About Dan Mortimer
Dan Mortimer is the Head of Marketing at Nimble Approach, a UK-based technology consultancy. Since joining the company two years ago as its first marketing hire, Dan has been instrumental in transforming Nimble's brand image from a small startup to a respected entity. With a broad range of responsibilities encompassing brand values, messaging, content creation, and overall marketing strategies, Dan has played a crucial role in the company's growth from 50 to 150 employees.
How do you identify and assess ideal accounts for your company?
Our approach to determining a good fit is still evolving, given the wide array of industries we serve. We typically gauge this based on company size, focusing on those with 250 to 500 employees or more. At this scale, companies often have complex systems requiring robust data and reporting solutions, which aligns with our expertise.
We look for indicators like the presence of a CTO, head of engineering, or head of data. These roles suggest they're likely managing substantial projects that match the scope of solutions we provide. It's as much about the job roles as it is about company size, determining the potential for significant, worthwhile projects.
We're also strategic in our industry focus. We begin with sectors where we already have strong case studies and can speak confidently about our results. For instance, industries like betting and gaming, edtech, and manufacturing are our starting points. This approach allows us to leverage our existing strengths and showcase our capabilities effectively.
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We don't really separate sales and marketing; we operate as a growth team. We meet regularly, share insights from what each side is observing, and develop strategies together based on that input.
How does your marketing team collaborate with sales to refine customer profiles and strategy?
Our collaboration with the business development team is quite effective. We don't really separate sales and marketing; we operate as a growth team. We meet regularly, share insights from what each side is observing, and develop strategies together based on that input.
When targeting a new industry, we discuss with the business development team what responses they're getting and the trends they're observing. From there, we conduct our own research and create several targeted outreach messages to test what works best. We've found that some of these messages are particularly effective, leading to more responses and connections than others.
This success prompts us to create specific content and develop landing pages based on what's working, which helps in further enhancing our outreach efforts. It's a dynamic process where we continually adjust based on real-time feedback, meeting two or three times a week to synchronise on what each team is seeing and how we can adapt our strategies accordingly.
What key shifts have you observed in marketing's role, and where is it heading?
There's been a gradual but noticeable shift toward recognizing marketing as a strategic driver. It's increasingly seen not just as a cost but as a vital element for company growth. For example, if a company aims to grow by a certain percentage, that translates into needing a proportionate increase in leads—which squarely falls under marketing.
There's a stronger focus on marketing's integral role in driving the company forward, not just in terms of lead generation but in actual project initiation and revenue generation. It's about looking at how many projects have originated from those leads, what revenue they've brought in, and the resulting profit.
We still track MQLs, but it's always in the context of revenue. It's a work in progress because the sales cycle can vary widely—anywhere from three months to two years from the initial contact to a deal. So, you might have 20 leads in a month, but it's not about the deals they close that month. It's about the potential for those leads to convert in the future.
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There's been a gradual but noticeable shift toward recognizing marketing as a strategic driver. It's increasingly seen not just as a cost but as a vital element for company growth.
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While it's important to understand and utilise data strategically, we shouldn't forget the value of long-term marketing efforts. There's a risk in becoming too focused on the numbers, which can lead to a very short-term view of marketing.
How do you balance data-driven metrics with long-term brand building efforts?
While it's important to understand and utilise data strategically, we shouldn't forget the value of long-term marketing efforts. There's a risk in becoming too focused on the numbers, which can lead to a very short-term view of marketing. I'm a big proponent of long-term brand marketing, which is notoriously difficult to measure.
Justifying the budget for these long-term initiatives is tough because you often need to prove success with immediate lead generation efforts first. But long-term brand building is crucial for generating referrals and maintaining a positive brand reputation.
We've historically grown well with referrals, which speaks to having a strong brand presence. When people refer us, they're not just looking at metrics; they're checking us out on LinkedIn, visiting our website, and getting a sense of our reputation. So, while it's important to focus on metrics, we need to balance that with investments in intangible assets like community building and brand reputation.
In what ways are you leveraging AI in your marketing, and what results have you seen?
The biggest area for me is helping with content generation. We use AI to give us a base outline for content, which we can then build upon by adding case studies, examples, and tailoring it to our specific needs. It's very useful for giving us a starting point that we can then take to our team to refine and improve.
We've also started to experiment with AI automation for things like emails and content generation. Right now, you can still sort of tell when an email is auto-generated, so I'm a bit more sceptical of that at the moment. But I think ultimately, it's going to be really good at personalising content—dropping in specifics about the companies and people we want to target.
At the moment, we're mostly using ChatGPT, which is good enough for our current needs. As we're about to ramp up our content production, we'll be looking at more marketing-focused AI tools. The key is to use AI as a tool to enhance our efforts, not to replace the human touch entirely.
About Nimble Approach
Nimble Approach is a dynamic technology consultancy based in the UK, with offices in Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, and Bristol. Specialising in data processing, app development, and software upgrades, Nimble Approach serves notable clients like ASDA, ITV, and Sky Betting & Gaming. Known for its client-centred approach and effective problem-solving, the company is dedicated to transforming the tech landscape through expertise and strategic insights.
About 6sense
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