Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing

The pressure on B2B marketers to prove commercial value has been building for years. But what does it actually take to step up, earn a seat at the board table, and lead marketing as a genuine revenue driver? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd is joined by David Rowlands, Head of Product at B2B Marketing, providers of Propolis, the go-to community and intelligence platform for B2B marketers globally. Propolis has spent hundreds of hours in real conversations with senior B2B marketers to understand what is keeping marketing leaders up at night, and the result is a framework they call the Commercial Marketer. David shares the research behind that framework, what the six skills of a commercial marketer actually are, and why financial acumen is the single widest gap holding B2B marketers back right now. He also gives a direct assessment of what the next 12 months hold: two paths, and a clear warning about what happens to those who sit still. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why the pressure on B2B marketers has reached a critical mass and what is driving it ✔️ What the commercial marketer framework is and why it matters now ✔️ The six skills every B2B marketing leader needs to operate as a commercial function ✔️ Why AI amplifies a poor strategy as easily as a good one ✔️ How the best marketers are using AI to rebuild their function, not just produce more content ✔️ The two paths marketers face in the next 12 months and what each one means for your career Find out more about Propolis and connect with David on LinkedIn About the Host: Karen Lloyd is the host of Spotlight On B2B Marketing and Managing Director of Armstrong Lloyd, a specialist sales and marketing headhunting firm. To discuss your hiring needs of the current market, contact Karen at karen@armstronglloyd.co.uk Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

In a world flooded with AI-generated content, click-through rates are falling and every brand is starting to sound the same. So what actually cuts through? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd is joined by Chrissie Bardwell, Global Vice President of Marketing Strategy at Aveva, to explore why experiential marketing is having its moment right now and what B2B marketers can do about it. Chrissie draws on her background in omnichannel retail analysis and enterprise B2B marketing to make the case for putting real-world human experience back into the marketing mix. This is not about ditching AI. It is about understanding where human connection still wins and building a strategy that uses both. What You'll Learn in This Episode ✔️ Why experiential marketing is rising as a direct response to AI content saturation ✔️ How post-COVID consumer behaviour has shifted the way B2B buyers expect to be engaged ✔️ What B2B marketers can learn from retail brands like Apple, Nike and Hermes ✔️ How Aveva built its Porsche Formula E partnership around shared values and customer experience ✔️ How to build a commercial business case for experiential marketing using pipeline data ✔️ The KPIs that actually matter when measuring experiential activity ✔️ Why human creativity and distinctive brand identity are becoming a competitive advantage in an AI-saturated world Whether you are a marketing leader trying to differentiate in a crowded market, a business leader wondering whether experiential activity is worth the investment, or a CMO looking for a fresh perspective on the AI and human balance, this episode is for you. Connect with Chrissie on LinkedIn About the Host: Karen Lloyd is the host of Spotlight On B2B Marketing and Managing Director of Armstrong Lloyd, a specialist sales and marketing headhunting firm. To discuss your hiring needs of the current market, contact Karen at karen@armstronglloyd.co.uk Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Most AI companies think they have a positioning problem. They don't. They have a translation problem. In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd is joined by Stephen Christou, a B2B marketing leader with experience across HPE, TIBCO, and Cohesity, who has spent the last year building a repeatable demand engine inside an early-stage AI company. From navigating the AI adoption gap to rethinking how buyers discover products, Stephen shares what he learned on the ground about why buyers stall and what marketing can do about it. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why the AI adoption gap is the defining challenge for B2B marketers right now ✔️ How to turn complex AI capability into narratives buyers can actually absorb ✔️ Why broad transformational positioning is losing deals and what to do instead ✔️ How AI SEO is changing the way buyers discover products ✔️ Why your ICP is your anchor when the market is changing weekly ✔️ How to help buyers make the internal case upward to budget holders ✔️ The difference between AI that transforms organisations and AI that augments individuals ✔️ What senior marketers need to focus on to stay commercially relevant Whether you're marketing an AI product and trying to cut through the noise, or a business leader trying to understand why buyers keep stalling, this episode is essential listening. Connect with Stephen: linkedin.com/in/stephenchristou About the Host: Karen Lloyd is the host of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing and Managing Director of Armstrong Lloyd, a specialist sales and marketing headhunting firm. To discuss your hiring needs or the current market, contact Karen at karen@armstronglloyd.co.uk Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

