Huddlers in the News

“Our demand gen efforts stopped driving pipeline,” shared a challenged CMO from a $45mil SaaS company. The other marketing leaders in the huddle jumped into action, diagnosing the issues and offering testable solutions. It was time to get into the weeds.

What to Do When Stuff Stops Working

Pause. Breathe. Look at the data. Talk to your peers. Form hypotheses. Test some quick fixes that will buy you time to identify the bigger issues (most likely your overall go-to-market strategy relative to competitive actions).

Look at the Data

“I’d be looking at historical trends of the leads that came from inbound channels,” advised a fellow Huddler. “If you can segment these leads by industry, persona, or title perhaps you’ll see some trend lines and a vein of gold which you can lean into,” they added. “If you can see things that converted down the funnel into pipeline before, double down on those activities,” the Huddler concluded.

Find Your Blunt Instruments

Every CMO needs to have some “blunt instruments” that attract prospective buyers. For many B2B CMOs, webinars play that role. They are inexpensive to produce, and if the topics are timely and the content informative, your audience will respond. “Perfect is the enemy of good when it comes to webinars," noted one CMO. “Even when we can’t find a client to join the webinar, we can still generate a goodly amount of MQLs,” they added. [Do you have some blunt instruments? If yes, what are they?]

Are You Scaring Off Your Prospects?

Eager to fill the pipeline, many marketers accidentally scare off their buyers. It starts when a prospect provides their contact info on a form in order to download content or join a webinar. Shortly thereafter, an overeager, under-trained 22-year-old SDR starts hounding the prospect. The bridge gets burned faster than you can say, “DQ.”

To address this problem, some marketers are testing LLM-driven virtual agents. These agents are trained on your content and can offer visitors a curated experience. The goal is to keep the visitor engaged on your website longer than the usual “land and leave” type. Even a modest uptick in time spent on your website can have a dramatic impact on downstream conversions. [Are you testing virtual agents? If yes, please share your learnings.]

Dancing with ABT

While we’re covering the basics, think ABT as in “always be testing.” No, duh, right? The only nuance I can add here is that many tests are focused on the wrong outcomes. For example, some A/B landing page tests are measured on the quantity of form fills. The result can be a lot of time-wasting follow-up on “leads” that aren’t worth the pixels they’re imprinted upon. Ideally, you’re able to track the visitor beyond the landing page to an action that indicates genuine interest (like watching a demo or checking out your pricing page). Better yet, the buyer contacts you when they’re ready.

Can you network for answers? If not, check out our free Starter program. No SDRs will call.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 431: Don’t Risk Playing It Safe: B2B Lessons from Leaders Leap

Playing it safe might feel smart, but it’s the riskiest move of all. In this episode, Drew Neisser sits down with Steve Dennis, author of Leaders Leap, to explore the critical moments when leaders must embrace risk, drive innovation, and challenge the status quo.

In this episode:

• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: Why past successes might not guarantee future results, and how to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
• A Slightly Better Version of Mediocre Won’t Cut It: Why incremental improvements are no longer enough and how to aim for true remarkability.
• Customer-Centric or Just Lip Service? The gap between saying that you’re customer-focused and actually delivering on it.

You’ll also learn::

• How CMOs can position themselves as strategic leaders within their organizations.
• Why being “special, not big” can be a winning strategy in a competitive market.
• Practical steps for balancing long-term transformation with short-term results.

Whether you’re navigating strategic pivots, championing customer-centric initiatives, or striving to build a remarkable brand, this conversation is packed with insights to help you leap with confidence into 2025 and beyond.

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

“Did B2B break in 2024?” asked the penguin-hatted emcee of the CMO Super Huddle. The 100+ marketing leaders crammed into a Palo Alto hotel ballroom listened and nodded. Few had a great year. Most had major challenges which they shared on a small card. An analysis of these challenges reveals some interesting truths about the CMO role.

The CMO Role Remains the Most Bespoke in the C-Suite

This isn’t news. It’s just a reminder to avoid assumptions when speaking with CMOs. Some have vast portfolios and could call themselves “Chief Market Officers” and should according to executive recruiting legend, Kate Bullis. Most don’t. About half report to the CEO. A few “own” ecommerce and a P&L. Most don’t. Some own marketing and comms. Some are lucky to have enlightened CEOs who understand that marketing is a growth lever. Most don’t!

