Nicolai Zerlang’s Post

Marketing that the boardroom actually values . . . As a Head of Marketing, you’re under constant pressure to deliver results that go beyond vanity metrics. The board doesn’t want to hear about clicks, impressions, or even engagement rates—they want to know how your efforts are driving revenue, supporting growth, and shaping the future of the business. And let’s be honest, proving that value isn’t always straightforward. It requires more than great campaigns or eye-catching branding. It’s about the outcomes the business feels and the results the leadership team can take to the bank! Here’s the shift we're seeing successful marketing leaders make: 📌 Strategic Alignment: Every campaign, initiative, or channel aligns directly with overarching business goals. It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing what matters. 📌 Focus on Quality: Forget chasing every lead or launching endless campaigns. The focus is on high-value initiatives that bring in prospects ready to convert and add genuine value to the pipeline. 📌 Sales as Partners: The strongest marketing teams work hand-in-hand with sales, creating a seamless handover that nurtures leads and accelerates conversions. When marketing and sales are aligned, the whole business wins. 📌 Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraging insights, tracking the right metrics, and telling the story behind the numbers make it easier for the boardroom to see the impact. The days of marketing being viewed as a COST CENTRE should be over! Marketing should be the driver of business growth, innovation, and customer connection—and then the results will speak for themselves! Are you ensuring your marketing efforts lead to tangible, measurable outcomes that the boardroom values? #MarketingLeadership #DrivingResults #BusinessGrowth

The Missing Link in Your Boardroom: Marketing Alignment Marketing leaders can’t afford to sit on the sidelines of business strategy. Yet, too often, marketing plans are disconnected from operational goals, overlooking priority markets and services—leading to wasted effort and missed opportunities. The first mistake businesses and marketing teams make? Skipping crucial steps in the race for quick wins. Does this sound familiar? * We're launching in a new territory, but have no clear go-to-market strategy and defined target markets. * Our service pages don't align to our key positioning or benefit statements. * Teams are hosting events with no clear understanding of our high-potential clients and no evidence of ROI. What would I advise marketing leaders do differently? 1️⃣ Embed Yourself in Strategy Conversations: Understand your company’s goals for growth, margin, and market expansion—and build marketing initiatives that directly support these objectives. 2️⃣ Learn the Language of Operations: KPIs like revenue, pipeline velocity, and profitability are the bridge to connecting marketing with other departments. Speak them fluently. 3️⃣ Shift from Activity to Impact: Stop measuring marketing’s success by activities (emails sent, brochures sent, social clicks) and focus on outcomes like revenue growth or customer retention. 4️⃣ Avoid Silos: Involve client-facing leaders who understand your target market and collaborate with them to build compelling brand propositions and targeted campaigns. Why does this matter to boards? When marketing leaders actively align with business strategy, they don’t just influence brand perception—they drive business growth. That’s the kind of impact boards and operational leaders want to see. Does your marketing leadership have a seat at the strategy table? If not, what’s stopping you from making the shift? #marketingstrategy #datadriven #ROAS

7 strategic actions on how CMOs can reclaim their strategic seat at the table Yesterday I had a lovely chat with my favorite no-BS CMO Andrea talking about happy dog pee and Gandalf. And Marketing of course. "Just give us more leads!" is what Marketing often gets told by the rest of the organization. In today’s market, many CMOs find themselves pulled into tactical execution rather than leading strategic initiatives. Here's how to break free (cue Freddie Mercury): 1. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Align your marketing initiatives with the company’s revenue goals and report it as such. 2. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆: Build momentum and secure the backing you need for future strategic initiatives. 3. 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Be the Gandalf for poor leads (you shall not pass!) and build trust through small, targeted initiatives that deliver clear results with Sales. 4. 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁: Use Value Stream Mapping to streamline marketing processes. Check my earlier video on VSM for inspiration. 5. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀: Track the quality of leads from campaigns and kill bad ones. As Chris Walker shows, Google Search is often crap. 6. 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Set company-aligned KPIs and track weekly on how to improve your results and team by removing constraints. 7. 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆: Ensure every tool contributes directly to growth and isn’t just adding to your overhead. CMOs who get this right will not only drive growth, but also reposition themselves as strategic leaders within their organizations. *** Enjoy this? Share the post with your marketing buddies and follow me Rutger Katz. Ps. What initiative would you add?

Marketing is the most important discipline in Go-To-Market. It’s the reason we’re seeing so many CMOs make the transition to CRO (eg Latané Conant (she/her), Andrea Kayal, Amanda Malko) Why? Because getting someone's attention and generating demand is harder than converting that demand into revenue. Marketing does the first part. Sales does the second part. Both are critical. But in a world full of noise and AI-generated banality, a great CMO needs to have an incredibly broad and diverse set of skills and tools. Great CMOs need to: - Develop a position on the market, understand where the product is situated - Work to refine the Ideal Customer Profile to ensure long-term retention  - Create authentic messaging to get the attention and interest of the ICP - Build a long-term brand that is focused on providing value and avoids transactional interactions (even while the Sales team is breathing down the neck for more pipeline) - Develop “better together” partnerships with key players in the ecosystem while avoiding competitive pressures - Create transformational in-person events and experiences  - Have a deep analytical understanding of demand gen channels and understand capital allocation to double down on winners and starve losers all while preserving the ability to test And much, much more. It’s a lot. And it’s the new path to becoming a CRO. The bad news is that, before today, there wasn’t anywhere to go to learn all these disparate skills and put them together to ensure your success. The good news is that Pavilion has built CMO School, led by the best CMOs in the business, to teach you. Class starts February 5th. DM me if you want to join.

I must disagree with Sam Jacobs at Pavilion which is very rare. In his post below, he mentioned that getting someone's attention and generating demand is harder than converting that demand into revenue. I find that #GTM teams are building pipelines with #ABM but they are struggling to keep the attention, expand the demand across the organization and move accounts to revenue. In talking to customer success teams at Demandbase, Terminus (by DemandScience), 6sense and others, they tell me converting demand to revenue is most challenging for their customers. This challenge is leading to higher levels of churn for the different #ABM platforms as #GTM teams are not seeing greater returns on their platform investments. The other part I disagree strongly with is that he said that marketing generates demand while sales converts that demand to revenue. Because marketing is too focused on the beginning of the buyer's journey vs. the complete account experience accounts go dark when sales get involved. With an account-based #GTM, marketing doesn't focus on MQAs or MQLs. They don't focus on marketing-sourced revenue. They don't focus on accounts to pipeline. They focus on accounts to revenue. They focus on driving greater NRR and customer lifetime value growth. Do you agree with Sam or do you agree with me? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

I love this term "AI-generated banality". It perfectly encapsulates so much of the AI-generated content we're seeing. Building engaging content is more than just prompting ChatGPT!

“… marketing leaders must evolve into strategic contributors whose insights drive core business results.” “… marketing needs to reframe its purpose within the organization. Marketing should not be a support function measured solely by campaign metrics. Instead, it should be positioned as a strategic driver of growth and long-term value. The more CMOs align their objectives with financial goals, the more they amplify their impact and build credibility at the executive table, where critical decisions are made. For marketing leaders, this means demonstrating how their strategies contribute to broader business outcomes — whether through increasing customer lifetime value, enhancing market share or accelerating revenue growth.” I’ll leave these two quotes and avoid further editorial. I have strong views that support these statements. Glad to engage 1 on 1 with proof points (on why) and solutions (that drive business success). https://lnkd.in/eRxyTUu4

↗ How strategic is your marketing in reality? Does it align with and underpin your overall corporate strategy? 🤲 Is it really a strategy or just a bunch of misaligned tactics? 🥐 I am a bit of a fan of the Marketoonist for astute observations of the realities of marketing and the marketing function. Your marketing approach should be more than a group of different tactics- 'let's create a new marketing newsletter' as a solution to all marketing issues being my personal favourite in recent times. If you are interested in building out a proper holistic and strategic big picture view of your overall marketing approach, which then also dives down into tactical, actionable steps over the year required to deliver on objectives, then it's time we talked! Contact me at contact@guidepostmarketing.co.uk for more information about your strategic marketing requirements for your B2B organisation. #B2Bmarketing #Marketingstrategy #SMEbusiness #fractionalCMO

Often, CEOs see their marketing teams struggle but don't understand why. And the 'struggle' looks like this: -Marketing efforts not aligned with business outcomes. -Lack of proper expertise and headcount. -Marketing is seen only as a cost center. -Excessive focus on vanity metrics. The culprit? Inconsistent marketing strategies If these issues aren't addressed, the consequences can be severe: -Market share loss. -High turnover and low team morale. -Financial waste with little return on investment. So we stripped away unnecessary tactics and focused on what truly impacts our business goals. And we ended up with a leaner, more effective marketing strategy. Here's what it looks like: 1. Ask the Right Questions -Who would be affected if this part of your marketing strategy was cut? -What would double the impact with half the effort look like for your team? 2. Build a Cross-Functional Team -Assemble a team that covers various marketing disciplines. -This improves stability and reduces turnover. 3. Align Marketing with Business Goals -Focus only on marketing activities that directly support business objectives. -This ensures every effort contributes positively to the bottom line. 4. Prioritize Impactful Activities -Use a complexity impact matrix to decide where to invest time and resources. --This emphasizes activities that offer the most significant return. Implementing these strategies transforms marketing from a cost center to an asset Connect with us today to streamline your marketing and see real results: https://lnkd.in/gMP-Umkw

Stepping into a marketing leadership role can feel like navigating a new galaxy 🌌—exciting yet daunting. The secret to making a stellar impact? Quick wins that resonate across the organization.🚀 Here’s how to leave your mark and build instant credibility: 1. Insightful Customer Conversations 🗣️: Dive deep with 10 customers and unearth an insight that’s been overlooked. This fresh perspective can be a game-changer, illuminating new paths for strategy and engagement. 2. AdWords Audit🔍: Intent is king in terms of search. Scrutinize your AdWords spending with a detective’s eye. Are you investing in searches that truly align with your audience's intentions? Sometimes, less is more—especially if it means stopping the cash flow on clicks that don’t convert. 3. The Power of One Email ✉️: In a world flooded with digital noise, one exceptionally crafted email can cut through the clutter. Engineering sectors, in particular, often have gold mines of engaged contacts just waiting for that spark of relevance. Find it, and ignite engagement. 🔥 4. Consultant Conductor🎼: You know that one consultant who’s worth their weight in gold? Bring them on board, even if it’s just for a brief symphony. Let their expertise shine on a targeted project, delivering high-impact results that can shift your marketing strategy’s rhythm. Great marketing isn’t just about broad, sweeping gestures; it’s about strategic, well-timed moves that resonate on a deeper level. These quick wins aren’t just about gaining immediate results; they’re about laying the groundwork for sustained success and demonstrating the profound impact marketing can have across every corner of the organization. #MarketingLeadership #QuickWins #StrategicImpact #B2BMarketing #AkheleashRaghuramMarketing #ARM