 The pace of change in business has never been faster. AI is reshaping entire industries, macroeconomic pressure is intensifying, and organisations that aren't experimenting now will start to feel it in six, twelve, eighteen months' time.  In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd is joined by Pavneet Syan, Marketing Director at Capita's AI organisation, to explore what it really takes to lead transformation inside large, established businesses. From navigating resistance to building a human-first change strategy, Pavneet shares the practical thinking behind making change stick at pace.  What You'll Learn in This Episode:  ✔️ Why AI acceleration and macroeconomic pressure are compounding forces, not separate challenges  ✔️ Why a human-first approach is the foundation of effective change leadership  ✔️ How to communicate an AI-first vision to stakeholders at every level of knowledge  ✔️ What it means in practice to become an AI-first BPO and how Capita is doing it  ✔️ Why change is never "done" and how to build for longevity while moving at pace  ✔️ How to build a knowledge base that doesn't walk out the door when people leave  Whether you're a marketing leader navigating a transformation project, or a business leader trying to understand why change feels so hard to embed, this episode is essential listening.  Connect with Pavneet: linkedin.com/in/pavneet-syan About the Host: Karen Lloyd is the host of Spotlight On B2B Marketign and Managing Director of Armstrong Lloyd, a specialist sales and markting headhunting firm. To discuss your hiring needs of the current market, contact Karen at karen@armstronglloyd.co.uk Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Most B2B brands are trying to look professional on social media. But in doing so, many are becoming invisible. In this episode, host Karen Lloyd is joined by Xandrina Allday, social media strategist and founder of Allday Marketing, to explore why social media is one of the most underutilised commercial drivers in B2B, and what it actually takes to make it work. From platform selection and the LinkedIn algorithm update, to cold DM strategy and employee-generated content, Xandrina shares a practical, no-nonsense playbook for B2B brands who are ready to stop playing it safe. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why corporate tone is costing B2B brands trust, engagement and pipeline ✔️ How to align your social media activity with real business goals, not vanity metrics ✔️ The process for choosing the right platforms based on your ICP ✔️ Why Instagram can be a powerful lead generation tool for B2B and how to use it ✔️ The ManyChat comment-to-DM tactic that converts social followers into email leads ✔️ What LinkedIn's 360 Brew algorithm update means for your content and profile ✔️ How to build a cold DM strategy that actually gets responses And in B2B, where trust, relationships, and credibility matter most - that human layer isn't optional. Connect with Xandrina Allday: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/socialmediatips/ Website: alldaymarketing.co.uk About the Host: Karen Lloyd is the host of Spotlight on B2B Marketing and Managing Director of Armstrong Lloyd, a specialist sales and marketing headhunting firm. To discuss your hiring needs or the current market, contact Karen at karen@armstrongloyd.co.uk  Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Many growing businesses reach a tipping point where ad hoc campaigns and word of mouth simply are not enough. But knowing when and how to make that first senior marketing hire is harder than it sounds. In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd is joined by Joe Walker, Head of Global Marketing, and Victoria Wilson, HR Director at Panorama Antennas, to explore what really happens when a business brings in its first true marketing leader. From recognising the triggers for the hire to transforming a fragmented, sales-driven function into a strategic growth engine, Joe and Victoria offer a candid and practical first-hand account of the journey. From calibrating the right level of hire to building a data-driven, full-funnel marketing function, this episode is packed with actionable insights for founders, business leaders, and marketing professionals alike. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ How to identify the right moment to hire your first senior marketing leader ✔️ The key criteria for finding someone who can balance strategy with hands-on execution ✔️ What changes when marketing shifts from a support function to a strategic partner ✔️ Why emotional intelligence and cultural fit matter as much as technical skill ✔️ How a new marketing leader should approach their first weeks, listening before acting ✔️ The power of HR and marketing collaborating on employer branding ✔️ What the Great Place to Work accreditation is and why it drives commercial value Whether you are a founder considering your first senior marketing hire, an HR leader navigating the process, or a marketing professional stepping into a new organisation for the first time, this episode will give you a practical framework and the confidence to get it right. Connect on LinkedIn with: Joe: https: linkedin.com/in/joewalker Victoria: linkedin.com/in/victoria-wilson Karen: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Sales are asking what marketing is doing. Marketing is questioning where sales are focusing. Teams operating in silos instead of segments. Sound familiar? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Louise Early, Marketing and Commercial Director at Navtech Radar, to explore how she is tackling that challenge head on. By building segment teams where sales, marketing and product work together, aligned to the same market focus and success metrics. With a career spanning engineering, field sales, product management and strategic marketing, Louise brings a rare end-to-end perspective on what it actually takes to make these functions work as one. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why frontline sales experience shapes stronger, more empathetic marketers ✔️ How to implement true segmentation — not just talk about it ✔️ What a segment team model looks like in practice ✔️ How to define shared KPIs built by the team, for the team ✔️ Why curiosity is the most important hire criterion in technical B2B ✔️ The real risks of duplicating capability in a segment model ✔️ Where AI fits in — and where to be cautious If you are leading marketing in a technical or engineering-led business, this one is for you. Connect with Louise on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/louiseearly/ Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

