Securing Marketing Budget and Executive Buy-In with Mick Essex @POWR

Executive Conversations

“What I learned is that the farther up the chain I went, the more difficult it was to get things done for an end result. I was so used to being at the end result. I didn’t get to see all of the pieces that go into play in the beginning, which of course starts with marketing budget.”- Mick Essex

Welcome to the very first episode of Executive Conversations, where we explore how GTM leaders navigate executive discussions, market internally to gain support, and secure buy-in for long-term GTM strategies. In this episode of Executive Conversations, Maeva speaks with Mick Essex, Head of Growth & Partnerships at POWR.

Mick shares his journey from journalism to sales and marketing, highlighting the importance of detailed planning and setting realistic, yet ambitious OKRs. He discusses the challenges of securing marketing budgets, achieving buy-in from leadership, and strategically planning marketing efforts. Mick discusses the need to align marketing goals with the total addressable market. Mick also talks about the importance of planning campaigns and having contingencies in place, as well as the unique challenges of working in a highly regulated industry. He also offers ideas for creating effective marketing strategies with limited budgets.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Marketing budgets
• Executive buy-in
• Strategy

Takeaways:

• Importance of Detailed Planning: Mick emphasizes the need for thorough planning and having contingencies for marketing campaigns.
• Securing Buy-In: Effective strategies for getting executive and cross-departmental buy-in for your marketing initiatives.
• Budgeting Challenges: Presenting realistic marketing budgets based on category benchmarks and your total addressable market (TAM).
• Marketing in SaaS: Unique aspects of marketing in the SaaS industry, such as tackling free and freemium models.
• Using Data Effectively: Harnessing Google Analytics and other tools to understand traffic, conversions, and optimize your marketing efforts.

Chapters:

[00:07] - Introduction

[00:55] - Mick’s journey from journalism to marketing

[03:46] - The challenges of getting budget approval

[05:11] - Getting buy-in marketing campaigns

[08:06] - Aligning marketing goals with the Total Addressable Market (TAM)

[09:46] - Strategic planning and creating contingencies for campaigns

[12:06] - Unique SaaS marketing challenges and strategies

[14:12] - How to be effective with limited marketing budgets and resources

[17:07] - Learning lessons from previous roles and applying them to current strategies

[18:40] - Challenges within the healthcare industry

[21:08] - The importance of proving your value early

[24:21] - Setting and achieving your OKRs

[26:23] - Closing remarks

Mick Essex is the Head of Growth & Partnerships at POWR where he has been for the past 2 years. POWR works with small businesses and solopreneurs across the world providing them with no-code marketing and sales website tools to help grow their business online. Connect with Mick Essex on LinkedIn.

Need help navigating executive conversations and securing your marketing budget? Book a call with Flying Cat Marketing today and let us help you achieve your goals. Book a Call