Stephanie B.’s Post

Quick Q: Who owns the demand gen strategy and budget at your SaaS company? If you’re a CMO, VP of Marketing, or Demand Gen Director at a US-based SaaS company with $5M–$100M ARR or Series A–D funding, you might just be the person my friend Jenn Steele needs to hear from. She’s questioning the status quo and wants your take on what’s working (or not) when scaling demand gen without a huge partnerships or affiliates team. Jenn's looking to learn from smart marketers like you. 20 minutes of your time could help her refine SoundGTM’s ICP and approach—and might even spark a fun idea for your team. Let me know if you're in, or tag someone who fits the bill! #SaaS #marketing #demandgen

The SaaS landscape is evolving fast, and the growth strategies that worked a few years ago aren’t cutting it anymore. If you’re a SaaS founder looking to scale in 2025, these 3 GTM models are the ones to watch — and implement: 1️⃣ PLG (Product-Led Growth) Why it works: Your product becomes the sales driver. Users experience value firsthand before committing. Examples: Freemium models, free trials, or usage-based pricing. Pro tip: Focus on seamless onboarding and delivering quick wins. 2️⃣ Community-Led Growth Why it works: Build trust and advocacy by creating a space where your audience learns, shares, and grows together. Examples: Private Slack groups, LinkedIn communities, or exclusive forums. Pro tip: Invest in creating valuable content and genuine engagement. 3️⃣ Hybrid GTM Strategies Why it works: Combine multiple GTM approaches to target diverse audiences. Think PLG for smaller customers and sales-led for enterprise deals. Examples: Align marketing, sales, and product teams for unified execution. Pro tip: Use data to personalize your GTM efforts for different customer segments. 💡 The takeaway: The right GTM model depends on your ICP, growth stage, and product. But one thing’s clear — 2025 is the year to refine your strategy and invest in scalable systems. 💬 Which GTM model resonates with your SaaS? Let’s discuss your approach in the comments! #saasgrowth #gtmstrategy #demandgeneration #thoughtleadership

No, demand gen is not something you hire for later. According to me, someone with a revenue/demand-driven mindset and execution capabilities should be the first marketer at any SaaS company. And then scale from their vision and strategies. Far too often we see companies setting up complex structures of individualist marketers, only to realize that they are not generating revenue. The company then brings on someone to solve that issue, and it's often too late. At least it will take a long time to steer the ship in another direction. #demandgeneration #growth #marketing

How do you stand up a marketing team fast? Where do you find the best marketing talent? How far and how fast should you expect these experts to go? Learn more in Episode #54 of the B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast: https://hubs.la/Q02FGxvb0 Today’s software founders have an array of choices for rapid growth: internal hires, fractional hires, agencies and/or tactical specialists – but you can’t (and shouldn't) have it all. Typical startups have one of three needs when it comes to getting customers: 1. Emergency triage: There is bleeding that must be stopped before we can worry about the future 2. Dietary consultation: We’ve been taking on a lot of carbs and need to lose weight 3. Strength coach: We want to go faster and stay healthy Stabilizing a critical problem, increasing marketing efficiency and driving faster scale are all great goals. We’re here to help you decide between the CMOs, fCMOs, agencies, consultants, specialists and even AI tools that service these needs. B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks is one of the most respected voices in the SaaS industry. It is hosted by two leading marketing and revenue growth experts for software: • Stijn Hendrikse: Author of T2D3 CMO Masterclass & Book, Founder of Kalungi • Brian Graf: CEO of Kalungi B2B SaaS companies move through predictable stages of marketing focus, cost and size (as described in the popular T2D3 book. With people cost being a majority of the cost involved, every hire needs to be well worth the investment! The best founders, CFOs and COOs in B2B SaaS work at getting the best balance of marketing leadership, strategy and execution to produce the customer and revenue growth they require. Staying flexible and nimble is a key asset in a hard-charging B2B world. ABOUT B2B SAAS MARKETING SNACKS Since 2020, The B2B SaaS Marketing Snacks Podcast has offered software company founders, investors and leadership a fresh source of insights into building a complete and efficient engine for growth. Visit https://hubs.la/Q02FGtwC0 to learn more about growing your B2B SaaS company.

✨ Unlocking Growth through Conversion Rate Optimization: Key Takeaways for SaaS Leaders Thank you to everyone who joined our recent session with Finge Holden, CEO of ConversionLab. We delved into some of the most pressing challenges SaaS companies face with demand generation. 🚩 Key challenges: We explored the barriers holding back demand generation performance, from high customer acquisition costs to optimising paid traffic for signups and leads. 🚀 Proven strategies: Finge shared ConversionLab’s tested strategies for landing page optimisation, highlighting how even small tweaks can lead to big improvements in conversion rates. 💡 Practical takeaways: Participants gained actionable insights to strengthen their marketing strategies, which were focused on maximising the impact of existing traffic and reducing acquisition costs. We’re excited to see these insights put to use across the Viking Venture portfolio! For those who missed it, stay tuned for more opportunities to learn from our network of though leaders #SaaS #DemandGeneration #ConversionOptimization

