitive to what you want to do, but that’s the life of being a child of God. You praise when you do not know or understand, because you do know one day, you will see it come to pass. That hope and faith are things that no one and no experience can take away from you. If Paul could praise in prison in the Bible, you can praise through a divorce, separation, or marital downfalls.
For more divorce content, prayers, and reflection questions, you can buy my book Wings to Rise above Divorce.
October 29, 2021
Case Studies: Friend or Foe?
I love a good case study. The keyword is good. Not every story or customer is proof or worthy of a case study. In SaaS, have we diminished the power of the case study by overusing it or thinking “good enough” will drive sales?
I have seen well-intended sales reps or AMs shout with joy that so-and-so customer LOVES the product and is super excited to do a case study. Intros are made, and then there may be radio silence. Or you plow ahead with the discovery call and gather information during which you discover that they are in fact not a good candidate for a case study.
Through these discovery calls, I have found some common red flags that signal it may not be the right fit for a case study. When you spot a majority of these red flags, your case study may lack action and the aspired results. Here are some red flags :
This is the most common red flag with case studies. Not every large brand wants to align with a smaller startup (or any company for that matter). Some partnerships may require pay-for-play and strict criteria before it goes public with branding.
A case study should be treated differently from these brand partnerships or integrations. A case study examines how a company used your product to solve a problem and offers the solution in which that occurred. It’s not just two logos plastered on a billboard.
The brand identity in a case study helps others who may be of a similar size or industry understand how they can relate to that particular problem and why your product may be able to help.
If a customer has strict guidelines for doing case studies, you may still create generic fillers such as saying a “retailer” or “Fortune 500 customer” that others may be able to relate to, but the brand identity does go a long way in building your credibility.
If you are starting to serve a newer industry or have limited case studies, using generic fillers may help you get started, but in the long run, you will need to identify and build strong customer relationships that will align their brand with yours.
This is huge in SaaS! I have been in many conversations where the conversation sounded something like this: “but we don’t know how to measure ROI” or “it takes time to show ROI” or “ROI calculators are stupid”.
The greatest purpose of the case study is to show the result. Often the biggest disconnect from an AM saying a customer loves the product to being ghosted during the case study process is that there is no way to measure success.
This somewhat goes against what you think about in testimonials. A case study is not a testimonial! You can include a quote in the case study but it is much bigger and a deeper dive into the solution and outcome. You often think of asking someone for feedback or a review as soon as possible and when they are happy.
This becomes harder to do with case studies in SaaS because often you do need time to calculate the results or see the long-term effects that add up. You can still find clever ways to tell the solution story. Compare where they were before and where they expect to be or find smaller calculations or comparisons. How have employees saved time or where else have customers been able to focus their attention?
If your product has a feature that includes a dashboard or analytics, that helps customers see the results quicker. Otherwise, you will pull a data scientist or dev from your team to go in on the backend to find the data you need to support the study. This may also slow down the case study timeline.
Often the person being interviewed during the discovery call is a user or oversees users and they may not be the actual decision-maker of the company. This results in either delays or abandonment of the study.
When I talk to customers, I will often ask upfront what the approval process looks like. Who needs to be included, how long this typically takes, and brand guidelines. This process is different for companies. Some may casually run the study by a manager or director and get approval rather quickly. Others may need it to go through multiple executives as well as go through legal and that can add time to the process.
The brand guidelines are also important to consider. We discussed up above that branding a company name is preferred, but if not that, how will they want to be described. Not only the company branding but for any quotes you want to share — what is the preferred title and name for the quoted? Will it be “Bill S. — CEO” or will it be more generic such as “an executive in the retail sector”?
Do you know how widely used your product is within the company? You may be working with a larger brand, but only in one department or one location. This will impact the brand guidelines and not to mention the approval process.
Similar to not knowing the approval process and who to include, marketing getting left out of the case study is a big red flag! When I mention or ask about their approval process, I also ask if they have a marketing team or person.
If a marketing team or person exists, they may have a plan that this case study will either support or hinder. I always try to work with marketing to understand their goals and how a case study is mutually beneficial for both companies to market.
