B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict talks to Madhukar Kumar about what a product-led growth strategy looks like in B2B.Marketers in most businesses, especially in the SaaS space, understand their need to collaborate with their product teams to have an effective strategy. However, what B2B marketers might be missing out on is a “product-led” growth strategy, and it might be because they just don’t know about how PLG could impact their business. So what exactly are B2B marketers missing out on? In what ways can marketers include a PLG strategy among their wider marketing activities, and how could it uniquely support business objectives?Madhukar Kumar is the CMO of Singlestore, and he has 15+ years of experience in leading product and marketing teams for global organisations. Prior to joining Singlestore, Madhukar has served as Head of Growth and Marketing at DevRev, VP Product and Solutions Marketing at Nutanix, VP Product and Developer Marketing at Redis Labs, and more. In addition to his career, Madhukar has previously guest lectured at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in which he teaches New Product Development. He also is currently writing a book which he publishes chapter by chapter on Substack called “<code> Growth”.You can find Madhukar Kumar on Linkedin.You can subscribe to Madhukar’s Substack here. You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict speaks with Karen Sage how businesses can go further with establishing their brand.Businesses understand that it’s important to have an identity that their customers align with, but quite often, their priorities are about generating revenue as quickly as possible and disregard brand. Because of this, brand often becomes generic so as to appeal to as many people as possible. But it is proven over and over again how a unique brand that stands for something actually drives growth long term and brings your ideal customer to you sooner. So the question becomes, why aren’t companies doing more? What is stopping them from ensuring their long-term success?Karen Sage is the CMO of Shipwell, and she is a hands-on leader who has used her “out-of-the-box” strategies to strongly deliver to revenue. Prior to joining Shipwell last year, Karen has served as CMO of Syncron, CMO of Transplace, CMO of MercuryGate International, and many other senior marketing roles. In addition to her role at Shipwell, Karen also serves as an Advisory Board Member for Service Council and as a Member at HYPCCCYCL.You can find Karen Sage on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Winfried Schultz to discuss how to bring ABM into the future.ABM had its moment in B2B marketing not that long ago. Many marketers, including those on this podcast have discussed how ABM can be a transformative strategy. However, it seems the trendiness of ABM resulted in many marketers not understanding what makes it truly powerful and engaging in activities that value quantity and efficiency over quality and authenticity. What do B2B marketers need to know in order to decide if ABM is right for their business and how to effectively connect with their audience? What needs to change to bring ABM into the future?Winfried Schultz is the VP of Marketing EMEA at Teradata, and throughout his 20+ year career, he has led transformative marketing to many businesses across sectors. Prior to joining Teradata in 2019, Win served as VP Marketing TPS and Marketing Director EMEA & APAC for Black Box as well as Sales and Marketing Director for RADIODATA GmbH. He has also held senior marketing roles at Danaher Corporation, Tektronix/Danaher, and more. Win also currently serves as Managing Director of @mktginouterrim Consulting. You can find Winfried Schultz on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Mark Cullen about the need for B2B marketers to be brave.The key to marketing with an impact is saying something authentic about your company and delivering it in an emotive way. Most marketers understand that it takes a level of emotional impact to make a significant impression on your audience. However, there seem to be many factors that inhibit marketers ability to create something that shines. So what’s holding them back? What’s preventing B2B marketers from being emotive and brave in their work? And how do you create something really memorable?Mark Cullen is the CMO of Simon-Kucher & Partners and has over 20 years in marketing and communications. He is an innovative and creative leader with a proven record of transforming international clients across different industries. Prior to joining Simon-Kucher in 2021, Mark has held other senior marketing roles including Marketing Director, UK & Europe for Alvarez & Marsal, Director Brand, Marketing, & Communications - EY Financial Service for EY, and Group Head of Internal Communications at Aviva. You can find Mark Cullen on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, we look back at some of the provocative topics we have talked about in 2023 so far!Episode Clips Included:How Data Proves the Need for Creativity in B2B, with Adam Morgan, Executive Creative Director at AdobeEducating B2B Industries with Thought Leadership, with James Watson, CMO of The Glimpse GroupUnifying a B2B Marketing Department after M&A, with Andrew Davies, CMO of PaddleMarketing in a Divestment and Re-Brand, with Lucy Birch, CM&CO at Kantar PublicCreating the Ideal B2B Customer Experience, with Kelly Brown, CMO of TeckroThe Unspoken Problem of AI in Business, with Uwe Hook, Interim CMO/CDO at Chameleon CollectiveThe Urgent Need to Focus on Business Goals, with Jeroen Kuppens, CMO of Sana CommerceThought Provoking B2B Thought Leadership, with Laura Klysz, Global Head of Marketing & Communications at Simmons & SimmonsWe will now be going on our summer break, and we will be back very soon with more provocative truths!You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Jennifer Leggio to discuss how attribution for marketing and sales needs to change with the buyer journey.Nowadays, it’s extremely important for sales and marketing to work together to achieve the same goal of creating pipeline. However, it would seem many B2B businesses are functioning as if marketing and sales can be accurately measured with the same KPIs. Using the same metrics for marketing as sales will undoubtedly create incomplete or inaccurate data on how marketing contributes to pipeline. Additionally, with how fast the world changes, it’s more important than ever to reevaluate how marketing and sales can tackle the buyer journey and what metrics to judge them by. So what needs to change?Jennifer Leggio is CMO of Netography, and she has been an innovative and tenacious B2B marketer for 23+ years. Her career has focused primarily on the cybersecurity industry, and she has significant experience in communications and growth strategy. Prior to joining Netography in 2022, Jennifer has held several senior marketing positions including as CMO & VP Revenue Operations at Virsec, CMO of Claroty, CMO & VP Operations at Flashpoint, and more. She has also served as an Advisor for MetroSITE Group, LLC, Infocyte, Inc., Glasswing Ventures, and more.You can find Jennifer Leggio on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict sits down with Archana Dhankar to discuss all things influencer marketing in B2B. There’s no denying the differences between B2B and B2C marketing. However, it’s all too easy to have a closed mindset as to what could work for your business. Influencer marketing has made waves in B2C as a viable and effective strategy, but B2B has yet to understand and embrace how influencer marketing could work for them. Influencer marketing for businesses has significantly more potential than previously thought, so in what ways can businesses embrace this strategy?Archana Dhankar is the Senior Director, Global Demand Generation at Sutherland, and she has a marketing career spanning 18+ years. Throughout her career, she has managed and led successful campaigns internationally and for a wide range of industries. Prior to joining Sutherland last year, she previously worked for EDB as Director Marketing, EMEA & Global Social Media as well as for Aspire as Global Marketing Director. She has extensive experience researching influencer marketing, and is an influencer herself, having written and managed several blogs including allthatclicks.com and fashionforroyals.com.You can find Archana Dhankar on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict chats to Laura Klysz about truly leading thought leadership. There are a lot of problems with how thought leadership is done in B2B. Not only is it underutilised as a tool for businesses, but fundamentally, it isn’t actually doing what it suggests. Very little thought leadership actually leads any thought in a given space. Certainly there are interesting insights to be shared, but what does it really mean to provoke new and interesting ideas around B2B? How can companies better use this asset as part of their marketing activities?Laura Klysz is the Global Head of Marketing and Communications at Simmons & Simmons, and she has been a marketer for 20 years. Her marketing career has focused primarily on professional services, and she has proven experience in creating strategic programs that deliver results. Prior to joining Simmons & Simmons, Laura served as Head of Marketing, UK/US/EMEA at Herbert Smith Freehills and Marketing Manager at KPMG UK, as well as other positions at Blake Lapthorn and Withers LLP.You can find Laura Klysz on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.

In this episode of B2B Marketing: The Provocative Truth, Benedict chats to Stuart Shingler about what performance really means in B2B.Despite performance marketing having been around for a while, there is still a lack of understanding about what it truly is, leading it to be conflated with and used interchangeably to digital marketing. But it’s much more nuanced than that. What will really help marketers is not to get bogged down by what it means. Rather, it’s important to build a culture of performance and use the metrics to inform marketing activities. How do you build that culture though? How can performance help build a reactive marketing function?Stuart Shingler is the VP of Brand and Product Marketing at Tink and has been a creative and driven marketer for 10+ years. Prior to his current role at Tink, he has also served as their Product Marketing Director and Demand Generation Director. Before Tink, Stuart held several positions at Klarna including Global Product Marketing Lead and Partner Marketing Manager. He has also held roles at Bythjul Norden AB, Brathay, and more. Before becoming a marketer, Stuart has also previously been a professional musician.You can find Stuart Shingler on Linkedin.You can watch full video versions of the podcast on our YouTube channel.Ready to provoke the truth? Get in touch at alan-agency.com.