We Signed 31 Clients in 90 Days: B2B Marketing, Content Strategy, and Lessons from Q1
Episode Summary
In this high-impact episode of Building in Public, the hosts dive into their Q1 performance—revealing how they aimed for 30 new clients and ended up closing 31. They unpack the lessons learned from doubling their marketing spend, crafting a resonant market message, experimenting across platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube, and refining performance metrics. This episode is a must-listen for B2B marketers, founders, and content strategists seeking to scale sustainably and authentically.
Guest Profile
David (Host) – A seasoned fractional CMO with experience working across nearly 300 B2B companies. David shares insights from his growth consultancy work and leads the conversation around strategic marketing, content, and operations in a fast-scaling agency.
Key Takeaways
A strong market message and unique point of view can 10x marketing effectiveness.
Doubling marketing spend doesn’t guarantee better metrics—but maintaining performance while scaling spend is a big win.
Content should align with platform and format for maximum resonance.
YouTube is an untapped goldmine for B2B lead generation—every lead from YouTube converted this quarter.
Engagement on LinkedIn (comments, conversations, networking) is just as important as content creation.
Measuring engagement rate, not just impressions, reveals content performance.
The content is the strategy; paid ads are simply a distribution booster.
Questions Asked & Answer Summaries
What was the Q1 goal, and did you achieve it?
The team aimed to sign 30 new clients and closed 31 (29 confirmed on the scorecard, 2 additional off-record). They consider this a win with room for optimization in Q2.
What were the key learnings from this quarter?
Maintaining key marketing metrics while doubling spend, and validating the importance of a unique market message that drives performance across cost per lead, deal size, and retention.
How do you identify a unique market message?
By uncovering inherent uniqueness already present within a business and articulating it clearly. It can't be faked—authenticity and thought leadership are essential.
How do you know if your message resonates?
Quantitatively: more engagement, leads, and revenue. Qualitatively: comments, mentions in calls, and that gut feeling of alignment.
How do you test which content works?
They test content pillars in various formats (videos, carousels, memes), post organically, and iterate based on data.
Why didn’t the original YouTube strategy work?
Same message and format from LinkedIn didn’t resonate. Platform-specific tweaking led to 100% conversion from YouTube leads once fixed.
How important is LinkedIn engagement?
Crucial. Active engagement boosts algorithm reach and accelerates lead conversion. Comments and connections matter.
What metrics define good content?
Engagement rate = engagements ÷ impressions. High impressions alone don’t prove resonance; it's the engagement that counts.
What’s the role of ads in your strategy?
Content is the strategy. Ads are used to scale distribution of what’s already working organically. Great content must come first.
What’s your Q2 focus?
Maintaining spend, improving processes, reducing cost per lead/demo, tweaking sales operations, and evolving content strategy with more team involvement.
Chapters & Timestamps
[00:00] – We Almost Missed Our Target
Discussion around Q1 goals and client acquisition performance.
[02:55] – Doubling Marketing Spend Without Losing Metrics
How the team maintained performance despite increased spend.
[03:38] – The One Thing That Changes Everything: Market Message
Why a unique POV is critical in B2B marketing.
[06:35] – How to Find and Validate Your Unique Market Message
Steps for uncovering an authentic message that resonates.
[09:52] – Testing Content Pillars and Formats
How they experiment with different message types and mediums.
[12:41] – YouTube: The Untapped Channel for B2B Leads
Lessons from pivoting their video strategy.
[13:55] – Why LinkedIn Engagement is as Important as Content
Tactical benefits of engaging directly on LinkedIn.
[17:28] – Defining Good Content: Impressions vs Engagement
How to calculate content effectiveness using real data.
[21:21] – Content Is the Strategy (Even for Paid Ads)
Reframing ad spend as content distribution, not lead gen.
[26:16] – Why Retargeting is Your Low-Hanging Fruit
Simple paid strategies that can boost conversions immediately.
[28:41] – Q2 Plans: Optimising Performance & Scaling with Purpose
Preview of Q2 goals and bringing more team voices into the podcast.
About the Podcast
Building in Public is a transparent, insightful look into how a B2B agency scales, tests, and refines their marketing engine. Hosted by experienced marketing professionals, the show dives into real-time data, strategic experiments, and the thinking behind their most successful growth moves.
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