Unemployment rates are floating near 2% in Silicon Valley. That means companies are duking it out for top-tier employees, and CMOs are realizing that potential hires are another target to contend with. This is the case with Leela Srinivasan, CMO of Survey Monkey—a company with 900+ employees that’s grown over 32% in the past 2 years. Sounds like she may...

In Geoffrey Moore’s ever-relevant book, Crossing the Chasm, he compares market development and segmentation to bowling, saying that one must take a pin-by-pin approach. Ian Howells, VP and head of marketing at software firm Sage Intacct, is a big fan of this analogy, and has tweaked and refined it to benefit his very effective micro-targeting strategy—an approach that can help...

The CMO’s Approach to Being CEO Though not all that common, when a CMO role transitions into being CEO, it’s a safe bet that they’ll have an emphatic approach to marketing and will maintain an involved role in the company’s efforts and execution. With Rob Chen, CEO at Brightlink with a CMO background, you’d be half right. Check out a...

If you ask virtually every CMO about the keys to their success in having their marketing efforts cut through, you’ll likely find a few trends in their answers. For one, most of those CMOs will credit having their CEO completely on board. This isn’t a successful person demonstrating how humble they are, nor is it an attempt to curry favor...

Though this used to mainly fall within HR’s purview, marketing departments are increasingly involved in shaping communications. There are a few reasons behind this change, among them the need to improve employee retention rates as unemployment increases, and the recognition that a healthy company culture can go a long way in shaping a good customer experience and creating persuasive, employee...

The Value of a Personal Flair When it comes to ‘thank yous,’ it’s not often someone takes the time to put pen to paper. It’s usually an email, a quick text, or a phonecall, if anything. But Gabi Zijderveld, CMO of Affectiva, shared her experience in drafting 44 handwritten thank you notes in one night to the speakers at a...

Randy Frisch, President & CMO of Uberflip, has ruffled a few feathers in evangelizing his marketing mindset. Why? Well, right off the bat, he’s published a book called F*ck Content Marketing, which is sure to rub a few people the wrong way. But his mindset isn’t as negative as it may sound—in fact, he ends up highlighting the value of...