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Cover design: C. Wallace
Copyright © 2014 by Paul Roetzer. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Roetzer, Paul, 1978–
The marketing performance blueprint : strategies and technologies to build and measure business success / Paul Roetzer.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-88343-3 (Hardback); ISBN 978-1-118-88358-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-88357-0 (ebk)
1. Marketing--Management. 2. Strategic planning. I. Title.
HF5415.R5666 2014
658.8′02–dc23
2014022278
For Eila and Balen.
When Brian Halligan and I started HubSpot in June 2006, we wanted to transform how organizations acquired customers. The Internet had altered how people accessed information, connected, shopped, and shared. As a result, marketing as we knew it was broken.
Traditional, outbound marketing methods, such as trade shows, advertising, and telemarketing, were becoming less and less effective. Consumers were choosing when and where to interact with brands, turning to search engines and social networks for resources, products, and services.
HubSpot became our chance to revolutionize the marketing industry and give businesses the tools needed to better reach and engage buyers online and on their terms.
It was around this time that I met Paul at the inaugural INBOUND conference in Boston. He was one of HubSpot's earliest adopters, and in 2008, his marketing agency, PR 20/20, became our first Agency Partner, helping to pioneer a program that now includes more than 1,500 agencies worldwide.
Paul and his team have worked with dozens of clients to build and execute performance-driven inbound marketing campaigns. We share a common belief that businesses need to outthink, rather than outspend, their competition. Playing by everybody else's rules is a surefire way to lose, whereas innovation—and thinking differently—is rewarded.
Consumers are more informed, in touch, and in charge than ever before. Outdated marketing methods interrupt and annoy, causing customers to move further away from brands.
Buyers crave personalized experiences, and brands need to up their game to connect with audiences in meaningful ways. They must transform marketing from something most people hate to something that they love. This requires a shift in marketing strategy.
Successful marketing programs focus on the people behind each transaction. They humanize marketing and reimagine the full customer experience, from first interaction to post-sale support. This is how you deliver memorable inbound experiences that turn followers into customers and customers into advocates. This is how you create marketing that people love.
But, there is no magic wand to transform obsolete marketing practices, and too many companies remain frozen in time. Marketing departments must evolve their mind-sets and put the right technology and culture foundations in place.
Technology has dramatically changed how consumers live, connect, and shop, but it has also enabled marketers to execute more intelligent and targeted strategies. With technology in their toolbox, marketers can better meet consumer demands for excellence at every touchpoint, personalize interactions based on context, streamline campaign execution, and accurately measure performance.
It is for these reasons that companies like HubSpot exist—to help you market better and smarter, and to help you delight customers.
While technology makes lovable marketing a possibility, it is marketers who make it a reality. However, modern marketers are hard to come by—especially those with exceptional talent and the hunger to learn and achieve. To attract marketing stars, you must first become the keeper of culture. Define your organization's set of shared beliefs, values, and practices, and use that as the jumping-off point. Culture is to recruiting as product is to marketing—the better the culture, the easier it is to attract and retain exceptional talent.
As HubSpot has grown through the years, to more than 700 employees today, I have spent significant time thinking about culture. So much so that I have joked with my colleagues that the “T” in my CTO title may actually stand more for “talent” than “technology.” I have learned that knowing what your company believes and what makes it tick are paramount to attracting and retaining the right people.
And, a talented team, when paired with the right marketing technology and an evolved marketing strategy, completes the marketing-performance trifecta.
However, transformation is difficult. The Marketing Performance Blueprint is your guide to help accelerate success through marketing talent, technology, and strategy. Use it to build a performance-driven business and to create marketing that people love.
DHARMESH SHAH (@DHARMESH)
Cofounder and CTO, HubSpot
Coauthor, Inbound Marketing
The Marketing Performance Blueprint would not have happened without the incredible PR 20/20 team—Sam Brenner (@sambrenner2020), Dia Dalsky (@DiaDalsky), Allie Gottlieb (@alliegott), Mike Kaput (@MikeKaput), Tracy Lewis (@Tracy_J_Lewis), Angela Masciarelli (@Ang_Masciarelli), Jessica Miller (@jessica_joellen), Rachel Miller (@RachelAMiller), Keith Moehring (@keithmoehring), Taylor Radey (@TaylorLauren), and Sandie Young (@SandieMYoung).
Each one of them played a part in telling this story. They embody what it means to be a modern marketer. They challenge themselves to constantly learn and evolve, and they continually push the limits of what is possible when the art and science of marketing collide.
They inspire me every day to be a better professional, and a better person.
The marketing industry is advancing at an unprecedented rate, creating seemingly insurmountable gaps in marketing talent, technology, and strategy.
At a time when marketers face increasing pressure to measure the return on investment (ROI) of their campaigns and connect every dollar spent to bottom-line results, they are largely underprepared and underperforming.
According to Adobe's 2013 report “Digital Distress: What Keeps Marketers Up at Night?,” 68 percent of marketing professionals feel more pressure to show return on marketing spend, while only 40 percent think their company's marketing is effective. A mere nine percent strongly agree with the statement, “I know our digital marketing is working.”1
But with obstacles come opportunities.
Marketing technology has changed the game. Organizations of all sizes have access to the tools and knowledge needed to grow more efficiently and intelligently, to outthink, rather than outspend, the competition.
The marketers who will redefine the industry in the coming months and years and be in high demand take a technical, scientific approach.
Marketing is now, as it has always been, an art form. But the next generation of marketers understands it can be so much more. These innovators are rewriting what is possible when the art and science of marketing collide.
The Marketing Performance Blueprint presents the processes, technologies, and strategies to fill marketing gaps and build performance-driven organizations. It is a guide for marketers, executives, and entrepreneurs to advance their businesses, exceed ROI expectations, and outperform the competition.
Do not waste another minute or dollar with traditional thinking and conventional solutions. Soon, every company, including your competitors, will have the tools, talent, and processes to excel. But it is still early. Your organization has the opportunity now to differentiate and drive growth.
As you read, consider the following questions:
This is a book about what is possible. It is about unlocking your potential as a marketer and accelerating success for your organization.
The marketing talent, technology, and strategy gaps are very real, and they are impacting your business' performance. Now is the time to take control.
Key findings and insights from dozens of industry reports, articles, books, and interviews are woven into The Marketing Performance Blueprint, along with analysis of in-depth marketing assessments from hundreds of marketers, executives, and entrepreneurs.
I draw on my personal experiences consulting for hundreds of organizations, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and mix in lessons learned as a marketing agency owner. My goal is to give you the resources and tools to advance your marketing career and help move your organization's marketing forward.
Watch for the [+] symbol as you read. This indicates a template spreadsheet is available to download from performance.PR2020.com as part of the Marketing Performance Pack we have created to complement the book. This free resource features a collection of templates, including a marketing team skills assessment, scorecard, campaign center, and project center.
Let's begin the journey.
Chapter 1—Mind the Gaps—lays the foundation, presenting insight into how gaps in marketing talent, technology, and strategy are leading to the most significant gap of all: the performance gap.
Chapter 2—Commit to Digital Transformation—discusses the digital transformation imperative and considers ways to overcome obstacles faced by businesses of all sizes.