Stop Talking About Your Product. Start Solving Problems.
Stop Talking About Your Product. Start Solving Problems.
Most SaaS companies are obsessed with their features. Their roadmap. Their release notes. Nobody cares. The only thing that gets a prospect's attention is a simple answer to one question: what problem do you fix?
That's the thread running through this conversation with Jess Brick, Marketing Manager at Spotler, and Richard Melis, their Partnership Manager.
Partnership Marketing Isn't About Referrals — It's About Deposits
Richard's framing is blunt: you can't make a withdrawal before you make a deposit.
Most companies approach partnerships the wrong way — asking for referrals before they've offered anything. The better question is: what does your partner actually need? Content? An audience? A co-hosted webinar? Start there. The revenue follows.
Spotler has 400+ partners across the UK and Europe. That didn't happen by accident. It happened by asking what partners needed first.
Takeaway: Map what your customers are already buying alongside your product. Those companies are your natural partners. Go help them first.
Marketing's Job Has Changed — Most Teams Haven't Caught Up
Eight years ago, marketing generated leads and handed them to sales. Job done.
That model is dead.
Jess has watched the shift happen in real time. Marketing now owns the full funnel — acquisition, nurture, retention. The metric that used to matter (MQLs) has been replaced by something harder: quality relationships, built over time.
Takeaway: If your marketing team is still measured purely on lead volume, the reporting model needs updating before the strategy does.
The Email With No Subject Line Got More Opens
Spotler ran a split test. One email had a subject line. One didn't.
The blank one won.
Why? In a packed inbox, a gap stands out. People click the unknown. It goes against everything you've been taught — but that's exactly the point. Your assumptions about what works are just that: assumptions. The data decides.
Takeaway: Split test things that feel wrong. That's where the real insights live.
The Martech Map Has 11,000 Companies. One Filter Cuts Through All of It.
Does it fix a real problem?
That's it. Not features. Not integrations. Not pricing tiers. If a tool — or your own product — can't answer that question in a sentence, it won't survive.
Richard's take: there are 25,000 agencies on LinkedIn in the UK alone, all claiming to do something different. The ones that last are the ones that own a specific problem and solve it clearly.
Takeaway: Before your next marketing campaign, write down the one problem you solve. If it takes more than two sentences, it's not clear enough yet.
Know Your Numbers or Someone Else Will
Jess's advice for overwhelmed marketers isn't a wellness plan. It's a discipline.
Know your results. Know what's working. Keep every department — sales, partnerships, account management — on the same page. When budgets get cut, marketing is always first in line. The only protection is evidence.
Takeaway: Your reporting isn't just a performance tool. It's job security.
Richard Melis: LinkedIn
Jess Brick: LinkedIn
Suds Singh B2B Video Content Specialist London for Interesting Content, LinkedIn.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/7U1jfZYD3Vk?si=SzYhUEwzXe3RwS_Q
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5C6jLtH3oJlDrQ0Esoq3kE?si=i5O1QKVFSEiuzFsVARL1NA