Marketing to Marketers Can Be a Win-Win
Increasingly, client-side marketers are transitioning to similar roles within media, publishing, and tech firms. Such moves are reshaping relationships and providing challenges to navigating modern marketing. The targets for these marketers are often former peers, colleagues and even friends. It can reshape how we navigate modern marketing.
The Path Becoming More Traveled
CMO Ian Colley's move from IBM to The Trade Desk is just one of the most visible examples of a successful transition. My own journey took me from roles at Victoria's Secret and Conagra eventually to an AI-driven tech startup. In essence, I've pivoted to marketing to my past self. The insight? The shift can be more challenging than it seems to do it right, a sentiment echoed by both my current and former peers.
The Marketer Dilemma: Overload
During my 15-year stint on the client side, I often had someone on my team who naturally gravitated to the social side of our business. They handled rep relationships, networked at parties, and were the initial vetters of new ideas. This let me focus on the priorities for the business. With the tech and digital boom, the sheer volume of contacts for modem marketers has exploded. Today's marketer needs more partnerships than ever, yet finding the right allies is like navigating a maze.
The MSP Challenge: Delivering KPIs from an Elusive Target
MSP CMOs have concrete objectives just like our clients. As B2B firms, the dominant KPI generally are leads and conversions. But now those conversions need to come from former peers and colleagues. It's a challenge to balance quality and quantity and not succumb to the 50 companies who email us daily with automated email SDR programs that guarantee qualified leads. Even though they are likely the same companies that flood our mailboxes with irrelevance because we are also on CMO mailing lists.
Bridging the Gap: 3 Ideas for Each Side of the Desk
These ideas may or may not work in your organization, but they are meant to indicate the potential for solutions.
Charting the Path Ahead
This article doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but to kick off the conversation. ANA is keen to initiate a collaborative dialogue between Client and MSP marketers. The goal is to tackle shared challenges, find actionable insights and then disseminate them through ANA webinars, best practice white papers and any other unique channels we come up with. If you are interested in being part of the solution, please contact Bill Zengel at ANA, or reach out to me at pattie.glod@claritas.com.
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.
Pattie Glod is CMO at ArtsAI (A Claritas Company).