MarTech Interview with Shafqat Islam, CMO at Optimizely

Shafqat Islam, CMO at Optimizely chats about some of the trends that will dominate B2B marketing in 2023:

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Welcome to this MarTech Series chat, Shafqat, tell us more about yourself and your role at Optimizely?

Thanks for having me. Currently, I’m the Chief Marketing Officer at Optimizely. I’ve spent my whole life building products for marketers, and my entrepreneurial journey led me to Optimizely a little over a year ago.

I was the co-founder and CEO of Welcome (formerly known as NewsCred), which was the global leader in Enterprise Content Marketing from 2007 to 2021. Welcome created and led the content marketing platform (CMP) category, which is now known as the Optimizely Content Marketing Platform. I joined the Optimizely team as General Manager when Optimizely acquired Welcome in 2021. It was a great first year at Optimizely and I’m looking forward to accomplishing even more in 2023 as CMO.

How have you seen recent marketing and martech trends redefine the B2B marketing experience? 

One of the biggest trends we’ve seen dominate discussions over the last few months is AI, and there’s no doubt that AI in marketing is going to change the game this year. I actually expect that adoption is going to occur more quickly than most people may anticipate. We’ve seen how rapidly ChatGPT drew everyone’s attention, but it will take some time for the kinks to be worked out and for organizations to feel comfortable with widespread adoption of that technology.

We’re already seeing marketing organizations (including ours) use AI to generate blog posts, captions, copy, emails, headlines and more. AI-generated imagery will take hold and replace stock imagery. Teams will no longer have to scour their files or do a lengthy web search to find an approved image for a blog post. They can simply type in their requirements and receive image options that fit their needs in seconds. Video will also be coming soon. Finally, tools like ChatGPT can help with keyword research, persona definition, product descriptions and more.

With this technology (and more to come) at marketers’ fingertips, teams will develop stronger strategies, generate content faster, and improve SEO. Not everyone will like it, but it’s going to completely redefine B2B marketing over the next few years.

Based on some of your team’s recent surveys/studies: What highlights would you like to share on how marketing budgets and marketing activities will experience a shift in 2023?

The biggest challenge for marketers in 2023 will be delivering enough pipeline, bookings or sales despite all the economic headwinds. This all has to be done with lower marketing budgets, which means teams have less customer acquisition costs (CAC) to play with. This makes squeezing out every ounce of efficiency really important, especially as business outcomes are scrutinized more closely. According to our recent survey in the fall, 84% of UK marketers agreed that proving ROI has become more important as budgets are adjusted and businesses limit spend.

With that said, in tough times, I think the strongest brands cannot only survive but also thrive. When others are fearful, that may be the time to invest aggressively. And it seems most marketers in the UK agree. In our survey, 91% of marketers shared that they believe it is important to invest in marketing during a recession. With 55% strongly agreeing with that statement, I think it’s safe to say that marketers know the value of pushing forward when others are pulling back.

The brand recognition and customer loyalty that’s built during tough times will only give an organization and its marketing team a better leg up when the economy improves. Too much short-term-ism can lead to long term brand degradation.

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What are five best practices you’d share for marketers as they navigate recessionary/uncertain times?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a playbook that provides a universal and foolproof step-by-step guide on how marketers should navigate uncertain times. While each organization will have to respond differently to ensure their success, there are five best practices that can help everyone make challenging times more manageable:

1. Focus on your customers-

While acquiring new customers is still important for healthy business growth, organizations must pivot their attention when facing economic headwinds. Marketing efforts need to increasingly focus on current customers to drive upsells and increase retention.

2. Track ROI-

Tracking the marketing’s impact is key in ensuring the department is maximizing value and growing awareness and demand effectively. Everyone should understand the cost per opportunity the team is aiming for and collaborate on how to best get there. By analyzing how every dollar spent and its result, marketers can drive a return on investment more efficiently.

3. Track sales and marketing efficiency-

As budgets shrink, it’s increasingly important for marketers to ensure their total costs are in line with sales bookings to reduce customer acquisition costs. Although it’s challenging to do so, marketing and sales efficiency should ideally be a 1:1 ratio.

4. Reduce the “work about work”-

Too often marketers are having meetings about setting up other meetings or sending emails about sending emails. Reduce the “work about work” by giving marketers a dedicated workplace to plan, visualize, and manage all their activity and content. This will lead to less burnout and more efficiency and creativity.

 5. Take risks and experiment-

Success in 2023 will be a function of the number of experiments marketers run every day, every week, every quarter. People associate experimentation with failing, but really it’s all about learning. By testing everything, marketers can make data-backed decisions, take safer risks, and pivot as needed.

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What do you feel about the future of the B2B tech/martech industry?  

Although the economic outlook is uncertain, I feel positive about the future of the industry. We believe that when everyone is cost conscious, it’s a good time to ramp up our marketing efforts.

While this may be the reverse of what other organizations are planning, it’s the perfect time to invest in building our brand and generating demand for our solutions. When others are pulling back, it’s an opportune time to push ahead and generate momentum.