Spotlight on B2B Marketing

Your customers are making buying decisions in ChatGPT before ever visiting your site—and your analytics can't see it happening. We reveal why traditional attribution is broken, how the "great decoupling" is misleading marketing leaders, and what you must do now to show up where buyers actually research.

In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd explores the seismic shift in search behaviour with Semrush's Kyle Byers, a leading voice on winning in the age of AI. 

Discover why your traffic is declining even when rankings improve, how conversion rates from AI search are 4.4 times higher than traditional SEO, and why cutting content budgets now could be catastrophic for your brand visibility.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Why traffic declines even when rankings improve (the "great decoupling")
✔️ How customers conduct entire research journeys in AI search before reaching your site
✔️ Why conversion rates from ChatGPT are 4.4x higher than traditional SEO traffic
✔️ The attribution crisis: why your best marketing shows up as "direct" or "unknown"
✔️ Why ChatGPT will become the most powerful paid acquisition channel ever created
✔️ Which off-site platforms are now critical for B2B visibility

From understanding how ChatGPT secretly relies on Google results to learning which platforms (Reddit, Quora, YouTube) are now essential for B2B brands, Kyle shares the tactical shifts marketing leaders need to make immediately. 

Whether you're a CMO defending your SEO investment or a CEO trying to understand where your customers have gone, this episode provides the clarity and actionable strategies you need.

Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kylebyers
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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When growth stalls and something feels "off" with marketing, how do you diagnose the real problem? Is it the demand generation engine, the positioning, or something deeper in the business itself?

In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd sits down with Dani Smallbone, a transformational fractional CMO specialising in turning underperforming marketing functions into strategic growth engines. With experience scaling companies from start-up to £40M ARR, Dani shares the diagnostic frameworks she uses to identify what's truly broken and the practical steps to fix it.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ The telltale signs that indicate a marketing function needs transformation versus incremental improvement

✔️ How to diagnose whether your issue is product marketing, brand messaging, or demand generation

✔️ Real case studies of successful pivots including climate tech and HR tech transformations

✔️ How the CMO's role as diplomat and educator drives cross-functional alignment

From pivoting climate tech companies into new markets to rebuilding demand generation from scratch, Dani reveals the patterns that indicate when transformation is needed versus incremental improvement—and why marketing can never be the sole engine of growth.

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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When CEO’s tell marketing advisors they want to become thought leaders, there's often a stark disconnect between their goals and their execution. 

In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Oren Greenberg, a B2B marketing expert who has uncovered a pipeline opportunity that most leaders are completely overlooking.

In analysing over 13,000 LinkedIn profiles, Oren's data is striking: some companies are generating up to 70% of their pipeline through personal branding and LinkedIn activity, whilst the majority of CEOs remain virtually invisible on the platform. 

Personal profiles consistently outperform company pages by 5x for reach and engagement, yet most company pages struggle with an average of just 4 likes per post.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ How some CEOs and CMOs generate 70% of their business pipeline through LinkedIn activity 

✔️ Why personal LinkedIn profiles perform 5x better than company pages for reach and engagement 

✔️ The psychological barriers that prevent successful leaders from building personal brands 

✔️ AI-powered personalization vs automated AI SDRs: What works and what doesn't 

✔️ Why the shift from traffic-driven to attention-based marketing is reshaping B2B strategies

From the power of personal profiles over company pages to building modern marketing frameworks that actually work, Oren shares actionable insights that could transform how you think about B2B growth.

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn

Connect with Oren on LinkedIn or discover more about his work at orengreenberg.com

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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The pressure to deliver immediate marketing results has never been more intense. But what if chasing those quick wins is actually limiting your long-term success?

In this episode, Bianca Bass, CMO of Privalgo and one of the Top 30 Most Influential Fintech Marketers, reveals why the most successful marketing leaders resist the temptation to rush results. Having transformed marketing functions across multiple fintech scale-ups, Bianca shares the strategic frameworks that create sustainable competitive advantage over flashy quick fixes.

From her methodology for deep customer understanding to her evolved approach to team building, discover why patience and strategic thinking build marketing functions that truly scale businesses.

