As a digital marketing consultant, I work with marketing teams at a variety of different software companies across industries.\u00a0 Today I was pondering some of the common qualities behind what makes the best teams successful, and jotted down the following list.\u00a0 If you\u2019re at a software company of any variety, stop and ask yourself \u2013 which of the following does my marketing team embrace, and which am I lacking?<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Company leaders see marketing\/PR as a revenue generator, not a cost center<\/strong><\/p>\n The best software marketing teams are given the resources and time necessarily to break through and get that company referenced as an industry leader.\u00a0 These teams are given the privilege to continue marketing long term, provided ample resources to succeed, and nurture the right talent because their management sees marketing as something which impacts revenue.\u00a0 They don\u2019t see it as some abstract cost center they \u201chave to\u201d throw budget at in order to succeed.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Their team members are proven and passionate<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead of simply hiring the cheapest or most convenient hire, smart software companies\u00a0grow their teams\u00a0with proven, passionate individuals (or at least bring smart, eager to learn team members on board).\u00a0 There is the old cliche that client-side marketers \u201cdon\u2019t care\u201d or \u201care boring.\u201d\u00a0 This idea is shattered at software companies (or any company) who rocks at marketing:\u00a0 their team members\u00a0care<\/em>\u00a0and have\u00a0passion.\u00a0 A consultancy is great and can help boost a software company\u2019s digital reach significantly, but the right team members internally are also vital for long term success.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 They\u00a0never launch, just iterate<\/strong><\/p>\n The idea of the launch in marketing is one which is fast fading in relevance.\u00a0 Instead of a big launch, the ability to maintain a pace with relevant communications is even more valuable.\u00a0 Not to completely downplay the idea of\u00a0buzz, it\u2019s still vital.\u00a0 But the savviest software marketing teams can orchestrate buzz without necessarily\u00a0having a reason<\/em>.\u00a0 They\u2019re also\u00a0organized for failure\u00a0\u2013 and in fact are\u00a0encouraged to fail\u00a0like crazy to find what works.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 They create lots of (great) content<\/strong><\/p>\n I touched on this in my recent\u00a0primer on content marketing.\u00a0 The best software companies aren\u2019t just relying on a static set of product pages to draw prospects.\u00a0 They are actively producing a variety of content across digital channels not just about their product, but to become a go to resource for the industry.\u00a0 And, their content is so good it\u00a0deserves<\/em>\u00a0to rank highly in organic search.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 They tap their customers\/super users as part of marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n The best software companies are bringing their users into their marketing organically.\u00a0 And not just as part of marketing collateral, they are creating opportunities for organic linking and endorsements through the web.\u00a0 Further, they know the power of\u00a0\u00a0who\u00a0<\/em>to tap:\u00a0 super users and true fans.\u00a0 They use them as case studies, success stories and referral sources, sure, but even more so they integrate them within social marketing initiatives.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 They\u00a0experiment<\/strong><\/p>\n Coloring within the lines is for marketers who want to be perpetually lost in the noise of the web.\u00a0 Experimenting should be a part of everyone\u2019s strategies and a critical component of the modern marketing mix.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not budgeting time to experiment,\u00a0make<\/em>\u00a0the time today.\u00a0 If you actually have creative team members, experimenting may end up proving more valuable to\u00a0break through the clutter\u00a0than anything else you do.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0 They integrate marketing and sales<\/strong><\/p>\n Marketing and sales teams are not put in silos \u2013 rather, they work together, learn together, share data and ultimately work as a team.\u00a0 Software marketers need to understand the sales process and buying cycle (and the reverse is true: software sales pros need to understanding the marketing process).<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0 Their team members have personalities<\/strong><\/p>\n And their management teams let them be themselves on the web to help forge connections.\u00a0 Software companies who have team members that are known in their industries have a decided advantage against competitors who don\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s an edge to tap personal networks for marketing initiatives in tandem with the networks that business has built.