If marketing doesn’t know about a study until it’s time to publish, they may get antsy and annoyed that marketing activities were being done without any discussion of how it fits into the greater plan.
Marketers are usually the gatekeepers and tellers of the brand. If you can build a good relationship with them, they will want to shout your praise and solutions to the world. If you leave them out, you may miss that opportunity and the reach the case study could have.
When we think about case studies, we are inclined to view it as a sales tool that will help prospective customers want to buy your solution. It’s true that case studies are an excellent way to drive sales and influence the decisions of potential buyers. But when we think of case studies, we should acknowledge that rushing it or trying to force it to happen may devalue the study.
When we begin to think about case studies as a part of a greater brand strategy, we will intentionally seek out qualified customers who are solid partners, have a mutual benefit, have seen a positive ROI, and are willing to tell their story alongside you.
I have worked with many sales leaders and AMs throughout the years and we all want to see case studies perform well! My sales colleagues tend to want the direct ask and can take a simple compliment that the product works great straight out of onboarding and turn it into more than is ready at that time. As a nurturer, my marketing brain wants to understand and align so that the study has the best possible chance of showing results.
I have found positive results when sales or AMs identify a positive comment and they ask the user if they are willing to speak with a person on their marketing team (me!) to discuss any content ideas or tactics that may be a good fit, and also invite someone from the customer marketing team to join if that makes sense. This has sped up the case study process and turned into content that delivered more qualified leads.
By spotting some of these red flags, you can begin to identify better case studies that will truly showcase how your product helped solve a problem and the impact your solutions are having in the industries you serve.
July 28, 2021
Startup Marketing: Expectations vs. Reality
Startup marketing has its pressure. Building a brand and scaling a startup to a successful exit is not for the faint of heart. A few patterns seem to take founders time to discover, and I hope that bringing these realities to light will help startups get to building their brand quicker while avoiding some common views in the community.
There is no comparison. It takes great confidence and determination to be an entrepreneur. You want to build the best product or service that exists. A downside to this mentality could leave you with blinders on and overlooking your competitors.
Unless you are in a very new niche, you will likely have a few key, direct competitors. These are other startups who sell a product very similar to yours and within the same space. Your target audience parallels. Many people will at minimum know who these folks are and keep an eye out for what they are doing.
While you may monitor what competitors are doing — specifically understanding how your features, user experience, customer support, and functionality differ, there are still other competitors that you may not even consider.
In SaaS, particularly, your product is vying for the same budget and buyer process that competes with other companies and products that might not be similar to yours at all. As sales cycles become longer and decision committees are becoming larger and with more steps in the buying and vetting process, your product may not just have to compete with your features and ease of use, but also with others in SaaS that have completely different features and solutions.
You may have a scheduling software and outpace your direct competitors, but when the buying committee is meeting someone may advocate having a revenue cycle management software instead. While your features and goals are different, the company may only have enough budget for one of your products. Knowing how to position your product and separate your product from other SaaS competitors will give you a boost in the buying process.
I see it, I like it, I want it, I buy it. Not exactly a typical SaaS sales cycle. You’ve worked hard to build a product that you know customers will love. You’ve invested in a positive user experience, key functionality, collected feedback, and QA to put your product on the market.
It’s common for founders and developers to know what they have is a quality product and think that they can just put it into the world for an easy transaction. Marketing a service is harder than a more direct consumer product. The idea of demand and proof of necessity is not as easy to convey. ROI becomes vital and you may not see exact results ASAP.
You can’t just build a website with a demo request and think you will get flooded with quality leads and potential customers. The marketing mix you implement is important to your success. Often founders think that just spending big bucks on advertising will get their product out there but SaaS and B2B sales will take time to find quality leads who will become long-term customers and champions — and that is where your brand will shine.
The quick hits, viral videos, and influencers that may work in other industries are not a good match for SaaS. If any type of brand recognition is likely to scale you quickly, it’s building strategic partnerships with tech companies that can help build thought leadership and position your brand and product in a credible way.
Startup unicorns. You talk about them and it’s a common buzzword in the space. We acknowledge that not every startup will get a billion-dollar valuation but it keeps you motivated to build the best.
