The Marketer's Journey

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Archana Agrawal, CMO at Airtable, a San Francisco-based cloud service. With a background in data science and analytics, Archana applies her experience to her new role to leverage data and gain a deeper understanding of the marketing team’s needs. During the episode, we discuss tips for how marketing teams can stay nimble, agile and organized for success.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Leela Srinivasan, CMO of Momentive, the company previously known as SurveyMonkey. We discuss the reasoning behind the company’s rebrand and how the process unfolded from ideation to execution. Leela shares the wisdom she’s gained through roles at Lever, Bravado and Stage 2 Capital, and as a board member at Upwork. She also offers her tips for building relationships, understanding the sales pipeline and collaborating effectively across teams.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play! 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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Joe Chernov, CMO at Pendo, a company that’s on a mission to elevate the world’s experience with software. We discuss his career path so far, and how it’s evolved over the years from leading with content to leading with product. Now, he’s focused on finding a way to bring the two areas together seamlessly.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play! 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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Tarah Neujahr Bryan, CMO at Health Catalyst, a leading provider of data and analytics to healthcare organizations. Tarah shares her perspective on humility, learning from mistakes and her approach on everything from content strategy to hiring.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 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/  

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Dan Lowden, CMO at HUMAN, a cybersecurity company formerly known as White Ops. Dan is a passionate marketer and storyteller, and he’s held several positions throughout his career including CMO, founder and even head chef. During the episode, we discuss the path to becoming a CMO, meeting customers in a human way, brand storytelling and much more.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play!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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Leslie Alore, Global Vice President of Growth Marketing at Ivanti. In her role, Leslie focuses on growth and offering a fresh perspective to the executive table. Not only is Leslie an experienced marketing expert, but she also understands the nuances of the business world and the importance of strategic decision making tools. Previously known as Landesk, Ivanti is an IT software company offering enterprise service, management solutions, security solutions and unified endpoint management. Ivanti has seen tremendous growth in recent years, acquiring at least one new company each quarter. Leslie works synergistically with the leadership team to evaluate every facet of the business as a whole, and ultimately ensure the marketing strategy is aligned with the company’s overall strategic priorities.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play! 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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Kirsten Newbold-Knipp, Chief Marketing Officer at FullStory, a digital experience intelligence (DXI) platform that helps companies drive digital growth based on user experience data. Kirsten is also an investor and advisor, and during the episode she reveals her secrets for juggling multiple roles and maintaining balance throughout it all. We also discuss the importance of striking a balance between making full use of customer data while maintaining trust in the relationship.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play! 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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Melissa Sargeant, Chief Marketing Officer at Litmus, a company that empowers brands to build, test and analyze email marketing campaigns. We discuss Melissa’s career path through corporate communications, public affairs and tech, and the experiences that have shaped her into the CMO she is today. As a founding member of CMO Huddles, Melissa shares some of the topics and issues the group discusses each month. The current state of email marketing and where it’s headed in the future is also a topic of discussion, and Melissa offers her perspective on the benefits of the channel from a brand perspective.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 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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Katherine Calvert, CMO at Khoros. Katherine began her career in communications and by her admission “didn’t even know what marketing was” but was always interested in tech and the idea of helping connect businesses to their customers. Her background has led her to take a conscious holistic approach to marketing: she understands the value of comms but also knows that data is hard to argue with when you’re trying to prove ROI. This holistic view of marketing and ability to adapt was integral to her success as CMO as her team merged and rebranded two $100M companies to form Khoros.Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play! 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/

On this episode of The Marketer’s Journey, I interview Monica Ho, CMO at SOCi Inc. Monica has a wealth of experience scaling companies and when she moved to SOCi, she was looking to get back to building again. She wanted to be an integral part of their growth as they started fundraising for their Series B; now they have just closed their Series D and are close to 200 hundred employees. Today we discuss Monica’s approach to her career and finding new opportunities. We also dig into how to leverage data on social for consumer insights to better connect with your target audiences. Check out this and other episodes of The Marketer’s Journey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play! 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/