The First 90 Days as a CMO with Chris Heggem
11/16/23 • 51 min
The first 90 days are arguably the most important for a new CMO as it sets the tone for the type of leader they’re going to become. Often new marketing leaders are met with a laundry list of tactical ideas that if the focus is on checking off the boxes instead of gaining awareness and driving revenue, the role will quickly turn into a tactical rather than strategic one. On episode 10 of the FiredUp! podcast, marketing leader and advisor, Chris Heggem sheds light on the first 90 days as a CMO.
Download A Startup’s Guide to Attribution. Learn how to track the performance of each of your marketing channels and see how they influence lead conversion.
In this episode of the FiredUp! podcast, Chris Heggem shares the importance of establishing yourself as a data-driven, goal-focused leader in the first 90 days and what every new CMO should be focusing on from the very start.
Chris Heggem is a marketing leader and advisor specializing in B2B tech. He helps companies with unique products and services establish their identity to communicate more clearly with customers, differentiate from the competition, gain market share, and drive revenue. Over the last 15 years, Chris has worked with and advised over 50 Silicon Valley startups to solve their marketing challenges including Noname Security, Avi Networks (acquired by VMware), Yubico, Sofi, and PagerDuty.
Chris, Morgan, and Nicole discuss:
- The one metric marketing should be measured by.
- Where the focus should be before you even join the company and in the first 30, 60, and 90 days.
- Balancing the foundational work with quick wins in a time when balance is hard to find.
- Getting inside the mind of your buyer to accurately position your messaging.
- Framing expectations and success for the board in the first 90 days.
- Structuring a marketing team with limited resources.
Thank you for listening! Tune in to all the episodes for practical tips on crushing your startup marketing goals. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast, and tell us your key takeaways!
CONNECT WITH CHRIS HEGGEM:
CONNECT WITH FIREBRAND:
Firebrand is a startup marketing agency. We help tech startups secure outsized marketing outcomes on their path to growth.
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The first 90 days are arguably the most important for a new CMO as it sets the tone for the type of leader they’re going to become. Often new marketing leaders are met with a laundry list of tactical ideas that if the focus is on checking off the boxes instead of gaining awareness and driving revenue, the role will quickly turn into a tactical rather than strategic one. On episode 10 of the FiredUp! podcast, marketing leader and advisor, Chris Heggem sheds light on the first 90 days as a CMO.
Download A Startup’s Guide to Attribution. Learn how to track the performance of each of your marketing channels and see how they influence lead conversion.
In this episode of the FiredUp! podcast, Chris Heggem shares the importance of establishing yourself as a data-driven, goal-focused leader in the first 90 days and what every new CMO should be focusing on from the very start.
Chris Heggem is a marketing leader and advisor specializing in B2B tech. He helps companies with unique products and services establish their identity to communicate more clearly with customers, differentiate from the competition, gain market share, and drive revenue. Over the last 15 years, Chris has worked with and advised over 50 Silicon Valley startups to solve their marketing challenges including Noname Security, Avi Networks (acquired by VMware), Yubico, Sofi, and PagerDuty.
Chris, Morgan, and Nicole discuss:
- The one metric marketing should be measured by.
- Where the focus should be before you even join the company and in the first 30, 60, and 90 days.
- Balancing the foundational work with quick wins in a time when balance is hard to find.
- Getting inside the mind of your buyer to accurately position your messaging.
- Framing expectations and success for the board in the first 90 days.
- Structuring a marketing team with limited resources.
Thank you for listening! Tune in to all the episodes for practical tips on crushing your startup marketing goals. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast, and tell us your key takeaways!
CONNECT WITH CHRIS HEGGEM:
CONNECT WITH FIREBRAND:
Firebrand is a startup marketing agency. We help tech startups secure outsized marketing outcomes on their path to growth.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Previous Episode
Starting PR in the UK with Ilona Hitel
Finding an agency already established in the market you’re looking to enter into or expand into is key to the success of your business. That's why Firebrand has partnered with CommsCo to help US and UK startups and scaleups launch in each other’s markets as seamlessly as possible. On episode 09 of the FiredUp! podcast, Ilona Hitel, founder of CommsCo breaks down what is happening in the UK tech PR market and how American-based companies can make the transition.
Download A Startup’s Guide to Attribution. Learn how to track the performance of each of your marketing channels and see how they influence lead conversion.
In this episode of the FiredUp! podcast, Ilona shares everything you need to know before entering into the thriving tech scene in the UK and actionable advice you can take right now to prepare to launch your business abroad.
Ilona Hitel is the founder of the UK tech scaleup PR agency CommsCo. Her passion is working directly with tech exec teams to develop their proposition, messages, content, and ideas which will raise awareness and differentiate. In tech, this often involves turning complex propositions into easily understood ideas, and building working relationships that spark creativity, backed by a determination to make things happen. Back in the day she had a hand in the launch of Salesforce, Sophos, and MessageLabs in Europe - creating a love of working with early stage tech organizations to maximize awareness of their incredible innovations.
Ilona, Morgan, and Ian discuss:
- Opportunities for startups coming into the UK media scene.
- Leveraging the UK as a starting point to build momentum before expanding further into other European markets.
- What US companies need to understand before expanding or launching in the UK and other European countries.
- How Firebrand and CommsCo partnership works to help startups launch seamlessly in new markets.
- Lead generation and customer references are two of the many goals of UK company PR campaigns.
- 2024 PR trends and predictions.
Thank you for listening! Tune in to all the episodes for practical tips on crushing your startup marketing goals. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast, and tell us your key takeaways!
CONNECT WITH ILONA HITEL:
CONNECT WITH FIREBRAND:
Firebrand is a startup marketing agency. We help tech startups secure outsized marketing outcomes on their path to growth.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Next Episode
The Basics of Data Storytelling with Ian Lipner
As a startup, data is one of the things that you’ve got in your toolbox that can help you level up and drive consistent coverage. On episode 11 of the FiredUp! podcast, our own Ian Lipner, Senior VP of Firebrand breaks down the basics of data storytelling!
Download A Startup’s Guide to Attribution. Learn how to track the performance of each of your marketing channels and see how they influence lead conversion.
In this episode of the FiredUp! podcast, Ian Lipner shares how companies can leverage the data they are already accessing to tell a story and actionable steps you can take right now to find media coverage-worthy trends that journalists can actually use.
Ian Lipner has been in PR for 25 years focusing on technology clients. He founded and ran the Washington DC Office of LEWIS which is where we worked together and he helped the company launch its research division. After that, Ian joined the crisis communications agency called LEVICK, where he managed the company's emerging brands and their cybersecurity practice before he joined Firebrand.
Ian and Morgan discuss:
- Finding the balance between curating a story that has depth with the speed at which you’re able to deliver.
- Formats you can use to package your data sets in a way that journalists can present them as a trend or part of a larger story.
- The first steps to take when starting a data storytelling program within your business.
- Analyzing customer data to gain valuable insights and create authentic content.
- Breaking down the acronym “DATAGO” as it applies to the process startups go through in approaching data storytelling.
Thank you for listening! Tune in to all the episodes for practical tips on crushing your startup marketing goals. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast, and tell us your key takeaways!
CONNECT WITH IAN LIPNER:
CONNECT WITH FIREBRAND:
Firebrand is a startup marketing agency. We help tech startups secure outsized marketing outcomes on their path to growth.
X (Formerly Twitter)
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