PAKCon Berlin 2024 Impressions
The seventh edition of PAKcon opened its doors on September 20th, 2024, and was held in 10 different locations all over Berlin. This 2024 edition focused on geopolitical, social, and economic changes and how to overcome them, especially in the context of limited corporate resources.
The Project A Knowledge Conference (PAKCon) is an invite-only entrepreneurship conference that has been organized in Berlin since 2017. Organized by Project A, an early-stage tech investor with a focus on Climate & Energy, Resilience & Defense, Financial Technology, and Global Supply Chain verticals, the conference brings together digital experts, founders, investors, thought leaders, international media, and talents from across Europe for a one-day event packed with thought-provoking sessions, hands-on workshops, and plenty of networking opportunities.
The seventh edition of PAKcon opened its doors on September 20th, 2024, and was held in 10 different locations all over Berlin. This 2024 edition focused on geopolitical, social, and economic changes and how to overcome them, especially in the context of limited corporate resources.
The event offered 10 different deep-dive modules (“Hives”), including artificial intelligence (AI), data, defense, growth, management, marketing, sales, people, tech, and Phoenix hives.
Here are the key takeaways from the on-stage and off-stage talks of the sales and marketing hives from our Managing Director’s perspective:
How can companies with limited resources strategize their marketing? (Courtesy of Anastasia Albert and David Phillips)
The experts started the workshop by agreeing on how the marketing budgets butchered as of 2023 due to “money not being so cheap” and the shift of GTM strategies. The duo recommends that marketers return to the basics and try to understand their customers' problems. Accordingly, generating sales through customer problems requires educating the market while driving the education module forward to capture the demand.
Regarding events, David Phillips recommends investing in small/intimate events instead of big ones. The workshop ended on the need to create and retain customer trust.
How can creators and start-ups utilize video content formats for LinkedIn? (Courtesy of Anastasia Albert and David Phillips)
LinkedIn is beta testing the Reels format, and the audience asked about using this format as a marketing tool during the workshop with Anastasia Albert and Dave Phillips.
The panelists recommend going “natural” with these content types. Since the polished content created by videographers isn’t always relatable, the panelists recommended more authentic videos that align with the target audience’s expectations. “If you are in cybersecurity, you might not attract the attention of CIOs via Instagram posts or videos, so make sure that the content makes sense,” Anastasia Albert recommended, adding that people who like shooting videos and who are natural moderators/speakers should be used instead of people who have to force it. “It doesn’t matter how good your content is if it doesn’t address a specific problem. Remember that it’s important that the people with a specific problem see your videos instead of the 1000 irrelevant people.”
Why should companies use podcasts for brand recognition and sales? (Courtesy of Sören Mannschitz)
There are many podcasts out there. Nevertheless, it shouldn't discourage companies and entrepreneurs from kicking off a new one as long as the strategy is right, says Sören Mannschitz, the Berlin-based podcast marketing expert. According to Sören, there are several reasons why a company can launch a podcast:
► Internal communication (to keep the remote employers up-to-date)
► To use the podcast as a company blog
► To talk about customer problems (however, this one would require killer expert speakers)
► Employer branding
► Thought leadership (especially for solo entrepreneurs)
Sören recommends considering podcasting as a long-term marketing strategy and warns against expecting quick results. As podcasting campaigns can cost five figures annually, companies should align on the goals, resources, and expectations before starting the campaigns.
What signs reveal that the Go-to-Marketing (GTM) of a company sucks?
According to Toni Hohlbein and Mikkel KIaerulf Plaehn, the following signs reveal that a company’s GTM is probably not working:
Sudden firing/reducing the sales workforce: The duo believes that if the firing squad is busy, it means that either the company’s hiring process wasn’t excellent in the first place or sufficient coaching was not provided to enable the people who couldn’t fulfill expectations.
If the salespeople are unable to reach their quotas, it could also be due to the wrong quotas being set.
If the marketing and business targets don’t align, reaching the KPIs for one stream wouldn’t be sufficient on its own.
The timing component should make sense while planning, considering the whole cycle.
If the sales process isn’t sustainable, it might threaten business continuity.
When setting GTM strategies, companies should always ask whether all pieces fit together and are sustainable. Since internal and external factors change over time, these changes (e.g., costs, sales cycles, etc.) and their impact should be considered while planning the GTM strategy.
Toni Hohlbein and Mikkel KIaerulf Plaehn during PAKCon 2024
How to stay afloat as a start-up during challenging times?
Most conversations during the event revealed the continuing fundraising and demand creation struggles. Ultimately, founders must continue to manage their resources carefully and strategize their marketing and sales functions in the following months.
Check out our MD's event summary, published on LinkedIn, for event impressions and attendees’ comments.
