When and how to invest in new acquisition channels | Adam Grenier (Uber, MasterClass)
1. Re-evaluate Product-Market Fit
When economic conditions shift, assume your existing product-market fit is obsolete and proactively re-evaluate your strategy, as the entire customer base may have fundamentally changed.
2. Seek Therapy for Deeper Issues
Engage in therapy not just for burnout, but to uncover deeper personal motivations and underlying issues, which can provide a healthier perspective on work and life.
3. Distinguish Burnout From Depression
Learn to differentiate burnout (exhaustion specific to work) from depression (broader lack of motivation impacting personal life) by observing if your motivations outside of work are also affected.
4. Cultivate Transparent Support Network
Build a network of trusted friends with whom you can be transparent about mental health challenges, creating safe spaces for mutual support and shared experiences.
5. Utilize Company Mental Health Benefits
Actively review your company’s benefits and healthcare provider offerings, as many provide coverage for therapy and other valuable mental health resources.
6. Integrate Meditation for Well-being
Incorporate meditation into your routine, using resources like Waking Up or Aura, to learn breathing techniques and enhance mental well-being.
7. Monitor Diet and Exercise
Pay attention to changes in diet (e.g., increased snacking) and exercise habits as potential indicators of mental health struggles, and prioritize healthy living to improve overall well-being.
8. Recognize Burnout: Decreased Adaptability
Identify burnout when your adaptability and openness to change or new ideas significantly decline, leading to resistance rather than a willingness to explore.
9. Align Channel Strengths with Needs
When evaluating emerging acquisition channels, first ensure the channel’s inherent strengths align with your customer’s needs and your company’s growth objectives.
10. Assess Channel DNA & Monetization
Evaluate an emerging channel’s growth trajectory and monetization strategy, accepting the risks of early adoption and seeking alignment with their revenue model for a strategic advantage.
11. Evaluate Company Risk Profile
Before investing in new channels, assess your company’s risk appetite for being a first mover and confirm you have a solid foundation in established channels like Google and Facebook.
12. Start Channel Tests Minimally
Begin testing new acquisition channels with minimal resources (e.g., a fraction of one person’s time) and only scale up if early momentum or “magic” is clearly observed.
13. Set Quarterly Test Time Limits
Limit the exploration of any new acquisition channel to a maximum of one quarter; if no clear directional improvement or interesting signal emerges, put it on hold.
14. Define Success Metrics Early
Before initiating an emerging channel test, clearly define specific success metrics tailored to the channel’s nature (e.g., room size growth, trackable clicks).
15. Understand Broad Audience Differences
Recognize that your initial early adopters are often vastly different from your broader target audience, and dedicate time to understanding these differences to achieve sustainable product-market fit.
16. Learn Agile Product Development
Marketing leaders should study agile product development methodologies to enhance their team’s operational efficiency and foster stronger collaboration with product organizations.
17. Hire Leaders Comfortable with Chaos
For early-stage startups (Series C or below), prioritize marketing leader candidates who demonstrate comfort with chaos, adaptability to rapid change, and a willingness to engage in hands-on tasks.
18. Evaluate Marketing Leader’s T-Shape
When hiring a marketing leader, identify their “T-shaped” career (deep specialization and broader skills) and assess their plan for addressing areas outside their core strength, especially product collaboration and data.
19. Adopt “Yes, And” Collaboration
Apply the “yes, and” principle from improv in cross-functional team interactions to foster better rapport, build constructively on ideas, and avoid halting progress.
20. Practice “Gift of Details”
Provide specific, rich details in your communication to offer more context and substance, enhancing creativity and enabling others to build more effectively on your ideas.
21. Take Improv Classes
Enroll in improv classes to develop valuable skills like adaptability, teamwork, and experimentation, even if you have no intention of pursuing improv professionally.
22. Seek Accountability for Growth
Publicly state your goals for skill development and ask your team to hold you accountable, encouraging open feedback and a culture of continuous improvement.
23. Treat Podcast Ads as Radio
Approach podcast advertising by focusing on program fit, personalization, and consistent repetition, rather than expecting immediate direct-response results like other digital ads.
24. Embrace “Me as a Service”
Leaders should identify their unique strengths and passions, then explore “me as a service” models like advising, investing, or coaching to leverage their experience in flexible, impactful ways.