The CMO's Guide to Starting from Scratch: Learn-As-You-Go Marketing
Joanna Nguyen, CMO at Willow, shares insights on building and scaling marketing teams based on her experiences at Amazon and FireEye. She highlights strategies like high-velocity sales, product-led growth, and customer engagement, emphasizing the importance of testing and learning. Joanna also discusses breaking traditional B2B marketing molds by integrating B2C and SMB practices for success.
EPISODE 105 The CMO's Guide to Starting from Scratch: Learn-As-You-Go HOST: Marketing Steve MacDonald A Conversation with CMO at Willow, Joanna Nguyen
Table of Contents • [0:53] Introduction to Joanna Nguyen • [28:40] Full Podcast Episode • [2:43] Key Challenges to Building and Scaling Marketing Teams from Scratch • [3:09] Maximizing Growth Through Customer Segmentation and High-Value Actions • [2:14] High-Velocity Sales: Adapting B2B Strategies for SMBs and PLG • [3:09] Articulating Value Through Diverse Channels for Marketing Growth • [2:29] Empowering B2B Buyers with Self-Service and Customer-Centric Content • [1:20] Marketing's Role in Longitudinal Customer Engagement • [1:32] Unlocking Full Funnel Insights to Drive Customer Value • [1:29] Building an Objective Ownership Mindset in Teams for Early Growth • [0:56] Building Success: Proud Moments in Career Development • [2:02] Customer’s Guiding Marketing Decisions Through Test and Learn • [0:41] Short - Key Challenges to Building and Scaling Marketing Teams from Scratch
ABOUT Joanna Nguyen Joanna Nguyen, CMO at Willow, shares her approach to building and scaling marketing teams from the ground up. She emphasizes the value of testing, learning, and adapting strategies like high-velocity sales, product-led growth, and customer engagement. Joanna also explores breaking away from traditional models by incorporating B2C and SMB practices to drive success in new markets.
FULL EPISODE "As a CMO, you have an opportunity to truly break from the mold. You have to continually test and challenge your beliefs, often unlearning things you've learned over time." – Joanna Nguyen
Full Episode:Topics Covered Embrace Customer-Centric Marketing The Imperative of Continuous Testing and Experimentation Redefining Team Dynamics: From Roles to Objectives
[2:43] Key Challenges to Building and Scaling Marketing Teams from Scratch "When you're rebuilding from the ground up, make no mistake. You need to peel back the old layer and identify the misconceptions or preconceptions people have about what marketing is expected to do." – Joanna Nguyen
[3:09] Maximizing Growth Through Customer Segmentation and High-Value Actions “I think of it from a customer-centric perspective: this is how the customer will get the most out of the product, and this is what will make them sticky. That’s what you want to look at.” – Joanna Nguyen
[2:14] High-Velocity Sales: Adapting B2B Strategies for SMBs and PLG “You have to be in that mindset when you're selling to them, and provide the same level of customer support and service; in some cases, it may even be better than that.” – Joanna Nguyen
[3:09] Articulating Value Through Diverse Channels for Marketing Growth “You always have to think about how you are articulating your value and ensure you have clear ways to quantify it. This is an exercise that remains consistent no matter what.” – Joanna Nguyen
[2:29] Empowering B2B Buyers with Self-Service and Customer-Centric Content “It’s important to consider how to help customers self-serve and let them have the content that they need to be able to make that decision in a way without having to break some of the B2B molds where everything’s always gated.” – Joanna Nguyen
[1:20] Marketing's Role in Longitudinal Customer Engagement “I think of longitudinal customer engagement as a 360 view across the journey. It’s making sure that you’re the centerpiece, bridging the gap between sales, the customer experience team, and product marketing, which can serve as that hub.” – Joanna Nguyen
[1:32] Unlocking Full Funnel Insights to Drive Customer Value “Marketing has the opportunity to create content that addresses both that part of the funnel and the second funnel that is generated through mind shift and data.” – Joanna Nguyen
[1:29] Building an Objective Ownership Mindset in Teams for Early Growth "I believe that early on, making sure that people have clear objectives as objective owners is crucial, as it unlocks a lot of potential for individuals.” – Joanna Nguyen
[0:56] Building Success: Proud Moments in Career Development "I’m a problem solver who enjoys building, so being able to create segmentation tools and manage systems that support B2B is very exciting and a proud moment for me." – Joanna Nguyen
[2:02] Customer’s Guiding Marketing Decisions Through Test and Learn “At the end of the day, the most important thing is to let customers guide your marketing decisions.” – Joanna Nguyen
YOUTUBE SHORT: “You need to figure out what are the misconceptions or preconceptions people have coming in of what marketing is expected to do. You have to challenge the status quo.” – Joanna Nguyen
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