“Should we be selling to the Converted or sell to the Un-Converted?” A SaaS Founder I was on a strategy call with asked me this very common question as we were working through his ICP and strategic narrative. But, what does selling to the Converted vs. the Un-Converted mean? When you’re selling your product, there are two types of audiences you might encounter: 1. The Converted These are the people who are already doing things a certain way, but your product makes it 10X easier or better for them. 2. The Un-Converted With this group, you need to educate them on a new way of doing things, and then persuade them to choose your product for that new approach. The messaging, positioning, and the way you differentiate in the market is wildly different based on which group you choose to sell to. This is the power to building a GTM strategy, and with decisions like this being made, the GTM execution will be a lot more focused and effective. Are you selling to the Converted or the Un-Converted? If you’re a SaaS Founder looking to accelerate growth, start with creating a proper Go-To-Market strategy and narrow down your ICP, messaging, and execution. To learn how, grab a complimentary copy of my 5-Point SaaS Growth Strategy Guide. Just follow the link in the comments below. 👇

🚀 Seeking SaaS Companies Targeting CMOs: Let’s Connect! Hello LinkedIn Community and my brilliant professional network from the SaaS community! 👋 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: How do you discover SaaS companies whose Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) aligns with Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs)?🤔 In simpler terms, I’m on the lookout for SaaS companies that specialize in selling to CMOs. If you’re aware of any such gems, please share your insights in the comments below. Let’s collaborate and uncover the best in the business! 🌟 Thank you for being part of this vibrant community. Your expertise matters! 🙌 #SaaS #CMO #Networking #LinkedInCommunity

The 2025 GTM Efficiency Playbook: Where Revenue Meets Precision 2025 is the year where efficiency isn't just the goal - it's the playbook. SaaS has changed - here's what's defining successful GTM strategies now: 👉 It's not just about cutting costs: It's about reallocating every dollar spent to its highest performing motion. Data shows companies operating with sub-100% GTM Efficiency Ratios achieve not only profitability but faster ARR growth. 📉 CAC is still rising - but what's overlooked? The hidden killers in your funnel: If your win rate on qualified leads is below 30%, you don't have a demand problem - you have a targeting problem. Misalignment between sales and marketing costs SaaS companies millions 💡 Expansion Revenue: The dark horse of growth: Did you know that for companies with $15M-$30M ARR, expansion now drives 40% of growth? That's a seismic shift from 2021's 30%. Yet, less than 50% of SaaS companies actively map their upsell motions to customer outcomes. Fix this, and you unlock compounding NRR. 🔥 Here's a Playbook for 2025 Efficiency: 1️⃣ Think like a CFO, act like a Marketer: Every GTM dollar spent must move the needle on profitability. Use metrics like CAC Payback and GTM Efficiency to benchmark your campaigns in real-time. 2️⃣ Redefine your ICP constantly: Segment your best-fit customers through an 80/20 lens. Interview churned accounts to refine who you shouldn't target 3️⃣ Stop over-optimizing the top of the funnel: Focus on "funnel velocity". The fastest-growing SaaS companies reduce lead-to-close timelines by 30% with hyper-aligned sales and marketing teams. SaaS winners in 2025 won't be those who spend the most - they're the ones who spend the smartest 🧐 Is your GTM strategy ready for the shift? Let's debate: What's the top metric you track for GTM efficiency? #SaaS #growth #gotomarket

What's working in your product-led organization? I've been doing deep dives into product-led success across the SaaS ecosphere, and no one is doing it better than Aakash and Maja. As a marketer looking over the shoulder of product, this process speaks volumes to me. What do you think? We're listening! https://lnkd.in/eWcJ93xw #productmarketing #saas #gotomarket #growthmarketing #cmo #productmanagement

The 3 costliest GTM mistakes I made — and how we fixed them When we started helping SaaS companies with GTM initially at Minute Creative, we were laser-focused on driving growth. But even with the best intentions, we made some costly GTM mistakes along the way. Here’s a glimpse of what we learned while working with a SaaS company that wanted to scale but was stuck at $100K ARR: Mistake #1: Targeting too broad an audience → We thought, “More leads = more growth.” → Wrong. Casting a wide net brought in unqualified leads that drained resources. How we fixed it: We dialed in on their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) — a specific audience with the highest likelihood of converting and scaling. 🎯 Result: Lead quality skyrocketed, and conversion rates improved by 40%. Mistake #2: Talking features instead of outcomes →We were focused on what the product did, not the results it delivered. Customers didn’t care about “features”—they cared about value. How we fixed it: We shifted the messaging from “AI-powered analytics” to: “Save 10 hours per week analyzing data and focus on growth instead.” 📈 Result: Demo requests doubled in 3 months. Mistake #3: Ignoring post-sale engagement → We were so focused on acquisition that we overlooked retention. → Churn was eating into ARR growth. How we fixed it: We implemented a retention-focused onboarding process to ensure customers saw immediate value, paired with ongoing success check-ins. ✅ Result: Churn dropped by 25%, and LTV increased by 35%. 💡 The big lesson: Growth doesn’t come from more campaigns or flashy tactics — it comes from building aligned systems that work across the entire customer journey. At Minute Creative, we’ve taken these lessons to heart, refining GTM strategies for SaaS companies to deliver predictable and scalable growth. 💬 What’s the biggest GTM challenge you’ve faced? Let’s share and learn below! #GTMStrategies #SaaSGrowth #DemandGeneration #MinuteCreative