Huddlers in the News

"I'm drowning here, Drew. The board wants immediate results, my CEO keeps moving the goalposts, and my team is stretched thinner than an Ozembic user. How does anyone survive as a CMO these days?" exclaimed a first-time CMO at a Series C SaaS company.

Oh, first-timer, let’s huddle. You're not alone in this maelstrom of impossible expectations and magical thinking. Welcome to B2B marketing circa 2025, where every executive thinks they're a marketing expert because they watch the Super Bowl.

But fear not, fellow marketing penguins! Did you know that penguins are incredible swimmers and spend 75% of their lives in water? Like these adorable birds, you’re adaptable, curious, and comfortable in almost any environment. Why else would you have chosen this path?

Over the next few weeks, I'll share 25 ways for B2B CMOs to overcome their malaise. Today's focus is on leadership and strategy. Without these fundamentals, you might as well be trying to swim in cement.

1. Start with Your North Star (And Make Sure Everyone's Looking at the Same One)

Here's a renegade thought: Before you launch that shiny new campaign or redesign your homepage, get your C-suite aligned on what success actually looks like.

I recently watched a brilliant CMO get torpedoed because the CEO thought marketing's job was "to make things go viral," while the CRO expected immediate pipeline impact. Spoiler alert: It didn't end well.

2. Your Survival Depends on Strategic Alliances

Quick quiz: When was the last time you had coffee with your CFO? If you're drawing a blank, we've identified your first mission. Pick one C-suite peer per quarter and become their new best friend. Trust me, these alliances will save your bacon when budgeting season rolls around.

3. Simplify Until It Hurts

If your brand story requires a PhD to understand, you've already lost. With shrinking attention spans and buyer indecision rampant, simplicity isn't just nice to have – it's survival. Can your entire team tell your story in one compelling sentence? No? That’s one thing you can fix quickly.

4. Channel Your Inner Explorer

Yes, pay-per-click is comfortable. Yes, your tried-and-true channels work... sort of. But if you're not experimenting with new ways to reach your audience, you're already falling behind. The key? Start small, measure religiously, and scale what works.

5. For Heaven's Sake, Lighten Up!

This just in: B2B doesn't have to be boring! Some of the most successful CMOs I know have mastered the art of bringing levity to their leadership style AND their brand voice. When everything feels heavy, a little wit goes a long way.

The truth is, being a CMO in 2025 isn't for the faint of heart. And there are few shortcuts. But these 5 leadership tips should be helpful (and expect 5 more next week).

And to all those armchair CMOs in the C-suite: Marketing isn't magic. It's strategy, science, and a whole lot of smart execution. Maybe it's time to trust the experts you hired.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 443: CMO Pep Talk: How to Own Your Job Search

CMO job searches come with baggage—pressure to be perfect, high expectations from CEOs and investors, and a market where one misstep can cost you. Add in emotional residue from your last gig, and it’s no wonder the process feels heavy.

In this episode, executive recruiter Erica Seidel joins Drew Neisser for a grounded pep talk on how marketing leaders can take control of the job search. It’s about being intentional—knowing what you want, how to show up, and how to manage the emotional rollercoaster along the way.

What You’ll Learn

• How an Ideal Company Profile (ICP) can focus your search—and your energy.
• The paradox-filled CMO role: changemaker, peacemaker, and how to keep it together.
• Smart ways to stand out—think prep docs, dashboards, and well-placed hypotheses.
• Why “ready to start tomorrow” might be your strongest asset.
  
• What CEOs and investors really want from you in the first 100 days.
  

Whether you’re actively interviewing or just thinking ahead, this episode offers the mindset and tools to help you lead your search—with intention and impact. Tune in!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

“Help, our new CRO is demanding that Marketing double its contribution to pipeline from 30% to 60%,” exclaimed a 3x CMO at a ½ billion-dollar cybersecurity firm. While I grimaced, several CMOs in our community offered counsel AND benchmarks from various sources. Armed with this advice and data, our harried CMO negotiated, landing at a challenging but not impossible goal. Crises averted. A win for CMO Huddles. Rant to follow.

