B2B SaaS CEOs Without a Marketing Background — You Gotta Read This Book

Before starting Slang.ai, my experience was highly technical. I’d only worked with numbers — either spreadsheets or code — so needless to say, marketing was like a completely foreign language to me. Many resources are theoretical and don’t give advice that’s tactical enough to apply to your start-up. So I’m writing about a book that was helpful to me from a tactical perspective.

But first, you might be wondering: why do I even need to know marketing as an early-stage founder? Or, Can’t I hire someone for that? The truth is, as the CEO, you’re the one that has to decide which markets your product is playing in, which in turn informs how you’re positioning the product and how you talk about it internally and externally. Product positioning is a crucial marketing skill that all CEOs need to learn, IMO. You can hire someone to help evolve this thinking, but positioning ties directly to and can help inform company strategy. So it would help if you learned how it works.

There are many books on positioning, but the most tactically useful one I’ve read is called “Obviously Awesome.” “Obviously Awesome” is packed with valuable examples of how actual companies have used positioning to win their markets. While there are both consumer and B2B examples in the book, what I appreciated about this book is that there are plenty of B2B case studies and anecdotes. Some of which are technical businesses. Check it out!

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