How to Think Like a Startup CMO (CLIC ’17)

7 marketing strategies from CMO Jeff Perkins

We just wrapped up our 3rd annual CMOs Leading Innovation Conference (CLIC ’17). Jeff Perkins delivered a memorable, fun, and engaging session. He’s now the CMO of ParkMobile and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Jeff provided our group with 7 modern marketing strategies to think like a “Startup CMO.”

Perkins, a perennial marketing aficionado, is a founding member of the Marketing Leaders of Atlanta. As he mentioned in his introductory remarks, Jeff has found his innovation inspiration from a variety of sources. They include his former CEO, Dave Keil of QASymphony, AutoTrader, and the rock and roll juggernaut, Bruce Springsteen.

Here are two of his two “Startup CMO” secrets that lead to innovative marketing solutions:

  1. Maximize limited resources.

“When you are used to working at big global agencies and enterprises, it’s scary to move to a startup and see your budget,” Perkins said. “You think: It’s not enough money to do anything.” Perkins and his team looked carefully to learn where their audience was online, and focused their efforts on those sites.  At QASymphony, he recommended ditching a re-branding effort because they simply could not create a compelling business case. Even though he is a self-proclaimed “creative at heart,” he chose to focus their limited marketing funds on short-term customer wins.

They also found other ways to cut expenses, such as working with obscure yet influential online software testing forums. They provided product reviews for a nominal fee. QASymphony witnessed a huge improvement in their Google rankings from this effort.  As Perkins said. “Don’t pay for things you can do for free.”

2. Track, analyze, and optimize.

Perkins and his team kept careful note on the source of their leads and analyzed all campaign performance. They were able to cut out those that didn’t generate high quality leads. At CLIC ’17,  he presented a one-page dashboard that he shows the board of directors. It clearly outlines the results from their lead generation efforts. For example, his “startup CMO: dashboard tracks activity and results by marketing channel (such as trade shows, SEO, PPC, and social) and shows full path ROI.

You can read about Jeff’s 5 other “startup CMO” marketing strategies and tactics here. He also posted a copy of his PowerPoint presentation on LinkedIn. Check it out here. Some specific details are available on pages 28-36.

You may notice some of Jeff’s content is confidential. You just have to attend CLIC ’18 to get this level of insight…so be sure to register to receive our conference updates.

Copyright 2017, Lisa Nirell, all rights reserved.

Related Posts:

       Swimming Towards Success: Newest CMO White Paper Available     

       10 Tough Marketing Questions for Turbulent Times     

       Cash, Lies and ROI, Redux: 3 Signs Your Marketing Budget Is A Flight Risk     

 

Copyright 2017, Lisa Nirell

Related Posts:

       Swimming Towards Success: Newest CMO White Paper Available     

       10 Tough Marketing Questions for Turbulent Times     

       Cash, Lies and ROI, Redux: 3 Signs Your Marketing Budget Is A Flight Risk     

 

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