For early-stage B2B, SaaS and tech companies it is all about the product. For example, an initial early milestone is often the creation of a Minimal Viable Product. Soon after, the milestone shifts to achieving Product-Market fit. At this juncture, the team will likely consist primarily of developers. Their job is to build, and this is where the bulk of the initial seed capital is deployed. The CEO will act as a jack/ jill of all trades at this stage, with founder-led sales being an important part of their role for this phase of growth. During this pre-seed / seed phase, marketing will largel ..read more

Introduction - Marketing After a Series A Raise Photo by Toni Koraza on Unsplash Congratulations. You’ve done it. You’ve closed a Series A. Now the fun starts. I’ve been there a few times. The transition from frugality to relative abundance. It is an odd feeling. One thing is clear.  What got you here won’t get you to where you need to go.  So what now? Your Next Phase of Growth Needs a Different Approach For most B2B / SaaS/ tech businesses the pre-Series-A years will look pretty similar. Most of the initial investment will go into the product (or when it comes to professional serv ..read more

AI and Content Creation Content creation is a staple of all B2B and SaaS company’s marketing strategy. The reasons are pretty evident. Google dominates our worlds and thus we’ve been trained to use it to search for answers. In terms of applications, it has been pretty effective, to say the least. How many searches does the average knowledge worker make a day? According to Google, the average person searches Google 3-4 times daily. ChatGPT agreed, indicating that 77% of users conduct 3 or more searches daily. I’d posit most of us with desk-based jobs use it a lot more. While the emergence of AI ..read more

Introduction -Fractional CMO When it comes to hiring a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) it is important to ensure that you have decent execution capability before proceeding. As the most senior hire in the team, you want to ensure your Fractional CMO is leading rather than doing. The marketing function in most B2B and SaaS companies is ‘full on’. There is always a lot to do and often (especially amongst European Startups) resource constraints. When a Fractional CMO joins they will want to deliver results and thus in practical terms, they will create work. A lot of work. The question is ..read more

So what are some of the advantages of using a Fractional CMO? Having worked as a Fractional CMO for over 10 years it is evident that the motivations for hiring one are wide and varied. However, the following represent some of the key advantages clients enjoy when working with a Fractional CMO. 1. Derisks a full hiring decision. Hiring sales and marketing leaders is difficult. Why? Well the good ones tend to be excellent at marketing and selling their services. A fractional CMO represents less commitment and thus can be viewed as a means to better assess the value a CMO could bring. 2. Helps ke ..read more

Usability - The Next Battleground In the red corner, you’ve got Traditional (or monolithic CMS) like WordPress, in the blue corner a modern CMS like Headless e.g. Contento. The 800lb gorilla is of course the 20-year-old WordPress with hundreds of millions of installs and a vast ecosystem of developers and entrepreneurs getting rich on its coattails. In the other corner, you’ve got the “new approach”: Headless, one that offers significant benefits but is up against a fairly entrenched incumbent. However, as this blog attempts to illustrate, the battle is more than just about the CMS but about ..read more

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash Introduction - Working with a Fractional CMO Having worked for 10+ years as a Fractional CMO (and B2B marketing consultant) with over 50 clients (primarily for VC-backed B2B SaaS companies) I have significant experience as to the pros and cons of the approach. This article is designed to help those considering hiring a fractional one ensure the engagement is set up for success. A Fractional CMO (sometimes called a Virtual CMO) often “sits on the bus” for a year at most, and B2B SaaS startups take many years to go from ideation through securing Product Market Fi ..read more

The Growth of Fractional CMOs Fractional, or Freelance, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are marketing leaders who support marketing functions across a wide range of areas but in a flexible and part-time manner. They are going to become an increasingly common phenomenon in the months to come. Why? Read on. Why do I think they’ll become more common? As we approach the end of 2023, current market conditions for tech companies are challenging, to say the least. The immediate outlook is also going to be difficult between rising interest rates, the conflict in the Middle East, the Ukraine invasion ..read more

Having worked in B2B SaaS for many years I have been frustrated with the countless numbers of SaaS startups who are not able to market effectively due to relying on Content Management Systems (or worse custom builds) that are not fit for purpose. It is why I have Co-Founded Contento, a Headless CMS built specifically for B2B SaaS websites / companies. As part of our initial launch we are offering clients a migration service off the likes of WordPress so as to help reduce the switching costs for those looking to upgrade their content management system. I will also be writing a collection of new ..read more

In this short blog I describe the emergence of vertical saas as a concept that SaaS marketers and founders need to be aware of. What is vertical SaaS? Why is it beginning to emerge now and what are some of the key characteristics of it? To learn more about vertical SaaS and why I think it’s emergence offers significant opportunities please visit my blog. The Growth of Vertical SaaS ..read more