When you’re first starting up, founders often face one of two trials with marketers. The first is hiring an inexperienced person because they are low-cost and you hope they can follow your directions to market the product well. The flaw with this philosophy is that you may actually require a more seasoned professional with whom you can have an honest relationship with and they can challenge you where necessary to market in the best way possible. If you don’t have a marketing executive who works alongside you and other leaders, your message will always be disconnected from your buyers and the market.
The second trial is that even when founders hire a quality senior-level marketer, they expect that they will be a marketing unicorn — a wizard who will be part strategist, writer, graphic designer, videographer, data analyst, implementation expert, PR guru. The truth is marketers may have some level of understanding of each of these but are specialized and really excel at one or two of them — especially when you get to really qualified candidates.
If you ask a marketer to “just make it look and sound pretty” and put it out there, you may find that you’re sacrificing one of the two or getting subpar from both. Typically, designers are not the best writers and writers are not the best designers. The look good people and sound good people at higher levels who will scale your company quickly are different.
If you need to compromise because of your budget, make sure you understand your main goals and that your marketing executive can either outsource or is highly skilled in the areas you need most to succeed.
Come one, come all. Your first sale is an exciting time. Knowing that people want your product and will continue to use it accelerates your motivation to keep improving. The risk when starting out is that you may not know who exactly your target is and your first few customers may not be lifetime customers.
Have you ever faced a struggle with a full-funnel and steady sales cycle knowing exactly where and when your next big sale would come? During this drought, you may be tempted to take anyone who will listen even if they aren’t quality. Worse yet — you may not even realize they aren’t a quality pick for you because you haven’t finalized your target audience. When this happens, you may make exceptions and start building your product to fit whoever is nearest — losing track of your blueprint.
If you have a solid product map and can pair that with a marketing plan that connects to your target audience, you can more quickly attract and retain the right customers who are doing to be better for your long-term success.
Knowing your target audience not only helps you to find the right customers from the start, but it also helps you once them. You can build out better customer experience campaigns if you know who they are and what they want rather than shifting focus every time a shiny new demand comes your way. Developers can focus on the product roadmap and not get derailed by random requests that do not benefit the majority of customers.
Remember these four things when building your brand and startup:
Know your competitors — don’t assume the product will sell itself or stand out on its own.
Have a marketing mix — don’t assume a demo button or viral video will do the trick.
Hire a solid marketing executive — don’t assume he/she will be a unicorn.
Know your audience — don’t assume your product is for anyone and everyone on a first-come, first-serve basis.
June 7, 2021
Stop Underestimating these Startup Marketing Tactics
There are many ideas out there for companies. Following COVID-19, new businesses and appreciation for entrepreneurship increased. Not every idea or business will succeed, though. I knew the ratio of success was low, so I was not surprised to discover in a Daily Hustle email that only 2 out of 5 startups are profitable.
With those odds, how do you stand out and make it in the market? The answer may be found in actually marketing and growing your brand. I’ve known some founders who wait too long to invest in marketing and throw money at ads or sales instead of building a brand and community.
If you are struggling to find marketing success or are apprehensive about placing too much emphasis on marketing, here are the five marketing tactics I believe are undervalued or used incorrectly in startups.
Social media is often overlooked, underappreciated, or misunderstood in the startup world. It can be one of the best ways to increase brand awareness and build a community — getting social with people.
Social media is not just about putting out demo requests or links to your blog. While those things should be sprinkled into your mix, sharing industry and external content helps establish your position in the industry.
Social media success is best achieved when you take the time to comment and contribute to discussions. This also helps increase your thought leadership credibility. You’ll see more followers from doing this and people will trust you and, in return, your product or service.
Pro-tip: You can follow hashtags or keywords on social media to customize and see relevant content and posts that help you engage quickly and with the audience that most benefits your industry.
They say content is king. But that doesn’t mean you to need force content and throw things out just to hit a so-called quota of content. If you haven’t invested in a good copywriter or content strategist, you may be creating content just for the sake of checking it off the box and that won’t lead to results.
One good way to find valuable content is to look over your metrics and repurpose or update that content. Did you have a blog post that received multiple comments, likes, shares, or page traffic? Take that post and make an infographic with 3–5 main points from it.
