Seventeen female B2B marketers were consulted about the primary brand challenges facing B2B companies. Their insights highlighted the importance of personal, simplified marketing strategies, brand consistency across channels, and the need to engage customers on a human level. Key challenges included balancing short-term revenue with long-term growth, creating brand differentiation, and leveraging digital strategies amid evolving consumer preferences.

1. 17 B2B Women
Marketers:
One Question,
Many Challenges

2.
In the spirit of International Women’s Day,
as Global CMO of Siegel+Gale, I thought it
would be intriguing to ask a sample of top
female B2B marketers one question:
“What’s the #1 brand
challenge facing B2B
companies today?”
This question elicited thought-provoking
responses. It is fascinating to hear from
these 17 women, who come from a variety
of industries including technology,
healthcare and financial services.
Here are their insights…
Margaret Molloy
Global CMO
Siegel+Gale

3. “Simple, straightforward, personal
marketing is the biggest
opportunity in B2B today. Business
is about people, so people should
be the center of a good B2B
marketing strategy.”
Katrina Klier
Managing director, digital marketing and communications
Accenture
@KatrinaKlier
Simplicity

4. “As CMOs we must be more
sophisticated. Discipline is required
given data-driven requirements as
well as a keen eye toward mobile
app privacy and location-based
marketing.”
Hope Frank
Global CMO
Codenomicon
@HopeFrank
Sophistication

5. “Balancing short-term revenue
goals with the long-term strategic
growth of the firm.”
Margaret Molloy
Global CMO
Siegel+Gale
@Margaret Molloy
Revenue

6. Brand investment
must take place
across the entire
enterprise

7. “Convincing executives at B2B
companies that brand investment
must happen across the entire
enterprise, not just marketing.”
Lisa Arthur
CMO
Teradata Applications
@LisaArthur
Enterprise-wide
marketing

8. “Being relevant at all times and
delivering that relevant, consistent
brand image across multiple
channels. The challenge is how do
we use these channels effectively,
remaining relevant, timely and
consistent?”
Debbie Brown
Global head of marketing, planning and operations
Thomson Reuters
Omni-channel

9. “Mobility is quietly yet seismically
revolutionizing B2B business.
Customers, channel partners,
employees, shareholders and
interested parties can engage with
the brand as individuals, and that’s
what we have always wanted in
B2B.”
Carol Godfrey
Vice president, marketing and product development
Southwire Company
@CarolJGodfrey
Mobile

10. “Making a brand relevant to both
the decision makers and end users.
These are often two distinct groups
who have different needs and pain
points. The brand therefore needs
to work on multiple levels.”
Cindy Cook
CMO, clinical solutions and nursing & health professions
Elsevier
Multiple
stakeholders

11. Time and attention
are the scarcest
resources today

12. “Rising above the ever-increasing
noise to connect–emotionally and
with relevance–to your audience.
Time and attention are the scarcest
resources today.”
Sandra Zoratti
CMO
Dispersive Technologies
@SandraZ
Relevance

13. “Creating clear brand
differentiation in an increasingly
competitive marketplace.
Continuing to drive brand
awareness and value creation is
imperative.”
Wendy Newman
SVP corporate marketing
AMN Healthcare
@WendyGNewman
Brand differentiation

14. “A good brand needs to be able to
resonate with both consumers and
businesses. To do so effectively,
the brand needs to be relevant and
communicate that relevance in
direct, simple terms.”
Sejal Gulati
President and managing director
TAS Analytic Services, a Time Warner Company
Communicating
relevance

15. All divisions of your
internal organization
are now brand
ambassadors

16. “B2B buyers are seeking advice
from peers, other customers and
turning to social media sources just
like B2C. The challenge is both
cultivating a network of advocates
for your brand and understanding
that all divisions of your internal
organization are now brand
ambassadors.”
Cynthia Gumbert
Vice president, digital and new accounts marketing
CA Technologies, Inc.
@Cyngumbert
Social media

17. “Many of our customers are
technology laggards, so digital
marketing has been a challenge.
We execute, but many of our
customers and prospects don’t see
it because they aren’t 'plugged in'
to the typical digital channels.”
Monica Wyly
Director, marketing
Qualcomm
Digital exposure

18. “Identifying high ROI ways to
accelerate pipeline buildup. In an
age when buyers do not want to get
another email, even a provocatively
written or high content value email,
it is difficult to drive pipeline build
without spending a lot.”
Natalie McCullough
Executive VP and GM of professional, support, education &
data services
ServiceSource
@NatalieMcCull
Driving pipeline

19. Brands must relate to
their customers on a
human level

20. “B2B is irrelevant nowadays: we
live in a world of consumers, and
brands must relate to their
customers on a human level. It’s
the classic line–customers don’t
care about products, they care
what they do for them.”
Lucy Hackman
Vice President, integrated marketing communications
Pitney Bowes
@LucyHackman
Human connection

21. “Leveraging thought leadership and
digital strategies to stay current
with clients and provide insights
and problem solving. You want to
have the digital infrastructure to
create a presence on your own
properties and through social
media to ultimately deliver one-to-
one content marketing.”
Stefanie Shelley
CMO and product management executive
Broadridge Financial Solutions
Thought leadership

22. “Differentiating ourselves from the
competition and breaking through
the clutter so our target audience
can focus on our messages.”
Lynn MacDonald
Global head of investments marketing
Mercer
Breaking through
the clutter

23. “To convey the business value of
our offering in a way that is not only
differentiating but also goes
beyond the purely rational. Buyers
are humans and therefore they buy
emotionally. B2B companies have
to get under buyers’ skin that way.”
Heidi Lorenzen
CMO
Cloudwords, Inc.
@HLorenzen
Emotional connection

24. 24
Thanks to the 16 B2B women marketing leaders
Now over to you…
“What do you think is the #1 brand challenge facing B2B
companies today?”
We’d love to hear from you.
Tweet me @MargaretMolloy
Margaret Molloy
Global CMO
Siegel+Gale

25. 25
Simple
is smart.
www.siegelgale.com