In What World Is It Okay for the Head of Sales to Set Arbitrary Goals for the CMO?

And I thought irrational requests were the exclusive domain of PE firms. These are the fine folks of legend (and my prior rants) who cut the budget by 25% and then raised the revenue target by an equal amount. (This is much more common than we would like to believe and is still happening almost daily in Silicon Valley). But I digress. In the case of PE firms, it’s their capital. Not so with the CRO. It is not just bad form for CROs to make crazy-ass demands. It’s bad news for the organization since it instills a Marketing versus Sales divide.

Should CMOs Willingly Commit to Any Pipeline Contribution Target?

Allow me to waffle on this one for a bit. Many CMOs do so happily. Why? Because they have lots of historical data to show that Marketing is already driving a healthy percentage of pipeline. This is particularly true for PLG brands with a freemium offer, often targeting SMBs. I’ve spoken with CMOs in these orgs who can show that 90% of revenue is driven by various marketing activities. These CMOs feel pretty good about their job security, assuming their customer acquisition costs stay significantly below customer lifetime value.

What’s with the waffle?

Let’s take your basic $500 million tech company with a 12-month sales cycle and a lifetime value per customer of over $1 million. According to recent Forrester data, there will be 22 people on average involved in that buying decision, 9 of whom don’t even work at the company. For the sale to occur, Marketing must touch more than 90% of the buying committee multiple times. Does it matter who initiated the first, fifth, fiftieth, or last touch? It shouldn’t. And that’s just one reason why obsessing about sourcing is so problematic.

What’s the Solution Then, Oh Wise Sage?

Joint metrics focused on improvements over time, such as win rate, deal size, retention rate, growth of LTV, advocacy rates, and more.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: GROWTH IS NOT A STRATEGY. It’s an outcome of a fully aligned C-suite.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 442: What CMOs Get Wrong About Career Transitions

The career mistake that haunts CMOs most? Waiting until they’re laid off to build their personal brand. Career transition expert Catherine Altman Morgan reveals the three career management mistakes even seasoned CMOs make—and they might be sabotaging your future opportunities. In this quick-hitting conversation, Catherine delivers straight talk on building your personal brand, maintaining critical relationships, and positioning yourself for success whether you’re job hunting or not.

From market disruptions to political shifts, CMOs are feeling the pressure. CFOs are tightening budgets, customers are hesitating, and entire industries are being forced to adapt. So, what’s a savvy marketing leader to do?

For the full conversation covering ‘nose to the grindstone syndrome,’ navigating toxic work environments, and how to product-ize yourself, visit our YouTube channel (CMO Huddles Hub) or click here: [https://youtu.be/f9_qZKSYDbM].

Get more insights like these by joining our free Starter program.

Until then, keep those renegade thinking caps on and strong.

For transcripts and more details, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 441: B2B Marketing Metrics That Speak C-Suite

In a perfect world, every marketing dollar would be easy to track and justify. In reality, proving impact is a constant battle.

In this episode, Drew Neisser brings together Julie Kaplan, Michael Callahan of Salt Security, and Bindu Chellappan of Corpay to explore the metrics that matter—and how to make sure they resonate in the boardroom.

In This Episode:

• Julie Kaplan shares why marketing-driven pipeline is the metric that truly resonates with the C-suite—and how simplifying the conversation makes it easier to prove marketing’s value to the CFO.
  

• Michael Callahan reveals why broad pipeline metrics don’t resonate with sales—and how shifting to territory-level goals helped drive alignment and better results.
  

• Bindu Chellappan expands the conversation beyond pipeline, sharing how Corpay is tackling the challenge of measuring brand awareness, retention, and upsell impact—and why long-term marketing influence is just as important as net-new pipeline.
  

Key Takeaways:

• The #1 metric that makes marketing’s impact undeniable.
• Why marketing-influenced revenue deserves more credit—and how to make the case for it.
  
• How to align marketing with sales—without the usual friction.
  
• Why brand awareness is more measurable than you think—and how to track it.
  

Marketing’s value isn’t simple to prove—but the right numbers get the C-suite’s attention. Tune in to learn which ones matter most.

