HelloMasters Episode 04

In the fourth episode of the HelloMasters podcast, Louise Doorn interviews Steph Morrow of VIRTUE – The Creative Agency by VICE Benelux about how marketing has changed in a global economy. Morrow started in New York as a brand strategist for KBS, then progressed to Sr. Brand Strategist at Anomaly. During her four-year tenure there, she relocated to Amsterdam, where she recently became Head of Strategy at VIRTUE. Over her career, Morrow has directed brand identity and led marketing strategy for companies such as American Express, Budweiser USA, and T-Mobile Netherlands. Over the course of her fifty-minute interview, she talks about her views on the agency model, influencer marketing, and team culture.

The Role Of Data

When asked if data is becoming overemphasized in agency marketing, Morrow is quick to make a distinction. “Our answers are data-informed, not data-led,” she says. Again and again, Morrow reiterates her stance that the best was to sell a company is a tell a good story with a human lens. She suggests that data should only be used to discover what marketers should not do. As Morrow puts it, “If you were exclusively data led you’d just be making porn and dog videos.”

Finally, Morrow offers a philosophy of humility in marketing. “What you’re making is not for you, it’s for other people. That’s the big difference between art and commercial work,” she says.

The Desires Of The Client

In order to best serve your client, you have to listen to both to their desires and the desires of their customers without inserting yourself between them. The two most important aspects of successful marketing are clear expectations, and boots on the ground. That way, when you ask for a potential customer’s attention, “there’s something on the other side that’s worth trading attention for.”

Curious how you can build your marketing team on-demand? You can connect with freelancers directly on our platform. Go to www.hellomaas.com/advisors and learn more.

Topics:

[00:00:00] Intro
[00:00:26] Introduction Louise
[00:01:05] Introduction Steph
[00:01:47] What does Steph really think of the Dutch
[00:04:15] Why did Steph move to Amsterdam and her advice for others
[00:06:32] Why did Steph decide to learn Dutch?
[00:08:16] Can you be a good marketer without speaking the local language?

“I don’t think you necessarily have to speak Dutch, but you do need a full understanding on how the culture works and how the brand fits into the culture.”

[00:09:45] Vice Media and Virtue are not the same

“We tend to work with clients who are looking to our editorial expertise and to our storytelling expertise and looking for that flavor… but not exclusively for clients looking for the Vice vibe.”

[00:12:53] Is data overemphasized in the marketing industry

“Our answers are data-informed not data-led.”

“The trick is to not simply create a mirror for what you’re seeing, but to create a true to god analysis and use that insight as a creative jumping-off point.”

“Data and technology should always have a human hand, a human guiding line.”

[00:14:43] Steph on shaking up the traditional agency model
[00:16:22] How would Steph define the best operating model?
[00:20:00] Steph’s advice to her 20-year-old past self
[00:21:20] How can in-house teams work best with external partners

“Be very clear on the division of roles and responsibility.”

[00:23:00] What are the biggest marketing changes of the last few years

“Execution is now more important than ever.”

[00:26:06] Influencer marketing and brand ambassadors

“Brand ambassadors have been around since the beginning of time… having people involved with your brand who have authority in the space that you’re trying to build credibility is massively important.”

[00:30:27] The rise of micro-influencers
[00:33:45] Culture and teams
[00:36:09] How to hire outside of your own bias
[00:39:04] Freelancing and digital nomads
[00:44:06] How startup advertising differs

“I’m a huge believer that UX can operate as your brand.”

[00:46:09] Predictions for 2019 in marketing

HelloMasters Episode 03

Four people around their forties with solid careers took the decision to become startup founders. You may wonder why after listening to this podcast. From fundraising and hiring for diversity to working insane hours, we demystify and challenge persistent myths about startups in this fast-paced episode of HelloMasters.

Startup Myths Tackled

Listen as Rado Raykov of Holler.Live, Willemijn Schneyder of SwipeGuide, Sander Nagtegaal of Unless, Louise Doorn of HelloMaaS, as the founders of Dutch marketing startups, together with co-host Ellen Bark-Lindhout of Collider.io , challenge the following most persistent start-up myths:

1. Just build a great product
2. You need a co-founder to built a successful startup
3. 80 hours work week
4. You have to be a college drop-out
5. Startup founders are best when they are young.
6. Startups don’t need diversity
7. Raising a lot of money is a sign of success.
8. Pitch competitions, accelerator and corporate challenges are important
9. Building a team needs to happen in person. So where does that leave remote teams?
10. As CEO/Founder, you’re only happy when you have sold or IPO’ed your company

Work like these startup founders and build your network around people in the same position. Ask for expert feedback and grow smarter. Find your strategic sparring partner at HelloMaaS. Go to www.hellomaas.com/advisors and learn more.

Topics

[00:00:00] Introduction Ellen, Rado, Willemijn and Sander

[00:03:55] Myth #1: Just build a great product

“VC’s told me I was building Rolls Royces, rather than the Beetles that you actually need” – Sander

“A great team cannot do without a great product” – Willemijn

[00:05:29] Myth #2: You need a co-founder to build a successful startup.

“If you have a solid base, you can build a good house. It depends on the definition of what a co-founder is.” – Rado

[00:07:55] Myth #3: You need to work 80 hours a week or more

“It’s like interval training, sometimes you do sprints and other times we take it slow.” – Willemijn

[00:10:17] Myth #4 & #5: College dropout & Startup founders are best when they are young.

“Hard data: the average age of a startup founder is 42 years old.” – Louise

“I’m 44 and I just don’t get impressed by bad stuff. If I were 21 and got hit in the face, I would cry and run. Now I would still cry but not run.” – Sander

[00:13:43] Myth #6: Startups don’t need diversity

[00:16:59] Myth #7 Raising a lot of money is a sign of success.

“At least step one, you’re pretty good at” – Sander

[00:21:43] Myth #8: Pitch competitions, accelerator and corporate challenges are important

[00:26:52] Myth #9: Building a team needs to happen in person. So where does that leave remote teams?

[00:33:38] Myth #10 As CEO/Founder you’re only happy when you have sold or IPO’ed your company

“ I wonder if the love of the journey is a high indicator for a potential successful exit.” – Ellen

——

Clockwise: Sander Nagtegaal, Willemijn Schneyder, Rado Raykov & Ellen Bark-Lindhout

HelloMasters Episode 02

Language podcast: Dutch

Just before Christmas last year, myself and Danne de Vries, owner of BrandPit*, spoke to Britta Sluis for our second HelloMasters episode! Britta Sluis is the former Head of Marketing Consumers at Schiphol and has recently made the switch to FIFPro, the international union that represents over 60.000 professional football players, where she holds the position of General Manager. In this 35 minute episode, Britta discusses the insights she has gathered as a marketing leader in the past twenty years, as well as her experience with agile working, marketing teams, consumers insights, and more.

Questions asked

In this podcast, we discuss the following subjects and more:

1. Do passengers buy more duty-free if they have had a pleasant experience going through security and customs?
2. Do Agile and MVP (Minimal Viable Products) work in big corporates with a lot of stakeholders?
3. How do you deal with other parties, such as the National Police, when you want to improve the Customer Journey at Schiphol Airport?

Britta worked as a freelancer for a few years between her job at Postbank/ING and Schiphol and has deep knowledge of how to build a brand in a marketing organization.

Topics:

[00:00:00] Introductie by Louise Doorn

[00:02:02] Danne de Vries

[00:04:24] Intro door Britta Sluis

“Ik heb in mijn carrière niet bewust gewerkt naar een einddoel. Als je marketing goed wil doen, moet je gewoon nieuwsgierig zijn en veel nieuwe aspecten meenemen, zo ben ik gegroeid.”

[00:07:30] Welk advies zou je nu aan de twintigjarige Britta geven?

“Ik had gewild dat ik wist van een MVP. Dat een plank met vier wielen ook genoeg is om te laten rijden. Dat ik niet zo perfectionistisch was geweest. Dan had ik meer kunnen bereiken.”

[00:08:37] Hoe werkt een MVP in een bestaande, global corporate organisatie waar de klantverwachting hoog ligt?

“Een MVP werkt juist wel bij grotere organisatie. Customer insights liet duidelijk zien dat mensen zich bij de gate bij Schiphol vervelen. Dan moet de pop-up verkoop van Top30 duty free producten wel een hit zijn. Nou, dat werkte dus absoluut niet.”

[00:10:20] Van 8 naar 25 mensen: hoe doe je dat?

“Ik wil een dienstbare (servant) leider zijn. Maar om dat team te laten werken moest ik wel veel draagvlak in de organisatie creëren, zat dus heel veel in meetings en de rest deed ik ’s avonds.”

[00:12:01] Over agile werken in een corporate organisatie

“Je kunt als marketing lead wel Agile werken, maar je bent geen eiland in een corporate setting. Agile past of raakt niet iedere afdeling. Maar dat je wel doelstellingen deelt met bijv digital, inkoop en legal en veranderingsbereidheid afspreekt, dan werkt het wel.”

[00:13:02] Wat is het verschil voor jou tussen je rollen als freelancer vs in vaste dienst?

[00:14:34] Over de rol van freelancer in team en cultuur

[00:15:40] Hoe bouw je een sterk marketingteam?

“Je huurt freelancers met nieuwe expertise in voor een maand, of drie, of vijf, en kijkt of het nieuwe kanaal succesvol is. Zo bouw je de business case voor het aannemen van FTE’s.”

[00:18:55] Over marketingbureaus vs in-house. Hoe zorg je voor de ideale mix?

“Ik werk het liefst met zoveel mogelijk specialistische kennis omdat het onmogelijk is om dat allemaal in-house te halen. Altijd die out of the box feedback van buiten halen is belangrijk.”

[00:20:52] Over de snelle groei in het aantal marketingkanalen dat ook voortdurend verandert. Hoe houdt je je merk relevant in die uitdagende context?

[00:22:50] Marketing en customer insights: hoe doe je de research en vooral competitive bij Schiphol, dat één van de beste luchthavens ter wereld is?

[00:26:44] Hoe je als commerciële partij samenwerkt met de Marechaussee

[00:27:40] Of Privium members meer uitgeven dan reguliere Schipholbezoekers

[00:28:31] It’s lonely at the top. Hoe maak je beslissingen als marketingleider?

[00:31:14] Voorspellingen voor de reisbranche in 2019

[00:32:58] Waar maak je je zorgen om in de branche?

“Misschien vind ik het wel heel mooi dat die grote platforms niet zo machtig blijken te zijn…”

[00:33:59] Wat ga je anders doen in deze nieuwe baan, in een andere branche?

HelloMasters Episode 01

In this HelloMasters podcast, Louise Doorn and Jeremy Brook interview Dave Shoemack of VanMoof bicycles about the lessons learned over his career. Before joining VanMoof, Shoemack spent over four years working as Global Marketing Manager and Global Brand Director for Sol at Heineken, crafting the beer’s commercial image across 56 global markets. Throughout the half-hour, he talks about effective branding, scaling up a small company, and the keys traits of a great marketer.

Branding

For branding, Shoemack takes a holistic approach. “You have to find what’s really true and what’s at the core DNA of the company,” he says, “Then find a creative way to make that relevant to millions of people.“ Equally important, however, is knowing what you’re not.

Finding Your Niche

As Shoemack explains, the brilliance of VanMoof lies in the fact that they only cater to a very specific niche, then aspire to be the best in the world at filling that niche. The main takeaway is that good branding involves equal parts knowing what the customers want, and knowing what you can offer them better than anyone else.

Scaling A Small Company

When asked about scaling up a small company, Shoemack also has lots to say. “Everyone we hire has to be the best person in the company at something,“ he says. Bringing in people with unique skill sets ensures your growing business will be able to adapt and thrive.

Topics

[00:00:00] Louise intro

[00:01:21] Jeremy intro

[00:02:14] Dave’s intro and opinion on the Dutch

[00:04:34] Dave on building and leading a brand

“You don’t have to overthink it actually, you just have to find what’s really true, and what’s at the core DNA of the company, and then find a creative way to make that relevant to millions of people.”

[00:10:00] Dave on transitioning from big corporate to startup

[00:11:10] As a marketer in the startup space

“Startups and scaleups are not cooler or better than corporates. They’re just different and there is real benefits and real downsides to each.”

[00:12:32] vanMoof strategy and international distribution

“At VanMoof, we try and do one thing and we want to do it well everywhere in the world.”

“We believe that if you have a great product, then you should get it to everyone who might want it.”

[00:16:20] How to focus as a marketer

[00:18:00] How to build an effective team and work with partners

“Marketing was very separated from sales and very separated from operations, etcetera. At VanMoof, it’s all the same thing. We only sell direct to customers. I think everything is marketing. Marketing touches every part of the company.”

[00:21:52] Freelancing

[00:22:54] Dave on what’s next for VanMoof

“The biggest challenge is how to reach these people without playing the old-school game of TV advertising and without playing too much of the new school game of retargeting and just spamming people.”

[00:26:10] Insights around customer adoption

[00:27:33] vanMoof worldwide markets

“I would love for more and more of that content to be locally produced, and then for these markets to all inspire each other, and build on each other’s ideas.”

[00:30:07] Where is vanMoof going

[00:31:28] The future of marketing

A great marketing strategy will make or break your growing business. Even if your product is great and you have an amazing team ready to go above and beyond for your clients, when you are facing a high competition market, brand recognition is everything.

The great thing is, there are so many outlets and new marketing trends that could be getting you the reach you need. But then you have a sudden reality check. Every month your team may come up with a ton of great ideas… but in the end, most of them get shelved so you can focus on what needs to be done ASAP (i.e. investor slide decks, UX copy, etc.)

Instead of sacrificing your great new ideas for what needs to be done today, the gig economy is providing us with the opportunity to have it all. The answer is outsourcing.

There are two major benefits to outsourcing: Get more marketing muscle and introducing new skills to your strategy. Remember, you can not do it all. Hiring temporary freelance muscle to boost your everyday tasks will not only save you time and money you will also benefit by getting a fresh perspective from marketing experts who are new to your product.

You do not have to reinvent the wheel. There are already people out there who have deep vertical and specific marketing experience. If you want to experiment with new trends, without the commitment of hiring a full-time specialist, hiring freelancers is the way to go. Here are some skills you should consider outsourcing:

Content marketing

The need for great content is something that will never go out of style. Having a well thought out and strong brand that speaks to your audience makes all the difference. As Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen explained onstage at the last Adobe Summit, “Today, people buy experiences, not products.” That is why great storytelling is something you can never go wrong with. However, having the time to sit down and continuously churn out well-written articles, videos or infographics is almost non-existent.

A 2018 survey of B2B marketers found that over half of respondents had a small or even one person team of content marketers to serve the entire organization. With content marketing being one of the most successful and cost-effective marketing strategies, over half of respondents said they are currently outsourcing this essential task to freelancers. Indeed, what we have seen is that content marketing is the hottest skill being searched for by companies on our platform. And, today, it is not just companies that need great content. Positioning founders as thought leaders can really bring your brand far. For this reason, ghostwriting in particular has been on the rise.

Growth marketing

Data-driven marketing was once a nice to have, now it is essential to aligning your company-wide strategy. Tracking and reporting in systems like Google Analytics, Kissmetrics, SEMRush or Ahrefs are must-haves, but did you know that there are so many new growth marketing strategies you can experiment with to get ahead of the curve?

For example, personalization is destined to be one of the top paradigm-shifting trends in the industry. A study by Adobe found that 77% of marketers believe real-time personalization is crucial, yet 60% struggle with it. More and more marketers are using chatbots and messaging platforms to distribute more personalized content. An international survey of senior marketing strategists found that 80% are already using or plan to use chatbots by 2020. Instead of spending time learning how to leverage this new trend, hiring someone to set this up for you will save time and headaches.

Voice marketing

Alexa, Google Home and Siri are slowly becoming our most witty and pleasant family members. Today people are mostly using voice search to find out what the weather is like, exactly how high Mount Everest is and generally to get sassy answers from Siri.

But, more people are also starting to use voice search for online purchases. One estimate predicts that voice shopping will grow by more than $40 billion by 2020 across the US and UK. While this may sound over the top, it is no doubt that voice marketing is as of yet a much-untapped marketing channel, making it a potential easy win for newcomers. Hiring a freelancer specialized in this up and coming skill can be a great way to find out if voice marketing works for you.

Influencer and social media marketing

Ultimately, people are most likely to trust a brand that’s been recommended to them by an outside source. Influencer marketing is stronger than ever, but it also takes a lot of time and a Rolodex of influencers which you may not already have.

With the rise of micro and nano influencers, influencer marketing is becoming a more accessible and effective strategy for startups and SMBs alike. However, failing to take the time for things like checking influencer authenticity and coming up with a campaign that really syncs with their personal brand could make you lose out on time and resources. By outsourcing this skill, you will have someone who can research influencers with the best potential to reach your audience, manage campaigns, and maintain these relationships on an ongoing basis.

Audit and compliance consulting

GDPR came like a tidal wave last year and some companies may not yet be up to date. Even if you are, 2019 is looking to be a challenging year for internal audits. With more companies using big data to strengthen their marketing strategies, issues like data quality, protection and use are leaving many exposed to potential risks.

With compliance and risk assessments being such an important factor in the health of your organization, it is essential to always be up to date. If regulations and legal language are not your thing, why not hire a consultant who you know will be on top of changing regulations? Do not let your next creative marketing idea go to waste. Hiring a dream team of experts to make your vision a reality is possible. In a sea of potential hires, check out our next article with tips on how to find the right freelancer for your project.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

More and more people are ditching the traditional 9-5 and enjoying the benefits of freelancing: taking on as many clients as you want, keeping things interesting with different types of projects, working from anywhere in the world (while in your pajamas). This all sounds great… but, just like anything else, freelancing has its downsides.

One of the biggest headaches all freelancers face is deciding exactly how much to charge per hour. According to a global survey of freelancers, the majority (68%) of respondents cited increasing the amount of money they earn as the top aspect they wanted to improve, above finding more work.

Plus there’s more competition entering the market. In fact, freelancers are now the fastest growing group within the EU’s labor market and represent 35% of the US workforce.

The influx of new freelancers every day is only making it that much harder. Charge too much and you may be passed up in favor of freelancers with lower rates. Charge too little and you undercut the effort and value you provide. Hourly rates work for some, but depending on the type of work you are doing, they may actually be costing you more time and money. Consider that, on top of the work you are already doing, charging hourly rates also means:

1. Having to predict project timelines and justify when the job takes longer than expected
2. Constantly having to keep track of hours worked
3. Actually being penalized for finishing a project early
4. You risk losing clients when raising your rate to match your growing skill level

Ultimately, the biggest downside to the pay per hour model is that it makes the market all about who can charge less or complete a task in less hours, rather than who can bring in the best expertise and quality to a project.

That is why more and more freelancers are beginning to ditch hourly rates in favor of other alternatives. Here are three of the most popular methods being used in 2019:

Performance-based pricing

Interesting if you are working in:

1. Growth marketing
2. Social media marketing
3. PR
4. SEO

Performance-based rates can be a great way to get in the door with a higher payout, even when you have fewer past clients to recommend you. Rather than basing pricing on output, this method ties your earnings to expected results. This can be based on any metric: from media impressions to website traffic. For example, instead of charging $x per hour for social media marketing, entice new clients by offering to boost their Instagram followers by x% with your next campaign.

Downside:

Obviously, the biggest downside here is that, once you do the work, it can take time to actually see the results. It is a big gamble which you should only try if you are very confident that you will get the results you are promising.

Fixed monthly or weekly rates

Best if you are working as a:

1. Consultant
2. Researcher
3. Software prototyper

It is hard to put a price tag on expert advice or set a clear timeline for research and development. Charging an hourly rate means you will either have to undervalue yourself or risk scaring off clients concerned about racking up hours for each call or text. Consider charging a monthly or weekly rate, otherwise known as a retainer. The interesting thing about this payment method is that it gives you the security of longer-term client relationships, while still giving you the flexibility and independence you need to carry out your work effectively. If you decide to go this route, here’s more information about how to calculate your retainer fee.

Downside:

With no defined hours or tasks, you are on call to help with projects that may take you beyond the scope or amount of hours you would have originally spent per client. You’re more demanding clients may have unrealistic expectations of what can be done within the contracted period of time. If clear expectations are not set from the beginning, it may also be difficult to demonstrate the value of continuing to pay a retainer fee.

Packages or project-based pricing

If you have a clearly defined deliverable, such as designing a website, creating written or video content or designing a logo, package-based pricing may be the best option for you.

Great option if you are working in: website and graphic design, copywriting or marketing automation

Having too many options is not always a good thing. In my personal experience as a freelance content writer, I have found that many clients know they need more content but are unsure what the right frequency, format or style should be.

Instead of making them do the guesswork, I have created a clearly defined blogging package on HelloMaaS. Based on my past experience working with early-stage start-ups, I have included a list of tasks, execution plan, project length and price for the whole package.

The great thing is, instead of spending time searching for new writing gigs, I now have clients reaching out to me directly. This means I can really cut down on the time it takes to: find my next gig, negotiate terms, and actually start working. I am even getting requests from clients who have not posted a freelance job online yet.

Downside:

Make sure your packages are not too narrowly defined, otherwise you may limit yourself. Instead, try providing a range for the deliverables and the pricing. For example, 4-6 blog posts at a range of $x- $x. This way your package also has the flexibility to serve as you are jumping off point for negotiations. You can also create a few different packages based on your skills or basic and premium packages to show potential clients your flexibility.

With this in mind, instead of opting for the traditional hourly rates, take time to really consider which payment method works best for you and your skill set!

Photo by Marc Schäfer on Unsplash