OnBase: Smashing Sales and Marketing Misalignments – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode Summary
In this episode, Julie Liu, the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Marketing at AvePoint, shares her unique journey into the world of B2B marketing. Despite not having a traditional marketing background, Julie has built a successful career by embracing a "T-shaped" approach - being a strong generalist with deep expertise in specific areas. She discusses AvePoint's consistent go-to-market strategy, which is centered around a buyer journey framework spanning five stages from "horizon scanners" to "clients." Julie emphasizes the importance of aligning the entire organization around this framework and associating each stage with specific metrics. She also highlights the value of investing in the next generation of marketers, focusing on cultivating curious, risk-taking individuals who can bring diverse perspectives. Looking ahead, Julie predicts a shift towards targeting end-users rather than just economic buyers, underscoring the need for adaptable, data-driven marketing strategies.

About the guest

Julie Liu is the Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at AvePoint, a SaaS and data management platform that manages and protects data to secure collaboration in the Microsoft Cloud, SharePoint, Salesforce, and Google. Julie is an industry-recognized marketing leader, most recently mentoring others to create scalable marketing strategies, launching a sustainable global partner program, and establishing AvePoint as a publicly traded company.

Connect with Julie Liu

Key takeaways
- Embrace a "T-shaped" approach to marketing - be a strong generalist with deep expertise in specific areas. This versatility is crucial as the marketing landscape continues to evolve.

- Implement a consistent, organization-wide buyer journey framework to align sales, marketing, and customer success. AvePoint's 5-stage model (horizon scanners, explorers, hunters, active buyers, clients) helps drive targeted strategies and metrics.

- Empower and invest in the next generation of marketers. Look for self-starters, problem-solvers, and risk-takers who bring diverse perspectives, not just those who think like you.

- Anticipate a shift towards targeting end-users, not just economic buyers, as AI and technology increasingly influence the buyer's journey. Adapt marketing strategies to focus on overall account growth, not just individual leads.

- Establish "strategic plays" where all resources are concentrated to achieve significant, measurable outcomes, rather than spreading efforts too thin across multiple initiatives.

- Leverage inspiring figures like Paid Playa, Scott Brinker, and Brene Brown to inform your marketing approach, from martech to interpersonal relationships.

Quotes
"I will never stop learning, because the market changes, right? So the second that I get comfortable is the second I become useless." -Julie Liu

Recommended Resource

Books:

- Transforming the B2B Buyer Journey

- Hacking Marketing

- Brene Brown’s books

⁠Connect with Julie Liu⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website

Episode Summary
In this episode, Avishai Sharon, Co-founder and CEO of Trend Demon, discusses the evolving landscape of B2B marketing and the rise of account-based strategies as a solution to the challenges posed by traditional demand generation tactics. He shares data-driven insights on the changing buyer journey, highlighting decreases in buying group size and website engagement, but increases in conversion rates and marketing investment. Avishai emphasizes the critical role of storytelling and audience captivation in supporting the buyer's process, rather than solely focusing on lead capture. He provides recommendations for better alignment between marketing and sales teams around target accounts and the use of listening technologies and AI to optimize account-based efforts. Avishai predicts that ABM's future evolution will center on understanding anonymous buying groups and orchestrating seamless journeys across multiple channels.

About the guest

Avishai Sharon, Co-founder and CEO of Trendemon, is a passionate entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the marketing and sales technology landscapes and their transformative potential. Prior to leading Trendemon, a company revolutionizing the way B2B marketers can effortlessly optimize website experiences and orchestrate buyer journeys, Avishai founded GISight, a leading software development agency serving Fortune 500 customers. He developed his leadership skills during his tenure as an officer in the Israeli Air Force, serving in various key technological roles.

Connect with Avishai Sharon

Key takeaways
- Traditional demand generation tactics are becoming increasingly ineffective, leading to the rise of account-based marketing (ABM) as a solution.

- Buyer behavior has shifted, with buyers remaining more anonymous and having greater control over their journey. This has resulted in low conversion rates from MQLs to pipeline.