<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0 Pull\u00a0and push<\/em>\u00a0marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n Pull is important, but the best software marketers also understand (and leverage) push marketing tactics such as email marketing.\u00a0 Even in a social-powered web, marketers can\u2019t deny the power of push campaigns.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 Marketing is\u00a0both<\/em>\u00a0metrics and emotion\/creativity-driven<\/strong><\/p>\n Software marketers (and all marketers, really) need to be metrics driven and savvy with reporting meaningful\u00a0outcome metrics<\/em>\u00a0and KPIs to show accountability to constituents.\u00a0 With that said, it\u2019s getting more and more common for software companies to be totally metrics driven in their marketing and outright ignore emotional\/creativity in their marketing.\u00a0The best<\/em>\u00a0software companies mix metrics and emotion.<\/p>\n 11.\u00a0 Product teams work directly with marketing\/sales<\/strong><\/p>\n By ensuring product teams are in communication with marketing and sales strategists, they can help ensure they are developing features that will truly help make the product stickier.\u00a0 While product development cycles can be lengthy, listening to\u00a0and actually incorporating<\/em>\u00a0suggestions from marketing can provide an advantage against competitors who don\u2019t take this feedback into consideration.<\/p>\n 12.\u00a0 Savvy to nurture a digital community<\/strong><\/p>\n Software companies who nurture a digital community will do more than activate the\u00a0social media and SEO\u00a0intersection.\u00a0 They will build up a powerful and trusted army of marketers who spread word of mouth about the brand\u2019s resourceful content and product.<\/p>\n 13.\u00a0 Intelligent about what to keep in-house and what to outsource<\/strong><\/p>\n The best software marketing teams realize what\u00a0both<\/em>\u00a0their strengths and weaknesses are.\u00a0 Being aware of this, they make smart decisions about what to outsource to vendors\/service providers vs. hire for in house.\u00a0 They also only hire consultants when they are actually able to implement recommendations and new team members when ready to grow vs. cutting off extra resources prematurely and wasting efforts.<\/p>\n 14.\u00a0 Their teams are agile and empowered<\/strong><\/p>\n Rather than having an overly restrictive corporate process, the absolute best software marketing teams are agile and empowered.\u00a0 To achieve this, their teams\u00a0are actually trusted<\/em>\u00a0by management to act appropriately and represent the brand intelligently.\u00a0 In essence, they\u2019re given freedom of agility.\u00a0 For a great example of this, look at\u00a0Matt Cutts.\u00a0 If a large company like Google trusts team members like Matt to speak on behalf of their brand, certainly your company can too.\u00a0 If not, you need a new team.<\/p>\n 15.\u00a0 Their customer service team is an extension of marketing\/PR<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult for all software companies to do this, but if they have rock-star customer service people who can make that process social, it\u2019s possible to leverage that activity for marketing and PR goals.\u00a0 Not all software companies want to do this of course, but for those who can it is a significant opportunity.<\/p>\n 16.\u00a0 They understand purpose and passion To motivate the right team members, it takes more than money.\u00a0 For creative, talented individuals\u00a0purpose and passion\u00a0trump profits as a motivator.\u00a0 This is difficult for many to understand, but is likely one of the reasons for attrition of marketing talent from software teams.\u00a0 With that said, providing team members with equity is not a bad idea either, as it certainly can be another motivating factor for success.\u00a0 Equity inspires a different type of connection with team members than raw cash.<\/p>\n 17.\u00a0 They are unafraid to\u00a0have opinions or take sides<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s face it, the software space in many industries is crowded.\u00a0 And when developing software that tries to appeal to everyone, in many cases it may appeal to no one.\u00a0 Just like this is true in development, it\u2019s true in marketing.\u00a0 Team members need to be unafraid to have opinions or take sides both on internal issues and externally when discussing their respective industries.\u00a0 This might not please everything, but this is a good thing: by\u00a0appealing to everyone, they appeal to no one.<\/p>\n This is of course just a short list \u2014 what other characteristics do you see defining successful software marketing teams?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a digital marketing consultant, I work with marketing teams at a variety of different software companies across industries.\u00a0 Today … <\/p>\n
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