PPPPeering Into A New Future: Four P's (#201)
Career Expansion, The Networking Effect, Sales vs Marketing & Our New Congressman
And we’re back! Returning from the holiday respite fully recharged and refreshed, I spent a lot of time over the break revisiting two end-of-year realizations:
Established brands need Web3 expertise and blockchain marketing strategies.
Web3 startups and tools need marketing leadership, brand strategy, and operational experience.
Meaning it’s time to refocus.
SOMETHING PERSONAL: The Pivot You've Been Expecting
In 2023, I'm stepping aside from my day-to-day role with Mint and reviving PointSymmetry as an advisory to do help bring Web3 and digital/marketing experience to brands, agencies, and startups building for the next phase of innovation.
WHY NOW: The tech is ready. The platforms are built. Now we need the strategy + creative leads at agencies, as well as the innovative brand marketers + executives to lead the way on chain. This inflection point is similar to early 2009, when transformational platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, etc. presented brands with new opportunities to connect with consumers. To meet them where they're going.
WHY ME: Current teams at agencies and brands cannot do this alone. There are too many tools. Too many models. Too many players. I've been 100% focused on this for 18 months. This is what I know. This is what I do. PointSymmetry goes back nearly 15 years, with ~20 clients. The focus is twofold:
Web3 strategies/frameworks for brands and agencies evolving into the space.
Marketing and strategic leadership for Web3-focused B2B and B2C enterprises.
WHY YOU: Thank you to those partners who have already begun this step with me. Agencies, brands, start-ups: If you're contemplating how and where Web3 (or Web 2.5), content, creative, fundraising, & operational projects/opportunities can work or fit within your organization... or if you need strategic, marketing, and branding expertise, learn more here:
Or shoot me an email at matt@ptsymmetry.com
SOMETHING PROFESSIONAL: Reimaging Marketing as Branded Networking
Networking is more than just an important skill or task for marketing professionals. It's a requirement.
Whether IRL or online, networking feels natural for some. Others have to work at it just to feel comfortable. There are even some who will go out of their way to avoid it.
Taking it one step further, "marketing" is just another term for how brands network. To connect and communicate with people. By building, cultivating, and expanding relationships with their target audience, businesses can establish trust and credibility, which can lead to increased sales and loyalty. So what if brand leaders approach their marketing strategies and tactics as if they were networking with their customers and consumers? Whether it's 1:1, 1-to-a-few, or 1-to-many, here are some professional networking best practices that can be applied to brands and their marketing strategies:
Identify and target the right audience: It's important to know who you want to connect with and how they can help your brand.
Build genuine relationships: Focus on building genuine relationships rather than just collecting as many as possible. Quality AND quantity.
Be present: There is no substitute for being there IRL, meeting people where they are. We do it at industry events, so brands should do it where their consumers are.
Follow up: After connecting, we make sure to follow up with a personalized email or message to maintain the connection. Brands should do the same.
Learn from others: Watching and hearing from peers, competitors, and even other verticals provide brands with valuable insights into what is and isn't working.
Collaborate with others: Collaborating with other brands (or industry experts) can provide brand marketers with the opportunity to try new tactics and gain valuable experience.
Offer value: Find ways to help those in your network, whether it's sharing content or providing useful services or information. This will help build trust and strengthen your relationships.
Align the incentives and rewards: We all love the schwag we get at networking events. Incentives and rewards build engagement and loyalty over time.
Keep in touch: Regularly stay in touch with your "network" through email, social media, or in-person activations to keep the relationship strong.
Keep an open mind: Brand marketers need to be open to learning from others and trying new approaches to marketing.
Be willing to share knowledge: Sharing what you've learned with others in your professional network can not only help those individuals, but it can also help to establish you as a thought leader in your industry.
Networking and marketing both require skill. If we follow Professor Angela Duckworth’s two-step formula, skill is the product of talent or potential in something multiplied by how much effort you put into it. Achievement or success is taking that skill and putting even more effort into it.
To be successful at branded networking (a.k.a.: marketing) requires talent, effort, and then more effort.
SOMETHING PRACTICAL: Sales vs Marketing
We've made it to 201 editions of the Four Ps and I realize that I have yet to share this, but I'm often asked by B2B founders and entrepreneurs about when and where sales and marketing should start for startups.
Once I dig deeper, I realize they don't always know the difference or are too embarrassed to ask.
Some even think B2B marketing teams are just a service organization to sales—marketing only exists to generate Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs). This is a sales-centric view of marketing that will limit efficiency and revenue growth.
Building a successful enterprise usually requires successful integration and cooperation between sales and marketing. Marketing drives growth short & long-term tells your story, & becomes the main driver of go-to-market efficiency.
When marketing & sales work well together:
teams cover each other's blindspots & operate in a checks and balances way
GTM team scales non-linearly w/ revenue
Revenue growth becomes WAY more efficient
How Marketing is different than Sales:
SOMETHING POLITICAL: Prevarication Without Representation
Somehow, George Santos is my Congressman. It’s almost baffling to think that a candidate who lied about almost everything in his past - from college to professional experience - is now (almost*) my representative in Washington D.C. as a member of the House of Representatives.
(* if they can manage to swear them in at some point)
When Democratic congressman Tom Suozzi unsuccessfully challenged New York’s incumbent governor in the Democratic primaries early last year, he opted out of running for re-election, which opened up the race to new candidates. Incredibly Santos ran against Suozzi and lost a close race in 2020. which begs several questions. But most obviously, how did the local media, Democratic candidate Robert Zimmerman’s campaign, Suozzi’s staff, and the Democratic machine at the state/federal failed to vet and properly research the False Santos Biography?
Since being caught in some of the most blatantly false lies in the history of federal elections, Santos has not answered phone calls, text messages or emails asking him to respond to the reports. He did one “mea culpa” interview, basically telling all of us to go fuck ourselves. But he will be a massive distraction to the newly formed, quite slim Republican majority in the House. And how can anyone trust anything he says ever again?
Any elected official who is not fulfilling their duties or representing the interests of their constituents should step down. Public trust in government is essential, and any behavior that undermines that trust should not be tolerated. As a society, we rely on the integrity and honesty of our elected officials. We trust that they have the skills and experience necessary to effectively represent us and make informed decisions on our behalf. So, it's safe to say that if an elected official fabricated their entire resume, he shouldn’t be there.
Think about it - if an elected official is willing to lie about their qualifications and experiences, what else are they willing to lie about? It's a slippery slope, and before you know it, they're fibbing about everything from their stance on important issues to the amount of donuts they can eat in one sitting (which, let's be real, is a highly important quality in a politician).
It's time for Santos to pack up his imaginary diplomas and fake job titles, and let someone with real qualifications and experiences take the reins. New York’s 3rd District, and America, really, deserve better.
Ohhh, and and for the last time, Happy New Year!