The Revenue Growth Architects

We know the burning question on everyone's mind is what CS2 (an agency) thinks of hiring agencies. sarcasm Well, if you've been searching for this information look no further, here are 11 minutes of unadulterated and (hopefully) unbiased thoughts on the argument for and against hiring an agency. We also have some shiny new podcast equipment for those audiophiles out there. Some of the things we discuss: Pros: ✔️ They Will Never Leave You (Probably) ✔️ They can be less expensive than you think ✔️ You get a specialized and deep skill set ✔️ They are low maintenance Cons: ❌ Non-marketing project managers ❌ They can be expensive ❌ They can be too focused and not as invested in your company's mission ❌ Communication can be difficult

B2b marketing is hard right now. But who are we kidding -- it's always been pretty difficult. We sell complex things, with complex tools, to complex buying groups, using complex marketing strategies. It's can get very, errrr, complex. In light of some conversations that have frequently come up with clients and peers, we thought we would talk about three specific examples of forward-thinking marketing we have witnessed out in the wild that have cut through the noise and left an impression on us. They're not just email campaigns (yep, you don't need more of those) and they don't require much heavy lifting or budget. We talk about: Gong.io's social presence on Linkedin with entertaining and enlightening content Sendoso's CMO partnering on other brands' content and shows Everstring's weekly "A Drink With..." These are all great companies that do a ton of great marketing, but these specific initiatives really stood out to us as examples that many companies could learn from. So check out the conversation on this week's fwd:thinking.

This week we have another awesome guest, Luke Starbuck from Campfire Labs. Campfire is a content marketing agency that has worked with some of the b2b tech greats (Drift, Asana, Stripe), and Luke has a particular passion for unconventional content that tells stories and engages audiences in more meaningful ways. We really enjoyed having Luke on as he shared his insight on all things content, specific examples of unconventional content, how to measure success, and a ton more. We found this especially relevant in this time where engaging content is really top of mind for b2b marketers as they persevere and fight through the noise. It's a long discussion (we really could have gone on for hours!) but it's worth the listen!

On this week's episode of fwd we have a very special guest, Laura Kendall, the new VP of Marketing at MadKudu. Laura is both a friend and a repeat client of ours so it was a real pleasure to have her on. She had the interesting experience of starting a new role during shelter-in-place, and had some amazing wisdom to share around how to ramp up successfully during this crazy time. We also dove into her experience leading marketing teams specifically around: How to successfully build a marketing function from the ground up Why a strong marketing operations foundation is so important Her approach to goals and measurement There were TONS of great takeaways in this one and we really enjoyed the conversation - so check it out and fwd it on. 📧