Few CMOs Believe They Have Sufficient Resources to Hit Their Goals

After years of budget cuts and goal hikes, many B2B CMOs are at the breaking point. Several highly skilled CMOs quit in 2024 in the face of relentless magical thinking by PE firms. Others describe their 2025 challenge as “dedicating sufficient resources (people + budget) to meet increasingly high goals,” “so many priorities, so few resources” or simply, “doing more with less.” To make this visceral, one CMO asked, “How can I scale demand and awareness with a budget of only $20,000/month?”

Educating the C-Suite Remains a Top Challenge

This is not just about educating other execs that marketing is not a simple input/output function (like Jon Miller’s gumball machine metaphor). It turns out that a lot of execs, particularly at start-ups, can’t agree on a go-to-market strategy or even what “strategy” means. Thus CMO challenges like “GTM alignment,” “lack of clarity of business objectives” and “executive alignment & engagement around a cohesive customer-centric narrative” are surprisingly frequent.

The Era of Just Handing Off Leads to Sales Is Over

While marketing leaders still wish their sales counterparts were better closers, few if any relinquish responsibility for conversion rates. Most CMOs now realize that MQLs and SQLs are meaningless if deals don’t get closed. As such, challenges like “pipeline progression,” “sales enablement” and “improving close rates” are their top priorities. While these aren’t easily solved issues, marketers are finding meaningful ways to support their sales counterparts from discovery through acquisition and retention. And in doing so, become recognized as business leaders not just the marketing person!

CMOs Are Remarkably Resilient and Infinitely Curious

Despite the challenges stated above (and many others I don’t have room to cover in this post), the atmosphere in the room was electric. For several hours, these execs ignored their email and listened intently. They shared leadership tips and sought answers on how GenAI would reshape their companies, products, and marketing. They opened their minds, prepared to pivot, and networked for answers (as I had requested they do in my opening remarks).

And at least for one day, they didn’t feel alone. It was flocking awesome.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 429: The B2B Marketing Performance Index

When it comes to marketing metrics, what you measure—and how you measure it—can make all the difference. In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by six-time CMO Grant Johnson to explore how to create marketing dashboards that go beyond vanity metrics to tell a full story of marketing’s impact.

In this episode:

• Grant walks through his “Marketing Performance Index,” a dashboard designed to measure marketing’s broader influence on pipeline health, brand strength, and market presence.
• Learn why too many marketers fall into the trap of tracking vanity metrics that don’t resonate with the C-suite—and how to avoid it.
• Discover the importance of aligning metrics with CEO and board priorities while maintaining a broader lens to capture momentum.
  
• Explore how setting baselines and tracking trends over time are critical for showing marketing’s true value.

This is a sneak peek into a dashboard that doesn’t just measure what’s easy, it captures what actually matters—and elevates marketing’s voice in the C-suite. Tune in!

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

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 428: Bold B2B Brand Journeys

How do B2B leaders successfully navigate brand transformations? In this episode, Drew Neisser explores the art and science of rebranding with three exceptional marketers—Joy Neely, Heather Salerno, and Will Meier. From reclaiming past equity to aligning brands with new business goals, this conversation reveals the key strategies behind effective brand evolution.

In this episode:

• Joy Neely shares the bold move to bring Medvantx back to its roots, the challenges of reintroducing an old name, and how she balanced sales and marketing priorities to support a successful rebrand.
  

• Heather Salerno explains how Appcast’s rebrand evolved from a refresh to a strategic overhaul, aligning the company’s identity with its rapid growth and new offerings.
  

• Will Meier discusses building a family of brands at FM, the decision-making process behind a house-of-brands approach, and the challenges of maintaining premium positioning across diverse markets.
  

You’ll also learn:

• How to involve employees in the rebranding process and ensure alignment across teams.
• Metrics and KPIs to track brand health and measure rebrand success.
• Tips for overcoming resistance and fostering organizational buy-in.

Whether you’re embarking on a rebrand, refreshing your identity, or simply curious about what makes brand transformations succeed, this episode is packed with actionable insights for B2B marketers. 

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

“We lowered our cost by 70% and doubled the impact on pipeline ” shared a gleeful SaaS CMO who stopped exhibiting at their industry’s largest trade show. Instead, they hosted their own events near the show. It was a brave and inspiring move for those in 2025 planning mode.

The Trade Show Trade-Off

Many B2B marketers are again spending 40-50% of their entire budgets on events. That’s almost the same percentage as it was before the pandemic. The problem is that full-loaded exhibiting costs have gone up significantly since 1999 – at least 25% when you include travel, entertainment, booth rental, creation, premiums, and staffing costs. So unless marketers are >25% more efficient at securing meetings during these shows, their event budget is already underperforming.

