The Peerbound Podcast

Harriet Johnston (VP of Marketing at Ashby) on Building Effective Marketing Strategies and Teams

Episode Summary

Harriet Johnston, Vice President of Marketing at Ashby, discusses her approach to marketing and building efficient teams. Harriet delves into her journey at Ashby, the company's unique position in the recruiting software market, and her strategies for creating a cohesive marketing message. She emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, maintaining consistent product messaging, and hiring talent at the right time.

Episode Notes

In today’s episode of The Peerbound Podcast, we sit down with Harriet Johnston, the Vice President of Marketing at Ashby to explore key strategies for refining recruitment processes and how to build a marketing team from scratch. Tuning in you’ll hear Harriet’s expert insights on attracting the best talent, enhancing the candidate experience, and why recruiting presents a rich brand-building opportunity. Discover key aspects you need to consider during the recruitment process, like prioritizing differentiated and compelling job descriptions, and why you should always treat candidates as potential customers. Harriet also elaborates on Ashby's journey navigating a dynamic market landscape, and the challenges they had to overcome while maintaining a cohesive narrative amid rapid changes. Stay tuned to the end for Harriet’s advice on staying connected with the Voice of the Customer (VoC) and her top reading and listening recommendations!

(0:00:35) Ashby’s unique offerings.
(0:01:58) Why Harriet joined Ashby.
(0:03:45) Building Ashby’s brand.
(0:05:11) Competitive differentiation in ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems).
(0:09:41) Building a marketing team from scratch.
(0:17:24) Strategies for hiring your first designer.
(0:19:37) Advice for attracting the best talent.
(0:20:17) Differentiated and compelling job descriptions.
(0:23:06) Delivering a good interview experience.
(0:24:31) Recruitment as a brand-building opportunity.
(0:27:25) Maintaining a narrative that works in a rapidly changing environment.
(0:31:30) Staying connected with the Voice of the Customer (VoC).
(0:34:56) Reading and listening recommendations.
(0:37:05) Recognizing influential figures in SaaS marketing.

Featuring:

Harriet Johnston:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hajohnston/

Sunny Manivannan:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnymanivannan/
Twitter - https://x.com/sunnymanivannan

References:

Ashby - https://www.ashbyhq.com/

Exit Five: B2B Marketing with Dave Gerhardt - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exit-five-b2b-marketing-with-dave-gerhardt/id1599954536

Storytelling with Data - https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Data-Visualization-Business-Professionals/dp/1119002257

Educated - https://www.amazon.com/Educated-Memoir-Tara-Westover/dp/0399590501

Why Fish Don't Exist - https://www.amazon.com/Why-Fish-Dont-Exist-Hidden/dp/1501160273
Creativity, Inc. - https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012

Follow us:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/peerbound-inc

Tune in:

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peerbound-podcast/id1708825056

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GO3n6pATX10fkY8lgf3GX