The first instalment of a diary that will no doubt be full of pain, wonder, blood, sweat, tears and a bunch of ‘learnings’. In episode 1, I start to scratch a long-lasting itch…
In 2004, I started my first marketing job. It was 80% non-digital, there was a little bit of email marketing and writing copy for clients’ websites, but other than that, it was about brochures, events and good ol’ fashioned relationship building. A solid foundation, yet it was always hard to really gauge the effect of my work.
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Fast-forward to 2017 and I’ve been encased in the digital marketing world for 10 years. It’s been some ride, and the changes I’ve witnesses have been monumental.
We’re now in a place where the fruits of our labour are far easier to define, there’s oceans of data to swim in and no lack of tools that help us along the way. However, it’s still not ‘easy’ to know what we should be measuring based on desired outcomes, what data is key and the decisions that should be made based upon it. I know this frustrates a lot of fellow marketers.
The need for direction
Gathering, quantifying, visualising this data isn’t anything new, there are oodles of tools out there that aim to do this and save us poor souls a lot of time. They work to a certain extent. Do they guide us in making the right decisions? Well, no.
That relies on the skills and experience of the marketer. Of course, some are complete wizards however, from discussions with a huge amount of marketers over the years, it’s an area that people feel they need support in.
“Data is a bitch” (Me, at least once a week)
So, the quest begins
This has been bugging me too long. I know there’s a tech solution to this. The problem is, it’s no small task. In fact, it’s pretty gargantuan. I’m under no illusion here! I’m a marketer. I can’t build software. I have experience in the software field from the marketing perspective, but that’s only part of the battle.
I’m going to assemble a team of co-founders that believe in the vision and lets face it, are willing to take a punt. The right people can make this happen.
There are other huge factors in this — one being that I have a family to support, thus, I can’t just drop my bill-paying work. I know, I know, startup purists will tell you that it’s all-in or nothing. In my case, if I go all in, my family go all out. On the street.
This means I have to go down this path while still earning the reddies (the founding team will likely be in the same boat). I can do it. I’m ridiculously determined to make it so.
What have I done so far?
- Mashed my brain thinking about the ins and outs of what the product needs to do (thanks to all who have helped here!)
- Not wasted time coming up with a name and brand. Project Insight is the working title.
- Attracted a strong sample size to a survey that will help guide the key features of the MVP. If you’ve got 3 mins, it’s here (Typeform). Love you.
- Got 35 people signed up as beta testers/shoulders to cry on (hey, it’s a start!). You can do so here.
- Lined up chats with potential cofounders
- Got people checking the tech validation
Forward ho!
This is early-days. Like Jurassicly early. I know. I get it. This may never see the light-of-day. I believe marketers and businesses need this. I’m going to provide it. Hopefully you’ll join me on the journey, I’ll be updating here on SBNN, but also doing videos like this:
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Some background –
