Tea Time With Tech Marketing Leaders – Details, episodes & analysis

"How do you speak to your audience?"

Exploring the intersection of creativity, marketing, and the challenges of authenticity in content creation.

Kerry Guard, host of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders, is joined by Alex Boyd, co-founder of Aware, to discuss the influence of feedback on creative expression, the journey through various career transitions, and the importance of understanding human behaviour in marketing.

They dive into the complexities of engagement on LinkedIn, the impact of algorithm changes on impressions, and the ongoing struggle between performance, authenticity in content creation. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the importance of authenticity in marketing, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn, as well as how they balance between performance and authenticity, emphasizing that while it's essential to engage and entertain an audience, and should not come at the cost of genuine representation.

As well, Alex flips the script and puts Kerry on the hot seat discussing the energy required for effective performance, the necessity of understanding one's subject matter, and the value of sharing knowledge without pretending to know everything.

Ultimately, they highlight the joy of content creation and the importance of being true to oneself while engaging with an audience. And, for Alex, petting his one year old cat.

Check out how Aware helps grow faster on LinkedIn with 70% less effort. Get started for free: https://app.useaware.co/

Connect with Alex on LinkedIn and learn from his daily wisdom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexcboyd/

This episode is brought to you by MKG.  Want tailored digital marketing strategies for B2B SaaS organizations are transparent and measured? Want to make every impression count? Run (don't walk) to this link: https://mkgmarketinginc.com/

Looking for a podcast manager with the creative pizzazz you didn't know you needed? We know a guy: https://linkedin.com/in/elijah-drown

• (00:00) - The Influence of Feedback on Creativity
• (02:54) - Navigating Career Transitions and Discovering Passion
• (05:59) - Understanding Human Behavior in Marketing
• (08:59) - The Challenges of LinkedIn Engagement
• (12:02) - Algorithm Changes and Their Impact on Impressions
• (14:46) - The Performance vs. Authenticity Dilemma
• (17:47) - Balancing Professionalism and Authenticity in Content Creation
• (27:17) - Authenticity in Marketing
• (30:06) - The Energy of Performance
• (36:30) - Navigating Knowledge Gaps
• (43:17) - The Balance of Performance and Authenticity
• (49:05) - Finding Joy in Content Creation

"I call what I do message therapy."

Joel shares his unique approach to messaging, which he refers to as 'message therapy,' emphasizing the importance of clarity, focus, and emotional connection in communication. 

Kerry Guard, host of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders, joins Joel to dive into common pitfalls in marketing, the significance of storytelling, and the need for a strong value proposition. 

Joel also highlights the challenges of aligning messaging with audience needs and the importance of collaboration across teams to create effective communication strategies (stop being like everyone else!). 

The importance of parallel processing in workshops, the creation of a messaging database, and the iterative nature of messaging that allows for audience testing. The conversation emphasizes understanding pain points in messaging, the significance of unique communication styles, and the balance between technical jargon and human language.  Closing with insights on how to improve messaging and connect with audiences more effectively.

Check out resources from this nerd who talks good: https://messagespecs.com

Joel loves LinkedIn. Sometimes he says smart things. Connect with him to feel smarter-er: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelmbenge/

This episode is brought to you by MKG Marketing! Meaningful relationships and measurable results while making every impression count: https://mkgmarketinginc.com/

• (00:00) - Introduction to Messaging Strategy
• (02:56) - The Journey of Joel Benge
• (06:05) - Understanding Messaging and Its Importance
• (08:52) - Challenges in Messaging and Marketing
• (12:04) - The Philosophy of Messaging
• (14:46) - Finding Your Unique Value Proposition
• (18:09) - The Role of Emotion in Messaging
• (21:04) - Building Credibility Through Stories
• (24:02) - The Process of Effective Messaging
• (26:53) - Navigating the Messaging Journey
• (28:40) - Parallel Processing in Workshops
• (31:20) - Building a Messaging Database
• (33:14) - Iterative Messaging and Audience Testing
• (39:34) - Understanding Pain Points in Messaging
• (46:54) - The Importance of Unique Communication
• (50:06) - Balancing Technical Jargon with Human Language

"You can't just show up to sell anymore."

George Kamide joins Kerry Guard, host of Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders to chat about memories from his journey from creative writing to the cybersecurity industry, emphasizing on the importance of understanding customer needs, and the nuances of effective marketing.

Tackling the challenges of storytelling in a saturated market, the critical role of customer success, and the need for marketers to connect with end users.

SaaS 3.0, is what George calls this era, signals a time where anthropology in marketing and the necessity of aligning messaging with business needs foster genuine connections and drive success.

George and Kerry also touch on the critical relationship between sales and marketing, advocating for a collaborative approach to drive success in a competitive environment.

