Mark de Kock

Put on your tin foil hats and ask yourself: What does this chart tell you? 'Cos it tells me that the market sees future growth as coming from innovation (principally AI) - but that it's also looking for a safe haven insulated from the disruption that innovation (principally AI) will bring. It starts to make sense of this pervasive appetite for short-term, risk averse, 'high efficiency / low effectiveness' marketing right now. You can't blame marketing clients though - that's the broader business psychology infecting everything outside of the M7 - 'hunker down, squeeze the lemons, acquiesce 'til the robots to come along and bring about fantastical growth'. With the M7, "The Money" has found a place that seems to offer all the upside of innovation and disruption (potential for huge growth) and few of the risks that come with it (uncertainty, risk, failure). This chart is telling me that the real danger of AI isn't that in the future its going to steal your job, it's that here in the present it is becoming a black hole for all the money chasing growth. I think it's all a bit misguided. If AI (by which we seem to mostly mean very sophisticated LLM) is really going to be as disruptive as the hype suggests then it will filter through everything in the economy - applications will be in places we haven't imagined. Don't worry it's not gonna be the C-suite wet dream of a 'fully automated luxury dystopia' that the doomers claim, but I'm fairly certain that in everything AI touches it is going to increase the delta between the best and the rest. Right now businesses should be trying to adapt to that coming reality - average won't be worth it, below average will be totally pointless, instead they are doing the opposite: "how do we maintain mediocrity but do it really, really, cheap". Thats a bad strategy for a few reasons: 1. Efficiency and optimization is the one single area where AI will eat almost anything a human can do for breakfast - you're building competitive advantage in an area where everything you do is about to be eclipsed - not smart. 2. You're fomenting a culture of myopic incrementalism that will leave you exposed as AI lands - AI will handle the increments, the scaling, what you need to create right now is a culture of ideas and innovation that embraces opportunity. 3. While everyone else is hunkering down the playing field is open, aim for awesome and your share of voice is gonna work harder because everyone else is chasing average. This goes beyond marketing - while everyone else is starry eyed about AI there's a massive innovation opportunity opening up for those who jump in. Again - I don't blame marketers here - but i do think together with your agency pals we can be tag team champions for growth, innovation, and effectiveness against the current timid furtive mood that exists beyond the 7 biggest stocks.

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Is Threads app still worth it for brands in 2025? 🤔 I'm dishing the pros and cons of Threads app, how to use Threads app for success, and who can really benefit from the platform. In this video, you'll get my Dutch Direct review of Threads app after a year of scaling my own Threads profile along with our other social media management clients. Find out if it's right for your brand here: https://lnkd.in/gJAxCsX5 #Threads #Instagram #SocialMediaManager

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I closed €3,600 deal without a single sales call (Just through texts) This may sound surprising, but it's absolutely possible. I recently did it, and here's how it went down: I connected with a client in the Netherlands who needed help with their meta ads and homegrown brand. Here's the breakdown of how it all came together: → €1,200 from the initial Meta ads → €800 from her homegrown brand → €800 from her student → Another €800 from a referral by that student Happened within 2 weeks and all projects were retained for about 8 months. What made this deal special wasn't just the money, but the process. I spent a good amount of time with the client, including a 2.5-hour brainstorming session. It's all about building trust and showing dedication to their success. A few key takeaways: → Take chances and invest time with your clients → Understand their needs and industry-specific challenges → Be ready to brainstorm and offer solutions If you want to learn how to land deals like this, send me a DM with 'Secret,' and let's talk! #salescall #client

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“So Menno, at least 95% of business owners are making a mistake they already know about?”. This is how you can make your revenue 2X or 3X with less stress. I’ll reveal one of the biggest mistakes every entrepreneur makes. Well, maybe not every entrepreneur but at least 95%... And the most crazy thing is that you already know this is a mistake. I’ll share the biggest key to getting rid of this problem and making your business skyrocket. But first, let me explain the mistake. It’s about focus… When people start out in the world of business they often run into the shiny object syndrome. This is where you switch between projects/opportunities a lot and don’t manage to get 1 thing off the ground because of the lack of focus and dedication. But then later, when finally getting the first results by focussing on one thing everybody makes the same mistake again. Inside of your business there’s a ton of opportunities, you currently have more than 10 different great ways to grow your business. But if you don’t choose one and stick to it until it’s successful you’ll get stuck. Big chance that’s what’s currently happening for you. So then what is my big secret to solve this? Well, you might not expect this from me because I’m not a little 12 year old girl but… Journaling is how you fix this. By writing you can get your thoughts in order and think clearly, this is an excellent way of staying rational and keeping a good overview of what’s going on. You can have conversations with yourself just by using pen and paper. Here are some questions I like to answer using my pen and paper for direction and focus in business and in life:            ⁉️ Which 20% of my actions today lead to 80% of the results?            ⁉️ What have I learned today?            ⁉️ What would I have done differently today if I got a second chance?            ⁉️ What advice would I give to someone else in my situation?            ⁉️ Where / or to whom do I need to start saying "no"? That’s it, good luck!

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Joost Bakker 🟢 has spent the past 6 hours creating and fine-tuning his very own Conversion Rate Opimization (CRO) GPT. This GPT reviews your webshop based on over 200 CRO key points 🚀 It's common to focus completely on the setup of your ads account... but the on-site conversion rate plays a massive role in the performance of your ads too! It's super simple: 1. Enter your link. (a specific link, like a product page is advised). 2. The GPT provides actionable improvements for your page in a clear table. Want to use this GPT for free? 💫 - Send Joost Bakker 🟢 and me a connection request - Like this post. - Comment "GPT" or "CRO." Repost for priority access Enjoy! -- P.S. Always test changes with an A/B test first 😉

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The zero-sum game of AI generated content. I generated this video with a 2 word prompt: 'human connection'. Lots of posts will talk about how game changing this technology is going to be, very few will acknowledge how boring it is going to make open social networks. Don't ask if you can, ask if you should.

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When you organize an event and call it the 'LinkedIn Summer Soirée - AI in Action' 🌞 you hope for nice weather. But as Janinke Ebbendorf so elegantly put it. We don't do 'nice' in The Netherlands. It's either too cold, or so hot that you're "sweating like a whore in a confessional". Since 90% of Marketers are already using AI in their work, we have some extra time on our hands to do the work AI can't replace. Network! So I put on a nice 'on-brand' dress and vibed with Lenneke Speelman, Marcel Molenaar, Magdalena Manevska and Göktuğ Kılıç. The balance of inspiration 🧠, beer 🍺 , bites 🍖 and sweat was perfect 💦. The prognoses for Generative AI's impact on the marketing industry were both exciting and a bit overwhelming. Did you know that 70% of your job will change over the coming decade, compared to 25% the past decades? This emphasizes how important it is to stay curious and being a lifelong learner. We dove deep into how marketers can leverage AI across the funnel on LinkedIn, and the new AI platform updates and integrations in their campaign manager. One of the highlights was a fun quiz on the effectiveness of AI-generated B2B content – I even won a prize🏆 As a tech enthusiast I'm beyond excited to see how companies like LinkedIn adopt GenAI to make our lives easier. It gives us a chance to focus on what matters, like strategic leadership. #LinkedInEvent #AIinBusiness #Marketing #LifelongLearner ------------- Hi👋! I'm Anneli, on a mission to bring the social back to social media. In September I am launching a Network of Social Media Leaders that want to transform their role and lead their brand. Follow me for strategic leadership stories, and DM me to join the tribe first!  #SocialMedia #Leadership #CommunityBuilding #DigitalInnovation

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Faster and more turbulent times are coming. The question is ⤵️ Who will be the winners and the losers? One thing is already clear: A strong combination of integrated, proprietary data and a Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) can unlock exponential value. As GenAI becomes partly commoditised - think content and workflows - value comes from ⤵️ 🏰 A tool’s data moat l, and… ⭕️ Full-lifecycle integration Rethinking from first principles how work can be done, and how data can be used. At Dojo AI, we’re building a System of Record for all your Marketing data. Not just *your* data, but your category data, your competitors’ data, your customer’s data. And it's all integrated, high-quality and accessible. It's accessible to you but also to a team of AI agents that empower you to understand more, do more, and do better. In AI, as with most things in life, it pays off to put in the work and the skill, and not take the easy road. That is, if you’re not just here for the ride. #AI #Brand #YourBrandYourDOJO

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The "How to survive January guide"... For female founders. By a female founder. 1) Get outside. As often as you physically can. Even if it's raining. Even if it's dark. If it's cold, wet, miserable. The Dutch have a saying 'there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing'. Make this your mantra. 2) Ignore your phone. Even if it's usually an extension of your arm. Ignore it. It's greedy and doesn't care if you've promised yourself you'll finally complete that thing. It wants to distract you with WhatsApps and doom scrolling. Don't give it the satisfaction. 3) Eat. Don't fall for the New Year, New Me bullsh*t. It's cold and your body and brain need good food that makes you happy. 4) Play. Try to find time to do something you like. Or try something new. Draw. Read. Give that weird new sport Padel (pronounced paddle??? or pah-del?) a try. Make a gingerbread house, because you probably didn't get time to do that in December. But make sure it's fun. Whatever it is. You deserve fun. 5) Go with the flow. Month to month, we're managing crazy levels of hormonal change. Some days, you'll feel up. Others, down. Knowing that life-changing. Don't schedule calls when you think PMS might hit. Don't hit the exercise too hard if you're cramping. Cry in a pillow if you need to. And sleep. If you can, when you can. 6) And finally, cut yourself some slack. January is hard. Getting started again is hard. There's probably a million things you feel like you should be doing, and want to be doing, but just don't have the energy for. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's totally fine to pick 1 thing, or 2 or just think F off Kirst and ignore this list completely. What I'm really saying is try to do the things that work for you and if you don't, remind yourself it's all gravy. Good enough, is good enough.

