Hey Reader,
Welcome to The Middle, your midweek rundown of the most interesting things we've read this week.
Weeks are flying by as we get to the end of 2024. It's already Q4, and planning for next year has begun - have you started yet?
A quick note: we are about to rebrand GrowthCurve. So we'll be coming to you from a new company name, new email address, and new website.... very soon.
Let’s jump into The Middle.
Jeff
Budget flush incoming
Jamin details the budget flush phenomenon, in which leaders look to spend allocated dollars before the end of the year.
His perspective is that 2024 could be an even bigger budget flush than in 2023...
As we head into the end of 2024 I wonder if a similar, but even stronger, budget flush will play out. The macro has only gotten stronger.
The economy continues to hold on and show signs of strength, and on top of that the Fed has started cutting rates.
It feels to me like we saw the same discipline around procurement in 2024 that we saw in 2023, but now there (could) be more budget up for grabs at the end of the year. All of that could create a good setup for software in Q4!
Best to be prepared to capture that value for your business
Grab the attention of your customers
Emilie Dubau presented at SaaSiest 2024 about turning customer success into a revenue center.
One slide stood out to me that I believe is under-resourced amongst CS teams. Customer marketing.
Right now you probably send out some blast emails to customers that barely get read and have multiple CTAs. That strategy won't work heading into 2025.
Better start understanding how you can grab the attention of your customers. Your retention is dependent on it.
Grand Meetup
WordPress and its founder have been in the news—they're in a spat with a service provider, so I've been researching them.
Found a cool story. Check this out. In 2013, Automattic—the company behind WordPress.com—launched a unique cultural initiative called the "Grand Meetup."
Despite being a fully distributed company with employees working remotely across the globe, Automattic brings all its employees together once a year for this event. Seems par for the course these days.
During the week-long gathering, team members collaborate on projects, attend workshops, and participate in team-building activities. The usual.
But one distinctive feature is the "Flash Teams," where employees are randomly grouped to work on new ideas, fostering cross-functional collaboration and innovation.
Love the idea behind this. What's your way of creating a Flash Team?
