Kate Lukach’s Post

💥 The world of Learning & Development has never been more exciting! 💥 I absolutely ❤️ working with HR & talent leaders to understand how technology is helping to elevate their teams above the industry norms. Well, these incredible brands have all showcased just how they've set a new bar in what's possible when you fully embrace the power of learning, development and training to empower your teams to accomplish great things and propel your business forward. It's been an honor to learn from them - Check it out for some of the best L&D inspo out there! ⬇

When marketers face challenges, our first instinct is often to do more. But have you ever tried doing LESS? 🤔 Let me explain. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of hearing Daniel Pink speak at a conference. Much of what he shared about the world of work resonated with me. But one piece of advice is still on my mind months later: “When we face a challenge, our first instinct is to throw more at it—more time, more energy, more resources. Instead, ask yourself, ‘What can I TAKE AWAY to solve the problem?’" Brilliant, right? And totally counterintuitive for most of us. There's something about the American work ethic that assumes longer hours and more work will automatically lead to greater success. But sometimes we're just getting in our own way. Since that conference, I've begun incorporating Pink's advice into my work with clients. All too often, I hear clients say we need to be doing more. More campaigns. More events. More content. More more more. When they ask me about new projects, I press them on the "why?" Yes, we could work together to crank out more campaigns, thought leadership pieces, case studies, customer events, webinars, etc... But first, ask yourself these questions: 1️⃣ How will this ultimately support our broader business goals? 2️⃣ What will success look like and how will we measure it? 3️⃣ How will we execute? 4️⃣ Are we doing more for "more's sake" or is this really going to move the needle? 5️⃣ Can we take away something to achieve a similar or better outcome? When I press my current and prospective clients on these points, it often leads to a much more strategic conversation. It helps us clarify goals and execute on them in the most strategic and efficient way possible. 💥

👋 It's been a hot minute since I've posted. What's my excuse? I have several...                                                   I've been swamped with client work. My two kids have been home for the summer. We just renovated our house. In short, things have been, ummm, hectic. So when people ask me, "Did you have a relaxing summer?" I laugh. Summer pulls me in all directions: 🚗 It pulls me to the road as I shuttle my kids around, keeping them busy but not too busy. 💻 It pulls me to my home office so that I can keep collaborating with my incredible clients. 🏖 On far too few occasions, it pulls me to the beach. (Here in the Northeast, we only have four months per year of good beach weather, so we have to make them count!) Mind you, I'm not complaining. In fact, when back-to-school appears out of nowhere, I have mixed feelings about summer coming to an end. I'm happy to get back to a normal routine. But I'm sad to leave behind the slower mornings and extra family time. That's why this time of year tugs at my heartstrings—even more so than the start to a new calendar year. For parents, back to school reminds us of the passage of time. Another year has gone by. The kids are growing up too quickly. We'll never get these days back. Hugs to all my fellow working parents out there who are trying to appear stoic about sending the kids back to school. Let's all remember to stop and savor these bittersweet days. I'll be back soon with more—much more—from Notable Marketing. 

Do you have a clearly defined corporate culture? I was speaking with one of my client CEOs the other day and we talked about the importance of a clearly defined culture on retaining good talent. Sometimes conversations like this can amount to paying lip service, but this was a thoughtful, authentic conversation. I really enjoy working with this company - from Day 1, there was a connection above and beyond the work; an instant camaraderie. It was SUCH an instant “click” that in the early days of our partnership, I tried to figure out what made it so instantly unique, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it… Until my call with their CEO that day. Digging into the topic of culture gave him the opportunity to delve into THEIR culture. He shared that their company is filled with “pragmatic optimists who share a commitment to winning.” That’s when the lightbulb went off 💡 THAT’S ME! That’s why there was such a strong, instant connection with this client. He clearly and succinctly defined what made their culture unique and in doing so, defined exactly what it is I love so much about working with them. And - I see them live it out each and every day. When properly ingrained, your culture will permeate not just within your walls, but outside of them too.

Is it just me or is this year is FLYING by!? How is April almost over? Q1 was an exciting start to 2024 for Notable Marketing and our clients. Here's what we're seeing as 🔥 in #enterprisesaas marketing right now: 💡You must be in “need to have” territory. Enterprise SaaS buyers continue to be highly selective with their budget dollars. For vendors, that means it is ESSENTIAL for you to stand out. I’m seeing high demand for GTM messaging that drives home unique and differentiated POVs – a requirement if you want to compel buyers to actually buy! 💡Customer marketing. Customer marketing. Customer marketing. No, that’s not a typo 😉 You have probably noticed me shouting about customer marketing from the rooftops for quite some time now, and established enterprise SaaS companies are in agreement – customer marketing is at center stage. Working across client teams, we recently launched a customer marketing program that secured nearly 30 acts of customer advocacy (!) – think case studies, reference calls, speaking engagements, and more – increasing awareness, driving adoption, and most importantly closing deals FASTER. This is JUST IN Q1 🤯 💡Content is king, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are a lot of B2B influencers experimenting with different types of content marketing and getting results, but to be honest, you don’t have to start your own media company or try to change the content marketing game in order to get real results from content marketing. We’ve been busy writing bylines and thought leadership POV articles for clients, and placing them with some high-visibility media outlets. But avoid shortcuts – these bylines are landing and succeeding because they use our clients’ unique POVs. Excited to see Q2 take further shape 🔥. Would love to hear from my fellow marketers on what you're seeing take shape out there!

With differentiated messaging, an army of customer advocates, and a powerful point of view, the next, natural progression to amplify your brand is often PR. 📣 After seeing more demand for this across customers, I am thrilled to share that PR veteran Michelle Meek has joined the Notable Marketing team 🎉 Notable clients will benefit from Michelle’s 20+ years of experience creating and delivering corp comm programs including PR and media relations, content strategy, social media engagement, and more. She’s worked with clients across a variety of industries including HR tech, mobile payments, fintech and banking, retail tech, and manufacturing. 📰 Fun fact: Michelle and I discovered we both started our careers at the same PR agency back in the early 2000’s, just different office locations - small world! Special thx to Diana Mitchell who recommended I meet with Michelle based on the incredible experience she had working with her in a previous role. Please join me in welcoming Michelle to the team!

✈ Are you heading to UNLEASH in Las Vegas next month? ✈ This year, I am thrilled to be participating in the Startup Workshop panel with Jesse Tinsley, Josh Schwede, Natalie Stones, and Matt Charney 🔥 The marketplace is more crowded than ever, and I can’t wait to join my fellow panelists in helping startups navigate through early stage marketing strategies, what it takes to craft a compelling story to stand out, and more. I hope you’ll join us on May 7th at 4:00 PM in the U2 Boardroom!

Amazing company. Great leader. Super smart and fun marketing team. I love working with this team and they’re looking for a director of product marketing. Great opp - Ping me if you want to learn more!

With the economy looking stronger than many feared, growing enterprise SaaS companies are charting a plan toward the next stage of growth (think more acquisition, new products, new markets, etc). Others are finding themselves recuperating after layoffs, and as a result, need someone with real experience who can quickly step in and not just take action but make a meaningful and measurable impact. I’m seeing a LOT of movement among the C-suite in my LinkedIn feed, as I’m sure many of you are as well. Combine that with the aforementioned need, and we have a marketplace that is in flux. More companies than ever seemingly need the leadership + direction of a CMO, without the time and even budget to source, interview, and hire a full-time CMO. The trains are moving forward and these companies need someone to hop on and quickly keep things moving in that direction. Experienced fractional CMOs don’t need the same ramp-up time, and they can make an impact almost immediately. They bring the ultimate flexibility, and getting someone rolling quickly won’t cost endless productivity shrink among the rest of your team, plus the literal 1.5x salary cost associated with making a full-time hire. But while the main point may be situational, I think there’s a larger play here . I think we’ll start to see fractional CMOs who specialize in certain business stages, and organizations that will “plug in” those fractional CMOs at appropriate times to leverage that specific expertise and effectively manage cost and morale. I’m getting more requests for specialized solutions like this, and I’m hearing from people in my network that they’re getting similar requests. It’s an exciting time for sure!

📣 Sound advice for startups looking to grow and scale. #1 on the list? "Over invest in great marketing early on." I see founders try and skirt around this all too often. Many enterprise SaaS founders I speak with want to try and get around spending money on marketing in the early days - hoping that they'll get by with some scrappy salespeople and a junior, jack of all trades "growth marketer". (I can't stand this title...more on that later...) But the reality is, no amount of prospecting, selling or "growth marketing" will get you anywhere unless you have a crystal clear, compelling story to tell the market and your prospects. Here are my early stage, marketing must do's: 🌟 Nail your story and value prop. What is it about the industry that you are fundamentally trying to change? How are you changing the way the world works? Kill the jargon. Speak in easy to understand language. Test it on your friends. If they're lost, the market will be too. 🌟 Build your army of advocates. This includes industry analysts, market influencers, customers, and other thought leaders who buy into your vision and want to help amplify it in the market. Go to market in tandem. 🌟 Pinpoint and understand the problem(s) you are solving for. Not what your product does. All too often early stage marketing focuses on a set of features and functions vs. what problem they can actually solve. Flip the conversation and demonstrate the true ROI and value you're able to create for buyers. 🌟 Understand your ICP. Like REALLY know them. Know what hurdles they face day in and day out. What's happening in the market that's impacting them? How can you help? Distinctly tailor your story and value prop to them. Make them feel seen. Understand where they go for trusted information. You need to be maniacal about where and who you market to in order to ensure success. Strategic marketing investments early-off will pay dividends in the future. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but one I've seen create tremendous value. What else would you add?