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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Effective CMOs are well-rounded. Jessica stresses that effective CMOs need to understand every aspect of marketing, because every decision they make will impact the brand's image and messaging. She also says that having a well-rounded understanding of marketing allows her to be a more empathic and effective leader. 
• Team communication is key. Jessica says she spends a lot of time focusing on how she can create an effective communication process with her team. Marketing teams work best when everyone understands what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it ladders back into company goals. 
• Find the right level of engagement. When deciding what path to send leads down, Calendly focuses on key personas when sending leads to a salesperson. Most leads don’t need to speak with a customer service person, so sales shouldn't be flooded with leads who don’t need them. Jessica and Calendly are constantly tweaking their lead scoring to make sure the level of engagement each lead receives is right for them. 

Learn more about Calendly here: https://calendly.com/

Learn more about Jessica here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicagilmartin

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Saying no is just as important as saying yes. Jennifer and her team are very clear on what they will and won’t do. She says that making sure the team is on the same page about strategy and expectations means there is room to pivot and adapt, while staying on track. 
• Be a leader, not just a marketer. Jennifer emphasizes that at the beginning of your career, you’re paid for what you do, and later on, you’re paid for what you know. To be an effective leader, you need to share that knowledge with your team and allow them to execute ideas.
• Account executives need to be part of the funnel. Jennifer believes that as a buyer approaches the middle of the funnel, an account executive should step in, and help build the case for why the buyer needs to make a change and continue down the funnel. 

Learn more about Harri here: https://harri.com/

Learn more about Jennifer here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferravalli

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Look for leads who are qualified and ready. Contentstack is a technology that is disrupting the traditional CMS space, and Susan emphasizes that in addition to being qualified, leads also need to be ready to embrace new technology. 
• Enable your managers to manage. As a CMO, Susan doesn’t have the time to review every single budget and decision. That's why she ensures her managers have the tools and oversight they need to run their teams successfully without having to constantly come to her.
• You need a system. When Susan first started at Contentstack, there weren’t systems in place to ensure that everyone was on the same page. One of the first things Susan did was create a process of checks and balances to ensure that the right decisions were being made and that the right people were aware of what was going on. 

Learn more about Contentstack here: https://explore.contentstack.com/

Learn more about Susan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susancbeermann

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Communicate the value you bring. Peter emphasizes that it is crucial that you effectively communicate with everyone inside and outside your organization the value you bring to the marketplace. Effective messaging will ladder back into your value proposition. 
• Don’t lose the human connection. Peter believes that there must always be a human engaged in communication to deliver an outstanding experience. While AI is important and here to stay, there should always be a human guiding the process. 
• The perfect formula is trust and confidence. Peter’s North Star is nurturing trust and connection on the buyer's journey. Using tools like those developed by Interactions is one of the ways in which organizations can foster trust and decrease frustration. 

Learn more about Interactions here: https://www.interactions.com/

Learn more about Peter here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phmullen

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• You have to be a learner.  Caroline stresses that the best salespeople and marketers are learners who don’t pretend to know everything. This is especially important when working across 80 product lines as they do at Pax8. A willingness to learn is what creates great marketers and salespeople.

• Make content that educates.  Caroline believes that part of the reason a lot of content goes unread is because it doesn’t educate. At Pax8 they make content that helps prospects understand why their solutions are good for their business, and what pain points they will help them solve. 

• Don't be afraid of failure. As a former science major, Caroline likes to think about experimentation in marketing as a scientific experiment. Even if your hypothesis fails, you’ve gained data that you can use to innovate and create better solutions and products. 

Learn more about Pax8 here: https://www.pax8.com/en-us/

Learn more about Caroline here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinegoles

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• It’s ok to be a little uncomfortable. Alyssa loves the work she does, but she also stresses that she had to step outside her comfort zone to get where she is today.  As a brand marketer, she learned how to be a data-driven as she stepped into her role as CMO. 
• Do the job you want before you have it. Alyssa knew that her goal was to become a CMO. As CDI grewm she continually stepped up to the plate and demonstrated her ability to do the job…and it paid off. 
• Content needs to solve problems. Whether it's inbound or outbound, Alyssa stresses that what gets people to click on content is relevance. Content that promises to solve a pain point is what earns a click. 

Learn more about CDI here: https://www.cdillc.com/

Learn more about Alyssa here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssajhall

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Less is more. Rob believes that many young marketers fall into the trap of trying too many things at once. This can lead to attribution problems on top of being exhausting for marketing teams. Give yourself and your team the chance to discover what strategy is working before jumping onto the next marketing trend. 
• Stick to the tactics that work for you. Rob and his team were aware from the start that advertising was not going to be effective in awareness building for their category. Instead, they focused on strategic outreach and invested in that tactic once it delivered results. 
• CMOs need to be comfortable with numbers. Rob believes that CMOs must be good with quantitative revenue marketing, which means being able to analyze the numbers in front of you and understand how they inform your strategies. 

Learn more about Salsify here: https://www.salsify.com/

Learn more about Rob here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgonzalez

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Create messaging pillars.  Bryan stresses the importance of creating high-level messaging pillars that ensure consistent content across channels. Once these have been established, sales and marketing messaging can both ladder into the pillars for consistency and connectivity.
• B2B customers want to unlock data. After surveying customers and prospects in Q4, Bryan and ZoomInfo discovered that B2B respondents want to leverage data to engage with customers in an integrated way, and improve conversion rates through automation and scaling. 
• Sales and marketing teams need to be aligned. Bryan believes that in the current economic climate, sales and marketing teams need to be aligned on overall goals and the metrics that will be used to measure success. He thinks that there is waste between those two departments and that increased connectivity is where the market is going. 

Learn more about ZoomInfo here: https://www.zoominfo.com/

Learn more about Bryan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanbasdenlaw?

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• There’s wisdom in letting go. When he transitioned in his current role as CMO, Shay inevitably had to let go of control when it came to some of the elements he had worked so closely on for so long, including design. Shay reminded us that letting go doesn’t happen overnight—it’s all part of evolving into a leadership role.
• Stay engaged. With the marketing world continuing to change a mile a minute, CMOs need to constantly stay on their toes to roll with the punches. Shay says part of his strategy as CMO is to constantly be re-evaluating your plans to see if they make the most sense in the current climate.
• Embrace automation while retaining humanity. Shay believes there’s a sweet spot to be found between leveraging AI to be more efficient and adding a human touch to every customer interaction. Every touchpoint within the customer journey is crucial, so it needs to feel personalized every step of the way.

Learn more about ActiveCampaign here: https://www.activecampaign.com/ 

Learn more about Shay here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayhowe/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Think holistically. John’s experience working with brands like Beats by Dre taught him to integrate digital touchpoints from the beginning to create a holistic experience from start to finish. That way, he was able to act as the voice of the consumer while merging this knowledge with the expertise of his team. 
• Ensure your influencer strategy is relatable. John mentioned that when developing the company’s influencer strategy, it was important to consider that it featured a mix of aspirational and relatable figures. For example, in addition to working with athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, they also made a point of educating consumers and demonstrating how the product fits into the lifestyle of an everyday person.
• Build the brand through the products. With Therabody, the team’s focus is to continue building the brand through products like Theragun. By placing the emphasis on the product’s benefits, John and the team have been effectively positioning the company within the health and wellness market while continuing to build relationships with customers.

Learn more about Therabody here: https://www.therabody.com 

Learn more about John here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsolo/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Avoid getting hung up on titles. Throughout his career, Bill has held several various roles, responsibilities, and titles. Rather than getting hung up on titles, he’s always been focused on the kind of impact he can make, the company culture, and the team he’s working with—which has ultimately led him toward the right path for his own career development.
• Demonstrate success to sellers. Bill talks about why, as the team begins to navigate the post-aquisition shift, it will be crucial to grab the attention of sellers and win them over. Part of his strategy to do this is pointing to some of the joint successes OpsRamp and HP have seen in recent years in order to demonstrate their proven track record.
• Prioritize the customer. Bill also notes that when it comes to building relationships, it’s important to show the customer that you genuinely care about their concerns on a regular basis—not just when it’s getting close to renewal time. Authenticity is key, so learning to build real relationships with customers is pivotal.

Learn more about Redwood OpsRamp here: https://www.opsramp.com/ 

Learn more about Bill here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/btalbotjr/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• People buy from people they trust. Wendy stresses the importance of trust in the buyer's journey. Humanizing your marketing and anchoring your strategy in a human approach fosters trust and connection, which can ultimately lead to conversions.
• Connect your content. Your content strategy should connect a consistent message and compelling story to resonate with different buyers.
• Be a full-journey marketer. Wendy and her team look at every step of the buyer’s journey in depth, developing personas and pain points for each, and then creating strategies for reaching each persona and addressing their questions.  

Learn more about Domo here: https://www.domo.com/

Learn more about Wendy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendysteinle

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Talk to your customers. Bryan believes that too many marketers don’t take advantage of the amazing resource that is their customers. By talking with customers, you can discover their pain points and solve them, and also uncover opportunities for growth you would otherwise be unaware of. 
• Invest in customer marketing. Bryan emphasizes the value of investing in tools that will help your team understand what your customers are thinking. He emphasizes the huge growth opportunity in leveraging customer marketing and giving current customers additional value. 
• Raise your hand. Bryan was able to develop a wide array of skills and advance in his career by raising his hand and taking on new projects, even when they seemed difficult. He’s a believer that every job gives you new skills and helps you grow, even if you eventually realize the role isn’t the right fit. 



Learn more about Redwood Software here: https://www.redwood.com

Learn more about Bryan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b2bonlinemarketing

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• The CMO role is about more than being a great marketer. Stephen has learned that being a great CMO comes down to much more than being an expert marketer. CMOs need to understand their product and the industry inside and out, which means learning how to effectively communicate with leaders across their company and following what's going on in the world that will keep their product relevant. 
• Segment your stories and sell solutions. Stephen emphasizes the importance of segmenting the story you tell prospective clients to fit their pain points. The value you bring each buyer will inherently be different, so aim to package the story to be relatable to them and their needs. To manage these different stories, he recommends finding a basic common thread that applies to all of them. 
• Sell solutions. Stephen knows that no one is going to raise their hand and ask to be sold to. People lean into stories they find value in and relate to, so marketers need to ensure that the top of the funnel knows what the company can do for them and what challenges they will help them solve. 
• AI will be a marketer's best friend. Stephen wants marketers to embrace AI. AI used to be about what it could do for your customers, but now it's about what it can do for you and your communications strategy. 

Learn more about SparkCognition here: https://www.sparkcognition.com/

Learn more about Stephen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephengold

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Don’t see your relationship with analysts as transactional. Joe believes that CMOs and MarTech executives fundamentally misunderstand the role of analysts. Analysts like to engage and ask big questions about the ‘whys’ of your company, and you need to prove to them that your company or tech is the next big disruptor in the market. If you understand they are your partners, they can help you shape your organization’s story. 
• Externalize the internal. Joe believes vendors need to remember that they have a lot of value internally, which they can ultimately transform into external assets. Creating assets that are independently valuable is a key lead-generating tool, and empowering internal thought leaders with the tools they need to create these assets is something that Joe believes is often overlooked. Sometimes you don’t need an analyst paper—you have all the tools you need already. 
• Don’t create a category, redefine one. Joe believes that instead of creating a new category, organizations need to redefine a static, existing one. The way forward for many vendors is to disrupt how a category is perceived, while redefining the needs and expectations of the space. 

Learn more about Mirakl here: https://www.mirakl.com

Learn more about Joe here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-sawyer-a4255 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Don’t fall too far behind the wave. Latané uses an imaginative analogy to explain the importance of keeping up the momentum during stages of high-growth. When wake-surfing, it’s important that you avoid falling too far back behind the wave—otherwise, no amount of movement will help you stay afloat. The same goes for companies that are growing fast: hiring should be a top priority if you hope to keep pace. 
• Understand your employee value proposition. Latané believes that learning to hire well is one of the most important aspects of the CMO role. Part of this includes communicating your company’s value proposition clearly to candidates. For example, she mentioned that at 6sense, work/life balance isn’t a major draw for the organization, but since it offers such a high-growth experience, they can guarantee that employees will learn a lot on the job—and fast.
• Take the time to communicate effectively. Latané also reminds us of the importance of clear communication, especially as we scale. Regardless of the size of your marketing team, we live in a world that’s changing rapidly. It’s essential that leaders take the time to sit down with their teams and explain the things that people may not see on the surface.

Learn more about 6sense here: https://6sense.com/ 

Learn more about Latané here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latane-conant/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Always put the consumer first. Coming from a B2C background, Kelly started her role at Infor with the mindset that marketing teams should always be prioritizing the consumer’s needs. Despite not having a set B2B playbook to work from, Kelly used her B2C background from L’Oreal to communicate with Infor’s customers in a way that would resonate. 
• Position your brand as a market expert. When it comes to carving out an authoritative position in the market, Kelly says she and the team at Infor have been focused on establishing the brand as high-level experts for specific industries. By communicating their expertise in certain niche areas, Infor has been able to set themselves apart from the competition and earn customers’ trust.
• Go back to basics. Recently, Kelly and the team at Infor have been taking a more holistic approach to the brand, ensuring that their online presence is clean and consistent across the board. When she first started as CMO, one of the first tasks she and the team undertook was to clean up anything that could be diluting their brand equity, and create streamlined brand guidelines to protect the brand’s image.

Learn more about Infor here: https://www.infor.com/ 

Learn more about Kelly here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellybuchanan/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Do your homework. Venafi is a company that’s growing exponentially because so many brands are in need of their solution, so I was curious to know how Sandeep and the team strategized to achieve this. He mentioned that a part of the company’s success was just honest luck, but they also committed to doing their homework by really understanding the market, talking to the right people and researching the different buyer personas within the landscape. 
• Keep messaging consistent. Sandeep mentioned that there are two aspects of customer marketing: marketing to customers, which relies on demand gen and growth marketing, and leveraging the customer's voice and advocacy for marketing, which tends to rely on content strategy. As an organization matures and there’s a steady flow of opportunities, Sandeep says it’s essential that the team remains consistent with its messaging to maintain momentum.
• The responsibilities of a CMO have shifted. Sandeep noted that over the years, we’ve witnessed several different generations of marketing, and as the industry has evolved, so have the expectations surrounding the CMO role. Now, CMOs are considered responsible for driving revenue throughout the various stages of the funnel like closing, retention and cross-selling.

Learn more about Venafi here: https://venafi.com/ 

Learn more about Sandeep here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skohli1/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Create a consistent experience. During her time at Tableau Software, Ashley learned the importance of creating a consistent experience for customers despite any major differences among the company’s various business units. In Ashley’s words, “no matter what you're talking about, no matter what you're promoting, no matter what you're trying to get customers to understand about the company, it has to feel like the same company.” 
• Passion comes in threes. For Ashley, when it comes to choosing a company for her next position, she needs to feel strongly passionate about three things: the product, the space, and the people on the team. She emphasized the importance of finding a position that feels like a fit culture-wise since it very often sets the tone for your entire role and tenure with the company.
• Empower your team to think outside the box. When it comes to content, Ashley is always thinking of new ways to encourage her team to think creatively and find fresh ideas to keep audiences engaged. For example, she’s keen on keeping a finger on the pulse of the community to seek inspiration and gain new insights daily.

Learn more about GitLab here: https://about.gitlab.com/ 

Learn more about Ashley here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyekramer/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Being a great CSO means taking a strategic approach to marketing. For Tom, the CSO role begins with positioning the company effectively within the market and clearly articulating its vision. The role of the CSO and the CMO, then, is to find alignment behind the company strategy, bringing it to life through each interaction within the ecosystem.
• Work with challenger brands. Since the beginning of his career, Tom has been drawn to working with what he calls “challenger brands,” companies that are shaking up the status quo and disrupting a space by thinking outside of the box. By doing this, he’s been able to carve his own unique career path and gain experience that sets him apart from the crowd.
• Walk your talk. Tom argues that excellent marketing really begins within the organization. Companies need to first ensure they’re truly delivering on their value proposition before they focus on marketing efforts because, otherwise, it’s just “fake news,” as Tom says. This is one reason why he spends so much time with the product team at Airship—so he can develop a solid understanding of the product and the value it brings to customers.

Learn more about Airship here: https://www.airship.com/ 

Learn more about Tom here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tombutta/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• C-level executives should prioritize hiring. Carin believes that hiring is the most important job for every business leader, so strong partnerships between a recruiter and a c-level executive is crucial. She recommends that CEOs and CMOs stay involved in the hiring process from beginning to end because building the right team is so essential. 
• For any rebrand, team buy-in is essential. Carin notes that one of her first challenges as Greenhouse’s CMO was to elevate the brand to ensure it reflected the sort of company that large enterprises would feel comfortable partnering with. From the beginning, she knew that uniting the entire organization through one aligned vision and getting clear on their brand promise would be critical.
• Take leadership notes from the bees. As a former beekeeper, Carin says that many of the best lessons she’s learned about leadership have come from observing the behavior of bees. For example, the queen bee is first and foremost a servant leader, which means she always puts the hive first rather than prioritizing her own interests.

Learn more about Greenhouse Software here: https://www.greenhouse.com/ 

Learn more about Carin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carinvanvuuren/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Strike a balance between growth and comfort. Ran points out that the term “comfort zone” tends to come along with some negative connotations, but it’s not necessarily a terrible thing to be comfortable in your role. It’s best to find the balance between feeling comfortable and consistently learning new things so you can continue progressing throughout your career.
• Reinvent yourself at least once a year. As we head into 2023, there’s no better time to take stock of your life and determine what you need to change in order to improve as a marketer. Ran says he commits to reinventing himself every year, which can mean pushing yourself professionally—or seeking fresh inspiration in your personal life.
• When it comes to events, it’s all about impact. Ran mentions that a core pillar of AppFlyer’s strategy in 2023 will be events, and they’re likely to make a big comeback in the new year. That said, he cautions listeners that it’s not always about the size or scale of an event. The quality of your impact and the connections you make with your audience is often more important.

Learn more about AppsFlyer here: https://www.appsflyer.com/ 

Learn more about Ran here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranavrahamy/?originalSubdomain=il

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Consider your impact. When Megan was looking to make the jump into her next CMO role, she prioritized choosing a company solving big problems on a big scale. It was important to take a glimpse into the future to understand the company’s growth trajectory and just how she could make a powerful impact as CMO.
• Unify customer data. At Amperity, Megan works with lots of B2C companies that tend to be owned by a single parent company. In cases like these, there’s a strong need to unify their customer data from multiple sources, so they can market to different customers across various brands. That’s where a CDP like Amperity comes in as a clutch tool for helping them understand their customers inside and out. 
• Prioritize personalization. One of the major themes that emerged from my conversation with Megan was personalization. Customers today expect a personalized experience that demonstrates a brand’s commitment to understanding them and their needs. Marketers should be focused on creating a tailored experience with every piece of content they share.

Learn more about Amperity here: https://amperity.com/ 

Learn more about Megan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmcdonagh/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• The ceiling is getting higher. In recent years, the tech landscape has grown so much that the expectations for companies in the healthcare space have skyrocketed. This has opened up a whole new world of possibilities, which is why Kevin is constantly looking towards the company’s vision or north star to stay focused.
• Step outside your comfort zone. If he could give his younger self one piece of advice, Kevin says it would be to learn as much as possible in as many different areas of the marketing world as possible. By remaining constantly curious and eager to learn, you’ll become a more well-rounded marketer with the ability to bring much more value to your team.
• Build an approachable brand. Finally, Kevin shares his tips for building a brand that feels approachable and authentic to your customers. Avoid using too much jargon and instead opt for plain language to ensure you’re connecting with customers in a way that feels human. Trust is everything today, so it’s essential that your brand is relatable at every touchpoint.

Learn more about Tebra here: https://www.tebra.com/ 

Learn more about Kevin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmarasco/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Marketing is a blend of sales and creativity. Amanda mentioned that she was initially drawn to the marketing world because it lies at the intersection of creative selling and achieving tangible business results. In particular, she’s passionate about the art of creative persuasion combined with generating revenue in a way that provides maximum value to the customer.
• Building a brand that benefits all stakeholders within an ecosystem is challenging but worth it. Amanda said that one of the main aspects that attracted her to her role at G2 was the complexity of the ecosystem and the many stakeholders that were involved in the process. To truly benefit all parties within the ecosystem, Amanda and her team work on creating “flywheels” or “growth loops” that leverage one another to build connections and keep the momentum going across the business.
• Build trust. Whether you’re buying something on Amazon or investing in expensive software, Amanda believes that buyers are becoming increasingly empowered by leveraging the voices of peers and people they trust—all through a frictionless customer experience. In other words, there’s never been a better time to build a trusted brand and offer a credible source of information in a competitive marketplace. 

Learn more about G2 here: https://www.g2.com/ 

Learn more about Amanda here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-hart-campbell/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Get in the right mindset. Lisa notes that when making the move to a smaller one, it’s important to be prepared to do more with less. Larger companies tend to have more infrastructure and resources in place, so preparing your mindset to make the best use of what’s available in a smaller company is key. Lisa shares a few ways you can do this by preparing your mindset in advance.
• Balance paved roads with dirt roads. Lisa provides a great analogy about learning to strike a balance between paved and dirt roads, knowing when to rely on more structure and rigor versus going with the flow. For some marketing  activities, such as brand positioning, a more structured approach is required, whereas for others, an experimental approach makes more sense. 
• Be curious. Whether you’re an expert in your field or you’ve just launched a career in a new sector, it’s important to keep a curious attitude and remember that we can all be lifelong learners if we choose to be. Lisa recommends spending time with the experts and asking plenty of questions to learn the ropes, especially “what have I not asked you about that I should know?” Because you don’t know what you don’t know.

Learn more about OneTrust here: https://www.onetrust.com/ 

Learn more about Lisa here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-hart-campbell/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Follow your passion. It sounds cliché (and maybe it is) but that doesn’t mean it’s untrue: following your passion will take you far in your career and in life. In Quinn’s case, this meant looking for opportunities in the world of education, where he felt he could truly make a difference.
• Understand each market segment’s pain points—inside and out. Once he had made the leap into the education industry, Quinn quickly realized just how complicated the system was in North America. By taking the time to gain a deeper understanding of each market segment, he was better able to identify their pain points and therefore, provide solutions.
• Get clear on your definition of success. In a fast-moving industry like education, Quinn and his team need to ensure they have a crystal clear vision of what success means to them so they can stay consistently focused on their goal. With the concrete benchmark of helping teachers overcome daily challenges in mind, the company is in a better position to hit the ground running when it counts.

Learn more about Carnegie Learning here: https://www.carnegielearning.com/ 

Learn more about Quinn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinnobrien/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Jennifer truly takes a holistic approach to internal collaboration. Work closely with engineering and product leads within your organization to develop a solid understanding of what the market needs, what the customers want, and how the team can develop a value proposition that sets you apart from the competition.
• The traditional buyer's journey has evolved dramatically in recent years. Now, the funnel has flipped, which means marketers are tasked with targeting their audience using unique messages and creating advocates. Accomplishing this requires a different technology stack, different resources, and a different mindset overall.
• The average attention span has changed. Jennifer reminds us that over the past few years, the typical buyer’s behavior, daily routines and expectations have shifted dramatically. For this reason, the entire buyer journey needs to be easily accessible, quick, and to-the-point.

Learn more about Brightcove here: https://www.brightcove.com/en/ 

Learn more about Jennifer here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifergriffinsmith/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Get inside your buyer’s head. As someone who has been a marketing leader at five different companies throughout his career, Udi has learned that he always does his best work when he can truly get into the shoes of the company’s buyer persona. From that perspective, he says, it’s much easier to understand what the buyer’s day looks like, why they might care about the product, and how the company can add value to their life.
• Know when to delegate. As a leader, Udi is wise enough to know that he’s not going to be the right fit for every single project, campaign, or function within the company’s marketing team. He’s big on recognizing his own weaknesses, and he delegates work when he feels someone else will be more skilled or passionate in the role.
• Be well-rounded. Udi believes a good CMO should balance an analytical mindset with creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Maintaining a strategic perspective is another key to success: marketers need to be able to see the big picture and take a long-term view of the journey—beyond the current quarter or year. 

Learn more about Gong here: https://www.gong.io/ 

Learn more about Udi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Focus your efforts. According to Venkat’s philosophy, one of the greatest risks most companies face is trying to compete with too many different players at once. In his role at Mitel, Venkat has made it his mission to focus their marketing efforts in just one market (in their case, the U.S.) in order to optimize outcomes and avoid spreading themselves too thin.
• Tell customer stories. Another big focus of Venkat’s when it comes to his role as CMO includes identifying and sharing Mitel’s most inspiring customer stories. By weaving great storytelling into the majority of their marketing plans, the team is better positioned to connect with new prospects and communicate the value of their products succinctly.
• Market the way you’d like to be marketed to. Venkat mentioned that part of his mission as CMO is to do away with negative stigmas surrounding marketing, and instead create the kind of marketing campaigns that truly add value to audiences. By making use of the abundance of data we have at our fingertips today, Venkat believes we can become more targeted in our efforts and therefore, reach people in a way that resonates.

Learn more about Mitel here: https://www.mitel.com/en-ca 

Learn more about Venkat here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatnagaswamy/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Optimize for personal happiness. When it comes to choosing your next gig as a marketing professional, it’s important to take a strategic approach that considers the role from a variety of diverse perspectives. For Randi, prioritizing her own personal happiness is a must when making career moves, because it can be next to impossible to predict what the market will do next or how the financial situation will look in a few years’ time.
• Believe in your product. For any marketer, it’s an essential part of the role to have a solid understanding of the product you’re selling, and truly believe in its value. To really get on board with the product you’ll be marketing, Randi recommends taking the time to understand it inside and out so you can ignite your own passion and ultimately influence others to do the same.
• Meet the buyer where they are. When it comes to relating to your buyer, their needs and their unique perspective on your product, Randi believes it’s important to learn how to meet the buyer where they are so they can visualize exactly where it will fit into their lives and add value. By taking this approach, marketers will have a better chance at forming an authentic relationship with the buyer and therefore, influencing their decisions. 

Learn more about RollWorks here: https://www.rollworks.com/ 

Learn more about Randi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randi-barshack-431a72/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• A varied background will take you far. Throughout her career, Nicole has carved her own unique path, veering away from the traditional stepping stones along the way to the coveted CMO role. By using all of her varied experiences—from social work to sales—as learning opportunities on the way to her next role, Nicole has been able to offer a nuanced perspective while creating alignment among teams.
• Prioritize relationships and culture. When making the decision to make the leap to FinancialForce from Oracle, Nicole used her positive working relationships and the company culture as her guiding light. By using these elements as guideposts, she was better able to determine whether the company would be a good fit for her particular skills, working style and personality.
• Be disciplined when it comes to data. For Nicole, analyzing data to determine the best course of action is an everyday pursuit. By using quantifiable metrics to track their progress, Nicole and the team at FinancialForce have a better sense of where they need to focus their efforts, while also having a chance to find better alignment with the sales team.

Learn more about FinancialForce here: https://www.financialforce.com/ 

Learn more about Nicole here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmilstead/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Listen and learn. For any leaders who hope to cause disruption in their industry, it’s essential that they keep their finger on the pulse of what’s happening around them. As a CMO, Deena believes that one of the qualities that serves her best is having a willingness to learn, and a keen awareness of upcoming trends before they hit the mainstream market.
• Balance emotion with data. Marketing as a discipline requires us to keep both the left and right sides of our brain active. Deena’s approach to marketing integrates creative, emotive and brand-forward ideas with facts, figures and data to keep things grounded.
• Get clear on your content DNA. From the beginning, StockX has placed a high value on storytelling and great content that paints a picture about the brand. Deena believes brands should be creating content across all channels that can meet the customer where they are along their own journey, and help them make shopping decisions that fit their personal style.

Learn more about StockX here: https://stockx.com/ 

Learn more about Deena here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deenabahri/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Start a dialogue. Janet believes that as marketing teams develop key messaging documents, they need to be talking to customers, salespeople, and engineers to ensure they fully understand the product and its impact. If you’re looking for information that will help you develop the perfect messaging framework, it only makes sense to go straight to the source—the people who were part of the creation process. 
• Go back to basics. When building out a messaging framework, Janet suggests that product marketers drill down on the company’s overall vision, mission and the pain points it’s addressing. From there, you’ll be in a better position to communicate the product’s benefits to customers in a way that’s clear, precise and succinct. 
• Understand the market. According to Janet’s product marketing playbook, another key component of great messaging is industry context. In other words, product marketers need to have a solid understanding of the current status of the market they’re operating in, where their product fits into the landscape, and how it can provide immediate value to customers.

Learn more about Sysdig here: ​​https://sysdig.com/  

Learn more about Janet here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetmatsuda/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Take risks. Shawn mentioned that throughout his career, he’s learned the most by taking big risks, such as moving from a CEO role to come on as CloudBees CMO. He believes that to really understand a business, you need to experience all elements of it rather than pigeonholing yourself to one area or specialty.
• Focus on segmentation. As a marketer, Shawn understands the value of really knowing your audience and what motivates them. This is why he places a strong emphasis on segmentation and identifying different strategies for different parts of the sales funnel.
• Personalization is key. Any good marketing strategy should be tailored to its audience, but Shawn reminds us that this is especially important at the top of the funnel because capturing initial interest is the most difficult aspect of the journey. As you move further down the funnel, personalization is not always as vital.

Learn more about CloudBees here: https://www.cloudbees.com/ 

Learn more about Shawn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnahmed/

• Every customer journey is completely unique. Jon made some interesting points about the customer journey, including the idea that so much of it is invisible when it comes to traditional tracking methods. This is why it’s important to meet every customer exactly where they are in their journey and tailor each step of the process to their specific position along the path.
• Know your ABX. According to Jon, it’s important to approach your go-to-market strategy in terms of the ABX, or “account-based experience.” Part of this strategy includes placing different people in different “tiers” so you can allocate resources effectively.
• Learn to be a T-shaped marketer. When it comes to specialties, Jon believes in becoming a T-shaped marketer, which means choosing one area to specialize in while dabbling in a few others to ensure you have a well-rounded skill set. Think of it as choosing a major and a minor like you might have in school, but for the big leagues.

