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    In Growth We Trust: Marketing | Growth | Startups

    🔮 The Rise of the Creative Performance Marketer, Customer Research and Storytelling in Paid Ads | Chris Winterhoff (Patch Plants, Onto)

    Tue Jan 16 2024
    customer researchpaid strategiesscalinguser interviewsrecruiting participantsperformance marketingcrafting compelling stories

    Description

    The podcast episode features an interview with Chris, where they discuss topics such as talking to customers, informing paid strategies, and testing ads. Chris shares their experience at Patch and how the business differentiated itself in the market. They also talk about the rise of online garden centers and scaling as a performance marketing manager. The conversation highlights the importance of conducting user research and provides insights on how to improve it. The hosts mention that Chris has been a big supporter of the podcast and reached out to join the conversation.

    Insights

    Building a strong brand from the beginning can provide an early advantage for startups.

    Patch differentiated itself by simplifying its product descriptions and creating a more appealing brand compared to traditional garden center brands.

    Conducting interviews with customers can initially be chaotic and uncertain, but patterns start to emerge after around four interviews.

    By interview seven or eight, a clearer picture should emerge, providing valuable outputs for decision-making.

    The ideal number of interviews to conduct is around 10, as there are diminishing returns beyond that.

    Conducting too many interviews in a day can be challenging because active listening and thinking are required during each call.

    Using specialized services can be an effective way to recruit participants for research studies, especially in the B2B space.

    Incentivizing participants with rewards like Amazon vouchers can increase response rates and encourage more truthful answers.

    Performance marketers are moving away from audience targeting and focusing on driving creativity.

    Good creative is essential for successful campaigns, similar to the Mad Men era of TV advertising.

    Understanding the customer is crucial for creating a compelling story that hooks them in.

    Human motivations such as status and comfort don't change, so understanding and activating these desires can lead to success.

    Chapters

    1. Talking to Customers and Informing Paid Strategies
    2. Scaling as a Performance Marketing Manager
    3. Conducting User Research for Effective Marketing
    4. Extracting Insights from Customer Interviews
    5. Optimizing User Interviews and Gathering Deep Insights
    6. Recruiting Participants for Research Studies
    7. The Role of Creativity in Performance Marketing
    8. Crafting Compelling Stories for Effective Advertising
    Summary
    Transcript

    Talking to Customers and Informing Paid Strategies

    00:00 - 07:49

    • Chris shares their experience at Patch and how the business differentiated itself in the market.
    • The conversation highlights the importance of conducting user research and provides insights on how to improve it.
    • Chris explains how Patch targeted millennials by simplifying the process of buying and caring for plants through delivery services, simplified care instructions, and offering courses for first-time plant owners.
    • One successful strategy was offering an "unkillable" range of plants that were easier to care for.

    Scaling as a Performance Marketing Manager

    07:25 - 14:28

    • Chris shares his background working in investment banking before transitioning into startups and eventually becoming a freelancer specializing in paid marketing.
    • Patch differentiated itself by simplifying its product descriptions and creating a more appealing brand compared to traditional garden center brands.
    • Building a strong brand from the beginning can provide an early advantage for startups.
    • Patch's website copy was designed to feel personal and relatable, standing out from corporate jargon used by other brands.

    Conducting User Research for Effective Marketing

    14:04 - 20:44

    • Chris focuses on paid ads and uses first principles thinking to create standout creative content on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
    • Informing creative with research, including customer interviews and talking to non-customers, is crucial for effective marketing.
    • Extracting insights from customer perspectives helps understand competition and target the right core customers.

    Extracting Insights from Customer Interviews

    20:14 - 27:29

    • The best question to ask customers in customer research is not about the specific question, but about listening and responding to what they say.
    • A broad question like "Tell me about your personal finances" can provide valuable insights into how customers view their own financial situation.
    • Conducting interviews with customers can initially be chaotic and uncertain, but patterns start to emerge after around four interviews.
    • By interview seven or eight, a clearer picture should emerge, providing valuable outputs for decision-making.

    Optimizing User Interviews and Gathering Deep Insights

    27:11 - 33:38

    • The ideal number of interviews to conduct is around 10, as there are diminishing returns beyond that.
    • Conducting too many interviews in a day can be challenging because active listening and thinking are required during each call.
    • Doing interviews in batches allows time for processing and reflection on what has been said.
    • Implementation of insights can start right away if there are obvious findings, but generally, it is better to complete the analysis before implementing changes.

    Recruiting Participants for Research Studies

    33:17 - 40:08

    • Using specialized services can be an effective way to recruit participants for research studies, especially in the B2B space.
    • Manual research and outreach on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook groups, and Reddit can also be used to find participants.
    • Having a screening questionnaire is crucial for any recruitment process to filter out unqualified leads.
    • Incentivizing participants with rewards like Amazon vouchers can increase response rates and encourage more truthful answers.

    The Role of Creativity in Performance Marketing

    39:44 - 46:56

    • The concept of a "performance creative marketer" is emerging in the digital marketing space.
    • Performance marketers are moving away from audience targeting and focusing on driving creativity.
    • Good creative is essential for successful campaigns, similar to the Mad Men era of TV advertising.
    • Design teams often need clearer briefs that incorporate performance data and insights.

    Crafting Compelling Stories for Effective Advertising

    46:31 - 53:49

    • The idea of drilling down and asking customers why they would use a product can be applied to creators in storytelling.
    • Understanding the customer is crucial for creating a compelling story that hooks them in.
    • AI is changing things, but human interaction and understanding people's motivations will still be valuable.
    • Human motivations such as status and comfort don't change, so understanding and activating these desires can lead to success.
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