Mark Donnigan Consultant

Mark Donnigan constructs disruptive innovative start-ups. Mark's superpower is architecting go-to-market strategies and marketing movements that drive real business outcomes for technical and product-centric founders. Mark's growth and market advancement experience spans twenty years as a transformative B2B marketing and organization leader, driving need, brand name development, and method for start-up and growth-stage business.

As an expert and virtual marketing leader (fractional-CMO), Mark Donnigan handles startup creators and CEOs from B2B disruptive innovation technology business to assist them develop, bootstrap, and scale their marketing and go-to-market actions.

LEARN MORE: https://growthstage.marketing

Mark Donnigan has actually handled teams as large as 25, making up SDRs, AEs, and marketing, producing $29mm/year. Mark brought budget plan responsibilities to $3mm/year for operations and $400k/year for marketing. Offer sizes varying from mid-five figures to mid-six figures every year.

As a start-up marketing specialist, Mark Donnigan's incoming and outbound marketing experience consist of structure and mentoring high-performance groups that execute as needed generation, brand and product marketing, PR, digital, and events where he develops and carries out high-impact programs that drive revenue, produce ROI, trigger the market, and delivers service results.

Mark Donnigan thinks that the best marketing experts and marketing leaders are doers. Mark's marketing experience consists of all aspects of requirement generation, ABM, SEO, e-mail marketing, paid marketing, events, PR (internal & agency), and product marketing.

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

Mark has found that building a classification needs to be the top objective for each marketing leader and it is the foundation of his approach and technique. Mark Donnigan has substantial B2B marketing experience that consists of structure and mentoring high-performance groups.

Mark Donnigan is a systems thinker, and he positions a high value on teamwork. Mark has comprehensive experience working alongside sales, product, operations, and finance to ensure that the company and income objectives of the company are always gone beyond.

Development Phase Marketing exists to offer business owners and founders services for:

Architecting the marketplace classification that is finest matched to the distinct worth proposition of your innovation.
High impact marketing support so that you can reach your profits goals and scale sustainably.
Achieving go-to-market alignment across the sales and marketing companies.
Extracting the highest value from every marketing dollar.
Insider understanding and insights about the B2B purchasing journey and how to browse a significantly fragmented consumer choice hierarchy.
Operationalizing marketing, from system and process advancement to making the very first hires.

Ideas on what it requires 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 service, you are not alone. A study completed by the marketing consultancy Fournaise discovered that 80% of Chief Executives are not delighted with the work their leading Marketing leader is doing. Evaluating what the present business reality means for marketing leaders, I kept in mind the concept of a Peacetime leader and a Wartime leader from Ben Horowitz's book "The Hard Aspect Of Hard Things."

Horowitz described the concept in a post where he composed that the Peacetime CEO "concentrates on the big image and empowers her people to make detailed choices." The Wartime CEO, on the other hand, "values a speck of dust on a gnat's ass if it interrupted the prime regulation."

The Peacetime CEO "comprehends what to do with a big advantage," while the Wartime CEO "is paranoid." Peacetime CEO "works to reduce disagreement," and Wartime CEO "heightens the contradictions."

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

Wartime is a various thing totally because, in Wartime, the life and death of our organization might be on the line.
As I compose this post, the entire world is combating an unnoticeable opponent called COVID-19, which has let loose a discouraging dose of organization unpredictability internationally. For CMO's, the COVID-19 pandemic is service equivalent of war. No longer do our 2020 marketing methods make great sense.

This is more than remaining in an area with the light on, and suddenly you find yourself in pitch-black darkness, so you walk tepidly, continuing in the same directions knowing that you were heading towards the door prior to the lights got switched off. No, not simply has the pandemic turned the lights out, its blown a massive crater in our course that was not there previous to, and without light in the room, can not be seen. However we must avoid at all expenditures falling under the crater.

No one wish for war, however a Wartime leader does not shrink from the battle, instead, they acknowledge that Wartime is the single finest chance to leapfrog sidetracked rivals and take ground away. What follows is a set of pointers and concepts to help you find your "Wartime CMO combat plan."

How to act as a Wartime CMO.

During Wartime, everyone is in uncharted waters, however this is where the opportunity is for lots of business who previously had a difficult time to compete against larger competitors and dominant market forces. Now, for the very first time, you might be on equivalent footing as your more effective rivals. It's the perfect chance to define your future.