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

“Just go play with GenAI,” said multiple B2B CMOs to their teams in 2024. What felt like a reasonable instruction back then now feels like pure lunacy. GenAI is way too important to the future of marketing (and organizations) to leave it to random acts of discovery. Rather than a typical rant, this piece offers a more deliberate approach to GenAI adoption and its cutting-edge applications.

Start with BHAGs, Not Tool Bags

Saying “Go play with GenAI” to your employees is a quintessentially flawed “ready, fire, aim” approach. You’re giving them a solution in search of a problem. But if you start with challenges or, better yet, BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals), magical outcomes await. Here are a few BHAGs for you to consider:

• Create continuously differentiated content that your customers will want to consume
• Transform the notes from hundreds of sales calls into actionable insights
• Make every employee better prepared for every meeting
• Turn every employee into a brand ambassador
• Make every customer experience personalized and continuously enhanced
• Turn every level 3 technical support agent into a level 1 problem solver
• Rethink your sales enablement strategy and execution
• Create a frictionless customer experience that anticipates needs, provides personalized information, and reflects the expectations of younger buyers
• Reimagine every one of your workflows (see next paragraph).

Evolve from Content Creation to Content Workflows

GenAI's low-hanging fruit is content creation, and independent playtime has undoubtedly yielded that. But just writing copy and creating images with LLMs is so 2024. The higher-yield application involves redesigning entire workflows, from strategy to iteration to distribution to tracking to revisions, with lots of human checkpoints along the way, including legal review. Tools like copy.ai help with some of this.

Others write a bit of code to connect their apps. Noah Brier, Percolate founder, has done this for his latest company, Alephic, and I was drooling with envy when he showed it to me.

Build and Sustain AI-Literacy

To achieve some of the BHAGs above, you need a highly AI-literate workforce. This requires a deliberate approach to training. “Many organizations assume people are going to figure this out...but that underestimates how much of a cultural and skill gap there is,” explains Forrester Principal Analyst Lisa Gately, who joined us for a Bonus Huddle last week.

Instead, you must treat AI adoption with the same rigor as other major launches. That means offering formalized and ongoing training.

What BHAG-driven applications are you pursuing with GenAI?

Written by Drew Neisser

“Retention is everyone’s job,” declared a (now former) CEO from a $150mm SaaS brand when the CMO made a play to “own” customer marketing. This story doesn’t end well. Churn rates rose. Revenue per customer stayed flat. Even net new sales faltered. Mild rant to follow.

If Everyone Owns the Customer, Does Anyone Really Own It?

The spirit of this idea is wonderful. Organizations that focus on their customers, that constantly address their pain points, that remove friction from the buying process and the ongoing relationship outperform those that don’t. Customer-centricity is a beautiful thing. That’s not the problem. The problem is structural.

Who Should “Own” Retention?

Someone in the c-suite. Someone with a budget and a mandate to stay close to the customer. Someone whose bonus depends (at least partially) on decreasing churn rates, increasing revenue per customer, and increasing advocacy. Someone with great listening skills and communication skills. Someone whose neck can be metaphorically choked by the CEO if things go poorly. If it’s a multi-billion dollar company, then a Chief Customer Officer or Chief Experience Officer role probably makes sense.

What If the Company Is Under a Billion?

With undeniable bias, I nominate the CMO. They are the best equipped and have the most to gain (or lose) by “owning” (or not owning) retention. The closer CMOs are to customers, the better the marketing output. The better the marketing, the more likely it will attract and retain customers and flywheel-driving advocates. It’s a virtuous circle. And most CMOs have the leadership and communication skills to do the job.

Why Is This So Complicated?

Currently, most B2B companies split customer engagement into multiple departments or at least functional areas. These include onboarding, training (if needed), technical support, customer success (typically a quota-carrying sales role to get the customer to renew and buy more), customer comms, communities, recognition programs, and customer advisory boards. Importantly, all of these areas require unique expertise, which is why they are often split across departments.

What’s Essential Here for the CMO?

