Marketing Unplugged

Estelle Mense — The Marketing Career Longevity Project

Estelle Mense is the VP of Marketing at Ascend Learning, a position she’s held for the last four years. Before this, she also served as the SVP of Marketing at Blue Snap. Estelle brings a wealth of knowledge and insights into the marketing industry. In this episode, Estelle shares her journey into marketing, discusses an enlightening study she conducted on employee happiness and career longevity among marketers, and talks about the nuances of job satisfaction within the marketing field.   Key Takeaways: [1:05] A little bit about Estelle and her career in marketing. [3:20] What attracted Estelle toward marketing? [5:00] Estelle shares the study she’s been conducting about employee happiness levels within the marketing industry and career longevity among marketers. [6:10] Do marketers actually ever retire? [7:35] There is a high level of job satisfaction among marketers. Why is that? [12:10] Diverse experience vs. specialized experience, which one is better? [19:55] More than half of marketers would have done things differently if they had to start over. Why is that? [24:10] Do marketers prefer working in a large corporation or a smaller company? [29:55] What have been some of the main takeaways that Estelle learned from this study? [33:35] Estelle answers some rapid-fire questions!   Mentioned in This Episode: Demandspring.com [https://demandspring.com/] Ascendlearning.com [https://www.ascendlearning.com/] Estelle on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/estellemense/] The Marketing Career Longevity Project [https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7018584117638311936/]

Doug Bewsher — Where is MarTech Headed?

Join Doug Bewsher, a seasoned leader in Marketing and Executive at Arrowroot Capital, as he shares his insights into the dynamic world of MarTech. As the former CMO of Salesforce and Skype, Doug talks about the power of AI in B2B marketing, the lessons from his agency work at McKinsey, and the future of customer engagement. In this episode, Doug offers invaluable advice to young marketers, discusses the current state of MarTech, and explores the shift towards brand-focused strategies over growth and performance metrics.   Key Takeaways: [1:50] A little bit about Doug and his diverse career path. [3:35] How did Doug’s knowledge in the B2C side help with the B2B industry? [7:15] What did Doug learn from his agency/consulting work? And, could he bring those skill sets into his client-facing work? [9:50] What advice does Doug have for young marketers who are just starting? [11:00] You have to be open and adaptable to the new changes that are coming your way. [13:15] Build a foundation of skills and really hone in on your craft. It’s a marathon; not a sprint. [15:20] What has the MarTech industry gotten right? What seems to be lacking? [19:15] Why is the world moving more heavily towards brand right now vs. growth/performance? [23:45] How should CMOs be thinking about AI? [25:35] The hard question around AI is how will it affect culture and work as we know it. [29:40] What will engaging prospects three years from now look like? Doug speculates on what the future might hold. [29:55] Digital tactics aren’t working quite as well. Still to this day, nothing beats face-to-face. [34:00] The speed at which things are changing is faster than what anyone can realistically keep up with. [42:15] People aren’t sure what the future will look like, so they’re also hesitant to invest in the “next new thing.” [46:45] What is Doug excited about in the next 12 months? [49:05] Doug answers some quick rapid-fire questions to end the show!   Mentioned in This Episode: Demandspring.com [https://demandspring.com/] Arrowrootcapital.com [https://arrowrootcapital.com/] Doug on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbewsher/]

TJ Hager — Observations in Where the Future of Marketing Ops is Headed

TJ Hager is the Manager of Customer Success at Adobe and the creative mind behind MOPs Notes, a newsletter where he shares his insights and experiences in the tech and marketing industry. In this episode, TJ reflects on the challenges of working with a limited budget, the evolving expectations in customer support post-COVID-19, and the crucial role of marketing ops professionals in bridging the missing gaps in the market and driving business innovation.   Key Takeaways: [1:00] A little bit about TJ and his background in tech. [4:05] TJ looks back at 2023. It was definitely the year of “do more with less.” [7:45] Why did TJ start the MOPs Notes newsletter? [11:15] What are some of TJ’s opinions on marketing operations roles and their very vast (and often unclear) scope? [13:25] What advice does TJ have for people looking to build an organic community the way he has with MOPs Notes? [15:20] How has TJ’s newsletter helped with his career at Adobe? [21:30] Are companies striking a good balance between sales operations and marketing operations? TJ weighs in on his thoughts. [28:00] What keeps TJ up at night in his career and space? [28:55] Did COVID-19 change expectations on how we support customers? [30:30] TJ talks about what challenges will be coming up in the next 12 months. [32:30] Who truly owns customer success? [35:30] TJ answers some rapid-fire questions!

Sherri Kottmann — Best Practices to Elevate Teams and Embrace AI

Join Sherri Kottmann, Chief People Officer at Quickbase, as she shares her extensive experience in human resources and her approach to creating a thriving workplace environment. In this episode, Sherri discusses the challenges of engaging and elevating teams, the partnership between CPOs and CMOs, and the evolving role of HR in today's complex business landscape. She reflects on the changes in talent management over recent years and emphasizes the irreplaceable value of the human touch in an increasingly AI-driven world.   Key Takeaways: [1:00] A little bit about Sherri and her background in HR. [6:25] How do you create an environment that engages and elevates the team? [7:25] Leadership development programs make people feel good, but they don’t actually change anything. [11:35] Sherri recognizes the world is a lot harder now than when she was first on the front lines of sales. [12:05] HR departments are not as measurable. So it can be difficult to communicate its full value. [17:50] What has Sherri seen from a talent perspective over the last few years? [23:20] No matter how good AI is, it will always lack the human touch. [23:50] Every seasoned professional will have to get comfortable with partnering with AI. [29:55] If you’re on the hot seat to deliver, it can be such a big risk to try something so bold, but high risk = high reward. [30:10] What does a partnership between a CPO and a CMO look like? [35:15] A lot of companies have a sink-or-swim mentality for new employees on the job because they lack proper coaching and teaching structures. What has Sherri seen? [38:45] How can marketing leaders create an environment that helps the younger generation thrive? [42:35] Sherri believes it’s important to be ambiguous about the path of how the employee should go but not to be ambiguous about the destination/end goal. From there, you’ll see a lot of creativity come through. [45:45] Sherri shares some final thoughts and answers some rapid-fire questions.   Mentioned in This Episode: Demandspring.com [https://demandspring.com/] Quickbase.com [https://www.quickbase.com/] Sherri on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherri-havas-kottmann-4523375/]

What's In 2024 For Metrics, Marketing Alignment, Attribution & Content Strategy

In this insightful episode, co-hosts Mark and Elle dive into the findings of the Demand Spring 2023 Revenue Marketing B2B Benchmark Report. They discuss the significant progress in revenue marketing practices, with 50% of respondents believing they have matured in this area. The conversation also touches on the long-overdue tracking of revenue sourced by marketing, and the persistent challenges in aligning marketing and sales teams together. They also reflect on the effectiveness of a multi-touch approach in long sales cycles.   Key Takeaways: [1:30] 50% of people believe they have mature revenue practices. Elle believes we’ve really come a long way! [5:25] Elle notices that technology companies tend to be a lot quicker in adopting “newer” marketing methods compared to more traditional industries. [7:55] Companies tend to underestimate expansion opportunities and marketing channels can really help them unlock it further. [11:50] Companies are only just now tracking what revenue is being sourced by marketing. Why did it take so long? [13:40] Marketing and sales alignment is still a big challenge for many organizations. [15:55] Sales and marketing people are wired very differently. [17:20] How do you achieve true sales and marketing alignment? [22:55] There’s not a single business in the world that would not benefit from better data-analysis rituals. [24:55] A lot of companies had a strong Q1 and Q2, but people were struggling in Q3 and Q4. [30:25] Mark explains why a multi-touch approach in a long sales cycle makes the most sense to him. [33:25] Mark reads out loud the content marketing results and the percentage of how many organizations are actively managing/thinking about their content strategy. [35:30] Elle and Mark share some of their final thoughts and talk about what’s next for 2024.   Mentioned in This Episode: Demandspring.com [https://demandspring.com/] 2023 Revenue Marketing B2B Benchmark Report [https://demandspring.com/research/2023-revenue-marketing-b2b-benchmark-report/]