Leah Kovach Margolis is a growth marketer with 10+ years of experience growing revenue for pre-seed through series C companies. Currently, she's the Director of Demand Generation at Hypar, a generative design platform for the AEC industry. Outside of work, Leah recently wrapped up an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.  Questions and topics we covered include: How does someone get their first job in marketing? What interview questions should marketers be preparing for? What questions should marketers ask before taking a job? How does someone even succeed in their first marketing job? The unique challenges that come from marketing at different stages of a company’s lifecycle  Being a generalist T-shaped marketer vs specializing Being more useful to the team—building institutional knowledge and industry know-how When is the right time to walk away from a company and move on? Should marketers get an MBA? And more! Connect with Leah via LinkedIn at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahkovach/  You can say hello to me on LinkedIn at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

“People notice something wrong in their business, the root cause is that something is wrong in their business but they start looking for tech as almost like a distraction…buying Martech is a silver bullet for Martech problems but, not business problems.” Brian Kotlyar is the VP of Marketing and Growth at Hightouch.com (a CDP and data activation platform), where he leads the company’s marketing strategy and is responsible for driving growth and customer acquisition. Prior to his role at Hightouch, Brian held the position of SVP of Marketing at New Relic, where he played a pivotal role in leading the company’s marketing efforts during a period of rapid growth and a successful IPO. He helped triple the growth rate of the company and oversaw numerous product launches and marketing initiatives. He also served as Head of Marketing at Intercom, where he helped the company build a world-class marketing team. Throughout his career, Brian has worked extensively in building and growing multiple B2B startups successfully. Questions and topics we covered include: Brian’s explanation of consumption pricing and how this concept helped him in his marketing career Is a better Martech stack the secret to fixing a company’s growth problems? What is a CDP and why should marketers care about them? How does this type of tool affect our work? Traditional vs composable CDPs How to justify the purchase of a CDP? What is a data warehouse and how does it differ from a CDP? Why do most data and marketing teams have bad relationships with each other? How do we make these relationships better? And more! You can learn more about HighTouch at - https://hightouch.com Connect with Brian via LinkedIn at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/briankotlyar/  You can say hello to me on LinkedIn at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

Laura Johns is the founder and CEO of The Business Growers, a marketing firm serving the B2B telecom, SaaS, IT, and cloud-services industries. For 18 years, Laura managed marketing efforts for companies ranging from tech startups to global, multi-billion dollar businesses. She spent nearly half her career serving as a corporate marketing executive in the telecom industry before starting The Business Growers. Her career focus is developing marketing strategies for tech companies that lead to tangible success. Today, The Business Growers serves over 50 clients in 15 states. Laura has been honored as “Top 50 under 40” and “Top 50 Leading Women in Business” in her home state of Mississippi. Today, she is a member of the Leadership Mississippi program, an honor bestowed on a select by the Mississippi Economic Council. She is also the co-founder and host of “The Home and The Hustle” podcast for working moms and “The Know, Grow and Scale” videocast and podcast for entrepreneurs. Questions and topics we covered Include: What made Laura decide to strike out on her own What Laura wishes she had known before starting her agency The 3 consistent marketing priorities for a B2B tech company (regardless of company stage) How to grow your business without a full-time marketing team Two key ways to identify your company’s brand What conditions need to be met for a business to consider outsourcing its marketing? Qualities to look for when hiring new team members How marketing has evolved… The #1 marketing challenge The Business Growers is facing this year. And more! You can connect with Laura through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurapickardjohns/ And you can also connect with me through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

Ben previously led the Marketing Sciences Group at KS&R, a nationally recognized strategic consultancy and marketing research firm. Through quantitative research, Ben and his team help to empower businesses to make better decisions with confidence. With his extensive knowledge of advanced analytical methods and wide-ranging industry experience, he has become a trusted partner for clients looking to solve complex business problems. Outside of work, Ben enjoys quality time with his children in the kitchen, gardening, and playing volleyball when the weather in upstate New York permits. Questions and topics we covered include: An explanation of marketing science How does market research affect a business's growth in the long term? Why is it important? Why message testing and optimization are vital to gaining insights How to convince your boss to invest in Message Testing How does a team get started with message testing? At what size of an organization should a team consider message testing? The ideal frequency and cadence of message testing experiments Who owns market research and message testing in the marketing team? What are market simulators, how are they useful, and at what size of a company should they be used? The basics of conjoint analysis in market research. And more! You can connect with Ben through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcortese/  And you can also connect with me through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

“[Community] sits before Demand Gen. in the funnel…[Community] doesn’t actually generate revenue. I create an environment that makes generating revenue easier.” Evan Patterson is a B2B marketing consultant, freelancer, startup advisor, content creator, and fractional leader for forward-thinking, progressive businesses.  Outside of B2B marketing, Evan focuses on enabling minority voices in tech and fighting injustices targeted at the LGBTQ+ community. Questions and topics we covered include: Community as a marketing role defined  Some examples of what Community is not? When did this new job get created? What’s the difference between B2B community marketing and B2C community marketing? How to justify the investment into Community marketing? Why is most of Evan’s role as a Community Marketer is spent working internally on his team The similarities between a Community / Evangelism role and a PR agency (when it comes to media training) How a Community role helps to reduce internal friction between marketing and sales How Evan measures success with his unique role And more! You can connect with Evan through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpatterson/ And you can also connect with me through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

