Strategy Over Tech with Chris Walker

The tech stack is essential to any business in our modern age, but introducing tools to your workflow won’t immediately solve problems. Your tech stack is only as good as the strategy to implement it.

Rather than relying solely on technology as a panacea, he advocates fixing underlying strategy issues. He highlights the significance of qualitative data and understanding customer behavior to drive impactful marketing campaigns.

In this episode, we will delve into the pivotal themes discussed by Chris and explore their implications for marketers.

Main Takeaways:

• Tech doesn’t solve problems; process and strategy do.
• Fix marketing first before addressing sales issues.
• Qualitative data is crucial for understanding customers and driving better results.
• Measure the right metrics and focus on business results, not vanity metrics.
• Combine self-reported attribution with HubSpot attribution for a holistic view of customer acquisition.

Tools Mentioned in this Episode:

• Hubspot: Customer relationship management (CRM) platform manages customer interactions, tracks leads, and automates marketing efforts.
• Zoom: Video conferencing tool for virtual meetings, webinars, and remote collaboration with team members and clients.
• Anchor.fm (now part of Spotify): Podcast hosting platform that Chris uses to create and distribute his podcasts. Recently acquired by Spotify, it provides easy-to-use tools for recording, editing, and publishing podcasts.
• Apple Podcasts: Popular podcast directory and platform where Chris shares podcast episodes. It lets users discover, subscribe, and listen to podcasts on Apple devices.
• Adobe Creative Cloud: Suite of creative tools and software Chris employs for graphic design, video editing, and other creative projects. It includes applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and more.
• YouTube: Video-sharing platform where Chris uploads and shares his video content. It enables him to reach a wide audience and engage with viewers through comments and subscriptions.
• LinkedIn: Professional networking platform used to connect with colleagues, industry professionals, and potential clients. It allows Chris to showcase his work, share updates, and build professional relationships.
• TikTok: Social media platform known for short-form video content. Chris utilizes TikTok to create engaging and entertaining videos related to his industry or niche, reaching a more diverse audience.
• Proof: Social proof marketing tool used to display real-time notifications and social proof on his website. It helps build trust and credibility by showing visitors that others have taken desired actions, such as purchasing or signing up for a newsletter.
• Asana:  Project management tool to plan, organize, and track tasks and projects. It allows Chris to collaborate with his team, set deadlines, and monitor progress to ensure smooth workflow and productivity.

The Need for a Modern Marketing Approach

Chris argues that many B2B companies still rely on outdated marketing playbooks that were effective in the past decade. However, he believes a paradigm shift is necessary to thrive in the current market. Modern marketing demands a buyer-centric approach beyond traditional strategies and focuses on creating genuine customer value.

According to Chris, most B2B companies excel in sales methodologies but often struggle to implement modern marketing practices. He emphasizes that fixing the marketing approach should be a top priority before attempting to address other areas of the go-to-market strategy. By establishing a solid marketing foundation, companies can effectively rebuild their sales engine and achieve better results.

Most B2B companies know how to do sales, but most do not know how to do modern marketing.

To stay competitive in today’s dynamic business environment, B2B companies must embrace a modern marketing approach that aligns with customer needs and preferences. By understanding and adapting to the changing market dynamics, companies can position themselves for long-term success and growth.

The Role of Strategy in Marketing

Adopting MarTech will not automatically resolve some of your marketing challenges. Chris says success relies on effective processes and strategies, with technology as a catalyst. Instead, he urges marketers to prioritize the development of a robust strategy before integrating technology.

Tech doesn’t solve problems. Process and strategy solve problems, and tech makes those things that work work better.

At Refine Labs, Chris puts this belief into action by focusing on innovative marketing approaches that resonate with modern consumers. Rather than solely relying on traditional outbound marketing methods, which can often feel intrusive to potential customers, Walker emphasizes the value of content marketing.

This strategy involves creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers and repeat buyers. Technology is used as an enabler to distribute and track the content effectively.

The Stacking Growth Methodology

Chris describes Refine Labs’ approach to demand generation as the “Stacking Growth Methodology.” This methodology involves a strategic process of identifying and scaling channels that deliver results. The team starts by finding one channel that generates positive outcomes, thoroughly understanding its mechanics, and then scaling it.

The key to their success lies in their continuous experimentation and adaptation. While scaling their proven channels, they also actively explore new avenues to uncover the next growth driver. This iterative approach ensures they stay ahead of the curve and seize new opportunities.

Their journey began with LinkedIn text posts, which proved to be a fruitful channel. They then expanded into live events, generating valuable video content for LinkedIn and allowing them to interact with their audience more interactively. However, with the onset of the pandemic, live events became impractical, prompting a pivot to podcasts.

Refine Labs remains agile and adaptable in changing circumstances by constantly analyzing and optimizing its efforts. This enables them to continuously refine their demand generation strategies, uncovering new growth opportunities. Their commitment to staying at the forefront of the industry ensures that they consistently deliver exceptional results for their clients.

Measuring Success and Attribution

Chris shared the significance of qualitative data in comprehending customers and their purchasing behavior. He believes that many marketers underestimate the power of qualitative insights and overly rely on quantitative metrics.

The metrics that truly matter are the qualitative ones. Are people expressing their liking through comments, direct messages, or conversations at events?

He encourages marketers to prioritize qualitative signals that indicate customer affinity and engagement rather than being fixated on superficial metrics like views and likes.

Refine Labs evaluates revenue growth, customer acquisition costs, and pipeline growth to assess the effectiveness of their strategies. Chris also emphasizes the importance of qualitative feedback from customers.

I use it to gain strategic insights because I read the entire submission, and it mentions, ‘I’m friends with blah blah blah, who then introduced me to your podcast, and I’ve been listening to it ever since.’

This qualitative input aids in refining their strategies and understanding the impact of their marketing endeavors.

The Importance of Authentic Customer Feedback and the Fallacy of Biased Answer Collection

The strategy-first, tech-second philosophy also extends to how Refine Labs interacts with its customers. Walker uses open-text fields on surveys and forms to gather rich, qualitative insights that cannot be obtained through pre-determined multiple-choice answers. This approach allows Refine Labs to understand better the customer’s journey, pain points, and interactions with the brand, enabling more personalized and effective marketing strategies instead of relying solely on attribution software.

Authentic customer feedback plays a crucial role in understanding and improving customer experiences. Responses from open text fields are essential for obtaining real marketing attribution, as they allow customers to express their opinions freely without being limited to predefined options.

People get caught up in looking at metrics that don’t matter. What matters is the qualitative input.

By analyzing qualitative data from these responses, businesses can transform them into quantitative feedback, enabling them to identify patterns, trends, and actionable insights.

Final Thoughts

An effective modern marketing strategy is all about integrating customer-centric approaches, innovative technologies, and always staying curious. Let’s be real. Success isn’t just about jumping on the latest tech trends or chasing shallow metrics. It’s about truly understanding your customers’ journey, using qualitative and quantitative data, and adapting to market changes.

The success of Refine Labs shows how crucial it is to put strategy first, with technology playing a supporting role instead of stealing the spotlight. As we dive deeper into this digital era, these lessons are like a secret weapon for businesses that want to stay ahead in the ever-changing marketing game.

So, are you ready to level up?

Join us every week as we journey to the bleeding edge of the modern tech stack.  You’ll hear from real experts on how to nail your strategy, build a revenue machine, and take your sales to the next level.