How to Implement AI in Your Go-To-Market with Matt Heinz - Ep 54
May 9, 2025
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Matt Heinz, President of Heinz Marketing and a top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencer, shares insights on navigating AI in B2B marketing. He emphasizes the critical need for structured AI adoption in go-to-market strategies, moving beyond 'random acts of AI.' Matt discusses the importance of personal connections in a noisy market and critiques the tendency of marketers to misname products. Additionally, he explores the evolving relationship between marketing and sales leadership, proposing a shift in reporting dynamics for CMOs.
Implementing AI in Go-To-Market strategies requires structured accountability rather than arbitrary applications to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
Building personal connections and trust with customers is essential for differentiation in a competitive market landscape, even as technology scales.
Marketing professionals must improve naming conventions for products and concepts to reduce confusion and align expectations with actual functionalities.
Deep dives
Random Acts of AI
Many companies today are engaging in sporadic and uncoordinated uses of AI, often referred to as 'random acts of AI'. This approach usually consists of tackling individual projects without aligning them to a broader strategic goal. As a result, organizations miss out on better utilizing AI for market strategies and operational efficiency. Companies are urged to create accountability charts that clarify roles and tasks for integrating AI into their business models, ensuring meaningful and consistent application.
Evolving Buyer Relationships
The nature of trust and relationships is shifting in sales and marketing, becoming a differentiating factor in customer engagement. As companies face increasing noise and competition, buyers will prioritize interactions with those they know and like. This requires businesses to foster genuine relationships, recognizing the long-term value of trust over short-term sales tactics. Companies that focus on understanding their buyers and creating authentic connections will emerge as leaders in their respective markets.
Challenges in Naming Conventions
The podcast discusses challenges in the marketing industry related to poor naming conventions for new concepts and tools. Terms like 'intent signals' and 'marketing automation' often misrepresent the actual function or impact of these tools, leading to confusion and miscommunication. This misnaming can create illusions about readiness for purchases and complicate the sales process. By reframing how these concepts are presented, marketing professionals can improve clarity and align expectations with actual outcomes.
Accountability and AI Integration
Organizations will benefit from clear accountability when integrating AI into their business processes. This entails recognizing specific jobs that AI can do well and mapping out roles accordingly. The effective use of AI requires not just technical implementation but a strategic focus on improving accountability and workflow. Successful companies will build out their systems to leverage AI continuously, making smarter decisions on the operational level while enhancing collaboration.
Future of Sales with AI
The advancing capabilities of AI will significantly alter how sales functions operate, redefining roles and relationships in the sales process. While AI can streamline many aspects of selling, it cannot wholly replace the trust and human connections that are critical in customer relationships. As AI enables greater processing of data, organizations must remain aware of the potential pitfalls and ensure that human oversight and empathy remain integral to the buying process. The focus should be on identifying meaningful signals and employing them to enhance genuine interactions.
Matt Heinz, the President of Heinz Marketing, is a top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencer and a prolific thought leader in the B2B marketing space. Matt digs into why B2B marketers should invest more in brand as the AI Age progresses, whether the Chief Marketing Officer should report to the Chief Revenue Officer, and why B2B marketers are so terrible at naming products and concepts.
Also, Craig ponders the meaning of parabolas, Matt ranks the best men’s hair in B2B Marketing, and Producer Sam gets confused by Craig talking about bats.
Critical Takeaways
Develop a structured approach to AI adoption in Go-To-Market strategies. Instead of engaging in 'random acts of AI,' organizations should create an accountability chart detailing which jobs are better suited for machines and which require human intervention.
Personal connections and credibility can differentiate a brand in a noisy market. Efforts should be made to maintain and build these relationships alongside leveraging scalable technology.
While marketing attribution is important, it should not solely focus on credit for past actions. It should be used to create a more predictable and reliable path towards future outcomes. Go to market teams need to look at attribution as a tool for driving the right behaviors and actions, rather than merely analyzing past performance.
Signals, including “intent signals”, need to be understood in context and not treated as immediate leads. Revenue teams should use signals to inform their understanding of where a prospect is in the buying journey, rather than assuming all signals indicate readiness to buy. This nuanced understanding can improve targeting and engagement efforts.
Even as AI and automation take on more tasks, creativity and strategic thinking remain irreplaceable. Teams should focus on leveraging AI for efficiency while reserving creative and complex problem-solving tasks for human talent. This balance can drive innovation and maintain a competitive edge.
Sponsored Segment
Ringmaster Conversational Marketing - The Transaction is sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/
“ We shouldn't be guessing anymore, we should be using the agents to tell us how to improve right away”- Matt Heinz
“ If I have more noise and less time, who am I going to prioritize? It's the people I enjoy. It's the people I trust. It's the people I like. That's going to be a huge differentiator moving forward.”- Matt Heinz
“ I don't want anybody to think that I'm not down with intent signals. I'm down with signals because right now the hardest thing in the world to do is engage.”- Craig Rosenberg
“If you are looking for the solution in the tool, you're bound to fail.” - Matt Amundson