- Data analysis by Trend Demon reveals decreases in buying group size and website engagement but increases in conversion rates and marketing investment, indicating a potential shift from the bear economy.

- Storytelling and consistently captivating audiences are critical for demand generation, moving beyond just lead capture. This requires educating leadership on the new marketing landscape.

- Sales teams need to focus on listening and providing value to support the buyer journey, with the gap between good and poor sales performance widening.

- Alignment between marketing and sales around target accounts is essential, with a shared understanding of the buying group and the inputs required to qualify and vet accounts.

- Leveraging listening technologies and AI can help uncover insights, personalize content, and orchestrate buying group journeys across multiple channels, which is a key focus for the future evolution of ABM.

Quotes
"If we are doing our job correctly, we are saving our buyers time. And I think this should be probably the main benefit, or the main advantage, or the objective of any go to market organization." -Avishai Sharon

Recommended Resource

Podcasts:

- NexGen CMO with Kelly Hopping

- Nick Bennett’s People-First GTM Model on Marketing Powerups podcast

Connect with Avishai Sharon⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website

Episode Summary
Vinod shares insights from growing revenue by 40x in 7 years. Some key strategies include understanding customers thoroughly, offering a diversified portfolio of solutions, and networking extensively. Vinod also emphasizes the importance of building effective relationships with decision-makers through mutual respect, problem-solving focus, and self-awareness. He recommends staying informed by reading competitors' reports, attending industry events, and maintaining a strong professional network.

About the guest

Vinod Venkatesan is the Vice President of Sales, Strategic Accounts at Amkor Technology Inc. He is one of the emerging leaders at Amkor and is a results-oriented, technology-focused sales executive. Vinod is a problem solver at heart, questions the status quo, passionate about impactful leadership, and is driving change to continue to deliver growth for his organization.

Connect with Vinod Venkatesan

Key takeaways
- Understand your customers thoroughly by learning about their business, market position, goals, challenges, and future plans

- Offer a diversified portfolio of solutions to manage risk and provide solutions for multiple customer needs 

- Build strong relationships through mutual respect, acting as a problem solver rather than taking sides, and having open conversations

- Stay informed by reading competitors' reports, listening to industry podcasts and talks, and regularly networking with contacts in your field

Quotes
"You really need to learn everything about what your customer is doing, their market position, and more importantly, where they're headed." -Vinod V. on understanding customers.

Recommended Resource

Leadership podcasts to gain different perspectives from various roles and industries

TED Talks for innovative ideas and insights

Industry-specific newsletters

Earnings calls, 10-Ks, and investor presentations for valuable market intelligence

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Brian Horvath engages in an enlightening conversation with Karen Stephens, Chief Revenue Officer at Revinate, about the role of AI and first-party data in the hospitality industry. They explore how AI is being embraced in the industry, its benefits in terms of automation and improved guest experience, and the importance of integrating AI technologies with first-party data. They also discuss the challenges hoteliers face in aggregating and leveraging data effectively, ensuring data privacy and compliance, and offering valuable recommendations for industry resources.

Karen emphasizes the necessity for hoteliers to align with evolving technology, compliance laws, and data privacy standards like GDPR. The conversation also touches on the benefits of industry partnerships for better data handling, using Revinate’s collaboration with Amazon Web Services as an example. To conclude, Karen advocates for the organization and effective utilization of data at different levels within the hospitality industry. This insightful episode offers a deep dive into the intersection of hospitality, technology, and data privacy.