What You'll Learn:
✔️ Why rushing to prove immediate ROI can backfire on long-term impact
✔️ How to shift from tactical activities to legacy-building marketing strategies
✔️ Strategic frameworks for sustainable B2B growth that withstand market changes
✔️ Why AI makes strategic thinking more valuable than ever for marketers
✔️ How to build internal stakeholder confidence without chasing vanity metrics

Perfect for CMOs, marketing directors, and anyone leading marketing functions who want to build lasting impact rather than just hitting short-term targets.

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/

Connect with Bianca on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/biancabass/

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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Growing an early-stage company from zero to $30 million is one of the most challenging journeys in business—and it's where most marketing "playbooks" struggle.

In this episode, industry veteran Russ Somers reveals what it really takes to drive explosive growth in early-stage companies. With multiple zero-to-$30M journeys under his belt, Russ brings a refreshingly honest perspective on startup marketing, sharing both heartbreaks and remarkable successes.

From why he believes marketers should think like explorers rather than mechanics, to how he's building an AI-powered marketing team of custom GPTs, Russ challenges conventional wisdom while providing practical frameworks that actually work in the messy reality of start-up growth.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• How to evaluate early-stage opportunities and avoid companies that are "too good to be true"
• Why $30M is the "magic number" where everything changes
• Why marketing "playbooks" often fail and what successful early-stage marketers do instead
• How Russ built an AI-powered marketing team using custom GPTs named Wendy and Roger

Russ shares the unvarnished truth about what it really takes to drive explosive growth in early-stage companies.

Perfect for startup marketers, founders, and anyone tired of cookie-cutter marketing advice.

Connect with Russ on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/russsomers/
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lloydkaren/

#marketing #podcast #russsomers #techstartup

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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From physicist to product marketing leader—Chris Wade's journey is anything but ordinary. But can marketing really solve problems that businesses didn't even know were marketing problems?

In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Chris Wade, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Gamma Communications, to explore how marketing can unlock commercial solutions beyond traditional boundaries. With a unique background spanning physics, strategy consulting, and nearly 15 years in product marketing across companies like Sage and Aptitude Software, Chris offers a masterclass in applying analytical thinking to marketing challenges.

From building product marketing functions from scratch to using marketing principles to solve HR recruitment challenges, Chris shares practical insights that demonstrate marketing's power to drive business transformation.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ The critical differences between product management and product marketing strategy and execution

✔️ Why businesses struggle to embed product marketing functions and how to overcome organisational resistance

✔️ The three essential pillars for building successful product marketing teams and capabilities from the ground up

✔️ How to use data to create hyper-focused product marketing messaging for different personas and market segments

✔️ Why product marketing principles can solve unexpected business problems 

✔️ The importance of stakeholder buy-in and creating clear roadmaps for product marketing function evolution

✔️ How to demonstrate product marketing value and ROI when businesses question the need for change

You'll also be able to catch Chris as a speaker at this year's B2B Ignite event, hosted by B2B Marketing in London - that we are delighted to be partnering with - find your 25% discount code here

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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Is your annual marketing plan holding you back? What if there's a more agile way to drive growth while staying laser-focused on what matters?

In this episode Karen welcomes Olga Denisova, CMO at GetPhoto.com and a veteran of major tech success stories including Semrush's IPO and Vine's journey to a $15 billion valuation.

Olga shares her bold decision to abandon traditional marketing plans in favour of strategic pillars with 30-90 day horizons – an approach that's helping her team stay nimble and responsive to market changes. From creating dedicated testing budgets to building a remote-first culture across global teams, Olga offers practical insights every marketing leader can implement.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Why traditional annual marketing plans often fail in today's rapidly changing environment
✔️ How to implement a strategic pillars approach focused on 30-90 day planning cycles
✔️ The importance of creating a dedicated test budget separate from your primary marketing budget
✔️ Techniques for building a strong testing culture that drives measurable growth
✔️ Why AI implementations should be customer-focused rather than technology-driven
✔️ Strategies for marketing leaders to demonstrate clear business value in PLG and SLG environments

Join us for this conversation filled with practical takeaways from a marketing leader who's leading global teams and driving growth through a test-and-learn approach that might just revolutionise how you think about marketing strategy.

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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How do you build a high-performing marketing team from the ground up -especially when the stakes are high and the budget is tight?

In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Jerome Stewart, CMO at Conviva, to explore the art of building effective marketing teams in resource-constrained environments.

With experience spanning from Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia to marketing leadership roles at Microsoft, Salesforce, Splunk and now Conviva, Jerome shares invaluable insights on transitioning from enterprise giants to scrappy scale-ups. He reveals how to identify talent that thrives in the challenging start-up environment, his iterative approach to marketing messaging, and why the right team composition matters more than big budgets.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ How to identify and nurture marketing talent that thrives in resource-constrained environments

✔️ The "iron triangle" approach to cross-functional marketing collaboration

✔️ Jerome's philosophy for developing high-performing teams

✔️ How to implement an iterative messaging strategy when building a new brand

✔️ Techniques for evaluating a candidate's ability to create rather than just refine

✔️ How to adapt marketing leadership skills from large enterprises to scale-ups

✔️ Strategies for building differentiation when no one has heard of your company

Whether you're scaling your marketing function, navigating budget constraints, or looking to build a team that can punch above its weight, this episode offers practical wisdom from someone who's mastered the art of doing more with less.

Jerome's approach to iterative messaging and talent selection provides a roadmap for marketing leaders who need to create impact quickly without extensive resources. His insights on identifying people who can truly create (rather than just refine existing work) are particularly valuable for organisations at the critical growth stage.

Don't miss this candid conversation about what really drives marketing performance when the budget is tight but expectations remain sky-high.

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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In today's digital-first world, B2B buyers conduct extensive research before ever contacting a vendor. But how can marketing and sales teams effectively reach prospects who prefer to remain anonymous until they're ready to buy?

In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Stefano Iacono, Marketing Director at 6sense and a seasoned B2B marketing leader with over 17 years of experience. As the first UK hire for 6sense, Stefano has grown a team of 50 people and leads an award-winning ABM operation.

Stefano shares crucial insights from 6sense's research showing that 81% of B2B buyers have already made their decision before speaking to a seller, with the majority of their research conducted anonymously. He explores how marketing and sales teams can identify these signals, understand where prospects are in their buying journey, and engage them at the right moment with the right approach.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why defining your Total Addressable Market (TAM) and Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is critical for marketing success

✔️ How to interpret anonymous buyer research signals that occur before prospects contact sales

✔️ Why 84% of B2B buyers purchase from the first vendor they speak with, making timing crucial

✔️ Why traditional MQLs are no longer effective (97% of marketers agree) and what to measure instead

✔️ The importance of understanding buying stages to deliver the right message at the right time

✔️ How to personalize sales outreach based on prospect research signals

✔️ Strategies for implementing account-centric demand generation at scale

Whether you're struggling with lead quality, measuring marketing effectiveness, or aligning sales and marketing teams, this episode offers practical strategies to transform your approach. 

By understanding the hidden buyer journey and shifting to account-based metrics, you'll be able to engage prospects at exactly the right moment—when they're most likely to buy. 

Don't miss these actionable insights that could fundamentally change how your organization identifies and converts opportunities in today's digital-first B2B marketplace. 

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

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AI is a hot topic for everyone in marketing right now, with tools like ChatGPT and other generative platforms changing how we work. But can marketers really harness AI effectively while maintaining that essential human connection with customers?

In this episode, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Melody Easton, CMO of Belt Software, to explore the transformative impact of AI on marketing strategies. With over two decades of experience in the tech world, Melody offers a masterclass in implementing AI tools while preserving the essential human elements that drive authentic connection and creativity.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ How AI enables smaller marketing teams to deliver more with less resources
✔️ Practical applications of AI for content creation, social media, and strategic planning
✔️ Techniques for building an effective prompt library for consistent AI outputs
✔️ The importance of balancing AI assistance with human creativity and strategy
✔️ Why human marketing expertise remains crucial even with advanced AI tools
✔️ How to maintain authentic brand voice while leveraging AI for efficiency
✔️ Strategies for training team members to become proficient with AI tools
✔️ Predictions for the future of AI in marketing, including hyper-personalization and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) 

From building effective prompt libraries to balancing automation with strategic thinking, Melody shares practical insights that marketing leaders can implement immediately.

Brought to you by Armstrong Lloyd - your go-to solution for recruiting marketing, sales, and business leaders in B2B.

Want to know more?
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