⛄ 2-min PMM: G2's CAB, Shopify's Value Per Dollar Metric, LangChain's Micro-Courses, Tackle's Late-Stage Events.
December 2023, Part 1 release
📈 4 MICRO [PRODUCT MARKETING] CASE STUDIES
[1] Leverage micro-courses to onboard new users onto your platform and repurpose the same content into different assets later.
LangChain gets its new users to complete a sequence of email courses, which also serves as a tour of the must-know aspects of their product and a recommendation on ideal product workflow. You can repurpose this sort of drip content into a learning microsite, point documentation, live workshop, and more.
[2] Improve the 'value delivered per dollar' metric when you increase your price and want to soften the blow for customers.
Many companies have some element of usage metrics in their pricing plans. Shopify increased its prices this year but consciously expanded inventory limits across plans. For example, its professional plan increased from $79/month with 5 inventory locations (~$16 per location) to $105/month with 1000 inventory locations (~10 cents per location).
[3] Set a primary (North Star) goal for your Customer Advisory Board (CAB) every year, along with a way to measure success.
G2's in-person executive advisory board brings together multiple marketing thought leaders. For an effective CAB, start with a singular goal and include the following: (i) 10-15 vocal board members, (ii) from different segments and demographics, (iii) meet 2-4 times per year, (iv) lean on a structured agenda, and (v) send updates to members 2-3 times a quarter.
[4] Host digital events to let your customers mingle with late-stage prospects and get stuck deals moving.
You want always to let your prospects hear from their peers, i.e., your customers, as it carries more weight. Tackle hosts high-end virtual wine events for late-stage prospects, allowing customers to talk about their experiences using Tackle to solve challenges.
📚 1 BOOK & TOP 3 INSIGHTS
“Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes” by Morgan Housel
[1] Focus on things that never change. Spend time understanding timeless behavior instead of trying to predict uncertain events.
[2] Don't assume something doesn't matter because it's hard to predict. Some of the intense forces in the world, like people's personalities and mindsets, fall into the group of impossible to measure.
[3] The customers' desire may signal the ideal or 'most convenient' size of a business. Growing by acquisitions often leads to disappointments, especially when management wants faster growth than the customers think the business deserves.
🧠 5 CURATED MARKETING THINK PIECES
[1] Tech is Going to Get Much Bigger. What happens when energy, intelligence, and labor get cheap?
[2] Beyond SaaS - Software Innovation and Business Models
[3] How to Build a Better Social Network (We just need to think of it like an economy)
[4] The Changing Role of Design. It’s time to put creativity back into design again.
[5] How to market to experts (Don’t - write for them instead)