Noel Hamill, CMO at parcelLab talks about some of the top problem areas in B2B marketing and what today’s CMOs need to do to address them effectively:

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Welcome to this MarTech Series chat, Noel: take us through your B2B tech journey and how you ended up doing what you do?

Throughout my career, I have held a range of different roles in areas of marketing, sales, and product management. While in these roles, I have helped drive significant and sustained global growth for dynamic, private equity-backed SaaS companies, designing and deploying creative, data-driven marketing programs that fuel revenue expansion, grow market share, and elevate brand recognition.

This has all led me to my current role as Global Chief Marketing Officer at parcelLab, the premier global retail, e-commerce, and post-purchase platform. At parcelLab, I am focused on executing the go-to-market strategy and vision along with overseeing all marketing functions and transforming the customer journey to fuel the company’s next stage of growth.

Take us through some of your core observations and thoughts on the current state of B2B tech marketing: what in your view needs an urgent overhaul in this domain?

In the current state, there are four core items that come to mind:

• The impact of AI on marketing roles. It is essential that every marketer becomes an expert in using AI to improve their own productivity.  Imagine being an accountant and not using Excel!  These AI tools are essential for each of us to remain competitive and top of our game.  Whether it is using ChatGPT to help generate content or Synthesia for social media videos it is important to learn as these tools develop.
• A stronger focus on customer experience.  B2B tech marketing has traditionally been focused on features and benefits, but buyers are increasingly demanding a more holistic experience. This means that B2B tech marketers need to think about the entire customer journey, from awareness to advocacy, and create content that resonates with buyers at each stage. In the post-purchase space, we want our customers to understand that the customer experience shouldn’t stop at the buy button. It is important to continue fostering that relationship after the purchase since it can make or break whether someone becomes a one-time buyer or a loyal customer.
• The importance of data and analytics. Marketers have access to more data than ever before, and this data can be used to improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns if it is being used correctly. By tracking key metrics, marketers can identify what is working and what is not and make adjustments accordingly. With the abundance of technology available to us, marketers must be sure to optimize before moving on to the next new thing.
• The need for personalization.B2B buyers are no longer a monolithic group. They have different needs and preferences. Marketers need to personalize their marketing messages to resonate with individual buyers. A lot of the B2B space tends to blend in with each other. Now more than ever, businesses should try to stand out from the crowd in order to make an impact on buyers.

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How can modern B2B tech CMOs help their teams and brands change their marketing game with more impact, creativity, alignment. In fact: what are the common challenges that you feel today’s CMO often struggle with?

Modern tech CMOs need to build relationships with sales and other departments for better alignment. Marketing doesn’t exist in a silo. To be successful, you need to work closely with sales, product development, partner teams, etc. to ensure that your marketing messages are aligned and that you are working towards the same goals.

Additionally, it is important to encourage your team to experiment with new ideas and approaches. I recently told my team to experiment with different designs that match with the way we want to portray the voice of our brand that fall outside our traditional brand guidelines. Don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. After all, you never know what may catch your audience’s attention.

On the other hand, some common challenges that B2B tech CMOs often struggle with involve keeping up with the pace of change and demonstrating the ROI of marketing. The B2B landscape is constantly evolving especially as different generations enter the workforce. It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and what works well for the industry that you are in. To touch on the second point, demonstrating the ROI can be difficult for some marketers due to several factors like long decision cycles, showing multi-touch attribution, proving intangible benefits like brand awareness and customer loyalty, and breaking down data silos so they can calculate ROI effectively.

What should today’s B2B marketers and sales teams do better to align on lead handover processes while focusing on creating better end to end B2B buying journeys for their target audiences?

• Sales and marketing teams need to be measured on the same key performance indicators that consider the entire customer journey. This might include metrics like lead quality, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value. These shared goals foster collaboration which is important for growing your business. Additionally, establishing a standardized lead scoring system that is understood by both teams helps with alignment on what is defined as a high-quality lead and enables sales to focus on the most promising leads first.

Can you talk about the state of modern MarTech and what MarTech trends will dominate the space in 2024?

• The state of modern MarTech is being quickly transformed by AI, customer data platforms, and varying degrees of marketing automation. This goes hand-in-hand with the trends that are dominating the space. The adoption of AI to provide deeper customer insights, automate tasks, and improve marketing performance will continue to be at the forefront of the industry. For a unified customer experience, customer data platforms will become more crucial for managing customer data effectively. Lastly, it is very important for MarTech solutions to be able to integrate seamlessly with other systems so that buyers can create a unified data ecosystem.
• In the post-purchase space, staying on top of these trends is crucial for success which is why parcelLab’s platform leverages AI to empower a unified customer experience and integrates with all the systems retailers use to be efficient and effective.

Tell us about the leading B2B tech brands you feel have a robust digital marketing and digital ad presence: what key takeaways from these picks/choices?

Some examples:

• HubSpot – consistently create high-quality content, including blogs, infographics, and ebooks that attract their audience. They are also active on social media and run targeted ad campaigns
• Salesforce – known for their innovative and creative digital ad campaigns, they have their own mascot and use a variety of channels, like social media, content marketing, and SEO, to reach their targeted audience
• Shopify – collaborates with industry experts and entrepreneurs to reach their target audience authentically. Their social media presence focuses on inspiring and educating potential customers.

Five misconceptions about the role of a modern CMO you’d like to dispel before we wrap up.

CMO as Ad Guru: The stereotype of a CMO as the person who just comes up with catchy slogans is outdated. Modern CMOs focus on data-driven strategies and customer experience across all touchpoints, not just traditional advertising.

Fortress Marketing: While marketing is a core responsibility, CMOs today have to think in a much broader scope, taking into consideration the entire go to market functions for a business.

CMO is a Tech Expert but Not a Leader: Modern MarTech requires technical understanding, but the core role of a CMO is still leadership. They need to set the vision, inspire and collaborate with cross-functional teams, and translate marketing strategy into business results.

CMO Focuses on Short-Term Gains: Effective CMOs balance short-term goals with long-term brand building. They understand the need for sustainable customer relationships and brand loyalty.

CMO is Not Data-Driven: This couldn’t be further from the truth. Data is the cornerstone of modern marketing. CMOs leverage data analytics to measure campaign performance, optimize strategies, and gain insights into customer behavior.

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