In a global decline like what COVID-19 has triggered, absolutely nothing makes good sense. And yet, a few of your rivals will continue to perform their typical "attempted and real" marketing playback, presuming that building the brand name with corporate interactions messages from the CEO is going to contribute to their organization objectives. Now is the best chance for the Wartime CMO to take ground in the market.

Take strong action.

Creative marketing is required in Wartime more than ever. Now is the time to examine your important assumptions. As the around the world business environment has modified, and the stability of the core service cast doubt on, CMO's needs to be prepared to reassess their preliminary strategy.
Think about that less consumers will relate to decreased requirement. And minimized need indicates markets will not respond as they did prior to the crisis.

Believe about it in this way, when people purchase less, advertisers invest less. Nevertheless prior to you follow a slash and burn the marketing invest playbook, here are a couple of things to be knowledgeable about:

Financial investment bank Cowen and Company examined the last 6 economic slumps given that 1950 and discovered that spending on direct marketing grew throughout the previous economic declines. Significance, you will want to consider your mix of brand marketing thoroughly compared to sales activation marketing. It's not time to stop marketing. Remember, there will be offers throughout the board as media outlets see business cut their marketing and marketing invests. Press marketing and branding drops in a slowdown, but sales activation marketing constantly increases.

Shift costs to more measurable channels so that you can adjust quickly. Speed is whatever. Marketing initiatives able to be tracked with specificity will be a lot more valuable than broad mass-market projects. Downturns accelerate the decline of interruption-based mass marketing. In its place will be an increased concentrate on quantifiable and relationship-based techniques.

Declines produce a chance for companies that are more efficient at turning marketing financial investments into income. In the middle of a slow down when marketers are cutting their costs is a fun time to gain from low CPMs and Certified public accountants.

The Institute of Practitioners in Marketing ended up a research study in 2008 that discovered, "Following a spending plan cut, a brand will continue to gain from the marketing investment made over the previous couple of years. This will reduce any short-term organization impacts, and will lead to a precariously deceptive increase in short-term success. The longer-term business harm will be more substantial, however will not be discovered in the start."

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

Maximize the worth of each lead produced.

In a slowdown, risk-averse purchasers take even longer to research study purchases, and this uses similarly to B2B and B2C purchasers. When you first acknowledge a prospect, they will likely remain in the awareness stage of your funnel and will not be all set to engage with an SDR or BDR. Do not require this interaction. Marketing should make sure not to move a prospect through the funnel too get more information quickly. Remember, the possibility's professional life has actually been turned on its head. What was a concern just a couple of weeks or months back, is likely not top of mind today.

It's appealing in a slow down to tighten your grip on leads given that the reasoning is that now more than ever, all leads are essential. Here is where lead scoring can be a valuable tool to recognize extremely engaged potential customers from those who are not most likely to become your consumers. Now is the time for Online marketers to hang on to MQL's for an extended duration so that you can groom the possibility to the maximum possible extent prior to handing them off to sales as a SQL.

Without lead scoring and an ideal possibility tracking system throughout your digital channels, as lots of as 9 out of 10 MQL's who are not yet sales-ready may be lost. They will buy, simply not now. You do not want to lose out on the future sale since you didn't keep in contact and consist of worth though the journey. In a "Wartime" economy, you need to do whatever possible to optimize the worth of your MQL's.

CMO's that do a much better task of managing leads and establishing early-stage prospects into sales-ready leads will stay in the finest position to win during the crisis and most definitely once it has actually passed.

Focus on your present customers.

It's more affordable to grow earnings with your existing customers. Think of whether now is the time to scale back your mass lead generation programs and focus on building much deeper relationships with those who already understand your service. This does not suggest to stop your requirement gen efforts, but it does indicate that you might want to explore with product and sales how you can sell more to your existing consumers.

In Peacetime, marketing groups are working on autopilot in pursuit of driving MQL's to please sales reps. For a business that has gotten traction on their way to becoming a classification king or queen, this method, though expensive feels good considering that of the remarkable volume of activity that is being produced. Nevertheless, without careful analysis, the high degree of activity fools numerous CMO's and management groups into believing that their need generation engine is carefully tuned when, in reality, it's giving off enormous contamination, i.e. exceedingly high CAC, higher than average churn for the category, low CLTV, and so on.