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Business owners struggle coming up with good posts. Here's how 2 Dutch founders changed that. Small business owners are in constant panic mode about sales and end up posting about their products and services. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺? If you try to sell in 95% of your posts it puts people into a deep snooze mode 💤 and slowly drags your visibility into oblivion. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲—𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹: Instead of churning out the usual "buy my stuff" posts, they flipped the script and started a public business diary. 𝗛𝗼𝘄’𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁? They have a BEHAG, a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal, a vision for where they want to take their company. And they use it to guide their content ideation. What is their BEHAG? They want to change mobility. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: ➡️ Start by thinking where you want to see your company in 5 years? ➡️ What's your mission? What do you genuinely want to change? Focus on those big dreams and start documenting your daily grind. Share the small wins, the fails, and the behind-the-scenes chaos that’s bringing you closer to those goals. This way, you'll never run out of things to say. And, instead of being that person repeating the same tired pitch like a broken record, you’re actually sharing your story. 😘 And here’s the kicker: You’ll connect with people on values, not just price tags. When people buy into your vision, they’re not just customers—they’re your biggest fans. 🎉 ➡️ So, instead of settling for a thinly veiled sales pitch: Just start sharing your mission, share your steps towards it and watch your audience grow with you (Max Schalow 👨‍🚀 and Chingiskhan Kazakhstan 🤠 grew theirs to 25.000 people). 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁? ⤷ Listen to Max and Chingiskhan on this LinkedIn Live https://lnkd.in/e-SUSdZr P.S.: Does this count a sales pitch? Me selling you on this LinkedIn Live recording? 🤔 ------------------------------------------------------ I'm Simon, and at StoryLux, we help small businesses win the content game with custom-built AI writing agents that drive real results. This post took me 32 minutes of editing after it was pre-written because I couldn't decide on an image.

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Speaking of the #allofus movement, which I love, started by Greg Sher (who I hope to connect with at some point)... Here are a few companies whose marketing efforts seem to be “Get Vonk clients by bashing them”. The Google ad has been running for years. I'm over it at this point. The 220 Marketing Group Vonk client hunting campaign comes and goes and usually I ignore it.  It’s kind of flattering. My suggestion to 220 and Etrafficers, Inc. would be to pause this strategy until you have over 50% market share and the only way to grow further is by taking swings at us. At that point, go for it I guess. Until then...Talk about yourself, add value, and get creative. You'll have more fun that way too. And in the meantime "read between the lines." :) (see image)

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You can’t build a high-converting webshop yourself, you need external eyes to do it. Making it easy to buy from you is the first step into a high-converting webshop. However… It’s impossible not to become biased of your own creation (IKEA-effect). It’s impossible to honestly judge something when you’re proud of that same thing (your webshop). It’s impossible to have a first-time experience when you’ve seen that same webshop for many many years. You need external eyes to truly find the bottleneck in your buying process How to solve this? 1️⃣ Talk to first-time customers. Call them, and ask them about their experience. Go into detail. 2️⃣ Session recordings of purchases. Tools like Hotjar & Mouseflow will do the job here. 3️⃣ Real-life participant experiment.  Get 10 participants that don’t know you or your business. And ask them to buy something, and just observe. It’s that simple. And the insights you get are invaluable.

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Niche. that’s the word i keep coming back to in my journey of building products. The internet has made it easier than ever to go small and still make a big impact. You don’t need to build the next Facebook or Google, just need to solve a specific problem for a specific audience. Look at Pieter Levels—he’s making over $210,000 a month with Photoai, an AI headshot generator. Or Damon Chen, who’s pulling in $30k/month with pdf.ai, a simple "chat with pdf" tool. Both of these are laser-focused on solving niche problems. And here’s the fun part—I’ve gone niche too! Just launched a tool to send anonymous feedback, confessions, or…whatever you’d normally scream into your pillow.  And it’s live. The link is in the comments. try it out now. #buildinpublic