Connect with Karen Stephens | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Erik Blaze interviews Jay Hinman, the VP of Marketing at Vibes, a trusted mobile engagement platform for enterprise brands. They discuss the evolution of Demand Generation (Demand Gen), highlighting how it has transitioned from being seen as a cost center to a revenue center, largely due to advancements in cloud-based marketing automation platforms and the rise of Account-Based Marketing (ABM). He delves into the shift in success metrics in the field and how Vibes helps brands nurture customer relationships on mobile platforms. Jay further explores the engagement gap between email marketing and mobile app marketing and the future of mobile marketing technology. Finally, they discuss navigating economic downturns and the power of testing and learning from small successes.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Jay Hinman⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Jordan Saucedo interviews Clint Buechler, a demand generation manager with experience in SaaS, FinTech, payments, and real estate. They discuss the importance of combining product marketing and demand generation roles to create a successful ABM program. Clint shares his insights on setting up the data structure, analytics, and testing for success. He also provides segmentation tips, leveraging tools such as chatbots for audience list building and competition monitoring, using firmographic, demographic, and technographic data, and integration partners to segment accounts. Additionally, he suggests looking at LinkedIn ads impressions and job titles when setting up campaigns to capture demand. Finally, they discuss the need for sales engagement and getting buy-in from sales and marketing teams as well as finding product-market fit and having the right message for the right audience at the right time. 

⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Clint Buechler⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Katharine Noonan interviews Cristy Garcia, Chief Marketing Officer at impact.com. Cristy explores the skills and qualities a modern CMO needs to be successful in their business and career. She discusses the importance of being data-driven, understanding digital marketing channels, and having a creative mindset. She also explains why it’s important to invest in relationships and stay up-to-date with trends in the rapidly evolving marketing industry. Cristy then touches on advice for leveraging partnerships as a more efficient way to drive growth and revenue in challenging times. Finally, she talks about how CMOs can stay ahead by understanding Gen Z and the latest technologies.

⁠⁠⁠Connect with Cristy Garcia⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Rory Costello interviews Michael McCunney, VP of Marketing at Revenue Analytics and winner of the 2022 CMO Club Marketing Award for Creativity and Storytelling. He shares his experience of applying to the CMO Club and getting rejected before reapplying with a larger company. He discusses the importance of investing in communities to build relationships, gain knowledge, and strengthen self-confidence. He encourages junior marketers to speak in terms of revenue, sales, and costs to earn respect from C-Suite peers. Michael also talks about his upcoming book, Marketer One, aimed at marketers who are a team of one or entrepreneurs who need to do their marketing. The book will offer practical advice on how to build and scale a MarTech stack, build a W2 team, and avoid landmines along the way.

⁠⁠⁠Connect with Michael McCunney | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Robert Hall interviews Chris Shakarian, a startup marketing leader, about the world of strategic data assets and their impact on modern-day marketing. Shak believes that companies can gain an advantage in the market by leveraging the strategic data assets generated by customers using their products. Rather than just talking about the value delivered, showing it through data is more effective in a world oversaturated with content and advertising. Chris emphasizes the value of software as a means to gather data and provide actionable insights. One example he highlights is Gong, a call recording tool that collects voice data and performs meta-analysis to provide insights on talk ratios and business outcomes. He also acknowledges the threat of ChatGPT, a generative tool for marketers, but argues that critical thinking and the use of strategic data assets are still crucial for differentiation from competitors. Chris stresses the importance of embracing the concept of a strategic data asset and using it for an unfair advantage in the market. By finding unique data within the product, picking insights that align with buyers’ needs, and exposing it through static forms or real-time dashboards, companies can create a unique marketing strategy that draws people in rather than just “shouting from rooftops.”

⁠⁠Connect with Chris Shakarian⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Isaac Atashkar interviews Ryan Almond on the evolution of Account-Based Marketing and how ABM has changed over the past two decades. From a salesperson’s one-on-one customer relationship to leveraging technology for personalization and a better customer experience, Ryan explains how to scale an ABM strategy enterprise-wide. He suggests piloting it first, setting shared goals between sales and marketing teams, leveraging technology, and building the right strategy. Also discussed is the importance of starting small, scaling deliberately and incrementally, and having a strategy in place before implementing technology. They also introduce the concept of an “account-based enterprise,” which speaks to aligning all functions within an organization to provide customers with a first-class experience throughout their lifetime relationship with the company.

Additionally, they discuss Artificial Intelligence, automation, and deflationary technologies that are aiding in this trend, as well as how companies such as Henkel have achieved success due to their long-term vision and focus on delivering value. 

⁠⁠Connect with Ryan Almond⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn