Jennifer Quiroz is a fractional marketing and branding expert with over 20 years of experience. She joined us to discuss the evolving landscape of marketing in a post-COVID, AI-driven world. She argues that AI and the pandemic have led to digital fatigue, making traditional performance marketing less effective.

Key takeaways from the episode include:

• The importance of human connection in marketing: Jennifer emphasizes a "new old way of doing business" that focuses on building genuine relationships, robust networks, and a connector mindset.
• Shifting from transactional to relational marketing: She believes that the sales cycle will lengthen as marketers prioritize authentic connections over quick transactions.
• The rise of ethical and value-based marketing: Consumers, especially younger generations, expect companies to "do the right thing," including demonstrating ethical sourcing, sustainability, and community engagement.
• The power of personifying companies: Jennifer suggests creating detailed personas for companies, including psychographics and personality profiles, to guide consistent and authentic interactions with customers.
• Building a network through Slack communities: Quiroz advises new marketers to leverage Slack communities to connect with experienced professionals and potential clients.

Jennifer's insights offer valuable guidance for marketers navigating the changing dynamics of the industry and highlight the enduring importance of human connection in a technology-driven world.

Connect With:

• Jennifer Quiroz (Guest): Website // LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

Kristen Moore has helped her fair share of marketing organizations and has been seeing a disturbing trend over the years, the loss of 3 of the 4 Ps of marketing: product, pricing, and place. In this episode we dig into what that means for marketing and some ways we can get them back. Kristen also shares concrete ways to lean into our human-ness for long-term success with AI.

Connect With:

• Kristen Moore (Guest): LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

Paul Kuhne, a marketing leader with over two decades of experience in a diverse range of roles and industries, talks to us about the crucial role of relationship building in marketing, both internally and externally. He argues that marketers must effectively sell the value of marketing within their organizations, building alliances with leadership, peers, and other departments.

Paul stresses tailoring communication to diverse stakeholders and fostering a culture of trust and empowerment within marketing teams. He champions a more creative approach to B2B marketing that resonates with the emotional needs of consumers. He challenges the industry's reliance on stale, formulaic messaging and encourages marketers to embrace unconventional ideas.

Connect With:

• Paul Kuhne (Guest): Website // LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

Tracy Sestili has learned a lot about collaboration from years of leading successful marketing teams and transitioning into a role that saw her also lead the sales team as the Chief Revenue Officer. Listen in as Tracy shares her experience of fostering communication between marketing and sales, and get her thoughts on how to balance leadership vision with input from your team.

Connect With:

• Tracy Sestili (Guest): CMO2CRO Substack // LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

Caitlin Allen has a history of building great marketing teams that get results. In this episode, she discusses how important it's been to work closely with her executive team members, especially during crisis times that require hard pivots (like the COVID pandemic). She also shares how she has learned to handle areas of perceived weakness, and the how and why we need to hire well.

Connect With:

• Caitlin Allen (Guest): LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

Matt Anthony has helped a number of companies start growing from zero by embracing creative evolution of his strategy while staying grounded in the marketing fundamentals. We talk about how he creates that first inbound spark through to setting up more mature functions like ABM, and how he sees the current and future of some of our favorite outreach channels.

Connect With:

• Matt Anthony (Guest): LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

Carrie Reber, a longtime SaaS marketing leader, built an engaged, loyal customer community at Veeam and saw the tremendous value it created for the company and those involved in the community. In this episode, we dig into the story of her community building days and why she thinks it's imperative that we build love and loyalty into our communities.

Connect With:

• Carrie Reber (Guest): LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com

B2B SaaS marketing veteran, Russ Somers, joins us to discuss how the obsession to do more, grow more, and do it faster is leading towards to a crisis of quality and results. We talk about how there is "remarkable power in doing things that don’t scale” and how we can lean back into quality over quantity.

Connect With:

• Russ Somers (Guest): LinkedIn
• Jenni DeWitt (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn
• Mike Fazio (Co-Host): Website // LinkedIn

Want to get more Let's Be Honest content? Check out www.letsbehonestaboutmarketing.com