Startup Marketing Isn't Rocket Science, So Don't Hire the Ph.D Too Soon

valery [2009-03-09 10:02 AM]

Well, this sounds like a well-placed sales pitch for your own service :-) Pretty useless otherwise.

Alan Rocker [2009-03-09 11:32 AM]

Get hold of a copy of "Up The Organisation" http://tinyurl.com/bfvq5q and read the section on why startups should NOT hire big-corporation types.

It's as true now as it was when it was written in 1970.

rick [2009-03-09 12:51 PM]

There are a lot of good mid-level marketing types who can provide good strategy insight and are not only able but willing to get down and do the work. I'm not at all certain that a true startup needs high level strategic marketing AT ALL. Startup problems are almost never related to branding or PR strategy but to more straightforward issues - pricing, positioning and making sure that the product is actually good.

Give me a great product that clearly answers a market need and that's not like 10 other products which all answer the same need and I'll market it just fine without someone obsessing over what our brand means. By time branding etc really become important to a company they're not really a startup anymore though they might be a small company.

Tamara Gruber [2009-03-13 07:57 AM]

Completely agree, of course I am biased too. I've spent my career working for high tech start ups or small companies and have seen them pull in a heavy weight right before a funding round but that person is not ready to get the work done. For the past six years I've been providing those Interim VP of Marketing services to help out start ups that need someone that thinks strategically but knows how to get all the work done. Most find having a resource like this on a part-time basis, is all they need until they achieve significant growth or exit.

Dave McClure [2009-03-13 08:49 AM]

actually, most times it's not just an issue of strategic (thinker) vs tactical (doer) skills, but rather the type of marketing experience.

many more senior marketing execs don't have online marketing skills & experience, especially in newer areas that have only come up in the past 5 years or so. it's rare that i see someone with more than 15 years of marketing experience who understands:
- SEO & SEM (which are different)
- blogging & social media
- widgets & apps
- social networks
- rich media (video, images)
- link-sharing tools & services

in fact, it's not very common that a lot of older media types even understand *EMAIL* marketing very well, and probably haven't done many campaigns there either.

beyond just the experience in doing any of these campaigns, many more people have no concept of using analytical tools & testing/optimization techniques to fine-tune their campaigns & get the most out of their "strategy".

in short: people with 3-5 years experience in more recent online customer acquisition techniques, and who are smart & hard-working are likely a much better fit for a startup than a senior exec with 10-20 years experience who isn't familir with current tools.

you may get lucky and find both in one body, but usually for startups i'd bet on the person with more recent expertise, even if they're less experienced overall. not always, but most times.

Sean Ellis [2009-03-17 08:59 AM]

Most startups fall flat on the marketing side because they can't figure out who really needs their product, why the need it, what constitutes a great experience for these people and how to onramp more of them into this experience. Steve Blank's book "The Four Steps to the Epiphany" gives an excellent framework for figuring this out. Combine this framework with metrics driven iteration and you'll significantly increase your chances of startup marketing success. The whole process is fairly intuitive but I agree with Darren that most "traditional marketers" way over think it. Once you get early customer development right, then a tactical online marketing "doer" will have a reasonable chance of being successful.

Corporate marketing executives that step into a startup marketing role are making a stupid career move. It's like a renowned lawyer that decides to become a brain surgeon. It's a whole different career path.