In the case of the quoted marketer, they were spending roughly $500,000 in 3 days on one show. Even with the exhibiting cancellation fee, their new approach reduced their costs to under $150k. And because their customers and prospects were coming into town for the show, they were still able to secure all the meetings they would have had as exhibitors. They were also able to take advantage of nearby customer offices, which created a comfortable “unsalesy” environment.

Are There Risks in Leaving the Show Floor?

You betcha. First, your brand’s mind-share in the industry will decline while exhibitors will see theirs stay steady (if they’re boring) and rise (if they do something distinctive). This probably won’t cost you late-stage deals but could hurt your top-of-funnel lead flow down the road. You might miss out on PR/influencer opportunities and the random conversation with a prospect or former customer that yields renewed interest.

In this case, the marketer planned to reinvest the savings in other marketing initiatives that would build mind-share and didn’t anticipate much downside.

The other downside is the important bonding that happens among employees, partners, and customers at trade shows. That too can be mitigated in other, perhaps less expensive ways, assuming you care.

Is This Really About Not Exhibiting at Big Trade Shows?

Nope. The big idea here is to look at your biggest budget items, especially the sacred cows, and question their efficacy. Maybe you’ve been running ABM programs for 2-3 years with only modest success. Perhaps your content investment (including tech) has grown faster than its usefulness. It may not be about dumping ABM or your content program BUT it could be about doing these things in a radically different manner.

This thinking will help you get ahead of the dreaded “do more with less” request. Instead, you’ll be able to present how you’ll “do more with the same,” and could “do even more with more.”

And wouldn’t that be flocking awesome

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 427: No Bullsh*t Strategy: The Art of Being the Only One

What does it mean to have a strategy? In this episode, Drew Neisser hosts Alex M. H. Smith, author of No Bullsht Strategy*, for a candid discussion on stripping away the jargon and getting to the heart of what makes a business thrive. Together, they dive into what it means to build a strategy that defines not just what your business does—but what makes it the only one of its kind.

In this episode, Alex M. H. Smith explains:

• Why “only” is better than “best” when crafting a competitive strategy.
• The pitfalls of focusing solely on communication while neglecting the operational and strategic foundations of the business.
• The difference between strategy and positioning
  
• How to align your strategy with true customer value, ensuring it resonates in the market while setting you apart from the competition.
  
• How to identify the mistakes in your previous thinking to craft a strategy that truly moves the needle.
  

Whether you’re building a strategy from scratch or rethinking your current approach, this episode offers invaluable insights into creating a clear, actionable plan that delivers unique value to the market. 

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

New research from CMO Huddles, the flocking awesome community of B2B marketing leaders, reveals a stark reality facing today’s marketing leaders: the relentless focus on demand generation (demand gen) has led to a “death spiral” that threatens long-term growth and stability. Despite diminishing returns, most B2B marketers remain stuck in a cycle of over-investment in demand gen at the expense of critical brand-building efforts.

Troubling Trends in Demand Gen Overload

In a recent survey of over 130 B2B marketing leaders shared insights into their budget priorities for 2025. The findings paint a concerning picture:

• 51% plan to increase their demand gen budgets, despite tepid results from similar investments in 2024.

• Only 22% aim to prioritize brand and reputation-building efforts—essential for fostering trust and differentiation in crowded markets.

• Demand gen hiring outpaces strategic investments, with 30% of marketers focusing on filling these roles while underinvesting in innovative skills like generative AI (10%) and data analytics (22%).

This unbalanced focus perpetuates short-term thinking, leaving critical opportunities for brand differentiation and customer trust on the table.

As Drew Neisser, Penguin-in-Chief of CMO Huddles, bluntly observed:

“Marketers are doubling down on demand gen — even when it clearly isn’t working. Meanwhile, they neglect the foundational work of building awareness, trust, and a differentiated brand. They are going down a rabbit hole that is only getting deeper.”

The Case Against Demand Gen as a Lone Strategy

While demand gen can help capture the 5% of prospects actively in-market, it neglects the 95% who are not ready to buy. The over-reliance on this tactic is compounded by inefficient spending on MarTech, which consumes up to 20% of marketing budgets but often remains underutilized.

The data shows the cracks in the foundation:

• Sales conversion rates are dismal, with success reported in just 20% of leads.

• Buyers frequently cite a lack of urgency and trust as reasons for disengagement.

Educating the C-Suite: A Critical Challenge

One of the biggest barriers to change is the mindset of CEOs, CFOs, and private equity (PE) firms. Too often, these stakeholders view marketing as a "gumball machine" that should generate immediate ROI, undermining efforts to build sustainable, long-term growth.