Marketing needs to line up with sales.

A brand-focused Marketing leader worries the company with an exceptional education and pedigree, having actually held considerable titles with big companies. There was a time when the marketing group might handle all business and product details and messaging with the marketplace. If a buyer wanted to discover out about a brand-new item or explore whether a solution might fulfill their requirement, they had no option however to call business.

Reactions to concerns 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 an outcome, the power shifted to the purchaser.

We understand that online marketers are no longer in control of the buyer's journey. It is necessary to specify a funnel that outlines expulsions a prospect need to pass on the way to doing organization with business. Purchasers can get in touch with us on the platform of their picking. As the buying group has actually expanded to as lots of as 2 lots people, the concept that they will follow our process as we have actually prescribed is seldom genuine.

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

A revenue-focused CMO will handle the engine behind a CEO's development plan. The shift from companies being physical item developers or service business, to digital development business where the item is dispersed as software or software as a service through the Internet, has decreased the function of marketing. And is the aspect a revenue-focused CMO who is a value developer is what all start-ups and disruptive innovation business need today.

Today, marketing requires higher levels of technical capability as a result of the surge of digital media and the marketing technologies that are connected with internet marketing. This improvement has been highlighted by Forrester, mentioning a 20-year-old transition to digital as the driving force behind CMOs moving from being brand-builders to revenue drivers. Forrester goes on to report that a worth designer, revenue-driven Online online marketer, should be a story maker and not just a writer.

The CMO today ought to be a specialist at developing and leading creative engagement and service method to develop a category for business to dominate.

Here are a couple of methods that a revenue-driven CMO need to operate:

They will work carefully with the sales group to discover and map the purchaser's journey. Where assumptions do not match what is taking location in the market, a value designer CMO will leave the office and hang out in the field. This leader comprehends that you can not drive income if you aren't near to where the sale happens.

A revenue-focused CMO develops content targeted at each phase of the purchaser's journey. Consider the purchaser's journey as a set of gates where the material responds to the main concerns a purchaser has at each action so that they can finish the purchasing journey.
The brand-new generation CMO will gather engagement metrics for each gate while examining the success of the end-to-end marketing cycle to provide the most prompt and licensed leads to their sellers. A worth designer CMO sees marketing as close allies to the sales group.

The revenue-centered CMO is constantly discovering from and fine-tuning the procedure so that they can enhance the quantity and quality of leads that contributed to the pipeline and closed service.
Earnings attribution and marketing ROI designs will show real outcomes, not extrapolated or "presumed" requirements. This details is essential for the revenue-focused CMO to resolve considering that they care about marketing's impact on service.

A revenue-focused CMO will concentrate on how their marketing efforts map to closed/won deals that drive the profits and business objectives of business. Vanity metrics like traffic, click-thru rates, CPM, and CTA conversions inform simply a piece of the story.

What to attempt to find in your next CMO.

In the vibrant state of business today, dealing with an efficient CMO is among the most difficult things to do. Every market, company, and market section is different. Even where you can acknowledge prospects from the same organization neighborhood or environment, it's not enough to simply take a look at years of experience or education. You need to analyze the motivations and thought patterns of the individual. Ask:
Is the CMO a problem solver?

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

Are they a doer?
In lots of marketing groups, there will be specific experts who can operate at the greatest level throughout the series of capabilities needed. It's incumbent for a marketing leader to command consider as a doer. The CMO, who can demonstrate functional ability in the core locations that the group operates, will be more reputable than a manager just.

Has the CMO held cross-functional positions?

The finest way to make sure that you attract a CMO who is income and not brand-driven is to work with someone who has shown up through product, sales, and business approach. Having direct exposure to the inner operations of product and sales is specifically useful as service method is ending up being a more substantial part of the CMO's series of obligations.

Do they think in systems or approach business in a structured way?

As digital has blown up the number of marketing interface points, enabling buyers to disaggregate the business from the purchasing journey, a CMO must have the ability to think about systems and structures instead of securely defined marketing lanes. It is no longer adequate to plan in regards to the social project, material marketing task, events, and PR, all as different activities. The successful CMO will begin with company goal they are serving and be ready to question whatever.