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🌟 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! 🚀 In the fast-paced world of product development, understanding the direct link between customer feedback and product success is crucial. It’s not just about creating what we think is best, but rather shaping our innovations based on what our customers genuinely need and desire. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? 🤔 Customer feedback acts as a compass guiding the product development journey. It ensures that the product not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to increased satisfaction, loyalty, and, importantly, a robust bottom line. 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 🌐 Imagine a local coffee shop introducing a new coffee blend. Rather than assuming what customers might prefer, the shop owner decides to engage directly with them, seeking opinions on a variety of blends. Feedback is gathered through taste tests and direct conversations about aroma, flavor profile, and even the branding of the new blend. Based on the responses, the shop owner discovers that a significant portion of their clientele prefers a lighter roast to the darker ones previously favored. Acting on this information, the shop introduces this new, customer-approved blend and sees a remarkable increase in sales and positive reviews—clear evidence of the power of listening to your audience. Engaging with your customers and seeking their feedback isn’t just beneficial; it’s essential for staying relevant and competitive in today’s market. Tools like SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and direct customer interviews are invaluable resources that can help you gather and analyze feedback efficiently. What You Can Do Next: 1) Start Small: Implement a simple feedback form on your website or a quick survey after purchase. 2) Act on the Feedback: Show your customers that their opinions matter by making real changes. 3) Keep the Loop Going: Regularly update your feedback mechanisms to adapt to changing customer needs and market conditions. Remember, integrating customer feedback isn't a one-time task—it's a continuous part of the product development lifecycle that can yield tremendous rewards. Let's make customer-centric innovation the cornerstone of our product development strategies. Share your thoughts and experiences below! 👇

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Here's how we scaled a bootstrapped brand's profits from €40,000 to €100,000+ per month in Germany and the Netherlands ⬇️ Our Four-Step Strategy for Scaling a Bootstrapped Brand: 1. Localized Creative Approach → Implemented multi-language and localized creative strategies → Developed native advertising approaches for each country → Maintained a steady stream of fresh content & learnings → Leveraged Paid Social for significant revenue acceleration 2. Multi-Market Expansion → Targeted multiple markets simultaneously → Tailored strategies for each country's unique landscape → Focused on achieving consistent year-over-year growth → Adapted quickly to market feedback and performance data 3. Scalable Revenue Model → Boosted monthly revenue from €40,000 to €100,000+ → Achieved first-order profitability on ad spend → Maintained 70% year-over-year growth for two consecutive years → Reached €1.4M+ in sales in Germany and €1.47M+ in Netherlands 4. Continuous Optimization → Improved ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) consistently → Increased ad investment strategically as profitability grew → Lowered CPAs through localized, targeted approaches → Tested and scaled new content constantly for optimal performance Key Takeaways: • Results achieved through partnership starting June 2022 • Success hinged on adapting strategies to each country's market • Consistent profit growth required ongoing strategy refinement and optimization We can help your brand achieve similar profit growth. Visit our website to see how we can connect and view sample projects. (Link in the comments!) Follow Folkert van der Spek for more insights on scaling your ecom ad profits. 🚀

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The Benelux Klaviyo community is growing! What an honor to see so many attendees. People came from all over the Netherlands and even Belgium. With a 60%+ attendance rate, there's a lot of demand to learn, to share ideas and to connect with other like-minded people in the email marketing / automation / Klaviyo space. Let's recap the highlights of our last meetup: → Deliverability is crucial - if you end up in spam boxes it's important to segment your way back to good deliverability. There's still time before BFCM starts. → Starting with Klaviyo - even though it's a simple interface - is overwhelming to some. We covered the basics for setting up your account. Make sure you have essential flows ready: welcome, browse abandonment, cart abandonment, and a popup to capture site visitors. → Preparing for BFCM is key - If you haven't started, now is the time. Some tips: * Treat your VIPS / loyal customers differently (early access) * Increase sends during BFCM - You probably could double the emails - but be smart about it - guard deliverability. Tip ask people beforehand if they'd like to be excluded during this season. * For those bargain hunters - make sure you nail the post-purchase sequences - let them know why they should stay around. → Integrations are essential! Klaviyo research shows companies that use more than 3 integrations see better results from their marketing efforts. Some crucial integrations not to miss: * An e-commerce platform (like Shopify 😁), * A qualitative tool to gather additional input like Typeform or KnoCommerce * A return management tool like Returnless or Swap * Data tracking & attribution - Littledata, Elevar, Klar, converge or Black Crow AI * Quiz tools - Octane AI and Presidio (QuizKit) * A good service desk tool like Gorgias with Gorgias AI * consent tool to boost subscriptions - Dataships * Klaviyo integration to marketing channels like Meta, Google, Tiktok, Pinterest In November we'll have the next meetup and you're invited! Link in the comment section. Please help spread the word - Tag someone who these meetups might be interesting for.

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