Author: Melissa Caffrey

Marrying B2B Brand to Customer Care

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

Unless they were deemed an essential service, most B2B brands had to pivot their marketing strategy in 2020 to make themselves relevant in a world of digital transformation, lockdowns, and quarantine orders. This was especially challenging for brands that depended on in-person events—from the travel industry to the hotel industry to the restaurant industry, things were going to be tough.

In this episode, Drew talks with CMO Dhanusha Sivajee of The Knot Worldwide (TKWW), a B2B2C brand that faced a unique challenge—TKWW’s network of over 300,000 vendors were about to lose their livelihoods as engaged couples updated their “Save the Dates” to “Change the Dates.” TKWW rose up to the challenge, quickly establishing a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) program for its B2B customers and compiling a comprehensive content library of best practices for the trials ahead. 

Not only does Dhanusha share how the brand created meaningful content for its customers in a time of need, she also discusses how it established itself as a thought leader and helped its vendors redefine the wedding experience. Tune in for a fascinating episode that exemplifies the value of putting customer care first, especially for B2B brands that are committed to finding truly creative, renegade solutions. 

For full show notes and transcript, click here.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How The Knot helped its B2B customers through 2020
  • Why all B2B brands should have an advisory board
  • Why “Trust” is a valid metric for B2B brands

How Remarkable Content and AI Can Enable B2B Sales

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

What do a premium content strategy and conversational AI have to do with driving revenue? Perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a lot! Content raises awareness and nurtures leads, and after the human handoff, Sales teams can use AI tools to assist them to close.

In this episode, ringDNA CMO William Tyree shares a behind-the-scenes look at the AI-powered sales enablement platform’s remarkable content strategy, starting with the acquisition of Andy Paul’s Sales Enablement podcast. He also discusses why businesses shouldn’t be afraid of conversational AI tools—they aren’t here to replace Sales, they’re here to augment and assist them. Check it out!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why ringDNA acquired a podcast as part of its content strategy
  • Two of ringDNA’s remarkable awareness campaigns
  • How AI can augment and enable sales teams

For full show notes and transcript, click here.

How to Get More Women in the C-Suite

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

There are 50 honorees listed in TopRank’s 2020 installment of Influential Women in B2B Marketing Who Rocked, and in addition to these amazing leaders, we at Renegade know that there are countless others worth celebrating for their contributions to marketing in the B2B world.    

This episode comes from our recent livestream show on the subject, featuring LogRhythm CMO Cindy Zhou, Skillsoft CMO Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek, and Charlene Li, the founder of Altimeter, author of The Disruption Mindset, and one of the women on TopRank’s aforementioned list.

Tune in to hear these inspiring leaders and role models share all about what it means to be a woman in the C-Suite, what progress still needs to be made, and how we can all work together to get there.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • What we can learn from women in leadership
  • How to be intentional about gender equality, intersectionality, and more
  • What aspiring leaders should know right now

Salesforce CMO on the Power of Purpose

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

After nearly 7 years with Salesforce, 2.5 of which she served as CMO, Stephanie Buscemi announced on Twitter that she’s saying goodbye. The 100+ (and counting) responses to her announcement have been overwhelmingly positive—a testament to her inspiring, compassionate leadership and her trailblazing, marketing-led initiatives for the cloud-based software powerhouse.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie a few weeks ago, so this outpouring of admiration is no surprise to us. Her success epitomizes the core values that Salesforce has upheld from its start 21 years ago. In this episode, Stephanie shares just what it means for B2B brands that are committed to a capital-P Purpose, and why we truly believe that CMOs can change the world for the better. Tune in to hear how Salesforce has brought its values to life over the years, how said values informed their customer-first response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why Salesforce is dedicated to its values
  • Why CEOs need to take B2B brand purpose seriously
  • How B2B brands can make the world better

The Big Pivot for 2021? Category Creation!

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

Anthony Kennada knows a thing or two about ANA’s 2020 word of the year: “Pivot.” In just 4 years, Anthony “pivoted” from Business Development Associate (BDA) at Box to CMO of Gainsight—an astounding feat for any marketer—and during his 6 years at the startup, he helped establish a category, growing the brand from $0 to over $100 million in revenue.

Now, he’s at Front, a start-up customer communication hub with a high-level story to tell. In this episode, Anthony shares how his experiences at Gainsight have informed his community-building, demand-generating efforts at Front—from how to develop a long-term, growth-focused brand strategy to how to bring employees, customers, and prospects together under one purpose-driven cause. Check it out!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How Gainsight became a leader in customer success
  • What it means to produce high-quality content
  • How Front built its brand

A Make-A-Wish Holiday Story

Posted on by Melissa Caffrey

It’s not every year that Christmas falls on the same day as a new Renegade Thinkers Unite episode, so this one is extra special. The show focuses on the story of Keane Veran, a cancer survivor who, while undergoing treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) as an 8-year-old, was asked by Make-A-Wish to wish big.

And wish big he did. In 2011, Keane and his family, including his older brother, Shaun, were flown to Washington DC to meet President Obama, in the White House no less. Nearly a decade later, this moving story about making a young boy’s wish come true is truly powerful—it not only motivated Keane to keep on fighting, but it’s the foundation that inspired the Veran brothers to start a wellness brand with a business model based on goodwill. 

A portion of every purchase from their company, Ouragami (OURA), goes to making a wish come true. It’s a lesson in generosity that B2B and B2C companies alike can benefit from. Tune in to hear how marketers can play a very vital role in helping both OURA and Make-A-Wish help kids reach their biggest dreams, with advice and inspiration from Keane, Shaun, and the CEO of the Make-A-Wish chapter in Orange County and the Inland Empire, Gloria Crockett.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • How Make-A-Wish helped a young boy meet President Obama
  • Why all brands should adopt a goodwill business model like OURA’s
  • How marketers (you) can help Make-A-Wish and OURA