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"Freshworks focuses on being found ‘organically’ (i.e. via free or low-cost channels) rather than with expensive paid marketing and outbound sales efforts." Pr
by jsonne 5y ago
"Freshworks focuses on being found ‘organically’ (i.e. via free or low-cost channels) rather than with expensive paid marketing and outbound sales efforts."
Proceeds to rent a blimp.
To be clear I have nothing against guerilla marketing tactics but the "oh our customers just love us so much everything is organic and easy" really does a disservice to people reading these articles trying to figure out how to grow their companies. Many companies use paid ads, many companies that utilize SEO pay for links or for agencies to get links, sales isn't a dirty word. It reminds me of the silly serendipity founder legends people tell folks when the mess and figuring it out process would be a lot more educational.
- whoisburbansky 5y agoWhy would it be either/or? Strong organic growth goes hand in hand with efficient marketing spending, and it sounds like their guerilla marketing efforts dovetailed nicely with how they grow normally. Nothing in the article gave me the impression they were bragging about only needing organic word of mouth growth.
- ShamelessC 5y agoWithout the right local sales talent, outsourcing the job would have been fairly expensive - cash they wanted to hold on to due to the competitive market they were in. I agree that the speech reads fairly "LinkedIn", however.
- ameliaquining 5y agoWait, how much does it cost to rent a blimp for a one-off event? Surely not very much, compared to the marketing budget of a typical company this size? Building brand awareness with a stunt like this (which mostly relies on viral publicity) could easily be dramatically cheaper than building it by paying for ads on an ongoing basis.
- hermannj314 5y agoAccording to their S-1, they spent $133 million on Sales and Marketing in 2020. To generate $308 million in revenue. That doesn't feel organic, but maybe it is organic at the margin or something. Source: I'm not sure if this is the right link, the S1 in the article linked to the author's linkedin account. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001544522/000162828021017717/freshworkss-1.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001544522/000162828...
- Rastonbury 5y agoWhen looking at comparables of other SaaS companies, in terms S&M to sales they are actually below average in terms of sales efficiency. I saw their rise and thought they must've been doing something right/better than their competition, but did some research and decided against it. That said I respect Girish, building Freshworks into what it is in such a competitive market.