• Focus on demand gen. As Fred mentioned, every CMO has at least one area of their role that they tend to favor—in his case, that’s branding. However, he believes all CMOs should build demand generation skills into their repertoire because you’ll rarely come across a sales team that’s asking for fewer leads.
• Use large companies as a training ground. Fred mentioned that his roles at tech giants like Microsoft and Oracle served as massive opportunities for growth, development and education. Before you make the switch from a large company to a small startup, make sure you’re taking full advantage of the opportunity to act as an entrepreneur within the organization and learn as much as you can through your role.
• Engage the entire company in telling customer stories. During the pandemic, it became even more important for brands to amplify the voice of their customers. This is why Fred and the marketing team at TIBCO have pivoted to engage the entire company in customer storytelling, encouraging everyone to make it their responsibility, no matter their role or department. 

• Know your weaknesses to be a great people leader. As CMO, John has expertise in the marketing side of the role but there are new responsibilities that he identified as knowledge gaps like overseeing PR and Communications. By identifying his weaknesses and hiring the right people to help him, he knows when to step back and when he can step in to help his team. By capitalizing on his strengths and not micromanaging his team, John is becoming a better leader of people, not just a marketer.
• Tell the story of how your product is used. Talking to customers is the most important thing that John does. He wants to learn how his customers are successfully using a product especially in new and innovative ways. John believes a great customer story is the best selling tool you’ve got. Whether you produce a multi-camera video with high production value or a zoom interview recording, sharing great stories can elevate your market position.
• Prioritize what matters most in life. The most important goal in John’s life is to be a good father. He wants his team to follow his example and make sure that they’re prioritizing their life outside of work so that they can enjoy work more. Work will always have challenges but you’ll be better able to overcome them if the needs of your family, health, and life outside the office are met. 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• A great leadership team is like a symphony. As CMO, Armen believes that everyone on the team has their own unique melody to play, and even a slight shift within one person’s role can shift the dynamic dramatically. This is why gaining a clearer understanding of everyone’s specific role within the team can help everyone create better music together. 
• Everyone is a consumer. In Armen’s view, all consumers share the same fundamental human qualities, even when it comes to B2B marketing. At the end of the day, we’re all motivated by emotions, fears, hopes and dreams, and as marketers, it’s our job to tap into this understanding to develop an emotional connection with our audience.
• Get involved with the product. In addition to his role as CMO, Armen holds the title of Chief Identity Officer at Outseer, which means he holds responsibilities for one of the company’s three products. He noted that the strategic decision to stake his claim on the product side has enabled him to gain a deeper appreciation for the business and a unique edge as CMO. 

Learn more about Outseer here: https://www.outseer.com/ 

Learn more about Armen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/najarian/ 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Make it personal. In the home and car industry, every purchase is an inherently emotional one, so marketers are tasked with tapping into that emotional element to connect with buyers. This lesson can be applied to marketing in any industry because at the end of the day, every purchase involves an emotional element that can be leveraged to make a positive impact.
• Get in the right mindset. Another of Allison’s tips involves diving deep into the mindset of the marketplace you’re tapping into. She and the team at Vacasa engage in plenty of research and outreach to understand their customers’ core thoughts, needs and desires, while remaining nimble and flexible so they can switch gears as needed.
• Focus on your NPS. At Vacasa, a key metric the team uses to track success is the NPS or net promoter score. The company tracks NPS across guests, owners and internal employees to get a sense of overall satisfaction of both customers and employees.

Learn more about Vacasa here: https://www.vacasa.ca/

Learn more about Allison here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lowrie-51b0a21/ 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Let go of ego. When it came time for her to jump into a new role, Stacey was wise enough to remove her ego from the equation. Although she held the coveted CEO title in her previous role, she didn’t hesitate to move back into the CMO role when she was presented with a position that checked all the most important boxes: great people, a product she was passionate about and a huge market opportunity. 
• It’s all about the people. Whether she’s working at a company of 500 or 5,000 people, Stacey’s commitment to prioritizing her team remains. She believes that no matter what title you hold, your most important job is to ensure everyone on the team, from managers to frontline employees, is thriving.
• CMOs make great CEOs. Since they typically have experience working with the organization’s head of sales, HR and finance, CMOs are tasked with the same type of coordination work that’s required in the CEO role. In the future, we’ll likely continue to see more marketers making the jump into executive leadership roles.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Strike the right balance. Cate mentioned that as a software marketer, she fell in love with the challenge of striking a balance between the voice of the engineer and crafting messaging that will resonate with the consumer. With early-stage companies, marketers are challenged to transition the overall marketing narrative from the early positioning that’s geared towards how the product was built, into a story that will convey exactly how it’s going to change the world.
• Build a team you can trust. For Cate, one of her strengths as a marketer is being able to intuitively hire the strongest people for each role and delegate effectively so she can focus on her top priorities as CMO. Even though she’s passionate about communications, she knew she had to let go of this particular role and instead hire a leader she trusted to take ownership over it.
• Put things into context. Cate commented that one of the most important skills she looks for in potential CMOs is the ability to contextualize the business. In other words, it’s important to be able to understand the interconnectedness of the business overall by taking a birds-eye-view approach of all the operations.

Learn more about Cate here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clochead/ 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Bigger isn’t always better. During his career, Peter has led marketing teams at large companies with upwards of 10,000 employees as well as smaller scale operations. He believes that one of the upsides of being part of a small team is that it can foster a strong sense of connectedness and collaboration. It’s also given him more opportunities to experiment with new tactics, which consistently keeps him stimulated and engaged in his role.
• Make friends with the finance function. As marketers, we often hear how important it is to find alignment with the sales team to optimize outcomes. However, Peter reminds us that it’s equally important to connect with your company’s finance team and CFO. Not only will this potentially help you to secure more budget for upcoming projects, but it’s also essential in terms of finding alignment on a shared vision for the company’s future. 
• Tell the right story. Peter also emphasized the importance of identifying your customer’s pain points and crafting a narrative from there. For all marketers, the key challenge to tackle is bringing something new to the table that will help the buyer solve a problem in a way they may not have considered, while activating the channels that are most relevant to them.

Learn more about CyberGRX here: https://www.cybergrx.com/

Learn more about Peter here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterfinter/ 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Disrupt the status quo. Throughout the various roles she’s held during her career, Patti has consistently maintained an attitude of continuous improvement, growth, and evolution. In her words, if she’s comfortable, then she’s uncomfortable, which is a great maxim to live by if you’re hoping to make your mark as an industry disruptor and innovator.
• Diversity begets disruption. As a leader, Patti understands the importance of diversity in the workplace, and it’s a core principle of the topics she discusses in her speaking engagements, content and her latest book, Disrupters. She reminds us that bringing together a wide variety of perspectives, cultural backgrounds and identities helps to lay the groundwork for impactful disruptions and a thriving business. 
• Be a thought provoker, not a thought leader. Now more than ever, the customer journey is about building trust, and in Patti’s view, the average buyer today is looking for more than just a transactional relationship. Marketers need to focus on helping their customers solve the problems of today, in addition to looking ahead to the potential challenges and opportunities of the future.

Learn more about Patti here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpattifletcher/ 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Lead by example. As CMO of Unit4, Julie sets the tone for hundreds of people each day, so she’s conscious of the habits, behaviors and overall attitude she brings to the table. With employees working on a remote basis from various locations around the world, Julie aims to focus on keeping her team engaged through ongoing communication, team events and a welcoming open door policy.
• Reflect your values to the world. When Julie first came on as CMO of Unit4, she noticed a disconnect between the company’s incredible culture, strong values and clear mission, and the way these qualities were being conveyed to the world. To bridge this gap, she mobilized her team to help rewrite the company’s narrative in a way that would clearly communicate its strengths.
• Be a ruthless editor. As Julie and the team at Unit4 strategized to craft a new story for the company, it became clear that they would need to do away with much of the content that had been built in the past. In other words, Julie wasn’t afraid to clean house if a piece of content didn’t align with the simple, streamlined tone they were hoping to capture.

Learn more about Julie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieknightludvigson/ 

• Focus on relationship building. One of Daniel’s main strengths in his role as CMO is building relationships and helping others succeed. Throughout his career, Daniel has learned that all functions within the executive team play an essential role in the company, so building relationships founded in trust with all team members is critical.
• Gifting brings a human element to B2B marketing. As Daniel mentioned, gifting is something that’s present in all cultures around the world, which he learned while studying anthropology. Today, gifting has become a critical channel for marketers to rely on because it strengthens relationships and incorporates a human connection to tap into the emotional side of your customer.
• Marketing begins with words. No matter the campaign, channel or medium you’re relying on as a marketer, content is always at the core of all marketing activities. Daniel believes the best B2B marketing content comes from a place of authenticity and a strong connection to the company’s true voice and message.

• Keep it simple. Although working in the 3D printing space added an element of complexity to the marketing journey for Formlabs, Jeff reminds us that at the end of the day, all marketers share similar goals. No matter the product or service you’re marketing, it’s always a question of identifying pain points and connecting your customers with an easy and effective way of solving them.
• Focus on the people. Throughout his career as a marketing leader, Jeff has learned a few critical lessons when it comes to choosing the right fit for your next role. He now believes that the most important factor overall is aligning with an organization where the people share similar values, goals and philosophies on problem solving.
• Use content to connect with your customer. From a content marketing perspective, Jeff’s strategy involves tailoring content directly to the customers Formlabs serves. By connecting to a customer’s “why” before beginning to address the “what” or the “how,” marketers will have better luck capturing the buyer’s attention through their content strategy. 

• Keep it fresh. When it comes to keeping CMOs engaged and growing within their roles, Carly recommends experimenting with as many different areas of the marketing practice as possible. By keeping it fresh year after year and venturing into unknown territory, Carly has been able to gain exposure to new areas of the business and become a continuous learner. 
• Prioritize people. For Carly, making the jump to the C level was all about prioritizing her personal connections with people across the organization. Since marketing has become even more metrics-driven in recent years, Carly highlighted the importance of forging strong relationships within the finance department and maintaining those relationships through your career. 
• Provide value first. In terms of the customer journey, Carly emphasized the importance of building trust by providing value from the get go. DigitalOcean does this through its hefty catalog of free learning resources including a repository of over 5,000 video tutorials as well as plenty of guides and research briefs geared towards developers.

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Join the mission. By the time she was on track to become CMO at Coursera, Kim had already made herself an indispensable member of the team by helping to build the company’s vision from the ground up. As a key player in the company’s strategy-shaping phase, Kim had earned respect and credibility, which ultimately allowed her to position herself as the best (and only) candidate for the CMO role.
• Follow your passion. Here on The Marketer’s Journey, many of our guests have highlighted the importance of following your passion in your career, and Kim is no exception. She believes we’re all at our best when we’re doing what we love, which is why taking action based on what excites you most will bring you luck and longevity along your career path.
• Be a lifelong learner. Kim mentioned that her time at Facebook helped her expand her knowledge of different areas of the business, which ultimately helped her become a more well-rounded marketer. Continuous learning is something we can all apply to our daily lives to become more engaged, knowledgeable and effective at what we do each day.

Learn more about Coursera here: https://www.coursera.org/ Learn more about Kim here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-caldbeck-58b7273/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Build credibility early on. Coming off the heels of a long stint at Intel, Kevin had to shift gears and earn the trust of a new team when he first came on as CMO of Ping Identity. To do this, he secured a few short-term wins early on in his role, established trust with his team and made his intentions as CMO clear to really hit the ground running as a leader.
• Learn the immutable laws of growth. Kevin mentioned that during his time at Intel, he learned from the company’s former CEO Andy Grove that success requires two key ingredients: a unique product or service, and the ability to communicate its value to your audience. Without innovative marketing and branding tactics, a company will find it difficult to move the needle or grow as an enterprise.
• Tap into human psychology. Kevin is a big believer in tapping into human psychology and emotion through marketing tactics. By crafting a compelling narrative around a universal human truth, marketers will have a better chance of getting through to their audience in a way that feels unique, emotive and personal.

Learn more about Ping Identity here: https://www.pingidentity.com/en.html Learn more about Kevin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinsellers116/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Consider the growth stage of the company. When on the hunt for a new company to join, Andy emphasized the importance of identifying the company’s growth stage and determining which stage is right for you and your career goals. He recommended finding the sweet spot by experimenting with companies at various growth stages and identifying where your strengths lie.
• Don’t forget about the “C” in CMO. Andy mentioned that he’s had some great mentors throughout his career who have reminded him that anyone at the CMO level needs to take a holistic view of the company to consider the full picture of the business. Instead of focusing solely on marketing, CMOs should always be thinking about what’s best for the entire company overall.
• Identify the right persona. One of the biggest challenges for marketers today is understanding and targeting the right customers in their category. Andy said it’s important for marketers to dig down deep into the information that’s available and invest in analytics in order to make the most educated decisions possible. It’s also important to broaden your view of the competition to keep the bigger picture in mind.

Learn more about FastSpring here: https://fastspring.com/ Learn more about Andy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajolls/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Believe in your product. Steve mentioned that the best way to sell your product is to truly believe in it and the benefits it can bring to your life. By getting to know BombBomb’s product and the power it had to impact his own life, Steve was ultimately led to join the company as CMO and ulatimately infuse his role with passion.

• Events are a microcosm of the marketing space. Steve made an insightful point about events being a microcosm for the entire marketing space because convincing customers to attend the event is a big ask in itself. Once the guests have made the commitment to show up to an event, the job of the marketer becomes building trust and rapport through face-to-face contact.

• Humanize your interaction with customers. As the author of Rehumanize Your Business and Human-Centered Communication, Steve knows all about the importance of bringing the human element back into the marketing conversation. When it comes to communication, Steve suggests asking tough questions like “why would someone be drawn to engage with this video, email or campaign?” so you can gain a better understanding of connecting with your customer on a human-to-human level.

Learn more about BombBomb here: https://bombbomb.com/ Learn more about Steve here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenpacinelli/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Strategy alignment is critical. Lisa mentioned that ensuring leadership teams are aligned on the company’s annual or multi-year game plan can help to set the entire organization up for success. From a place of internal alignment, it can be much easier to determine priority areas of focus and crystallize the company’s overall goals.

• Understand your customer. Once you’ve done the legwork needed to truly understand your customer and get inside their head, you can gain enough traction to bring more value to the marketplace. According to Lisa, the magic resides in the ability to think ahead and execute well from a place of knowledge and empowerment.

• Believe in the mission. Lisa credits her success in the marketing world to her genuine passion and belief in the mission of the companies she’s worked for in the past. As an individual, feeling an authentic passion for the work you’re doing can help you maximize your impact and bring value to your customers over time.

Learn more about AppFolio here: https://www.appfolio.com/Learn more about Lisa here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisahorner/

• Be customer-obsessed. As a current CMO and a former CEO, Bala understands the value of taking a customer-centric approach by listening to their needs first. While many entrepreneurs may think of finding solutions first and identifying the problems second, Bala suggests taking the inverse approach to ensure your product is addressing a real pain point for customers.
• Appeal to psychology. Bala explained that there are two major personality types: one that will be more drawn to emotive storytelling, and one that is more swayed by facts, statistics and analysis. When creating content, it’s important to understand how to appeal to these two distinct psychological profiles by crafting a compelling story that includes elements of both.
• Don’t forget about product channel fit. One of the main points Bala helped to drive home during the episode was the importance of finding the right product channel fit instead of jumping straight from product market fit to product growth. Although it can be tempting to hit the ground running, it’s essential to take the extra step of considering the message you’re trying to convey, the offer and audience segmentation.

• Embrace a startup mentality. During his career, James has spent over a decade running startups. He says these experiences have imbued him with several applicable skills, teaching him the importance of taking a data-driven approach, staying agile and understanding the test-learn-iterate cycle. Even if you’re not working in a startup environment, this mentality can be applied in any role to ensure continuous improvement.
• Pick your battles. James emphasized the importance of compartmentalizing to focus on your top priorities, especially in a leadership role. In other words, pick your battles, and don’t disrupt something that’s working just for the sake of disruption.
• Manage expectations. As someone who has bounced around various sales and marketing roles throughout his career, James has learned the value of an upfront communication style and setting expectations within a team setting from the get-go. This philosophy has ultimately served him well at the leadership level as he builds a team founded on trust and inclusivity.

• Pound the pavement. When you’re in the market for a new role, it’s important to do your due diligence through plenty of research, networking and informational interviews. Rebecca mentioned that she had checked out about 100 companies prior to being contacted by Loom, which shows just how committed she was to finding the right fit.
• Be a cross-functional leader. Rebecca is a self-proclaimed cross-functional leader, which means she has the ability to wear multiple hats and fulfill several different roles within the company. By taking on an attitude of continuous learning, Rebecca has shaped herself into an outstanding leader and fallen in love with the journey in the process.
• Timing is everything. When it comes to product-led growth, Rebecca stressed the importance of keeping an awareness of market readiness and taking advantage of new opportunities as the world evolves. Using the example of Instagram following the emergence of the iPhone, she noted that a large component of a successful product involves being in the right place at the right time.

• Get smart to market on a budget. During our discussion, Raj mentioned that he has a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to marketing on a lean budget from past experiences. Smart marketing doesn’t always necessarily come down to having a healthy budget—creative thinking will get you far when money is tight.
• The gap between B2B and B2C marketing is closing. Although there is still a clear distinction to be made between B2B and B2C marketing, the gap is closing and brands are now moving closer to H2H (Human to Human marketing). Raj used the example of Dropbox, noting that the company broke into the B2B segment by first connecting with people on a B2C level, who ended up liking the product so much that they brought it to work with them.
• Surprise and delight. By Raj’s standards, if a piece of content doesn’t delight the reader, then it has failed. Although considering things like SEO is important, it’s essential that content adds value and emotion to the customer at the end of the day.

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Content is key. Throughout his career, Atri has learned that content plays a key role in the customer experience. When creating content, brands need to consider the kind of experience they’re creating for customers and how they’re adding value to their lives. This will ultimately help them connect with customers in their own language and continue building their brand narrative.
• Consider the end goal. Throughout his career, Atri has held various product-based roles that have helped him learn valuable skills and lessons. He noted that whether in product management or marketing, it’s important to always have the end goal in mind, whether it’s connecting with customers or solving a common problem.
• Content, but make it interactive. Atri also mentioned that today, customers are expecting interactive content that speaks to them in a way they can connect with and easily understand. Marketers need to be creative with their content strategy and think outside the box to go the extra mile with customers.

Learn more about ForgeRock here: https://www.forgerock.com/

Learn more about Atri here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atri-chatterjee-b6212/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Identify the common threads. Ashley noted that while working as a consultant, she noticed that almost every marketing organization faced the same common pain points. Throughout her career, she’s recognized the need to stay focused on three core issues: engaging with customers, supporting sales organizations, and building a strong organization with the ability to scale and grow over time.
• Hold one another accountable. When working in a team setting, holding one another accountable to your overarching goals is essential. Ashley mentioned that with every new campaign or program they launch, she and her team always ensure that they are keeping the customer’s voice top of mind, and holding each other accountable to this mission is critical.
• The customer experience has changed. In recent years, customers have become more savvy and educated than they ever have been before in history. This has presented a new challenge for marketers and an opportunity to lean into the organic side of creating the customer experience through excellent content. As Ashley mentioned, not everyone has cracked the code just yet, but things are moving in the right direction.

Learn more about Ramp here: https://ramp.com/

Learn more about Ashley here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleybrucker/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Keep an eye out for potential. Jason took a non-linear path to the role of CMO. Part of the reason for his success was his ability to recognize potential and follow through on his interests throughout his career. When looking for a new company to join, it’s important to look at the bigger picture and visualize the highest potential of an organization from the beginning.
• Be intentional. As a tech advisor for major corporations like Coca-Cola and Nike, Jason noticed that it was common for CMOs to become enamored with flashy new technology without stopping to think about the real function and purpose they were looking to fulfill. This is why he recommends getting crystal clear on the goal in mind and the systems that will help to achieve it before hitting go on a digital transformation.
• Pick a specialty. For anyone who’s on a path to CMO, Jason recommends ensuring you have adequate knowledge of all areas of the marketing function, while also specializing in one key area. He notes that most companies hire people based on the need to solve a specific problem, so aligning on one key area that you can become a true expert in will ultimately serve you well on your career trajectory. 