No wonder he co-hosts Bare Knuckle Brass Tacks! The dude embodies his brand.  Have a listen: https://www.bareknucklespod.com/

Connect with George Kamide on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-kamide

MKG is a proud partner of  @ttwtml - We're all about meaningful relationships and measurable results. Learn how we make every impression count: https://mkgmarketinginc.com/

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to George Kameed and His Journey
02:49 The Role of Anthropology in Marketing
06:09 Bridging the Gap: Technology Providers and Buyers
09:01 The Challenge of Storytelling in Cybersecurity
12:14 Understanding Business Needs in Messaging
15:07 The Importance of Customer Success
17:54 Account-Based Marketing and Nuanced Messaging
21:10 Connecting with End Users for Effective Marketing
23:55 The Right First Hire: Customer Success
27:12 Founders' Marketing Missteps and Lessons Learned
30:14 Navigating the Changing Landscape of Marketing
35:23 The Importance of Messaging and Storytelling
42:54 Building a Customer-Centric Approach
49:48 The Shift from Traditional Content to Engaging Formats
55:06 The Role of Sales in a New Era

#cybersecurity #marketingstrategy #b2bmarketing #marketingdigital #seo

On this episode Kerry Guard chats with Shane Whelan, Owner of PetBidder and Carrying the fire. You might be wondering why we have Shane on our Tech Marketing Leaders Podcast. Sometimes we come across people who just catch our attention. Who has a great story. Who is out there doing something different and thoughtful and after talking to these people we realize that we all can learn from their journey… and Shane’s journey is inspiring. How he sees the world and his customers is something we all need to lean into no matter who we’re marketing for. It was an honor to connect with Shane and we hope you feel just as inspired as we did.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-whelan-13356bb5/

Spotify Playlist

On this episode Kerry Guard chats with Lisa McDermott, VP of Marketing  at Acqueon. When Lisa and Kerry talked, Lisa was working at CoreDial, which is interesting because it’s a business that relies solely on partners. Marrying the business model with Lisa’s view of marketing and content makes for a new and exciting conversation we haven’t had before.

Take a listen.

As an FYI -

Lisa is now the VP of Marketing at Acqueon. She just started in January and is already looking for some great people to add to her team. Head over to their website and check out their job postings:

• Product Marketing - https://www.acqueon.com/careers/director-product-marketing/
• Partner Marketing - https://www.acqueon.com/careers/director-partner-marketing/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mcdermott-marketing-leader/

Spotify Playlist

In this episode Kerry Guard chats with Steven Shapiro, who has been a marketing leader at companies such as Qualys, Informatica, Weaveworks and more. At each company he has set the stage for how to build Generate Demand. Given his track record Kerry asked him to walk through his secrets of where he starts and then builds upon it to create a pipeline generation machine.

Demand Generation is the new Lead Generation. If you haven’t thought about your demand generation efforts, you could find yourself playing catch up in 2022 and Steven talks through exactly where to start so break out that note book and take notes. Let’s go!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenshapiro/

Spotify Playlist

In this episode Kerry Guard chats with Rachel Jordan, head of marketing at TeachFX. Rachel is a  purpose-driven marketing leader and change agent with more than 20 years of experience guiding brand strategy, content marketing, and marketing-sales partnership in b2b SaaS startup, b2b enterprise, and b2c nonprofit brands.

Given Rachel ran her on marketing company for many years she discovered that a strong brand strategy is the lynch pin to a sucessful business - it fuels everything from product to sales to marketing. She even has a framework to help you build one!

Grab your notebook and take a listen.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheljordan/

Spotify Playlist

Christina Kay, Vice President of Marketing at ResellerRatings joins Kerry Guard to talk about how given her lean team she’s had to lean on Rev Ops and how it has impacted ResellerRatings business and helped find major and important efficiencies across the whole organization. Take a listen.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinakay/

RevOps Templates 

Spotify Playlist

In this episode Kerry Guad chats with, Genepha Murphy, CMO at Five9.

We dig into how she builds and leads a team. She has developed a frame work - FIRE and we walk through what this framework is and how it has helped her build brands, such as Five9.

Resources

• Spotify Playlist
• LinkedIn

First up, we have Marguerite Yeo. This is a special conversation to me as Marguerite and MKG Marketing have a long standing relationship having worked together since Marguerite’s days at VMware back in 2014. Marguerite is now at Nutanix and has been for three months. Congratulations Marguerite! I hope all is going well.

In our conversation, Marguerite and Kerry Guard dissected what it means to work on corporate marketing verse product marketing and the pros and cons of both and why Marguerite’s heart lives with Demand Generation.

Season 9: Spotify Playlist