Do you show your team enough love? (Exit Five Newsletter)

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TOGETHER WITH AIROPS

❓ Pipeline’s flat. Content feels stuck. Sound familiar?

Most teams are still running the old SEO playbook built for clicks, not AI search.

But traffic alone doesn’t move pipeline anymore.

That’s why AirOps is hosting a live session on October 8th @ 1PM EST with Ty Magnin (Animalz), Vivian Hoang (Webflow), and Lashay Lewis (BOFU.ai), to talk about what actually works at the bottom of the funnel.

They’ll cover:

• How Webflow 5×’d their refresh rate and saw a 6x improvement in conversion rates
• Examples of BoFu content that actually helped close deals
• Where AI fits (and where it doesn’t) in your content workflows
• When to ship fast vs. when to slow down and go deep

If you're in content or SEO and tired of just reporting on pageviews, you should tune in.

🤝🏻 How Often Are You Giving And Getting Recognition At Work? (It’s Probably Time To Change That)

Alright today we’re not going to talk about AI or SEO or MQLs. We’re talking about the softer skills. But as you progress in your marketing career, it turns out (as I’ve learned the hard way) it’s not just about being good at marketing. You have to be a good teammate, a good leader, a good peer across the company.

And when it comes to internal “stuff,” internal marketing might be your most important channel. And it's probably the most neglected one on your list…Give me a few minutes to read this newsletter this week and I think we’ll give you something to think about or re-visit.

It’s Time To Start Recognizing Your Team ASAP

The best employees at your company are making decisions every day about whether to stay or start looking (maybe you’re nodding at your screen right now thinking, “yep, already looking.”)). And recognition is one of the biggest factors in that decision.

The companies winning on retention are the ones with leaders who understand that a simple "thank you" and consistent recognition create the kind of culture where people want to stick around.

Rachel Weeks has spent 20+ years leading marketing teams through acquisitions, layoffs, funding rounds, and now AI disruption. She's seen what happens when companies invest in recognition programs (and what happens when they don't).

The difference? Teams that feel valued stick around. Teams that don't are already browsing job boards.

Here’s her system for making recognition stick.

Why Recognition Beats Raises (According to Data)

Here's something that might surprise you.

A survey by a company called Perceptyx found:

• Employees receiving regular recognition were 7x more likely to be fully engaged than those who weren't recognized
• Employees receiving a raise were only 30% more likely to be engaged than those who didn't

And get this: 75% of US employees say morale and motivation would improve if managers simply said "thank you" more often.

This doesn't mean raises don't matter. Everyone wants to be paid fairly. But if you get a raise and still don't feel recognized, you're not going to be as engaged or productive.

People leave jobs that pay well when the culture is bad. They stay at jobs that pay slightly less when they feel valued.

The Recognition Program That Really Works

Forget the corporate platforms for a second. You don't need a $50K budget to make this work. You need executive buy-in and a system.

The 3 Things You Need Right Now

1. Leadership has to believe in it
   If your CEO or CMO isn't actively participating, the program is dead on arrival. Rachel's seen this over and over. The most important piece of any recognition program is that it comes directly from leadership.
2. Build a task force
   Pull together representatives from across the company (not just marketing). Include:
   
   • Someone from HR (internal comms expertise)
   • Someone from marketing (branding and creative)
   • Representatives from different teams (to speak for what employees actually want)
   For companies with field teams, you need someone representing those employees too. Not everyone wants the same type of recognition.
3. Decide what behaviors you're recognizing
   This is critical. What do you actually want people to do? Most successful programs tie recognition to company values. If you're a values-driven company, recognize people living those values publicly.

The Marketing Playbook for Recognition

Recognition programs need internal marketing. And who's better equipped to build an internal brand than you?

Create a brand for the program
Just like you'd name an event (think Drive for Exit Five), name your recognition program. Give it a logo. Create a look and feel. Make it real.

Build the visual assets
Rachel's teams have created e-cards that employees can send to recognize peers. Not gift cards, literally just visual cards with your brand that say "Thanks for living [company value]."

You can also create:

• A microsite or page on your company intranet
• Social wall-style displays for posting recognition
• Slide decks for company meetings
• Email templates for managers

Design the communication system
Recognition needs distribution channels:

• Weekly or monthly employee newsletters
• Slack channels dedicated to recognition
• Company town halls
• Team meetings

Implement gamification (if it fits your culture)
Designate ambassadors on each team. Challenge them to send two recognition messages every Friday.

Create friendly competition between departments for giving or receiving recognition.

The point? You're building an internal employment brand that affects retention and productivity.

The Tactical Stuff You Can Do Tomorrow

You don't have executive buy-in yet? You don't have a formal program? Start here.