Whether they own all of retention or not, CMOs need a direct line to the customer to do their best work. Customer input should inform strategy, messaging, content, media selection, and recognition programs. Stronger customer relationships beget advocacy, including online reviews, testimonials, and case histories. At a minimum, CMOs should be responsible for customer marketing, customer advisory boards, customer advocacy, and communities.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 439: Video Testimonials: Social Proof in Motion

Buyers trust other buyers more than they trust you—that’s just reality.

A great video testimonial is proof, reassurance, and persuasion all rolled into one, but that only happens if people actually see it and act on it. So how do you keep testimonials from collecting digital dust and turn them into a true sales and marketing asset?

That’s exactly what Drew Neisser and Alexander Ferguson, Founder & CMO of TeraLeap, tackle in this episode. From getting customers to say “yes” to crafting stories that resonate, Alex shares the strategies that make testimonials impossible to ignore.

What You’ll Learn

• The biggest mistakes that keep video testimonials from delivering real results.
• Ways to integrate testimonials across sales, marketing, and branding.
• How to measure impact, track conversions, and prove value to leadership.
• The right timing and approach to get more customers on camera.
  

Don’t let your best customer stories go to waste. Catch the full conversation now!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/

“Stop creating marketing plans, just focus on the next 6 months,” ordered a first-time CEO from a PE-backed $90 million services firm. The CMO who shared this story offered a “What can you do?” and, with a crushed soul, returned to work. I cringed. Rant to follow.

Short-Termism Is an Epidemic

This was not an isolated incident. Every week, I speak with CMOs whose organizations focus solely on the current quarter. Most are PE-backed. A few are public. Even fewer could call themselves “Built to Last.” Where’s Jim Collins when we need him? Instead, these companies are being “Built to Sell,” but buyers beware - these short-termers are also short-timers. They don’t have staying or pricing power (more on that shortly).

Short-Termism Inhibits Growth

Forrester reports that enterprise sales cycles extended in 2024 to an average of 18 months. That means that today’s top-of-the-funnel opportunities won’t close until 2027. Not this quarter, not next quarter. 2027! Victory will be determined by the clarity of the brand story over 100 different interactions with the prospect. Each of these touchpoints takes time to think through and optimize.

Take analyst relations, for example. You won’t find yourself in the top quadrant after 3 months of effort. It could take a year or two, but when you get there, it's an invaluable source of credibility. Trade shows are another case where long-term planning is required. You can only optimize event investments with a pre-, during, and post-event plan. This plan also needs to reflect the multiple sources of value (i.e., Closing late-stage deals, strengthening current customer relations and partnerships, introducing your brand to new prospects, etc.).

Short-Termism Limits Pricing Power

I haven’t talked about pricing power in this editorial series, but thanks to my conversations with Chris Burggraeve, I’ve had an epiphany. Pricing power is the ultimate litmus test of brand strength. The stronger the brand, the more it can charge, and the better its margins. Importantly, CFOs understand pricing power. To them, unlike the amorphous notion of brand, pricing power is real. It’s money in the bank. And guess what, pricing power isn’t built in 3 or 6-month sprints.

Pricing power is gained over a long time period by consistently delivering on the brand promise. Warren Buffett famously said: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." You could easily substitute pricing power for reputation in Buffet’s quote.

Short-termism should only apply to the tenure of the CEOs who preach it.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 438: Michael Watkins’ First 90 Days

If you haven’t read The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins, what are you waiting for?

This bestselling guide to leadership transitions is a must-read for any executive stepping into a new role, and it’s a staple in the CMO Huddles community.

A CMO’s first 90 days will set the course—either laying the groundwork for success or paving the way for an uphill battle. Drawing on more than two decades of research, Michael Watkins joins host Drew Neisser to share essential transition strategies and reveal the critical mistakes executives make in their early days—and exactly how to avoid them.

What You’ll Learn

• The biggest mistakes executives make in their first 90 days—and how to sidestep them.
• How address the real problems within an organization—not just the ones you’re familiar with.
• The importance of early wins and strategies to resist the “action imperative”
• The critical role of shifting perspectives for achieving long-term success.
  
• The power of process leadership and how to use it to accelerate your impact.
  

Michael also shares insights from his new book, The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking, and why strategy has never been more critical (stay tuned for that episode).

Tune in ASAP!

For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcast/