Who do I call? B2B Marketing Resources for Success

When I meet with other CMOs at local roundtables, industry events, or even at CMO dinners I occasionally host, we often discuss our go-to-resources that are outside of our organizations. I’m talking about those tried and true contacts that help us get started in a new role or who we reach out to when we have an emergency project, as well as those we call up when we have an urgent question or even just need to brainstorm. CMOs are often looking to be connected with those best-in-their-game so they can work with the most elite professionals in their fields, ensuring the best ROI on any contractors they leverage. 

Below I have listed out who I call when I need help. This is not just a list of agencies – I typically leverage many others across PR, operations, technology, security, and more. This is a list of the people whom I trust because of their experience, their body of work and because I have cultivated strong relationships with them. As a note, I am sharing this specific list of people because they don’t work at brands, so you can leverage their services as well. I’ve linked to their LinkedIn and agencies so you can reach out to them if you need help too.

But more important than my list, is ensuring you have a list of your own. To be a successful marketing leader you need functional experts outside your company who can give advice and suggest counter approaches to ensure your marketing doesn’t have any blind spots. Who are your trusted marketing advisors? 

Here are some of mine:

·       For everything related to corporate marketing (communications plus public and analyst relations) the best resources I know is Jen Howard Hogg of JHH consulting (update: now full time with Anaplan). 

·       For anything related to Marketing Operations or Demand Marketing related I reach out to Cristina Saunders of CS2 Marketing. 

·       When I need help making an event beyond exceptional, I call up Hannah Babinicz who is the owner of Karin + Blue. 

·       If you need help with your customer or advocacy marketing, Danielle Camera leads the only agency I know, Bloom & Vine Marketing, that focuses specifically on helping tell the stories of your customers.   

·       Digital transformation has become so much more than a buzzword. When digital change needs to happen or even if I just need some SEO or PPC tips, I call up Mike Nierengarten, Founder & President of Obility B2B. 

·       Sales development and account development is a big part of B2B marketing and there is no-one that knows this space better than Craig Rosenberg, Co-Founder & Chief Analyst at Topo. Matt Heinz, President of Heinz Marketing, can be a great help here too, and across the funnel.

·       For more general marketing strategy and executive topics I suggest reaching out to these amazing marketing experts – Shari Johnston of Digby SF, Lauren Goldstein of Annuitas, Pam Kline Smith of PIKS Group, Christine Crandell of New Business Strategies, Brian Carroll of Markempa, and Alice Hansen of Rivet & Spark. All of these marketing leaders have refocused their efforts from helping an individual brand to sharing what they have learned with brands looking for tips and best-practices as they grow. 

·       Others who work as consultants, even when not aligned to an agency, like Alex Gammelgard for product marketing (update: now full time with ActiveCampaign) and Jeff Cowan for brand can be great resources (update: now full time with Mindtickle). 

·       Finally, sometimes the help I need is back-of-house focused, like work on a website, community, email, etc., I reach out Alok Ramsisaria of Grazitti Interactive who have experience with Marketo, Lithium, Salesforce, and more. 

Outside of these I also discuss best practices, strategy and ideas with many marketers that work at brands and are a part of my network. Telling you some of those would make a great next post ??. 

Hope this helps as you build out your trusted network. Happy Marketing!