“The empathy that you have to exhibit and learn in sales on a 1-to-1 basis, that only helps you when you’re trying to go 1-to-many…” Zoë Hartsfield is a Salesperson trapped in a Marketer's body. She spends her 9-5 running executive evangelism programs, managing influencer relationships and creating content. She spends her 5-9 running, traveling and again, creating content. Check her out at @nottoocorporate on TikTok and Instagram, or give her a follow on LinkedIn for her thoughts on sales, marketing, mental health, and career development in the tech industry. Questions and topics we covered include: The advice she has for anyone who wants a marketing job and is coming from sales, support, etc. Her red flags to look out for when applying to a marketing jobs How to leverage sales experience in a new marketing role What does it mean to be an evangelist? “Community” as a role in a marketing team… Should a community function and a customer advisory board go hand-in-hand? The most important business skill marketers should be learning today, but they’re probably ignoring… How can marketers help create sales collateral that actually gets used? What should marketers look for when selecting/recommending software to add to the MarTech Stack? Does every marketer need a side hustle? And more! You can connect with Zoë through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoehart/ And you can also connect with me through LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

Eric Dodds is the Head of Product Marketing at RudderStack and the Co-Host of the podcast Data Stack. He has over a decade of experience working with and implementing customer data infrastructure. He aims to make people’s lives better through the work he does each day. Questions and topics we covered include: What do marketers need to know about data stacks? How does it affect their work? How data teams and marketing teams can work together to produce great business outcomes? How to define product marketing’s role within the broader context of a company How to impress a marketing leader What’s RudderStack’s biggest marketing challenge heading into 2024 And more! Connect with Eric on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericdodds/ Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ If you want a deeper dive into product marketing, check out episode #140 with April Dunford - https://www.kennysoto.com/podcast/masterclass-product-positioning-april-dunford-140/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, Margaret Kelsey, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

Margaret has spent the last decade building scalable, effective marketing programs—and teams—for B2B SaaS companies like OpenView, Appcues, and InVision. She now advises founders on how to do the same. She also co-hosts a weekly podcast called "Don't Say Content" with Devin Bramhall.  Questions and topics we covered include: Why Margaret took the plunge to become a soloprenuer?  Her recommendations for where to upskill as a marketer The characteristics of high-performing marketing teams?  Why marketing teams need to have fun to thrive.  The importance of knowing the differences between “Shared Language” and Institutional Knowledge… The key questions individual contributors should be asking their bosses to get a better understanding of company strategy… The skills Margaret would be learning this year if she had to start her career now… Why founder-led marketing still works, regardless of company size… How to think about “playbooks”… What are the major pitfalls that arise within the Head of Marketing and CEO relationship? Why is it important to have a focus on longer timelines as you move up the management ladder? Why strategy is supposed to take into account triaging “urgent” tasks… And more! Connect with Margaret on Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/  Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Here’s Margaret’s podcast if you want to get even more of her knowledge - https://www.dontsaycontent.com Want to learn the best ways you can produce and grow an effective podcast for your business in 2024? Check out https://www.brandpodcastsummit.com!  On January 24th we're hosting The Brand Podcast Summit, a free-to-attend virtual event designed exclusively for marketers and comms people to succeed in podcasting in 2024. Speakers include Ann Handley, Rand Fishkin, podcast producers from NPR, the BBC, podcast growth pros, AI and automation experts…One attendee also has the chance to get $500's worth of podcast equipment! Shoutout to a previous guest of the show, Harry Morton, for sharing this. Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

“Half of marketing is marketing internally so you can get buy-in…and as the org gets bigger, that job gets harder.” The main theme of this episode focuses on: people, tools, and processes… George Huff, the CEO of Opal, leads a MarTech platform used by well-known brands like Target, Starbucks, Whole Foods, 3M, and SAP. Opal’s content operations platform produces exceptional results, such as enabling Target to tell their story and create 300 pieces of content every day. George’s career began in design and technology, but his curiosity about how captivating brands create stories led to the formation of Opal. He surrounds himself with talented individuals and empowers them to find the best solutions. Under George’s leadership, Opal continually innovates to help brands drive results and create meaningful connections with their customers. Questions and topics we covered include: Why is brand alignment so important and the classic struggle with internal silos The context that every marketer needs to have to be successful, in any team they’re in What sets Opal apart from other content management products How does team culture affect the success of a marketing initiative Why being able to handle criticism is the best skill for a marketer to learn The rituals and routines the Opal team does to help keep momentum going Why your manager wants you to be good at selling ideas And more! Checkout Opal - https://workwithopal.com  Connect with George on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgehuff/ Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/ Past guests of The People of Digital Marketing include April Dunford, Amanda Goetz, Melissa Rosenthal, Bill Macaitis, Miruna Dragomir, Andrew Capland, Erik Newton, Andy Crestodina, Sarah Bedrick, Michael Wieder, Dan McGaw, Kathleen Booth, Foti Panagiotakopoulos, Tommy Walker, Lea Pica, Maya Grossman, Sara Pion, and more. Music for this podcast comes from www.davidcuttermusic.com

This episode is for all of my Product Marketing friends 👋🏼… April Dunford is the world’s leading expert on product positioning. She works with fast-growing tech companies helping them clearly articulate the value they alone can deliver to customers. She is the author of the bestselling positioning book Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it. She also recently published a new book titled, Sales P!tch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win which is available for purchase on Amazon. Questions and topics we covered include: What’s product positioning? How does it differ from brand positioning? What happens when a team doesn’t have solid product positioning? (Marketing and sales) Who should own product positioning? How does positioning change when there are multiple products and multiple personas? When speaking to customers to hone positioning, what are the best questions to ask them? Why you have to include the other solutions out in the market when trying to sell. The events that occur in a business’s lifecycle, that can make your team revisit your product’s positioning… And more Learn more about April through her LinkedIn, website, or podcast below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ https://www.aprildunford.com/  https://www.positioning.show/ Connect with me on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennysoto/