Martech Interview with Ali Fazal, Vice President of Marketing, GRIN

In the creator economy for the next-gen brands, authenticity is everything. So how do you build authentic creator relationships?

Taking the time to know your audience and gather the right insights will help marketing succeed tremendously.

1. Being the VP of marketing, which KPIs matter the most to you?
Hands down, return on investment is the single-most important metric we look at. But calculating ROI is not as simple as it sounds. We must combine performance metrics from multiple sources, and then merge that with customer and sales data, to really see a full picture of how our marketing activities drive the pipeline. We also pay very close attention to product engagement metrics once leads become customers, because ultimately, it’s our job to help customers realize their full potential using our platform.

2. What’s your view on the creator economy?
In the creator economy, the role of a marketing team has fundamentally changed forever. Brands can no longer fully control their content narrative through advertising alone since consumers are constantly posting to social media and tagging brands. Nobody minds being advertised to – most of us even like it, since it introduces us to new brands, travel destinations, products, etc. What we don’t like is when it feels inauthentic. The biggest view I have is that creator and brand relationships are so valuable but need to feel genuine. Consumers are smarter than ever and can see through the noise and immediately spot if a partnership feels forced or inorganic.

3. Could you tell us more about GRIN’s creator management platform?
GRIN is the pioneer behind the world’s first creator management platform, designed for the next generation of brands which recognize that, in the creator economy, authenticity is everything. Our platform supports every brand’s journey to connecting with consumers through authentic creator relationships and is listed #1 across all top review sites, including Capterra, G2 Crowd and Influencer Marketing Hub. Thousands of the world’s fastest-growing brands – including SKIMS, Warby Parker, Allbirds, Mejuri, and MVMT – use GRIN to make creators feel like trusted, empowered partners and work with them to build their brands into household names. Together, we are revolutionizing the creator economy.

4. What can marketers do to make more informed, data-driven decisions?
Knowing your goals is really the first step. What are you looking to accomplish? This will help drive the strategy behind the data you collect. The more intentional you are with segments of data, the better chance the analysis will inform important marketing decisions properly.

Taking the time to know your audience and gather the right insights will help marketing succeed tremendously.

It’s also a way to see what works so that a marketing approach can be reimplemented or adjusted accordingly.

5. How do you predict customer lifetime value at GRIN?
GRIN customer value is derived from the value customers gain from using the platform. And this doesn’t always mean that the largest corporations retrieve the highest value. For example, there are lots of mid-market brands that have a very creator-centric approach to marketing. So better indicators of lifetime value would be the size of the creator program, how they use creator content across social and beyond, and how they generate sales. Those brands are most likely to take advantage of all the features that GRIN has to offer.

6. Which metrics can combine cost with performance?
Any metric that combines cost with a call-to-action is important to consider, such as cost per click, cost per demo, and even cost per engagement on social media. But the ultimate metric is of course, return on investment. If you’re not tracking customer value, then these other metrics can’t tell you how ROI-positive you are.

7. Does a demand generation plan require a lead nurturing strategy?
It’s not required, but it absolutely should be included. We are on the cutting-edge of marketing innovation, so we must educate the market about the many ways creators can add value. We firmly believe that there are three types of brands: those that already get it, those that will soon get it, and those that will be left behind.

8. What is an ideal MarTech stack for you?
A good marketing team is like a well-oiled machine; many moving parts need to come together to move customers through the pipeline. An ideal MarTech stack is one that provides timely and actionable insights, the ability to make quick adjustments, and facilitates collaboration. Marketing is one of those functions that is hyper-collaborative, so nothing we do is in a vacuum. It’s important to consider how other teams internally may interact with our tools, and to anticipate their needs as well.

9. What do you enjoy the most about the culture at GRIN?
GRIN has a wonderfully positive and collaborative vibe, which makes working here fun. We celebrate each other’s wins and support each other when we fail. That means that we’re not afraid to take risks, and we constantly try new things.

10. GRIN ranked 5th on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work in 2022. What makes it so?
Everyone at GRIN really takes our values seriously. We understand that we are all stewards of culture, and every interaction is an opportunity to advance it.

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