Did you have a social media post that was popular? Take that and do some research to write a more in-depth blog post. Do you have a web page that gets the most traffic? Maybe it’s the FAQs — take a question a day and answer it on social media for a weekly campaign.
Pro-tip: Repurpose does NOT mean you replace a few words. If you think that you can just hit the find/replace function for two things throughout and call it a day, you have not repurposed you’ve swapped.
Earning PR through guest blogging helps build your reach and credibility. Identify a few subjects that you have established expertise in and pitch a partnership with a publication, blogger, or another company whose readers may benefit from your opinion.
Before you can gain access to guest blogging, you will need to demonstrate through your own blog and discussions on other blogs what you can bring to the table.
By creating and sharing your content online, you will build your own portfolio that will do the pitching for you. As you find content that becomes shareable and spreads throughout the community, more places will welcome you as a guest on their blog.
Pro-tip: Reach out to publications that you’ve shared or built relationships with through your comments on their posts.
Going live makes you more real and relatable instead of a distant founder or product. If you are in a saturated market, this can help you stand apart and put your own ideas front and center. If you are in a new market, this helps build trust among potential customers.
While going live first came out on Instagram, the engagement and popularity blended into the B2B community with LinkedIn embracing the capability. On Instagram and Facebook anyone can easily go live, but you need to apply on LinkedIn.
If you don’t qualify or want to jump through the LinkedIn hoops, you can still post videos that are well received by users and take discussions in the comments or private messages. Some ideas for good videos include behind-the-scenes, hot topic discussions, answer questions, and just share general thoughts on industry trends.
Pro-tip: Find a scheduled time where people know you will go live. Maybe it’s a Monday morning memo, or mid-week nugget, or a Friday feature. Make sure it’s a commitment you can make — is it weekly, monthly, quarterly? Find what is manageable and stick to it and you will find a loyal following.
I think exclusive betas may be one of the most missed opportunities for startups. While many beta test different products or features, it is usually not talked about or is talked about after the fact.
There is a tendency for people to want exclusive things. While the purpose of a beta is to collect feedback and help advance your UX to build the best product for users, it can also be a key piece in your marketing strategy.
Talking about a product in beta and sharing snippets will get your brand out there and generate buzz before you are officially ready to launch. Sneak peeks or behind-the-scenes will help establish your thought leadership and knowledge in the space.
Pro-tip: Leveraging your beta users for co-marketing opportunities is a win-win for you both. Customers can show their ability to innovate and test new features or products and you earn credibility by having trust and confidence with your customers that the market will see.
Maybe you haven’t been using all of the above tactics or maybe you have misunderstood how to use them together to maximize your startup marketing success. Let’s look at an example of how they can work based on a startup scenario.
Imagine your startup is launching a new feature that will incorporate real-time analytics for customers. It’s been on the roadmap for some time and you’ve dedicated resources to the plan now and decide to work with a few select customers to beta test it.
You decide to coordinate marketing initiatives in conjunction with the product management plan of the beta release. You put together a social media calendar that includes a mix of your original content and content from others.
You come across a really great blog from someone in the tech industry and the quarter is dedicated to all things real-time analytics. You find some of the top articles and share them on your social media.
Going through your old content, you discover a playbook that had a section on real-time. You repurpose that section, create an infographic with relevant content, and break out a mini social campaign using key factors.
You have been commenting and sharing your thoughts on other social posts and blogs that discuss real-time. You have been in contact with and engaging in comments with the blogger dedicated to writing about real-time this quarter. He shares your infographic on social and it is shared many times by others. You thank him for sharing and inquire about a guest blog opportunity. He agrees.
Your blog post on his website is well received. You see the engagement and community you have built with people in the industry and decide to go-live and with one of your beta customers and discuss the beta process, the importance of real-time, and give a behind-the-scenes look teasing the full release to the public.
While engineers, QA, and product managers have been fixing bugs during the beta, you created an eager community and built thought leadership. when you are ready to release the feature to the public, they are already there.
Many tactics go into a marketing strategy. They accompany these five things well. But when combined, these five can help build your community, and since they are often overlooked or underappreciated focusing on them can provide a great return for you.