The 10‑Minutes‑by‑Friday Rule

This comes from a book called Crave by Greg Lederman. The concept is simple:

Block 10 minutes in your calendar every Friday. Use that time to recognize people.
Send a few emails:

• "I really appreciate what you did for me this week with [specific project]"
• "The way you handled [situation] was impressive"
• "Thank you for stepping up on [thing]"

These don't have to be direct reports. Recognize anyone in the organization doing good work.

Why does this work? Because that person gets a chemical boost in their brain that tells them they did something right. They're going to want to do more of it.

The No‑Budget Recognition Options

Peer-to-peer recognition: Encourage team members to recognize each other. In Slack. In team meetings. Publicly or privately depending on what makes sense.

Performance-based shoutouts: Sales teams get Presidents Club. Why doesn't your content marketer get recognized for hitting pipeline goals? Call it out in company meetings.

Values-driven recognition: When you see someone living your company values, say something. Send them an email. Mention it in your team meeting. Post about it in Slack.

Activity-driven recognition: Did someone go above and beyond? Maybe they wore two hats during a tough period. Recognize that specifically.

The Bigger Investments (When You're Ready)

Quarterly or annual awards: Let employees vote on teammates who exhibited company values. Create an awards program with real visibility.

Non-monetary rewards: Extra PTO day. Front-row parking space. Featured in the company newsletter. Sometimes these matter more than cash.

Monetary rewards (when appropriate): If managers have a budget, they can give spot bonuses for exceptional work. Or companies can recognize tenure milestones with vacation funds or sabbaticals.

The key insight from Rachel: Ask employees what they actually want. Don't give everyone a $5 Starbucks card (yes, she's seen this) when half your team doesn't drink coffee.

What Good Leaders Do Differently

The managers who get this right don't wait for employees to ask where they stand. They proactively communicate.

The Feedback Loop That Actually Works

Give specific, timely feedback: Not "good job" but "the way you handled that objection in the client call was excellent because..."

Recognize the response to feedback: When someone takes your constructive feedback and improves, call that out. "I'm really proud of how you responded to the feedback I gave you."

Don't make people guess: If someone's doing well, tell them. If they need to improve, tell them that too. Don't leave people in limbo wondering if they're about to be fired or promoted.

What to Do If You're Not Getting Recognition

On the flip side, if you're a marketer not receiving feedback from your manager, speak up.

Ask directly: "Where do you think I'm at? Do you think I'm doing a good job?"

If you ask for more consistent feedback/recognition, most managers will be receptive. If they're not, that's important information about whether you want to stay there.

The bottom line? You already know how to build brands, create campaigns, and drive engagement. Now apply those skills internally. Because your team is the most important audience you have.

Most companies do okay with recognition when things are going well. But what about during a funding round? Or after layoffs? Or when you're integrating AI and everyone's wondering if their job is safe?

That's when recognition matters most. And that's when it usually disappears.

The companies that retain people through major transitions keep recognition going. They don't pause it because things are hard. They double down on it because things are hard.

- Dave

P.S. A few of my favorite ways to shout people out:

- In public in Slack; go out of your way publicly to share with the team the work someone did and why

- In public on a call; some people get embarrassed, but it’s for good reason. Public recognition works, and I’ve found often people on other teams don't know who’s actually good on the marketing team, so shout them out

- At Privy we created a “Monthly Marketing Champion” award and the team nominated the person who went above and beyond that month; we had a custom sticker + sent a gift card to their house, it became an honor to have that sticker on your laptop

- MONEY! I know, the data from above … but also usually the best way is also some time of bonus, because you know sometime it IS in fact about the money

I’m hoping this newsletter inspires you to do at least one small thing to someone on your team that’s going to make their week.

Where does your company fall on recognition? Are you doing it systematically, sporadically, or not at all? And more importantly, do you feel recognized for the work you're doing? Reply and let me know. We read every response.

📺 UPCOMING EVENTS

Open to all

• October 7th: Beyond Copy: How To Use AI to Build GTM Systems That Scale (exitfive.com/live)
• October 16th: Exit Five New York City Community Meetup (exitfive.com/nyc)

Exit Five Pro Members Only

• October 3rd: Non-SaaS Marketing Meetup: Content Strategies When Expertise Is the Product
• October 8th: Local Meetup: Dallas, TX
• October 9th: Local Meetup: Austin, TX
• October 11th: Local Meetup: Bangalore, India
• October 15th: Women in B2B: Personal Branding Tips in the Age of the “LinkedIn Bro”
• October 16th: Local Meetup: Salt Lake City, UT
• October 18th: Local Meetup: Phoenix, AZ

Marketing Leaders Club Only

• October 9th: What Is Your AI Tool Stack? Marketing Leaders Club Roundtable

Not a member yet? Learn more about an Exit Five Membership here.

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• 📰 How to Lead a High Functioning Marketing Org
• 📰 Marketing Is Broken: Why You’re So Busy and Still Not Getting Anything Done
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