Learn more about Algolia here: https://www.algolia.com/

Learn more about Jason here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmcclelland/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• It’s all about the customer experience. At the end of the day, the technology and products a company provides to their customers are important, but the most crucial element of forming lasting relationships is creating an exceptional journey from beginning to end. Genefa recognized this early on in her career, which led her to develop skills that would help to engage with customers on a deeper level.
• Thought leadership is key. Genefa noted that it’s not enough for companies to set goals around creating demand—customers are looking for opinions, advice and best practices, so positioning the company alongside a provocative point of view is essential. By doing this, companies can expand the scope of how they define success, impact awareness and start a conversation around their area of expertise.
• Embrace subject matter experts. While marketing teams of the past may have been siloed into separate functions, Genefa mentioned that it’s much more effective to create an integrated team with knowledgeable subject matter experts in each area. This way, the team can better serve all stakeholders including current customers and new prospects.

Learn more about Five9 here: https://www.five9.com/

Learn more about Genefa here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genefamurphy/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Seek data-driven solutions. During our conversation, Jamie emphasized the value and importance of being a data-driven company first, while striking the right balance between creative, right-brain thinking and a more analytical mindset. She noted that Sprout Social has used data to inform their decisions from the beginning, leveraging key metrics to help boost their overall growth strategy. 
• Focus on storytelling. Along with using data to their advantage, Sprout Social relies heavily on great storytelling to further their brand mission and connect with customers. Jamie noted that regardless of your goal or mission as a company, storytelling is a crucial piece of the puzzle in terms of bringing your vision to life for audiences and sparking engagement.
• Zig-zag your way to the top. Jamie’s career trajectory so far has been anything but linear—over the years, she’s zigged and zagged in multiple directions, sometimes even taking salary decreases in order to find the perfect fit for her skills and expertise. Ultimately, this “snakes and ladders” style approach served her well as she’s been able to land in a role that’s brought her true success, happiness and fulfillment.

Learn more about Sprout Social here: www.sproutsocial.com

Learn more about Jamie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiegilpin/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Don’t be afraid to raise your hand. During our chat, Chris explained how he ended up in his current role as CMO at Box simply by recognizing the opportunity and advocating for himself. Given his past experiences and the expertise he had acquired during his career, he was confident he’d be the perfect fit for the role, and he didn’t hesitate to speak up and put himself forward to the leadership team as the ideal candidate.
• Alignment is key. Chris mentioned that in his role as CMO, he takes a cross-functional approach to ensure that all marketing tactics are aligned with the customer experience journey. By viewing the customer journey from a holistic perspective, Chris champions a comprehensive digital strategy team combining sales, CSS product and marketing to create an aligned customer experience.
• Focus on customer engagement. One challenge the team at Box has encountered is ensuring that their latest and greatest innovations are communicated effectively to their customers. Chris noted that as a result, one of the team’s main objectives today is ensuring their customers are aware of the product’s full capabilities so they remain engaged and up-to-date when it comes to recent upgrades and improvements.

Learn more about Box here: https://www.box.com/home

Learn more about Chris here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ckoehler/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Identify the differentiating factor. Noreen says that when looking for a new team to join, she made sure to prioritize companies with products that would stand out in a crowded market. When she found Bandwidth, she immediately recognized the potential behind the product, which she knew would be attractive to investors.
• Lay the groundwork upfront. Without buy-in from the market, Noreen and the team at Bandwidth knew they wouldn’t get very far, which is why a big component of their strategy is education. They spent time early on researching, educating and positioning the company within the market to ensure their stakeholders would validate their mission when crunch time came.
• Shift the structure. Noreen explained how earlier this year, Bandwidth shifted from a traditional marketing structure to instead create teams devoted to each buyer segment. This way, each unit is able to hone in on a specific buyer and gain a better understanding of what motivates them, who their competitors are, and the broader dynamics at play within the segment.

Learn more about Bandwidth here: https://www.bandwidth.com/

Learn more about Noreen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noreena/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Never underestimate the power of adaptability. Over the course of his 17-year stint at Widen, and especially over the course of the past 18 months, Jake has learned a thing or two about adapting to change. He believes staying adaptable to change is one of the most essential skills anyone can develop as they move forward and transform along their career path.
• Alignment is key. According to Jake, part of Widen’s strategy for strengthening customer retention includes ensuring there’s clear alignment between the promises that are made during the marketing stage and the actual delivery of the services. To accomplish this, teams need to have solid support from leadership and a strong relationship to the company’s core values.
• Care greatly. Jake mentioned that one of his mantras is “care greatly,” which serves as a reminder that excellent marketers need to be empathetic towards others. This is why placing a strong emphasis on desired customer outcomes and excellent service throughout the buyer journey has been crucial for Widen.

Learn more about Widen here: https://www.widen.com/

Learn more about Jake here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeathey/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Great marketers are also great storytellers. As Scott noted, feeling genuinely passionate about the story you’re telling helps others get invested in the vision, too. During his seven-year stint at Salesforce, one of the key lessons he learned was that a great story has the power to inspire the market and the entire internal organization.
• Dashboards are dead. When it comes to analytics, Scott takes the bold stance that static dashboards have become a relic of the past. Instead, he believes that analytics should be an interactive experience which business leaders can immerse themselves in on the fly, in real time.
• Think big. When it comes to marketing and PR, there’s always room to think bigger and expand your vision for the company. Scott believes through sheer force of will and great storytelling, you can achieve anything you set your mind to and motivate others to do the same.

Learn more about ThoughtSpot here: https://www.thoughtspot.com/

Learn more about Scott here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottiholden/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• When in doubt, remember: E=mc2. When searching for a new company to join, Chandar took notes from Einstein and came up with a simple pneumonic formula: the “M” in the equation refers to monetary, the first “C” stands for competitive advantage, and the second “C” stands for culture as he was looking for a company that was dedicated to supporting rather than managing its employees.
• Seek harmony. Chandar mentioned that the role of a CMO is to create harmony across the organization by supporting team members and understanding the nuances of the company’s strategic goals. He recommends taking advantage of the skills and experience you’ve gained from prior roles while keeping a flexible approach.
• Embody the characteristics of a great CMO. Chandar believes there are three components of a great CMO: excellent storytelling skills, an understanding of the science of marketing, and the ability to harness all the moving parts of a marketing engine to form connections. Once you’ve mastered all these elements, Chandar says, you’ll be well on your way as an effective marketing leader.

Learn more about Coupa here: https://www.coupa.com/

Learn more about Chandar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandarp/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• The best marketers are both hungry and humble. Cristy noted that when hiring new talent for the team, she looks for these two qualities because they signal a desire to be the best they can be while remaining kind and willing to learn new things.
• All teams are ultimately responsible for creating sales pipeline. Cristy mentioned that when it comes to sales, she considers all teams including marketing and business development responsible for creating pipeline and driving high-quality conversions. This is why collaboration and communication is key at every stage of the journey.
• Cristy takes a 360-degree approach to campaigns. She believes that every level of the funnel is equally important, and all touchpoints like email, events and content marketing should ultimately come together to create a comprehensive journey for the customer.

Learn more about Impact here: https://impact.com/

Learn more about Cristy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinaebert/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• When attempting to reach a target audience that’s resistant to most marketing efforts like engineers, a different approach may be necessary. From the beginning, Bill recognized that engineering leaders and software engineers despise marketing, which is why the team at Karat uses quality content and thought leadership to entice prospects while leaving the decisions in their hands.
• Go where the buyers are. When developing creative content and out-of-the-box solutions to reach people who are marketing-averse, Bill emphasized the importance of staying on top of trends in their space and always being one step ahead of the pack. Part of this strategy includes regularly attending and speaking at events in the technology space to position your brand as a thought leader and authoritative voice on the subject. 
• Draw attention to the pain points you’re solving with your business. Bill mentioned that part of their strategy at Karat is increasing overall awareness of the pain points in the traditional interviewing process to show companies that there’s a better way of doing things they may not have considered previously. Once they know they’re on fire, so to speak, it’s your chance to step up and help put it out.

Learn more about Karat here: https://karat.com/

Learn more about Bill here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realbillkramer/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Sometimes, a new role can mean a major shift in perspective. For Carol, shifting gears from Global VP of Marketing to General Manager at Trend Micro was a massive wake-up call and as she describes it, like “business school on steroids.” In her new role, Carol was responsible for multiple, cross-functional teams, profits and loss, revenue and customer acquisition.
• Ask, and you shall receive. After working under several different CEOs throughout her career, Carol realized she just might have the chops to do it herself. Once she had been struck by the idea, she began spreading the word that she was in the market for a CEO role and lo and behold, the calls started flooding in, which is how she landed the coveted title at ElasticBox.
• Follow the pain. Carol mentioned that an important lesson she learned while working at Google Cloud was that customers aren’t necessarily interested in what you can do, but how you can help them solve their personal pain points. When in doubt, identify the pain points customers are struggling with and help them come up with a “painkiller,” which will ultimately help to drive urgency and immediacy.

Learn more about VMware here: https://www.airtable.com/

Learn more about Carol here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolwcarpenter/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Play to your strengths. Archana mentioned that one lesson she took away from the transition from her role at IBM to the Ladders was to recognize where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and double down on your strong points to leverage them as much as possible. Ultimately, this will help you build resilience so you can overcome your weaknesses.
• Focus on operational excellence. Bringing together people, processes, systems and tactics into one place has been a gamechanger for Archana and her team, especially during big launches. She mentioned that with such a high volume of campaigns, content and requests happening at once, a strong focus on operational efficiency is the key to developing the kind of agility marketers need today.
• Building a positive team culture is a must. Archana shared that the marketing team at Airtable often engages in interactive, team-building activities like contributing to a crowdsourced newsletter or even a virtual Airbnb tour through the streets of Paris. Creating a strong team culture increases collaboration and communication, which in turn, makes the chaos a little more manageable. 

Learn more about Airtable here: https://www.airtable.com/

Learn more about Archana here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/archana-agrawal/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Growth is always tapping talented people on the shoulder. Employers need to stay cognizant of this fact and provide their employees with continuous growth opportunities every step of the way. Otherwise, they may begin to stagnate in their career and as a result, seek other opportunities.
• Wearing multiple hats throughout your career gives you the opportunity to empathize with others and learn valuable skills. Leela mentioned that having experience on both ends of the sales pipeline enabled her to put herself in the shoes of others and gain a better understanding of the entire process from the perspective of both the customer and the sales executive.
• A company rebrand involves much more than just a fresh coat of paint. For Momentive, the process of rebranding (or relaunching, if you will) involved telling a new story around the solutions the company offers, and keeping their vision of raising the bar for human experiences by amplifying individual voices at the forefront of it all.