How do you lead a full rebrand, restructure a global marketing team, and compete with better-funded rivals — in the middle of an economic downturn? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Angela Brown, Chief Marketing Officer at NCC Group, to share her truly inspirational journey. Angela joined the business in January 2023, just as the macroeconomic turndown started, but since then has delivered a complete brand transformation while working with challenging budgets. From navigating profit warnings to restructuring a global team across multiple disciplines, Angela offers unfiltered insights that marketing leaders can implement when facing their toughest challenges. This is real experience from a CMO who actually did it. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ How to execute a complete rebrand during a profit warning and budget cuts ✔️ Why decision-making by committee kills rebrand projects and what to do instead ✔️ How to restructure a global marketing team from regional silos to a unified function ✔️ The secret to competing against better-funded competitors without matching their budgets ✔️ How to balance internal and external communications during massive organisational change ✔️ The mindset shift required to move from digital-heavy to relationship-driven marketing Whether you're leading a rebrand in uncertain times, competing with companies that can outspend you, or rebuilding a marketing team through a restructure, this episode is packed with practical takeaways from a CMO who successfully navigated all three challenges. Connect with Angela on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelabrowncmo/ Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

There's an ongoing debate in B2B tech: should you let your product sell itself through product-led growth, or invest in a traditional sales-led approach?  What if the answer isn't binary? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd speaks with Gary Gonsalvez, Marketing Director at Coveo, who brings over 20 years of experience delivering 10x growth through strategic marketing. Unlike many marketing leaders who stay in one lane, Gary has successfully operated in both sales-led organisations like SAI Global and Coveo, and product-led growth companies like Pledge. From understanding which customer tasks suit each model to navigating the organisational challenges of hybrid approaches, Gary provides a framework for choosing the right growth strategy based on customer behaviour rather than industry trends. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ The fundamental difference between product-led and sales-led growth—where you place the burden of education and value demonstration ✔️ How to determine which growth model suits your business based on three critical questions about customer tasks ✔️ Why transitioning from PLG to sales is significantly easier than going sales-to-PLG ✔️ The hidden costs of PLG that many companies underestimate—from continuous UX investment to product analytics Connect with Gary on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gary-gonsalvez/ Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

How do you encourage creative marketing campaigns while still hitting your pipeline targets? It's the question every marketing leader wrestles with, especially in field marketing where ROI is constantly under scrutiny. In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Joe Dotson, Director of EMEA Field Marketing at Infoblox, an award-winning marketing leader who has transformed field marketing from tactical execution to strategic partnership. With sevenyears at Infoblox, Joe has developed frameworks that allow his team to innovate boldly while maintaining strict accountability to revenue goals. From the "Patch Plan" strategy that aligns marketing with sales territories to the "Fail Forward" philosophy that dedicates 20% of time to experimentation, Joe shares the processes that have driven significant growth. **What You'll Learn in This Episode:** ✔️ The "Fail Forward" approach: dedicating 20% of time to innovation while hitting 100% of targets ✔️ How to create "Patch Plans" that align marketing strategy with individual sales territories ✔️ The follow-up framework that ensures no lead gets left behind after events ✔️ How to position field marketers as "mini CMOs" rather than just "the events people" ✔️ How to break down sales-marketing silos by treating sales as your customer ✔️ Practical tactics for working across diverse regional cultures in EMEA Whether you're a field marketing leader looking to elevate your team's strategic impact, a CMO restructuring your marketing team, or a CEO trying to understand how marketing can truly partner with sales, this episode delivers actionable frameworks you can implement immediately. Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joedotson Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Customer advocacy is no longer just a nice-to-have—it's a revenue driver. But how do you build a systematic approach that turns happy customers into active revenue generators? And more importantly, how do you make this everyone's responsibility, not just marketing's? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Faith Wheeler, VP of Global Marketing for TeamViewer, to explore how to build customer advocacy programmes that directly impact your bottom line.  With over 25 years of marketing experience and a track record of managing 700,000 customers, Faith shares the frameworks and strategies that transform customer satisfaction into measurable business growth. From creating tiered advocacy programmes to making customer advocacy an organisation-wide responsibility, Faith provides practical insights that CEOs and marketing leaders can implement to reduce acquisition costs and accelerate sales cycles. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ How to build a systematic customer advocacy platform that tracks and rewards customer actions ✔️ Why customer advocacy must be an organisation-wide responsibility beyond marketing ✔️ How to identify your advocates using existing platforms and customer signals ✔️ Strategies for rewarding advocates beyond traditional swag (sustainable and meaningful incentives) ✔️ The business case for customer advocacy: ROI, brand awareness, and diversity goals Whether you're a CEO looking to reduce customer acquisition costs or a marketing leader building advocacy programmes from scratch, this episode is packed with practical takeaways to turn your customers into your most effective sales force. Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Every founder reaches a point where they realise they don't know what they don't know. But how do you scale a business when there's no manual to follow? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd speaks with Nick Mason, co-founder of Turtl, about his remarkable journey from writing a few lines of code with his co-founder whilst on a project at Oxford University to building a revenue-generating content platform now supporting hundreds of brands. Nick shares the honest reality of bootstrapping to £1M ARR with no funding, navigating the leap from software engineer to CEO, and competing with giants like Adobe in the crowded MarTech space. From identifying critical knowledge gaps to building a marketing team that influences product strategy, Nick reveals the hard-won lessons that separate founders who scale successfully from those who get stuck. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ How to bootstrap a tech startup from initial concept to 1M ARR with no funding ✔️ Strategies for identifying and overcoming "what you don't know you don't know" ✔️ How to compete with major players when you're a smaller company ✔️ Why marketing must be intrinsically linked to business strategy, not siloed ✔️ The importance of mentors, advisors, and continuous self-education in scaling ✔️ How to navigate from bootstrapping to Series A funding ✔️ The value of being noteworthy and differentiated in a crowded market Whether you're a founder navigating early-stage growth, a CEO looking to understand marketing's strategic value, or an entrepreneur facing challenges you've never encountered before, this episode offers practical wisdom and inspiration for your scaling journey. Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Your customers are making buying decisions in ChatGPT before ever visiting your site—and your analytics can't see it happening. We reveal why traditional attribution is broken, how the "great decoupling" is misleading marketing leaders, and what you must do now to show up where buyers actually research. In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd explores the seismic shift in search behaviour with Semrush's Kyle Byers, a leading voice on winning in the age of AI.  Discover why your traffic is declining even when rankings improve, how conversion rates from AI search are 4.4 times higher than traditional SEO, and why cutting content budgets now could be catastrophic for your brand visibility. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why traffic declines even when rankings improve (the "great decoupling") ✔️ How customers conduct entire research journeys in AI search before reaching your site ✔️ Why conversion rates from ChatGPT are 4.4x higher than traditional SEO traffic ✔️ The attribution crisis: why your best marketing shows up as "direct" or "unknown" ✔️ Why ChatGPT will become the most powerful paid acquisition channel ever created ✔️ Which off-site platforms are now critical for B2B visibility From understanding how ChatGPT secretly relies on Google results to learning which platforms (Reddit, Quora, YouTube) are now essential for B2B brands, Kyle shares the tactical shifts marketing leaders need to make immediately.  Whether you're a CMO defending your SEO investment or a CEO trying to understand where your customers have gone, this episode provides the clarity and actionable strategies you need. Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

When growth stalls and something feels "off" with marketing, how do you diagnose the real problem? Is it the demand generation engine, the positioning, or something deeper in the business itself? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd sits down with Dani Smallbone, a transformational fractional CMO specialising in turning underperforming marketing functions into strategic growth engines. With experience scaling companies from start-up to £40M ARR, Dani shares the diagnostic frameworks she uses to identify what's truly broken and the practical steps to fix it. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ The telltale signs that indicate a marketing function needs transformation versus incremental improvement ✔️ How to diagnose whether your issue is product marketing, brand messaging, or demand generation ✔️ Real case studies of successful pivots including climate tech and HR tech transformations ✔️ How the CMO's role as diplomat and educator drives cross-functional alignment From pivoting climate tech companies into new markets to rebuilding demand generation from scratch, Dani reveals the patterns that indicate when transformation is needed versus incremental improvement—and why marketing can never be the sole engine of growth. Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

When CEO’s tell marketing advisors they want to become thought leaders, there's often a stark disconnect between their goals and their execution.  In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Oren Greenberg, a B2B marketing expert who has uncovered a pipeline opportunity that most leaders are completely overlooking. In analysing over 13,000 LinkedIn profiles, Oren's data is striking: some companies are generating up to 70% of their pipeline through personal branding and LinkedIn activity, whilst the majority of CEOs remain virtually invisible on the platform.  Personal profiles consistently outperform company pages by 5x for reach and engagement, yet most company pages struggle with an average of just 4 likes per post. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ How some CEOs and CMOs generate 70% of their business pipeline through LinkedIn activity  ✔️ Why personal LinkedIn profiles perform 5x better than company pages for reach and engagement  ✔️ The psychological barriers that prevent successful leaders from building personal brands  ✔️ AI-powered personalization vs automated AI SDRs: What works and what doesn't  ✔️ Why the shift from traffic-driven to attention-based marketing is reshaping B2B strategies From the power of personal profiles over company pages to building modern marketing frameworks that actually work, Oren shares actionable insights that could transform how you think about B2B growth. Connect with Karen on LinkedIn Connect with Oren on LinkedIn or discover more about his work at orengreenberg.com Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

The pressure to deliver immediate marketing results has never been more intense. But what if chasing those quick wins is actually limiting your long-term success? In this episode, Bianca Bass, CMO of Privalgo and one of the Top 30 Most Influential Fintech Marketers, reveals why the most successful marketing leaders resist the temptation to rush results. Having transformed marketing functions across multiple fintech scale-ups, Bianca shares the strategic frameworks that create sustainable competitive advantage over flashy quick fixes. From her methodology for deep customer understanding to her evolved approach to team building, discover why patience and strategic thinking build marketing functions that truly scale businesses. What You'll Learn: ✔️ Why rushing to prove immediate ROI can backfire on long-term impact ✔️ How to shift from tactical activities to legacy-building marketing strategies ✔️ Strategic frameworks for sustainable B2B growth that withstand market changes ✔️ Why AI makes strategic thinking more valuable than ever for marketers ✔️ How to build internal stakeholder confidence without chasing vanity metrics Perfect for CMOs, marketing directors, and anyone leading marketing functions who want to build lasting impact rather than just hitting short-term targets. Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ Connect with Bianca on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/biancabass/ Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing and business leaders in technology. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Growing an early-stage company from zero to $30 million is one of the most challenging journeys in business—and it's where most marketing "playbooks" struggle. In this episode, industry veteran Russ Somers reveals what it really takes to drive explosive growth in early-stage companies. With multiple zero-to-$30M journeys under his belt, Russ brings a refreshingly honest perspective on startup marketing, sharing both heartbreaks and remarkable successes. From why he believes marketers should think like explorers rather than mechanics, to how he's building an AI-powered marketing team of custom GPTs, Russ challenges conventional wisdom while providing practical frameworks that actually work in the messy reality of start-up growth. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to evaluate early-stage opportunities and avoid companies that are "too good to be true" Why $30M is the "magic number" where everything changes Why marketing "playbooks" often fail and what successful early-stage marketers do instead How Russ built an AI-powered marketing team using custom GPTs named Wendy and Roger Russ shares the unvarnished truth about what it really takes to drive explosive growth in early-stage companies. Perfect for startup marketers, founders, and anyone tired of cookie-cutter marketing advice. Connect with Russ on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/russsomers/ Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ #marketing #podcast #russsomers #techstartup Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

Growing an early-stage company from zero to $30 million is one of the most challenging journeys in business—and it's where most marketing "playbooks" struggle. In this episode, industry veteran Russ Somers reveals what it really takes to drive explosive growth in early-stage companies. With multiple zero-to-$30M journeys under his belt, Russ brings a refreshingly honest perspective on startup marketing, sharing both heartbreaks and remarkable successes. From why he believes marketers should think like explorers rather than mechanics, to how he's building an AI-powered marketing team of custom GPTs, Russ challenges conventional wisdom while providing practical frameworks that actually work in the messy reality of start-up growth. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: How to evaluate early-stage opportunities and avoid companies that are "too good to be true" Why $30M is the "magic number" where everything changes Why marketing "playbooks" often fail and what successful early-stage marketers do instead How Russ built an AI-powered marketing team using custom GPTs named Wendy and Roger Russ shares the unvarnished truth about what it really takes to drive explosive growth in early-stage companies. Perfect for startup marketers, founders, and anyone tired of cookie-cutter marketing advice. Connect with Russ on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/russsomers/ Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/ #marketing #podcast #russsomers #techstartup Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing and business leaders in technology. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

From physicist to product marketing leader—Chris Wade's journey is anything but ordinary. But can marketing really solve problems that businesses didn't even know were marketing problems? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Chris Wade, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Gamma Communications, to explore how marketing can unlock commercial solutions beyond traditional boundaries. With a unique background spanning physics, strategy consulting, and nearly 15 years in product marketing across companies like Sage and Aptitude Software, Chris offers a masterclass in applying analytical thinking to marketing challenges. From building product marketing functions from scratch to using marketing principles to solve HR recruitment challenges, Chris shares practical insights that demonstrate marketing's power to drive business transformation. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ The critical differences between product management and product marketing strategy and execution ✔️ Why businesses struggle to embed product marketing functions and how to overcome organisational resistance ✔️ The three essential pillars for building successful product marketing teams and capabilities from the ground up ✔️ How to use data to create hyper-focused product marketing messaging for different personas and market segments ✔️ Why product marketing principles can solve unexpected business problems  ✔️ The importance of stakeholder buy-in and creating clear roadmaps for product marketing function evolution ✔️ How to demonstrate product marketing value and ROI when businesses question the need for change You'll also be able to catch Chris as a speaker at this year's B2B Ignite event, hosted by B2B Marketing in London - that we are delighted to be partnering with - find your 25% discount code here Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk

From physicist to product marketing leader—Chris Wade's journey is anything but ordinary. But can marketing really solve problems that businesses didn't even know were marketing problems? In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Chris Wade, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Gamma Communications, to explore how marketing can unlock commercial solutions beyond traditional boundaries. With a unique background spanning physics, strategy consulting, and nearly 15 years in product marketing across companies like Sage and Aptitude Software, Chris offers a masterclass in applying analytical thinking to marketing challenges. From building product marketing functions from scratch to using marketing principles to solve HR recruitment challenges, Chris shares practical insights that demonstrate marketing's power to drive business transformation. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ The critical differences between product management and product marketing strategy and execution ✔️ Why businesses struggle to embed product marketing functions and how to overcome organisational resistance ✔️ The three essential pillars for building successful product marketing teams and capabilities from the ground up ✔️ How to use data to create hyper-focused product marketing messaging for different personas and market segments ✔️ Why product marketing principles can solve unexpected business problems  ✔️ The importance of stakeholder buy-in and creating clear roadmaps for product marketing function evolution ✔️ How to demonstrate product marketing value and ROI when businesses question the need for change You'll also be able to catch Chris as a speaker at this year's B2B Ignite event, hosted by B2B Marketing in London - that we are delighted to be partnering with - find your 25% discount code here Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing and business leaders in technology. Want to know more? Discover more at armstronglloyd.co.uk