From PLS pioneers and OSS innovators to cutting-edge enterprises, Go-to-market mavericks is where we talk to GTM leaders about the strategies and tactics they use to drive results.
We recently talked to Molly Vorwerck, Head of Marketing at Monte Carlo, about category creation and content in B2B SaaS and a whole lot more.
Here are three of the top takeaways from that conversation (check out the full recording above).
1. Create an emotional connection offline and on
What’s old is new again.
In an increasingly digital world filled with AI-generated content, good old-fashioned human connection can make a big impact—especially when you’re trying to break into the enterprise.
It’s one of the reasons Molly is so bullish on events.
“What we're finding, at least in B2B SaaS, is that events are becoming increasingly important,” Molly said. “And the value of an event lead or a meeting at an event versus something that was booked digitally through a chatbot or another channel, particularly for upmarket, is far and away more valuable and then cost-effective.”
But flesh-and-blood events aren’t the only way to build stronger connections with potential buyers.
Speaking directly to prospects’ hopes and fears in a humorous way helps Monte Carlo stand out. Just take a look at the company’s meme-heavy digital presence to get a taste.
“We don't take our brand too seriously,” Molly said. “A lot of B2B SaaS companies [...] it almost feels like everything is trying to be OpenAI.”
Molly encourages her team to spend time in digital watering holes—like Reddit, LinkedIn, and X (Twitter)—to better understand the topics people are engaging with and explore how Monte Carlo’s messaging can better resonate.
Monte Carlo measures engagement with this content across organic channels and then informs its paid advertising strategy accordingly.
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“Content that gets a lot of recirculation in newsletters and reshares on LinkedIn or Twitter is often the basis of our ads or the basis of webinars that we do later…,” Molly said. “It's a really good social signal and informs a lot of our paid marketing strategy."
2. Put a face on your product
Humanizing your product pays dividends, especially when you’re creating a category.
“If you don't have a face behind the category or a face behind whatever problem you're trying to talk about [...] it's not as successful,” Molly said.
Molly’s a big believer in CEOs, CTOs, and the rest of the C-suite acting as resources for prospects and customers versus just being figureheads, whether it means talking to them face to face or creating content with them in mind.
“Barr [Moses, CEO] did that a lot very early at Monte Carlo, and it was massively successful,” Molly said. “And now whenever we talk to prospects, we're always like, ‘Hey, how'd you hear about us? We want to understand what channels are working.’ And anecdotally it's always like, ‘Oh, well, I really like Barr's content. I really trust Barr because of her thought leadership. I saw her speak at Snowflake Summit.’ And that's the entry point to some of these customers.”
Founder not a fan of using LinkedIn as a bully pulpit? Look internally for influencers who are.
“I would say you can also outsource this to other people on the team,” Molly said. “Gong is a really strong example of this. I’m sure you're familiar with Devin Reeder [...] he's like the king of social selling. He's not the CEO or cofounder, but he assumed the mantle of being the public face of Gong. And I think that when you're doing B2B SaaS, particularly a sales-led motion, you really need to have someone who drives that forward.”
3. Content quality beats quantity
In a world where any chatbot can write a blog post—and where search engine results page real estate is rapidly shrinking—quality content makes all the difference.
“There's a bunch of different tools that you can use to generate content with AI,” Molly said. “But there will always need to be a human in the loop to bring it up a couple levels. I would say quality trumps quantity always.”
You can quickly spin up 10 eBooks with ChatGPT, give them buzzy titles, and start racking up the clicks. But if they’re not delivering real value to customers, you’re only making noise for the sake of making noise.
Keep in mind that quality doesn’t have to mean complexity, even if you’re selling a more technical product.
A clear message delivered to the right person at the right time beats complicated jargon.
“Simplicity of message is key,” Molly said. “I think when you're building a category, there's a tendency [...] to try to touch on every little thing that your product does to differentiate it from the competition. But by doing that, you lose sight of what makes it special and unique.”
These are just some of the takeaways from our conversation with Molly Vorwerck.
Watch or listen to the recording for the full story.
And stay tuned for the next edition of Go-to-market mavericks!
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