The Marketer's Journey

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Genefa Murphy, the CMO of cloud contact center, Five9. During the episode, we discuss her path to CMO, creative marketing that challenges societal norms, and the customer experience overall.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Jamie Gilpin, CMO at Sprout Social, a company that helps brands unlock the power of social media. During the episode, we discuss the value of social media, Jamie’s career trajectory so far, and how to connect with buyers in a meaningful way.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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.comLearn more about Jamie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiegilpin/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Chris Koehler, the CMO of Box, a cloud content management company that helps companies securely connect their people, information and applications. During the episode, we discuss how Box has evolved over the years, Chris’s career trajectory so far, and how to scale the customer relationship by taking a holistic marketing approach.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/homeLearn more about Chris here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ckoehler/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Noreen Allen, CMO at Bandwidth, a global cloud platform for cloud-ready voice, messaging, and emergency services. During the episode, we discuss how Noreen guided the company through an IPO and the role of a CMO throughout that process, as well as how she’s reshaped the marketing organization to address specific buyer segments.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Jake Athey, VP of Marketing at Widen, a cloud-native provider of digital asset management (DAM) and product information management (PIM) software. During the episode, we discuss Acquia’s recent acquisition of Widen, taking a balanced approach to marketing, and Jake’s 17-year journey with the company.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Scott Holden, CMO at ThoughtSpot, a tech company that produces business intelligence analytics search software. Previously, Scott served as VP of Marketing at Salesforce. During the episode, we discuss Scott’s disruptive approach to marketing, modern day analytics, and what made him the CMO he is today.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Chandar Pattabhiram, CMO at Coupa, a global technology platform for business spend management. In the past, Chandar also held CMO roles at Marketo and Badgeville. During the episode, we discuss his career path so far, how to turn an educational brand into a global phenomenon and the key characteristics of a great CMO. Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Cristy Garcia, the Vice President of Marketing at Impact, a partnership management platform. Specializing in content creating, lead generation programs and team building, Cristy is a B2B marketer who is equally hungry, humble and smart. During the episode, we discuss the qualities Cristy looks for when hiring new marketers, tips for marketing teams to create sales pipeline, and the role of content and events in customer engagement.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Bill Kramer, VP of Marketing at Karat, a company that conducts live technical interviews for leading tech talent acquisition programs. We discuss his career trajectory so far, content creation and how to market to people who don’t want to be marketed to.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Carol Carpenter, CMO of VMware, a cloud computing and virtualization technology company. Carol shares some of the lessons she’s learned during her roles at several different startups, including stints as CEO of ElasticBox and as GM at Trend Micro. During the episode, we discuss strategy, customer segmentation and the learning experiences that have helped her build confidence along the way.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/