Can they engage outside the walls of business to the market?

To wind up being a story-maker, you should be worthy of listening to. A CMO remains in the ideal position to presume the evangelistic function for business. The most effective CMO's in any market are extremely noticeable spokespeople for their service.
Are they a motivator?

As the CMO will need to work cross-functionally to guarantee that they have placing with item and sales, the marketing head must be an incentive. To develop a classification needs discussion, negotiation, and the capability to search for and reach an agreement.

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

A CMO who tries to lead with ultimate authority will struggle to accomplish service objectives of business. Marketing groups today need to work as engineering groups operate in a nimble style. Rather of well organized 90-day job cadences, a nimble marketing group carries out a constant circulation of initiatives while keeping the adaptability to alter as the market or business requirements identify.

Does the CMO comprehend classification design?

I have really composed about category design and why every company needs to own a classification to accomplish its optimal capacity. There is a framework for carrying out category style. Still, whether an Online marketer follows the summary or techniques classification style another way, a CMO must be putting routine 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 method to finish a proper category style.

The Wartime CMO will require to increase the responsibility of marketing by revealing the impact of each marketing activity on the pipeline as determined by earnings contribution.
In a decrease, marketing needs to move the understanding of being an expenditure center to an income driver. Reporting beyond the variety of marketing qualified leads produced to include the total possibility worth for each lead source is an excellent way to represent the function marketing is playing to drive the financial goals of service.

Studies have really exposed that an appropriately designed landing page can double your conversion rate over sending out traffic to your house page, which tends to do not have the appropriate call to action that matches the advertisement. Because of this, inspecting landing pages can increase conversions as much as 50% or more. Together, these methods can provide a 2.5 X boost for each single dollar you buy marketing. Yes, conversion rate optimization makes a difference.

During Wartime, every marketing dollar is valuable, and a Wartime CMO comprehends that winning will not come down to a single technique or "silver bullet" method. Instead, numerous small things executed well. The CMO, who can not comprehend the interplay of copy, messaging, creative design, and development, will have a hard time to discover and recognize quickly where small adjustments can use much better conversions.

This material method worked, for a season, sort-of. However with the increase of Google RankBrain, the method has not worked for numerous years. Without being in the middle of a crisis, you need to stop this inefficient activity. Now as budget plans are under pressure and every marketing activity must count, the method that we do content marketing requires to be updated.

Now, the material that we create needs to interest somebody searching for our service, and it should consist of purchaser intent activates like keywords and expressions that a purchaser would use as they get close to purchasing decision. A Havas Group research study exposed that 84% of individuals prepare for brand to produce material, yet 60% of the content produced is of bad quality or unimportant, failing to fulfill the requirements of the audience. No matter a 71% connection in between content effectiveness and a brand's influence on individual health, simply 40% of the world's leading 1,500 trademark name produce content that satisfies this requirement. Brand name's are stopping working to produce substantial material.

Stop producing assembly line content that is just suggested to develop the brand name or present the item. Instead, material needs to target specific personas to resolve any troubles avoiding the prospect from carrying on. This material will take longer to produce and require a higher community and item understanding level.

CMO's in Wartime ought to have an excellent understanding of the buyer psyche and their psychological requirements so that they can produce content that alleviates fear and addresses the genuine concerns they have.

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

Find out more about Category Style.

The B2B sales procedure today is fragmented and complex, with great deals of stakeholders requiring to confirm a purchase decision. This renders basic marketing ROI and attribution techniques less helpful for anything besides academic research study.

The marketing function today breaks down into 3 functional pillars comprising Item, Requirement Generation, and Classification Style. Since many marketing leaders have really not entirely accepted category design, it's a surprisingly easy way to beat an incumbent during a crisis. As soon as the sector begins to talk about the category as you have really specified it, your company will end up being the category and the obvious choice.

To do Classification Style requires a various working cadence. Wartime is the perfect time to embark on Category Style given that definitely nothing is "normal" during a crisis.
To manage the difficulty of building a Category King organization requires a ton of grit, determination, and an unfaltering drive to win. For the Wartime CMO, who takes on the challenge, there can be no bigger pot-o-gold if successful.

Read the book Play Bigger to find out all about category design.