Learn more about Momentive here: https://www.momentive.ai/

Learn more about Leela here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leelasrinivasan/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• According to Joe, there are essentially two ways to build a brand in B2B: the path of the dragonslayer or the patron saint. In the former, you’re fighting against something and existing in opposition to it, like ads, for example. With the patron saint approach, you’re standing to give rise to a new role or to strengthen a new role within a company, which is where Pendo has always operated in terms of product.
• Joe mentioned he once read a study that tracked every visitor to a grocery store in an attempt to find a pattern in the way people walk through aisles, and the answer was that there was no pattern. Applying this to the buyer experience at Pendo, Joe mentioned he tries to create a portfolio of different avenues people can use to discover the company such as free content about becoming a better product manager, or requesting a demo of the product. This way, there’s something for every style of grocery store perusing.
• Joe’s parting advice for marketers was to take the spirit of advice from marketing thought leaders, instead of taking it so literally. He believes we could all benefit from learning from the problem somebody is trying to solve and how they're approaching the solution rather than rushing to learn the specific tools that were used in finding the solution.

Learn more about Pendo here: https://www.pendo.io/

Learn more about Joe here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jchernov/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• When hiring new marketers, engage in a free-flowing conversation rather than a traditional interview. This way, you can get a better sense of who the candidate is as a person, where their true passion lies, and whether they’ll be the right fit for your team.
• Don’t underestimate the power of marketing from an internal perspective. Tarah believes a great mentorship network within a company can go a long way in terms of maintaining resiliency and consistency among the team.
• Content creators and digital marketers need to come together to create the most effective strategy. Catalyst Health is big on breaking down the barriers between departments to ensure strong collaboration and a versatile approach.

Learn more about Health Catalyst here: https://www.healthcatalyst.com/

Learn more about Tarah here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarahn/  

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Passion rules at the end of the day. When it comes to hiring processes, building a brand narrative and carrying forward your company’s key messaging, the passion behind it all is the secret ingredient for success. If you can’t have passion, then intrigue that has the potential to turn into passion is the next runner up.
• Case studies are more crucial now than ever before. With the rise of digital and virtual video conferencing due to the pandemic, impactful case studies demonstrating tangible examples of your company’s work are key for connecting and engaging with your customers.
• Demonstrate your wins. Dan mentioned that so much of the news today is about losing, so it’s important to show off your wins in a compelling way. Paint a picture of your success like you’re crafting a scene from a movie, and trust that your buyers will connect with your narrative on an emotional level. 

Learn more about HUMAN here: https://www.humansecurity.com/

Learn more about Dan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danlowden/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• While the remote work revolution has its downsides, it’s also made it easier for companies to embrace inclusivity by expanding the talent pool beyond a physical location. Leslie says hiring and onboarding new employees remotely has allowed for a more equitable integration of diverse backgrounds and perspectives overall.
• From a B2B marketing perspective, businesses need to be strategic about the companies they’re targeting to maximize their chances at success and adding value to the organization. Marketers would be wise to spend more time listening, researching and synthesizing information gleaned from buyer interactions to offer personalized and precise experiences.
• Marketing teams are responsible for the entire continuum of a customer’s experience from the first interaction to the close. To create a personalized experience for customers, the marketing and sales teams need to be aligned on their approach so that each aspect of the funnel feels streamlined and consistent. Collaboration is key, and providing value at every stage helps to create a memorable experience for the customer. 

Learn more about Ivanti here: https://www.ivanti.com/

Learn more about Leslie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliecocco/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• A flexible organization structure is crucial for marketing teams. In order for companies to retain valued employees, it’s important to recognize their personal career aspirations and provide them with opportunities to expand their skill set and learn new things. Losing a marketer to another company can create a gap in the structure, and filling this gap isn’t always easy.
• In order to create a personalized customer journey, companies need to track each step along their path to making a purchase. However, trust and transparency is more important than ever. It’s essential to strike a balance between taking advantage of behavioral data and maintaining an open, honest relationship with the customer.
• The marketing operations team is the primary champion in terms of customer data ownership. This team serves as the central holder of data points crossing from the buyer stages to the customer journey. As marketers invest in more technology, the role of the marketing operations team is becoming more crucial as a bridge to a greater understanding of the buyer overall.

Learn more about FullStory here: https://www.fullstory.com/

Learn more about Kirsten here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenpetra/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• The path to becoming a CMO isn’t necessarily straightforward. By continually following her passions and interests throughout her career, Melissa carved out a niche for herself in the tech world and first landed the coveted title at ChannelAdvisor back in 2016. Her experiences ultimately paved the way for her current role at Litmus.
• Email marketing is one of the best ways to nurture relationships with customers. One of the most popular trends happening in email marketing right now is personalization and tailored communications strategies based on analytics and subscriber interests.
• Ultimately, the role of the marketer is to help drive the growth of the company. Your job shouldn’t end with your skills—it should extend beyond everyday functions to continue building the pipeline forward.

Learn more about Litmus here: https://www.litmus.com/

Learn more about Melissa here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-sargeant-a133142/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Data is the one thing in marketing you can truly measure and it’s important that as leaders we understand the advantage of this to earn a seat at the table.
• Rebranding is difficult, expensive and messy, especially when you are merging two defined identities. In Katherine’s case, it was a perfect opportunity to fuse data into the decision making process. Doing market research became critical to going about the rebrand properly.
• As a B2B marketer, your job is to create and accelerate revenue opportunities. When you are clear about this North star and impart this to your team the next steps become natural and it allows more collaboration with your sales team.

Learn more about Khoros here: https://khoros.com/

Learn more about Katherine here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinecalvert/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Monica’s mantra is “F*** average, be legendary”. She says that in your career, you have to always push yourself forward even if you feel like you don’t have it in you. 
• At every stage in a company’s growth cycle, different marketing skills and strategies are required. To be a successful marketer with a growing company, you need to be comfortable with trying new things and reinventing yourself.
• Tap into social! It’s where conversations and communications are happening. As marketers, we used to put a lot of money and resources to solicit info, now it’s all online for us to tap into. These conversations will be happening with or without your brand, so you need to find a way to engage with your target on social, and take ownership of your message.

Learn more about SOCi here: https://www.meetsoci.com/

Learn more about Monica here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicamho/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• The hardest challenge moving into a higher level marketing role can be moving from a place of subject matter expertise to a place of connecting the dots and facilitating the experts. Blake had to learn how to move away from leading with technical skills and focus on setting his team up for success.
• Marketing is a tool to drive business value. As marketers we need to bring marketing into the conversation at the executive table and talk about how it can drive business strategy. How does it fit into the overall business structure? How does it drive revenue growth?
• Measure everything-- even if you don’t report on it outside your team you may eventually be able to put that data to use somehow-- a culture of measurement and metrics also evokes trust in your board to allow you to take risks as you grow.

Learn more about Florence Healthcare here: https://florencehc.com/

Learn more about Blake here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakegadams/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Focus on content that truly educates your buyer-- if it’s informative and based in fact it will be much more successful
• Remember to think about the fact that adults learn in different ways. Too often marketers don’t think about different form factors and alienate a large part of their audience.
• As a CMO, you need to focus both on your team and your executive peers. Tight relationships are imperative to scaling your impact in the business.
• You don’t always design your career. Often it’s about walking through doors when they’re open and a fair bit of luck. But Seema noted, “the harder she worked, the luckier she got”.

Learn more about New Relic here: https://newrelic.com/

Learn more about Seema here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seemaxkumar/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Setbacks and losing opportunities can hurt but the key in these moments is how we respond, how we adapt, and what we do next.
• Marketing is all about balance. Balance between science and art, data and customization; balance in your messaging. Striking a balance can be tricky and is a skill marketers hone over years and years in the industry.
• Timing is also such an important factor. It’s not just about serving your customers with what they need, it’s also about serving it at the right time.

Learn more about Rokt here: https://rokt.com/

Learn more about Pascal here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefractionalcmo/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Once you’ve established who you are and how you speak about your company, there are so many other factors like customers, community, and social media that all come into play. Yet the only way to do comms well is to be aligned on what the overall goal is.
• Understanding your customers and having a feedback loop is so important in communications, it will influence how you speak to them and how you develop your strategy.
• Movement marketing is based on a deep understanding of your mission and marketing in a way that holds this in focus and ensures your message is heard and understood by your customers. 

Learn more about here: https://www.craftventures.com/

Learn more about Jessica here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-hoffman-a65224/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• You can balance being a career driven leader and a family person. For Megan, she needed this time to refine her needs and approach and be strategic about her next move.
• Your career is like a marriage-- it needs to be right because it has implications on every aspect of your life. It needs to be a good match and a good partnership.
• Even when your company is product driven, it can’t be as simple as “these are our products, buy them from us”, especially during these turbulent times when things are less certain, you need to connect with customers and potential customers in increasingly different and digital ways.

Learn more about Silicon Labs here: https://www.silabs.com/

Learn more about Megan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganlueders/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Your demand performance is what gives you the right and the budget to do other, cooler things like invest in brand and do cooler executions. Amy says she always spoke in terms of metrics and demand and this earned her a seat at the table.
• Good content always prevails-- find out what content works for you and prioritize making it great.
• There is always a debate of who should “own” things in marketing. When we have projects where there isn’t a specific owner, this actually builds opportunities for partnerships and teamwork.

Learn more about Alphasense here: https://www.alpha-sense.com/

Learn more about Amy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aholtzman/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Take calls with recruiters. Even if you’re not looking, you may know someone who is a great fit, and it’s good to stay informed about what’s out there. It always benefits to stay connected and continue relationship building even if you’re not in the market for a job.
• So few companies consolidate sales and marketing under the same leader, and most C Suite teams talk about aligning sales and marketing when they should be talking about integrating them. 
• At InVision, Brian has had great success with converting PQLs or product qualified leads into enterprise clients--as he says, seeds become trees. People do certain things in the app that trigger a signal to try to convert them to enterprise customers. But Brian recognizes the skills needed to nurture an enterprise account are very different than those needed to nurture other customers, so it’s important to have a diverse team to manage this.

Learn more about InVision here: https://www.invisionapp.com/

Learn more about Brian here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-kardon-446b4

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Change is scary but it’s so important- it’s the only constant in life and in marketing, and learning to embrace it is so beneficial.
• Acquisition is great but ABM is all about “land and expand”. Especially in SaaS marketing, acquisition is only half the battle. It’s all about landing enterprise clients and expanding to other parts of their business.
• You have to know who you’re targeting to deliver the experience they expect. The more we know, the better we can deliver.

Learn more about Tealium here: https://tealium.com/

Learn more about Heidi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hbullock/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• In marketing, we often think we need to “stay in our lane” but the most creativity can happen when we take these lanes down, try new things and collaborate.
• Demand and brand do not need to be mutually exclusive-- as a CMO, you have to have both and you have to be focused on both. 
• It can be advantageous to move into tech/startup marketing from a large company. Working at enterprise companies can help you identify pain points in business models and with using MarTech.

Learn more about Smartsheet here: https://www.smartsheet.com/

Learn more about Anna here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-griffin-1969843/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• In tech and startup marketing, finding the sweet spot between “too early” and “too late” is key in a go to market strategy. Imagine trying to explain TikTok to someone five years ago!
• One of Amdoc’s greatest challenges has been escaping its legacy, however positive it may be. They are the “Michael Jordan of billing” but this can make it difficult for them to escape this box and make a name for themselves in another domain
• A new segment has been born-- enterprise consumers. Businesspeople are working from home, requiring security and broadband previously only available from the office. Identifying new customer segments like this is key to thriving in a changing world.

Learn more about Amdocs here: https://www.amdocs.com/

Listen to their podcast, The Great Indoors here: https://www.amdocs.com/TheGreatIndoors

Learn more about Gil here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilrosen/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Relationships are the most important currency in building your career. Value and nurture the people that are going to champion you and build you up throughout your career
• You can fight Zoom fatigue by considering what would make your event a unique experience. What will differentiate you and get people talking about it?
• Perfecting the formula for digital events is about packaging things specifically for digital first, not adding in digital as an afterthought, much like the sports industry does--digital viewers may not be as connected with their in-person community but they have a one of a kind viewing experience.

Learn more about Hopin here: https://hopin.com/

Learn more about Anthony here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akennada/

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Key takeaways from this episode:  

• Melissa has been intentional about pursuing opportunities where she has questioned if she was ready because it’s important to recognize the opportunity and need to be constantly expanding your tool belt as a marketer.
• Working at large companies that touch many different industries present opportunities for growth in your career.
• First, it’s important to have the right people, then you can define the right processes. After this you can think about how to better leverage technology to support these people and processes.
• Marketing is part art and part science but revenue marketing focuses on the science portion and looks at marketing in a more value based way, questioning how you are driving value for the business.

Learn more about Trimble here: https://www.trimble.com/

Learn more about Melissa here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissahanson1/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Business advising, or any new challenge can seem daunting but Meagen is able to advise more efficiently after doing it for so long. Companies at various stages in their growth cycle face similar problems and pattern recognition allows her to build models and give faster advice.
• To choose her roles, Meagen assesses five things: the addressable market, the investors, the team, the ability to execute, and whether she can add value.
• Marketing and product might seem like very different things but one important thing they have in common is that they’re key for connecting with your customers.

Learn more about TripActions here: https://tripactions.com/

Learn more about Meagen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meageneisenberg/

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Key takeaways from this episode:  

• As marketers we need to get rid of the jargon in our content. There is more content than ever before which makes it even more important to be genuine. If you’re not genuine, people will notice-- and they will leave.   
• Sales is the front line to the customer but product marketing and product management are right behind them so they should have a direct line to your customers as well.   
• There should be absolutely no shame in “boomeranging” back to a company. In many cases it can be seen and treated as a totally new opportunity, especially in cases like Lynne’s where she returned to a company at a completely different stage in their growth cycle.  

Learn more about Acquia here: https://www.acquia.com/  

Learn more about Lynne here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnecapozzi/  

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Key takeaways from this episode:   

• It’s important to understand why your company exists before you can build out what you do and how you do it. This framework will allow both your company and your customers to buy into your mission.    
• It’s not always sufficient to stay high level with your messaging. If you have something to say, customers want you to go deeper and establish thought leadership.   
• Audiences don’t want to be sold to, they want to be educated. This is what’s most important for top of funnel stages of the buyer journey.   

Learn more about Checkr here: https://checkr.com/ 

Learn more about Prachi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prachigore/ 

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Key takeaways from this episode:  

• The buyer journey is “the most important and most forgotten”-- once customers buy in, they’re often disregarded. In reality, the customer onboarding process is very important and creating a good customer experience right off the bat will ensure greater retention.   

• Often the people you sell to are not the people that own the application in the long term. Be aware of who will be using your product regularly and align your communication strategies with them.  

• Marketing is in a unique position to lead the customer experience across the board-- and a great customer experience turns your customers into advocates.  

Learn more about SalesLoft here: https://salesloft.com/  

Learn more about Sydney here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydsloan/  

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Key takeaways from this episode:   

• Working within an existing category comes with budget because the need has been proven.  With new categories, you’re constantly justifying why you and why now. You’re convincing people to do things in a different way and this always comes with challenges.  
• One of the most interesting things about the COVID-19 pandemic is that literally every industry has been impacted. Consumer buying behaviour in every industry has changed and companies are thriving based on their adaptability.  
• Who you are working for is important. Culture is important. Consider these factors as much as you consider the role and the company itself.  

Learn more about UserTesting here: https://www.usertesting.com/. 

Learn more about Michelle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellehuff/. 

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Key takeaways from this episode:  

• Wherever you sit you should have a certain hierarchy: customer is number one, then the company, then your team, then an individual. If you keep this in mind, you really can’t go wrong.  

• We often think as marketing leaders that our team is made up of the marketers that report into us. We need to also realize that there is “the rest of our team”. This could be the executive team, the board of directors, or other team members at the company. It’s important to give appropriate time to our wider team as well.  

• As a CMO, it’s important to come into a new role with framework, pillars and ideas but then you need to apply and customize these ideas to the specific company.  

Learn more about Lendio here: https://www.lendio.com/  

Learn more about Karen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-peterson-marketing/  

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Key Takeaways

• Success does not have to be complicated: focus on the basics, collaborate and do good work.
• Have a learning mindset: don’t be an executive who just delegates and attends meetings. Employ a collaborative, learning approach to the day to day in order to never lose touch with the work.
• Real world examples are so valuable in marketing and just to companies in general. It’s one thing to say “our product can solve your problem” but you need to be able to prove it.
• It’s often argued that it’s hard to measure ROI with PR (which is true) but PR is really invaluable. PR creates opportunities to advance your brand, your product, your reputation and your messaging.

Learn more about Kristin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ktreat73/

Learn more about here: https://www.nintex.com/

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Key takeaways from this episode:  

• There is more than one entry point into the world of marketing. Many people enter this world by being industry experts wanting to explore new realms of business. Sometimes these people can be even more valuable than seasoned marketers.  
• Content by itself isn’t enough; it’s about understanding the journey your customers are on and meeting them there. The right content to the right buyer at the right time is a core pillar of any ABM strategy.  
• Good ABM is about relationships and personalization: knowing your customers, understanding them and maintaining a personal touch.

Learn more about  FINEOS here: https://www.fineos.com/

Learn more about Chuck here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-johnston-66136/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• When you’re marketing through a private equity roll out, it’s important to bring confidence to investors. Make yourself visible, and ensure you have a voice.
• Bethany brings a builder mentally to her roles and she knows she is best suited for early stage marketing but you can bring a builder attitude to later stage organizations too. Consider how to employ this mindset and remain agile and adaptable in your marketing. 
• When thinking of your brand tone, consider the concept of relationship building. If you’re meeting someone for the first time you don’t start out telling jokes or puns, you introduce yourself with your name and once you know them better you loosen up. If you don’t know your audience, be straightforward, give the facts and share what they’re looking for, until they know you a bit better.
• It’s important that at every single stage in the buyer journey brand tone is considered and you take steps within your communication to make sure it remains consistent.

Learn more about Alloy here: https://alloy.co/

Learn more about Bethany here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/babarker/

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• It all comes down to the story you’re trying to tell in the market. Storytelling should be focused around making your product more human and more customer-centric. It should make you come across like you care about your customer’s story.
• You don’t have to stay in one industry, you just have to find something you’re passionate about and that you want to pursue-- for Robin this was bringing people together and creating connectivity.
• Product marketing “should be a circle”. It’s about making things consistent at their core. Your story at the top of your funnel should be the same at the bottom of your funnel.

Learn more about Matterport here: https://matterport.com/

Learn more about Robin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robingdaniels/

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Key takeaways from this episode:  

• It’s important to always raise your hand to try things- learn more, be open more. Value growth in learning and being challenged.  
• Flywire’s approach to product and marketing comes down to one core sentiment: you can’t work in silos. Everyone at a company must work in pursuit of a shared vision even if you’re performing different tasks.  
• As a global company, it’s important to understand your customers everywhere. Many companies have marketers in North America working to understand markets all over the world but it helps infinitely to have people on the ground in each market with a deep understanding of the demographic.  

Learn more about Flywire here: https://www.flywire.com/  

Learn more about Allison here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonbmacleod/  

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Key takeaways from this episode:

• Girls Who Code is an organization marketing to both corporate sponsors and young girls-- they know they have to do this very differently, using different channels. It’s important to understand where you’ll reach your audience segments and what you need to say to each of them rather than blasting your message across every channel.  
• No matter what you’re doing, passion is key. It’s important to be passionate about what we’re doing, or at least passionate about the influence we can drive and understanding of how we can give back.  
• We carve career paths for ourselves based on unexpected parallels. To many, it seemed like an unprecedented move for Deborah to move from a tech startup Lulu to nonprofit, Girls Who Code, but to her it made perfect sense. Lulu was disrupting the dating game for women, while Girls Who Code was looking to disrupt the tech industry for women.   

Learn more about how Girls Who Code is creating opportunities for girls and women in tech here: https://girlswhocode.com/

Learn more about Deborah here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahjsinger/