Author: Melissa Caffrey

CFO Panel: Investing in the CMO Role

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

For a locked room labeled “Marketing Spend,” the CFO holds the keys. And they aren’t going to be quick to hand them over, either. This all-important alliance depends on the CMO’s fluency in CFO-speak, AKA how $1 into marketing will equal more $$$ out. Luckily, it’s not too hard a language to pick up. 

In this episode, we’re airing three Q&As with three CFOs who laid out their formulas for a great CMO/CFO alliance during a recent CMO Huddles Super Huddle (a bi-annual mega-huddle exclusively for our community of B2B CMOs). Tune in for some wonderful insights from Chris Andersen of Acquia, Nicole Anasenes of Ansys, and John Evarts (now President and COO) of Mediafly—insights that CMOs just might want to share with a CFO who’s on the fence about the power of marketing. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • 3 CFOs’ perspectives on marketing
  • Tips for navigating the CFO/CMO alliance 
  • How to build trust with your CFO

Recruit, Retain, Rejoice: Upping Employee Experience

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

What’s a B2B brand without employees? In a word, nothing. They are the lifeblood of any company—the ones who execute brilliant strategy, the ones who take care of your customers, the ones who represent your brand to the world. That’s what makes a renewed focus on employee experience (EX for short) so important, especially when The Great Resignation is a very real challenge today.

In this episode, CMOs David Kirven of Reltio, Caroline Tien-Spalding of Aptology, and Michael Collins of CFA Institute share how their organizations are approaching employee retention, as well as how they are optimizing the recruiting process to bring on great employees faster. The show also covers the role brand plays in EX, what we can learn from people data, and the unique role C-Suite leaders play in recruiting and retention. Tune in!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Useful employee retention tips to apply to your B2B organization
  • How 3 CMOs are optimizing the recruiting process
  • The role brand plays in recruiting and retention

A B2B CMO Asks, Drew Answers

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

We’re switching things up for episode 280 of Renegade Marketers Unite. Instead of asking the questions, Drew will be answering them. Our special, stand-in host for this episode is Katrina Klier, CMO of PROS, who led the conversation for the benefit of her marketing team while taking a deep dive into Drew’s new book, Renegade Marketing: 12 Steps to Building Unbeatable B2B Brands. 

This discussion covers everything from how to rethink marketing metrics, to how to justify B2B brand spend, to the book’s Clear Away the Clutter pledge. Drew also discusses B2B marketing trends in 2022 and more ideas gleaned from CMO Huddles, an elite community that unites and empowers a cross-section of B2B marketing executives to share, care, and dare each other to greatness. Check it out!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • B2B marketing trends in 2022
  • B2B branding lessons from Renegade Marketing
  • The power of purpose-driven B2B branding, clearing away the clutter, and more

B2B CMOs Need to Know About CX

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

When Dan Gingiss and his family went out to a nice steakhouse for his son’s 15th birthday, little did he know that he’d walk away with a perfect metaphor for how to deliver an extraordinary customer experience. Remarkable CX is as simple as replacing a birthday candle with a sparkler—the small, seemingly simple changes to the way you celebrate and serve your customers can go a long, long way.

This episode comes from a CMO Huddles Bonus Huddle (re: a private Q&A) with Dan, an international keynote speaker affectionately known as The Experience Maker with a wealth of insights and stories about the power of phenomenal CX. Tune in to learn all about how B2B brands can up their CX game, how marketers play a key role in building better customer experiences, and more!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • The integral role marketing plays in building great customer experience
  • What B2B brands can learn from B2C brands about CX
  • How to build an extraordinary CX strategy into your entire organization

VMware CMO on Big-Time B2B Transformation

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

VMware is going from big to bigger. To start, VMware has added 8,000 new hires in the last year, standing now at 37,000 employees strong. Not only that, but the mega-B2B brand has also expanded its offerings, spelling out a robust suite of services to encompass on-prem and cloud solutions.

Such massive change requires a massive shift in mindset. In this episode, CMO Carol Carpenter shares how VMware’s value proposition transformed, how they introduced the new brand to employees and customers, and how everything VMware’s marketing team does is driven by one big question: “Does this give us 10x impact?” Tune in for yet another great interview on Renegade Marketers Unite, a top-rated podcast for renegade CMOs and other B2B marketers.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How VMware adjusted its value proposition amidst massive change
  • How VMware brought its new story to employees and customers
  • How to balance Product-Led Growth (PLG) and Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

B2B Brands, Want to Grow? Go IPO

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

A CMO doesn’t join a B2B organization to keep things the way they are, they join to lead that company into the next phase of growth. That’s the mindset that CMOs Noreen Allen (who recently stepped down after 10 years at Bandwidth) and Kevin Spurway of Similarweb have brought to their roles over the years, evidenced by the integral roles they’ve played in bringing companies public.

In this episode, Noreen and Kevin share what it takes to prepare for an IPO and what it feels like to ring that bell in Times Square after months of hard work. This discussion is not just for those CMOs getting ready for an IPO, either. It’s a call to action for marketing leaders to embrace the IPO mindset: where strong positioning, a cranking predictable revenue engine, and a healthy set of attribution metrics can fuel next-level growth. 

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How 2 CMOs took their companies public
  • What CMOs need to prepare pre-IPO
  • Why you should always act as if an IPO is coming