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Steve Armenti

AMA: Former DigitalOcean VP Revenue Marketing , Steve Armenti on Building a Growth Marketing Team

October 22 @ 10:00AM PT

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  1. What's your framework to prioritizing needs/deliverables when you're the first demand generation manager at a company establishing the function?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    Tie it to revenue. If you're a team of one you have to ruthlessly prioritize your time. If what you're being asked to do doesn't directly influence the creation of revenue, you should question whether it's worth doing. Create an objective process for how you can say no to things. Take a look at the RICE method or similar methods. If you have a framework / eval process, share it with people. If someone asks you to do something, explain your process for why you can't do it.

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  2. What is an important KPI that you see demand generation teams completely missing?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    Net new expansion revenue. Most demand gen teams are positioning at the top of the funnel and driving net new logos. I think more demand gen teams should be focused on customer expansion and given the resources to do so, such as:

    • Targeting capabilities

    • Customer data and CRM

    • Predictive modeling

    • Personalized communication

    • Alignment with CS teams

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  3. What does your demand generation team org structure look like?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    Past demand gen teams I've managed typically looked like this:

    • Acquisition: paid media, content syndication, ads

    • Lifecycle: email marketing, nurtures, onboarding, customer comms

    • Website: content, navigation, CRO, analytics

    • Field marketing: events, webinars

    • Marketing ops: automation, systems, tools, APIs

    • Analytics: data science, engineering, analytics, reporting

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  4. If your demand generation team has only 1 or 2 people responsible for covering multiple products with complex features, how would you recommend dividing the workload in the short-term so as best to support long-term growth and expansion of the team?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    I would focus on ruthless prioritization of projects that directly influence the KPI you are held accountable to. Long term expansion is out of the picture right now. If you don't hit your goals you will not grow or expand. So roll your sleeves up and hustle. Regarding the complex product, I would think about the 2-3 most valuable features that customers can't live without and are sticky once you get a customer. Divide up your team depending on your goals. Let's say it's acquisition. Have one pe ...Read More

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  5. Do you have any advice for a junior who is a first demand generation hire?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    Absorb as much as possible right now. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn about things beyond just demand generation. Areas like automation, analytics, AI, and sales are critical parts of demand gen. If you want to be a leader, think about being good at several things vs perfect at one thing. If you want to be a true subject matter expert, then the ladder. I would find a mentor within the company, or outside, who can provide guidance, support, and insights as you face challenges. Get to ...Read More

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  6. What are the key processes you'd set up when expanding the demand generation team from 1 to multiple people?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    First, define roles and responsibilities of the team. Outline roles, create detailed job descriptions, and ensure alignment between resources. Create a clear vision, set measurable goals, and establish a process to be able to track performance over time. Implement training and development curriculum to allow for career growth. Define individual KPIs, track individual performance through personal OKRs, and implement a performance evaluation process that measure performance against team goals. Est ...Read More

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  7. From your perspective, who is the most critical piece on a demand-gen team?

    Why?

    Steve Armenti
    Steve Armenti

    Google founder @ twelfth ⚡️ data-driven ABM ⚡️ | Formerly Google, DigitalOcean • 1y

    It's tough question. It's really a team effort. You have multiple disciplines like performance marketing, field marketing, analytics, ABM, email marketing, MarTech. Each of these plays a really important role. If I could only have 1 hire and still needed to drive demand, I'd choose a growth marketer who has experience in performance ads, email marketing, website CRO, and inbound marketing tactics.

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