Episode Summary
In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Erik Blaze interviews Mary Gilbert, CMO at Folloze, who shares her expertise on navigating the new marketing landscape and ABM-driven strategies. The conversation covers the concept of agility as a prominent factor for CMOs, the importance of customer engagement as a valuable asset, and the need for a holistic and personalized approach. Mary emphasizes the shift from traditional demand generation to ABM on steroids, combining insights, targeting, and measurement. They also discuss the integration of third-party and first-party intent signals, the transition from outreach emails to a value-added engagement approach, and the significance of ABM-driven demand gen. 
About the Guest
Mary, CMO at Folloze, has over 20 years of experience in leading integrated B2B marketing organizations. She led digital transformation for Microsoft, HP, and Cisco, introducing B2B buyer journey alignment. Mary launched early ABM programs for companies like Centrify, Microsoft, and Ingram Micro CloudBlue. Passionate about team culture, organizational effectiveness, and digital transformation, she offers a unique perspective on market dynamics.
Connect with Mary Gilbert
Key Takeaways
- The concept of agility has become increasingly prominent in the minds of CMOs, as companies need to adapt quickly to the digital-first environment and evolving market dynamics.
- Engagement is the new currency of pipeline momentum, serving as a beacon of insight and guiding every action of the entire go-to-market team.
- CMOs must effectively drive engagement and utilize it as a valuable asset for building a robust and predictable pipeline.
- Traditional go-to-market strategies and conventional demand generation methods, such as relying solely on MQLs are losing momentum in today's landscape.
- The integration of third-party and first-party intent signals provides valuable insights for personalized engagement and supporting buyers throughout their journey.
- Ineffective use and understanding of data systems can be a common hurdle for organizations, and it's important to have experts who can maximize the potential of marketing technologies.
- Centralization and decentralization need to be balanced in organizational design to empower frontline marketers and enable personalized experiences while maintaining brand integrity.
- Revenue teams should transition from solely relying on outreach emails to providing a holistic engagement approach that focuses on value creation for customers.
- Aligning sales and marketing metrics and strategies and developing coordinated plays that support personalized information and leverage intent signals is crucial.
- Breaking down silos and ensuring everyone has access to the same experience platform and data helps create a seamless experience for buyers.
- Marketing operations (MOPS) teams play a vital role in transformation and should be considered a valuable resource for insights and strategic implementations.
- ABM-driven demand gen model is gaining popularity among CMOs as a means to not only survive but thrive in the current market space, offering scalability, personalization, and agility.
- Leveraging available data and insights enhances decision-making and optimizes team efficiency, resulting in an enhanced buyer experience.
Quote 
“Technology is moving way faster than humans can adapt, and we're all still trying to catch up.” – Mary Gilbert
Recommended Resources
Books

Scott Brinker’s Chiefmartec

Sam Jacobs’ Pavillion Community


Shout-outs
Jon Miller – CMO at Demandbase
Jessica Kao – Senior Director, Marketing Operations and Martech at Cloudflare
Jason Widup – VP of Marketing at metadata.io

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