As Neisser warns,

“Increasing demand gen budgets guarantees even shorter tenure for already under-the-gun CMOs.”

Marketers must help their executive teams understand the long-term value of brand-building—an investment that pays dividends in trust, loyalty, and differentiation.

A Call to Action for B2B Marketers

B2B marketing is at a crossroads. The current demand gen-heavy approach is unsustainable and counterproductive. By refocusing on brand clarity, customer trust, and long-term strategies, marketers can reclaim their path to sustainable success.

Ready to rethink your approach? Sign up for our free Starter program and prepare for flocking awesomeness. 

“Our CFO is asking for the ROI for each new marketing hire,” shared an inquisitive 3X CMO from a SaaS startup. “This is a new one for me, and I’d welcome your formulas,” the CMO added. After my knee-jerk outrage, I had questions.

Can the ROI of Every Employee Be Calculated?

In theory, yes. You can create a formula that guestimates the impact that employee’s role will have on pipeline generation, close rates, retention rates, employee recruitment yield, and efficiencies gained by having a lower-cost employee do the work (versus the CMO). The formula looks like this: (Revenue impact + efficiency savings - employee cost) / by (employee cost) x 100.

Is It Really That Simple?

Of course not. Let’s say that the new employee is a content creator. And that content plays a number of roles in the acquisition process. For example, the content could result in an increase in organic website traffic, some of which become sales-qualified opportunities. If you have sophisticated attribution tracking, perhaps you can credit some portion of the projected value of that SQL to that content. Perhaps.

But this is only part of the value of this employee. What if they come up with the insight that drives an entire campaign that yields 5x ROI? How much do you apportion to that employee versus the entire team? How do you put value on a great collaborator who inspires others to do their best work? What if they understand the customer and market so well they contribute to a product innovation?

Where does “opportunity cost” fit into this calculation? In other words, what if you don’t make this hire and the competition kicks your butt with their content? And what about lifetime value? Won't a good employee create more value over time? Yeah, it’s feeling more absurd by the second.

So, Is This an Absurd Request by the CFO?

My first reaction was, “This is insanity.” How can CMOs possibly calculate the ROI for every employee in their department when they can barely calculate the ROI of their entire marketing budget? The CMOs in this Huddle were less chagrined than I and offered helpful suggestions on how to reply to this CFO. Their advice came down to speaking the language of the CFO. I’ll explain.

Learn to Speak “Spreadsheet”

CFOs live in spreadsheets. As Peter Finter, CMO of KX, shared on a recent episode of CMO Huddles Studio, “You need to know CFOs love language–spreadsheets.” “Show them how marketing will impact revenue on a predictable basis, and you're speaking their language,” he added. Admittedly, this doesn’t address the ROI per employee question, but it does provide an important place to start.

Every CMO needs to have a spreadsheet that projects marketing’s contribution to the business.

Final Thought

Whether or not you can precisely calculate the ROI for each employee, it is not a useless exercise. It will force you to consider where and how your department is making the greatest impact and allocate your investments accordingly.

Written by Drew Neisser

Listen Here | From Renegade Marketers Unite, Episode 426: B2B Marketing Strategy: 2025 Edition

What’s on the horizon for B2B marketing in 2025? In this episode, guest host Jamie Gier steps in for Drew Neisser to explore where top CMOs are placing their bets for the future. Joined by Charles Groome of Biz2Credit, Tom Bianchi of Acquia, and Josh Leatherman of Service Express, this conversation dives deep into the strategies, tools, and tactics poised to drive success in the coming year.

In this episode:

• Charles Groome shares his top three bets for 2025, including brand-led events, cross-channel marketing, and influencer strategies tailored to niche audiences.
  

• Tom Bianchi reveals how Acquia is aligning new product launches with focused segmentation and ABM tactics to optimize marketing ROI.
  

• Josh Leatherman explores how marketers can leverage AI to enhance analytics, drive predictability, and sharpen account-based sales and marketing strategies.
  

The group also explores the results from a 5-part poll series:

• 40% of marketers expect budget increases in 2025.
• Events are regaining their place as a top investment area, beating out online marketing.
• Demand generation continues to dominate, with 51% prioritizing it over brand building.
• Clarity and collaboration emerged as the most critical skills for marketing teams in 2025.
  
• Owned content and SEO are expected to deliver the highest ROI next year.
  

Tune in to hear how these marketing leaders are preparing for the challenges and opportunities of the year ahead—and take away actionable insights for your own 2025 planning.

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