ABM is supposed to be the most effective way to drive pipeline and revenue—but for many CMOs, it still feels like a never-ending struggle. Sales and marketing aren’t aligned. Measurement is murky. The tools are expensive, and let’s be honest—half the time, you’re not even sure if you’re actually doing ABM or just running a glorified demand gen campaign.

And then there’s the biggest challenge that doesn’t get talked about enough: data governance. Platforms like 6sense and Demandbase rely on your first-party data, but if that data is a mess—full of gaps, duplicates, and outdated info—your account lists won’t be trustworthy, sales won’t buy in, and your entire ABM strategy will struggle to gain traction.

So how do you fix it? In this episode, we’re tackling what actually makes ABM work. No fluff, no vendor pitches—just real talk on how to clean up your data, align your teams, and finally see ROI.

Because ABM shouldn’t be this hard—and with the right strategy, it doesn’t have to be.

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/a-practical-look-at-abm-tools-teams-and-measurement/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelyneoliver 

"ABM is single-handedly account-centric. It focuses on the journey of the account, whereas DemandGen is leads, contacts, all of those people touch points that we would expect that get associated of course with the account." - Madelyne Oliver

03:18 - ABM vs DemandGen: account-centric vs lead-centric approaches

04:55 - Common mistakes in account selection and sales alignment

07:20 - One-to-one, one-to-few, one-to-many ABM framework

14:49 - How AI is making data collection both harder and easier

22:41 - ABM tech stack recommendations for mid-market companies

24:56 - Measuring ABM impact: pipeline and revenue-driven metrics

Most technical B2B industries are changing daily—cybersecurity is no exception. AI, global conflicts, new regulations, and nonstop threats are keeping security teams on their toes. 

But here’s the problem: marketers struggle to tap into that expertise, and cybersecurity SMEs are too busy putting out fires to help.

The result? Content that’s too generic, too slow, or just doesn’t hit the mark.

If you’ve ever struggled to get cybersecurity experts involved in content—or to make their knowledge work for your marketing—this one’s for you.

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/engaging-deeply-technical-smes-to-create-high-converting-content/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-vepa 

"We are selling to humans. Sure, we're in B2B, but it really is human behind that computer screen, and there's no better way to just really relate and connect directly to that person." - Maria Velasquez

04:15 - Why SMEs are crucial for B2B cybersecurity marketing trust

06:48 - Finding external SMEs when you don't have internal expertise

09:05 - Video-first framework for extracting SME value

14:39 - Common mistakes that damage SME relationships

18:47 - Ensuring SME time is well-spent and productive

25:11 - Drawing out day-in-the-life insights for authentic content

Case studies should be your mid-to-low-funnel MVP—building trust, closing deals, and driving serious ROI. 

But for most teams, they’re a nightmare. Slow, messy, and frustrating to produce. 

Even when they do go live, they rarely deliver the impact they should.

Why? Because great customer stories don’t just happen—they require a strong internal infrastructure. Without the right processes, accountability, and buy-in, your customer stories will stay stuck in limbo (or worse, go completely unused).

In this episode, we’re joined by case study maven Joel Klettke to learn how to create powerful, scalable case studies with the right engine.

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/building-a-case-study-growth-engine-from-one-off-to-always-on/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelklettke 

"The companies who are going to win are going be the companies who realize, they can steal our features, they can poach our people, they can copy our design... the one thing they can't take away from us that are ours to lose are our advocates, our customer stories." - Joel Klettke 

03:15 - Customer stories vs case studies: terminology matters

04:32 - Infrastructure as the #1 barrier to case study creation

09:51 - Proactive vs reactive case study strategy

14:07 - Quality over quantity: finding the right balance

18:28 - Navigating B2B approval processes and red tape

25:31 - Format planning: gathering stories vs choosing outputs

We all know B2B marketing is about more than just features and data—it’s about connecting with your buyers on a deeper level. 

The problem? B2B marketers often get stuck in the weeds of rational, logical content and miss the emotional triggers that actually drive purchase decisions.

The key to closing more deals? Storytelling. Feels cliché. We know. 

That’s why we’re digging into the best scholarly research we can find to discover how to craft stories that build trust, resonate deeply, and ultimately close deals.

Paxton is joined by Tara Ramroop, a former journalist and the Director of Content Marketing at Braze.

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/storytelling-that-sells-how-to-influence-b2b-buyers-with-emotion/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tararamroop 

"Stories connect like people, people to people, businesses to businesses, businesses to humans in those businesses. And they also inspire." - Tara Ramroop

03:35 - What storytelling means in B2B marketing

08:15 - How bus wraps and billboards fit into the story framework

12:28 - Demonstrating understanding vs. hard selling

16:22 - Audience segmentation based on behaviors and pain points

19:58 - Operationalizing storytelling with processes and tools

25:23 - Building ROI case and getting scrappy with limited resources

Segmenting B2B audiences by industry is a great way to demonstrate empathy and gain trust with your audience through tailored content and personalized solutions.

In practice, it’s more complicated. Industry segmentation can stretch teams thin, risk overpromising, and even feel insincere to our intended audience.

It demands in-depth product knowledge, a deep understanding of each audience, a flexible sales team, and substantial marketing resources to pull it off.

Paxton and Rick Galán, SVP of Growth Marketing at BILL discuss the best way to approach industry segmentation and the audience research that makes it truly effective.

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/segmentation-by-industry-tailoring-b2b-marketing-to-multiple-audiences/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickgalan 

"Great creative work is born out of constraints. And getting really focused on a message to a specific audience in a specific place is a ton of constraint that allows for a lot of really interesting creativity to happen." - Rick Galan

04:02 - Why B2B segmentation matters for message alignment

09:01 - Understanding natural business segmentation first

12:03 - Big vs small company segmentation approaches

18:16 - Balancing conflicting needs on shared assets like homepages

21:39 - Personalization vs segmentation: business focus over individual

26:49 - Coordinating with sales to find and exploit momentum

You don’t have to be an expert in SEO to know that the search landscape is more volatile than ever before.

AI has completely disrupted search, to say nothing of major algorithm updates and changes in search behavior. 

What worked for SEO in the past decade just won’t cut it in the decade ahead. 

Marketing leaders need SEOs they can place full confidence in to navigate the new AI world of search.

Join SEO Consultant Nick Leroy and Paxton Gray to hear what success will look like for SEO moving forward and what signs to look for in an SEO with the skills to carry your organic strategy through to the future.

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/how-to-spot-seos-worth-their-chops-in-the-ai-world-of-search/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickleroyseo 

"If it's not expensive, time consuming, or take a lot of resources, 95% of the time, it's not going to provide value for SEO." - Nick LeRoy 

03:39 - 2025 SEO changes: biggest pivot in 15 years

06:09 - Why flat SEO performance is actually a win

12:20 - Mass content strategy sustainability debate

17:54 - SEO expensive/resource rule for real growth

23:16 - Moving SEO out of marketing into product teams

26:54 - Beyond skyscraper method: innovation over incrementalism

According to LinkedIn, nearly 80% of B2B content is gated. But some research suggests that buyers are strongly averse to gated content. Rather than surrender their inbox to an onslaught of nurture campaigns, buyers are choosing to skip the gated content all together or to give a false name and temporary email in the form. (Hello, Daffy Duck and Bruce Wayne.) 

Gated content “doesn’t work,” but some of the world’s biggest and most successful companies are still using it. What gives?

Gated content still has a place in B2B strategy. Companies that capture contacts with gated content and excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost per lead, according to Forrester Research. The right gated content strategy can attract, nurture and close your highest-value leads.

In this episode, Paxton Gray and Jonathan Riemer discuss the value of gated content and how marketers should be thinking about where and why they choose to gate to maximize impact. 

https://97thfloor.com/articles/podcasts/gated-content/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanriemer 

"It is up to us as marketers to really understand where our audiences are and what's driving them. And that's the real answer between forming and not forming." - Jonathan Riemer

02:35 - Gated vs ungated debate

06:18 - "Kitchen sink" analogy for gating decisions

16:32 - AI transforming content personalization

20:19 - Avoiding AI-generated content noise

29:33 - Agentic content and personalized summaries

34:22 - Mid-funnel gating tips