B2B Marketers on a Mission

EINBLICK
  • 5.0 (12)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

On this podcast, we’re on a mission – to change and disrupt the way people think about B2B marketing one insightful conversation at a time. Get inspiration from interviews with B2B marketers and industry experts who share their stories, achievements, thoughts on trending topics, and give B2B marketing tips and recommendations. This show is hosted by Christian Klepp, Co-founder of EINBLICK Consulting.

  1. 2D AGO

    How to Achieve Outsized Outcomes with a Small B2B Marketing Team

    How to Achieve Outsized Outcomes with a Small B2B Marketing Team With the rapid advancement of AI, machine learning, shifting market dynamics, and more competition entering the ecosystem all the time, B2B marketers are confronted with more challenges than ever before. Teams are constantly facing the challenges of tightened budgets and even tighter deadlines. With this in mind, how can small B2B marketing teams achieve more with less and still deliver exceptional outcomes? That’s why we’re talking to Jordan Buning (Principal and Senior Account Executive, ddm marketing + communications), who shares insights and practical strategies on how to achieve outsized outcomes with a small B2B marketing team. During our conversation, Jordan discussed how teams can navigate market uncertainty and how AI has impacted efficiency. He emphasized the importance of revenue and pipeline metrics to demonstrate the financial contribution that marketing makes to the bottom line. Jordan also stressed the need for small B2B marketing teams to optimize campaigns, avoiding pitfalls like chasing immediate results at the expense of long-term success, and maintain continuous alignment with sales. He advocated for a platform approach over fragmented campaigns, regular metrics evaluation, and a focus on precision over volume. https://youtu.be/31Qts7vadLI Topics discussed in episode: [03:15] Why leadership often views marketing as an expendable variable rather than a core driver of the bottom line. [14:36] Jordan explains how to avoid “strategy whiplash” and over-reliance on performance tactics. [21:20] Discover why right-place, right-time messaging is non-negotiable, especially when it comes to appealing to the buying committee. [28:08] Instead of quarterly campaigns, build a core messaging “soundboard” that provides consistency and longevity. [33:36] Jordan walks through a 3-phase (90-day roadmap) approach consisting of diagnosing, activating, and doubling down to show ROI within one business quarter. [37:14] Why you must lead with pipeline contribution and opportunity creation rate when presenting to the board. [41:32] Why marketing belongs in every part of the organization, from customer experience and billing to employee engagement, not just lead generation. Companies and links mentioned: Jordan Buning on LinkedIn  ddm marketing + communications  Transcript Christian Klepp, Jordan Buning Jordan Buning  00:00 I think you know, the things that probably made this conversation happen in the first place are probably the first metrics you got to have. So it’s probably has something to do with revenue, and probably secondly, has to do with how quality they think the pipeline is filled with opportunities. Your initial metrics that would say this is working or not working. Really have to start there. And it may be two or three steps removed from some of the, you know, inside marketing measurements that that might be there, but at the end of the day, that’s what will kind of matter to them. And so what is, you know, the pipeline contribution looking like? What kind of opportunity creation rate is happening, revenue influence, those, those kinds of things, I think are components that that matter when we talk about revenue and pipeline is, are we actually contributing to the financial success of the organization. Christian Klepp  00:57 With the rapid advancement of AI (Artificial Intelligence) machine learning, changing market dynamics, market uncertainty and more competition entering the ecosystem all the time. B2B Marketers are confronted with more challenges than ever before. Another one of those challenges includes tightened budgets and even tighter deadlines. With this in mind, how can B2B Marketing teams achieve more with less and still deliver exceptional outcomes. Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on the mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today I’ll be talking to Jordan Buning, who will be answering this question. He’s the principal and Senior Account Executive at DDM Marketing and Communications who’s committed to doing great things with incredible people inside and outside the company. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is. Okay? Mr. Jordan Buning, welcome to the show, sir. Jordan Buning  01:48 Thank you. Appreciate you having me. Christian Klepp  01:50 Really looking for this conversation, Jordan. Not like man, I should have recorded the last couple of conversations that we had that, in itself, should have been the episode already, right? But I’m, I’m really looking forward to this conversation. You know, I had a great chat with your colleague, Joanne. And you know, we’re going to talk about a topic today that you and I both know it. It keeps coming up, and you ask 50 people out there, and they’ll give you 50 different answers to this question, right? So let’s, let’s just dive right in. I’m going to say you’re on a mission to help B2B companies deliver high impact marketing campaigns that drive measurable results. But I’d like to focus on this following topic for today’s conversation, and we’ve got plenty to unpack from this one, how small marketing teams can optimize campaigns to reduce waste and achieve outsized outcomes, probably I should highlight bold italic, underline that outsized outcomes, because that one’s going to be the interesting one. Let’s kick off the conversation with the following question, so I’m happy to repeat so why do you think many B2B organizations are spending less on their marketing efforts and shortening the timelines in which teams need to deliver results? And based on those constraints in your experience, where have you seen many marketing teams struggle? Jordan Buning  03:15 But you’re right. There’s a there’s a lot there, and trying to consolidate all of my thoughts down is a unique challenge. But, you know, I think part of it is not that marketing is losing importance sometimes in various circumstances, be it budgetary otherwise, but it’s more about the pressure of reshaping how it gets evaluated. There is a lag, I think in terms of how a lot of individuals perceive the importance in the in the contribution that marketing makes to the organization’s goals and ultimately to its bottom line. So if it’s disconnected, it becomes a variable, and a variable that, while maybe nobody is really wishing for, it sometimes becomes minimized or expendable, and therefore it’s really kind of a big push. And there’s certainly a variety of things that may be driving that. It could be their own, economic uncertainties, their market has changed. Therefore they’re making their adjustments. They’re managing risk. When they’re doing some of those kinds of things they may not necessarily see again that relationship between what they’re attributing to the bottom line. They may have measurements that are not aligned to show performance and not that it isn’t but they don’t have the data that’s that’s doing that and or they may even have a lag. They may have a lot of information, but it’s historical data, and present realities may be slightly different, and they don’t really have a way to connect to it. And then you’ve got a lot of other circumstances, like shift towards more immediate revenue. They may be saying, well, let’s just push out, let’s, let’s push more on. The sales side of this. Let’s work with partners, and let’s have them facilitate the process, and we’re going to get out of the sales and marketing role. Maybe what they say is, we’re going to park acquisition and we’re going to really go after account expansion. So those, those are all things that could be driving all of this. Then you throw in things like AI, where they might say, you know, it looks like there’s a lot of great tools out there. Why don’t we use more of those? Let’s use that to fill the gap where we maybe don’t have the resources that we once had. So those all become drivers in the whole situation. And somewhere in between is reality. One other thing, maybe, you know, a lot of organizations, depending on where they are, probably got where they were without maybe marketing being one of the primary drivers. Maybe they had a great engineering solution. They’re a great production organization, and maybe even a great selling organization. But marketing hasn’t been something that has necessarily been invested in as great they got there in their minds through other things. And so there’s suddenly a shift in terms of how to reconcile the value that marketing is contributing to the whole thing. And so it’s both an opportunity and a challenge. Obviously, in the moment, it’s it’s difficult and it’s painful. But those are, those are some of the circumstances that are kind of going on then based on constraints, where do we think marketing teams struggle? I had to remind myself of the question, so I wrote it down. If I were to zoom zoom out, I think the core struggle is, is somewhat capability and capacity. But it’s really kind of more the issue of time horizon that they might be running into, depending on what the issues are that are getting brought up. There could be a bit of a strategy whiplash where, you know, they had a plan, and the best laid plan has gone to waste, and there’s suddenly kind of a push towards a very different effort. And so the investment now is getting either tabled or stalled and and suddenly they’re they’re wanting to switch horses and go to a different direction. And obviously, from a marketing standpoint, that fear is great. We’ve got lots of activity. We’re doing a bunch of other things. We feel good about that. The other side of it is there’s a cost to losing that momentum of where you were going before. And how do you how do you kind of reconcile that? And then, how do you avoid continuing to have strat

    45 min

  2. MAR 5

    Why Authority Now Matters More Than Visibility in B2B Content

    Why Authority Now Matters More Than Visibility in B2B Content With AI making it easier than ever to create content, B2B buyers are drowning in a sea of digital noise. To rise about the generic, “AI-slop”, the new differentiator is no longer only visibility, but the ability to convey authentic brand authority. More often than not, it is the perceived credibility and depth of a brand’s messaging that decides whether B2B companies are shortlisted or ignored by well-informed decision makers. So how can B2B companies build a solid thought leadership strategy that creates trust and sets them apart from competitors? That’s why we’re talking to Jamie Thomson (Copywriter and Founder, Brand New Copy), who shares his expertise and insights on why authority now matters more than visibility in B2B content. During our conversation, Jamie emphasized that true authority is built through consistent communication and unique insights rather than controversial stances. He criticized the over-reliance on AI for content ideation and encouraged businesses to focus on their unique selling points and authentic company culture. Jamie stressed the need for documented brand positioning and strategic messaging to build credibility across all channels. He also underscored the value of thought leadership and social proof in signalling authority, and suggested that businesses should invest in understanding and documenting their positioning for success in the long run. https://youtu.be/k4H-0M5ZL7g Topics discussed in episode: [02:47] The end of easy visibility: Why AI overviews and shifting algorithms mean you can no longer control traffic through traditional SEO alone. [07:09] Redefining authority: Authority isn’t about being controversial or loud; it is built through the consistency of your message and brand voice. [13:31] Chasing the right metrics: Why “visibility for visibility’s sake” is a vanity metric, and how to tie your content strategy to actual business outcomes.  [19:39] The credibility anchor: How being consistent with your own unique data and statistics keeps your brand from becoming an “average” forgettable competitor.  [21:42] Messaging for committees: A simple 3-step formula to establish messaging that resonates with human decision-makers, even in complex B2B environments. [27:35] Signaling authority: Practical ways to use “social proof” and unique data to back up your claims in proposals and on your website.  [31:18] Future-proofing your brand: Why documenting your positioning today is the only way to maintain longevity over the next decade. Companies and links mentioned: Jamie Thomson on LinkedIn  Brand New Copy  Copywriting Course at Brand New Copy Transcript Jamie Thomson, Christian Klepp Jamie Thomson  00:00 You know, maybe it’s a personality thing, but like, I’m not particularly controversial in my marketing and I do think people take that stance, like we are the young upstarts, or we are going to make a point of disagreeing with this company so that we can get engagement, whether they believe what their sort of stance are taking or not. It’s, it’s almost that sort of strategy of, there’s no such thing as bad press, and it’s probably effective short term and that’s why people are doing it. But if you’re looking to build a sort of a future proof business, comes back to that idea of authority being a bit consistency, unless your whole strategy is to be controversial, it’s more of a short term gain tactic. I think strategy is even a strong word. I think it’s a tactic. Christian Klepp  00:48 With AI making it easier than ever to create content, B2B, buyers are drowning in a sea of digital noise. To rise above this noise, the new differentiator needs to be delivered through authority. More often than not, it’s the credibility of a brand’s messaging that decides whether they’re shortlisted or ignored. So how can B2B companies leverage this and build their credibility? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking to Jamie Thomson, who will be answering this question. He’s an award winning copywriter and founder of Brand New Copy who puts strategy at the center of the process to define what the copy should achieve. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is. Okay, and off we go. Mr. Jamie Thomson, welcome to the show, sir. Jamie Thomson  01:34 Hi, Christian. It’s good to speak to you again. Thanks for having me on. Christian Klepp  01:38 Great to have you here. I mean, we had such a dynamite conversation. Like, a few weeks ago, I should have, like, hit record on that conversation too, right? Like, yeah, absolutely, Jamie, I’m really looking forward to this conversation because, you know, one of the things that you’re going to talk about today is, like, near and dear to me as somebody that also dabbles in the world of copywriting for B2B, but um, so here we go, right? So Jamie, you’re on a mission. I’m going to say, to help B2B companies to define their messaging, strengthen their positioning and communicate with authority across every channel. So this is really serious stuff here. Okay, so for this conversation, I’d like to focus on the topic of why authority now matters more than visibility and B2B, right? So I’d like to kick off the conversation with two questions, right? And I’m happy to repeat them. First question is, why do you believe authority is important, especially in an age where AI is creeping into B2B content and everything else. And where do you see a lot of B2B brands falling flat with the authority piece? Jamie Thomson  02:47 Yeah, so I think, I think authority is more important now than ever has been because, like you said, because there’s a lot of like, LLMs (Large Language Models) now kind of doing a lot of the marketing work that was maybe, you know, handled by humans before. I think that you know, sort of the sort of background context to this is that, you know, as Marketers, we don’t have as much control over the visibility of our content as we used to like Google, for example. You now have AI (Artificial Intelligence) overviews. So even if you get to like position one in Google, you’re still at the bottom of the page. Because you’ve got your AI overviews, you have sponsored results, and then there’s the organic listings underneath. And even if you’re position one, you’re still at the bottom of the page earlier. As a result, website traffic has reduced, and people aren’t getting the same kind of like traffic numbers that they used to on LinkedIn as well, like the way that the algorithms are sort of working nowadays. There doesn’t really seem to be any regular reason as to which posts perform well, it seems to be the sort of casual, off the cuff posts that seem to seem to get a lot of attention. There is a genuinely useful, you know, thought leadership stuff has kind of been pushed to the back burner a little bit. So I think authority is important because we don’t have as much control over visibility as we used to, and I think it’s the genuinely useful content that is the stuff that’s going to get shared, whether or not the algorithms are going to push that. So if you have produced a piece of content that has, like, really unique data points that is genuinely useful to other businesses, and it’s get shared online. It’s going to get shared internally between companies, and it’ll get linked to as well. And again, like to answer your second question, and where do a lot of sort of B2B brands like sort of miss the mark? I think. I think the main thing is that they’re the content that they’re producing isn’t genuinely useful. They are a lot of brands across industries that are kind of seeing the same thing as their competitors. And I don’t know for sure, but I have a sort of inclination that is down to LLMs, because they’re kind of relying on like chatGPT for their ideas. They’re asking chatGPT to give them ideas for content. And, you know, chatGPT, it can give you the output, but it can’t give you the input. You know, it’s a technology of averages. So if you’re looking to LLMs for ideation, it’s going to give you the average of what everyone else in industry is saying. So it’s important that your businesses are really doubling down on their ideation and things that make them unique as a company, like their unique selling points, their value propositions, their company culture. You know, the people behind the business, that’s kind of what makes a company’s culture and chatGPT, llms, they don’t really have any first hand experience of that, and it’s such a nuanced thing that you’re never going to get like effective results if you’re asking LLMs for the ideas in the first place. If you’re using it for execution, to help guide style and tone a little bit, then that’s fair enough. But, yeah, it’s important that brands are sort of really doubling down on the ideation. You know, that’s that, I think, just genuine, unique insights that people are actually going to be interested in reading. Christian Klepp  06:38 Absolutely, I had a couple of follow up questions for you there. I mean, this is great stuff. This might sound like overly, like simplified. I mean, for lack of a better description, but like, just, let’s clear the air here a little bit. Define, from your experience and your own interpretation, define authority, because that also gets thrown around very loosely, I feel almost as, almost as much as the term you’ve got to add value. I mean, like, you know, what does that actually mean, right? Jamie Thomson  07:09 Yeah, yeah. So to me, authority is about a brand communicating their messages in a consistent way, whether that is the actual content of the messages or the way that they actually communicate it, in terms o

    38 min

  3. FEB 26

    How to Fix Your Underperforming B2B SaaS Funnel for Quick Revenue Wins

    How to Fix Your Underperforming B2B SaaS Funnel for Quick Revenue Wins In the fast-paced world of B2B SaaS, the ability to go to market, iterate on feedback, and close deals rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many sales and marketing teams find themselves stalled by underperforming funnels that drain resources without delivering measurable results. When growth plateaus, the challenge lies in transforming these stagnant pipelines into high-velocity growth engines without requiring massive capital or long timelines. So, how can B2B SaaS teams identify the hidden leaks in their customer journey and unlock quick-win revenue through a strategic, data-driven approach? That’s why we’re talking to April Syed (CEO of Aperture Codex), who shares her expertise on fixing an underperforming B2B SaaS funnel for quick revenue wins. During our conversation, April discussed the importance of leveraging data to pinpoint “quick wins,” such as streamlining sales processes and eliminating high-friction points in user onboarding. She explained how to fix “conversion killers” like messaging misalignment and highlighted the necessity of aligning marketing and sales efforts to ensure a seamless experience. April also advocated for a culture of continuous testing, using small, incremental experiments to de-risk major strategic shifts. She emphasized the value of regular customer journey mapping to maintain a predictable, sustainable, and highly efficient path to profitable growth. https://youtu.be/VeeFMznhCfw Topics discussed in episode: [07:24] Why your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) must be a “living, breathing” document reviewed quarterly, not a static file sitting in a deck. [11:24] The critical mistake of treating marketing as a cost center rather than a revenue driver, and how it leads to “vanity metrics” over actual sales. [13:53] Why you should focus on small, incremental tests to “de-risk” big spends before committing to expensive strategies like rebrands. [18:05] The 5-Point Conversion Diagnostic: A framework to analyze time-to-value, messaging alignment, behavioral triggers, follow-up timing, and pricing friction. [23:07] A real-world example of how “pricing friction” (forcing an annual upgrade) caused a loyal promoter to churn to a competitor. [27:24] How to audit your funnel for “Quick Win” revenue opportunities in under 30 days by analyzing where deals stall in the CRM. [35:27] Why no marketing asset is ever “final”, and why high-traffic landing pages should be in a state of constant A/B testing. Companies and links mentioned: Apryl Syed on LinkedIn  Aperture Codex  Superhuman Notion  Motion Transcript Christian Klepp, Apryl Syed Apryl Syed  00:00 Brand for instance, doesn’t work itself into any metric, but it makes every metric better across the board. Sometimes we’re chasing these metrics and like the attribution of where a particular deal came from, or how did they find out about us, and we’re not thinking about all of the things that are outside in the flywheel that are, you know, causing that person to, yes, eventually convert. But were there seven or eight other things that kind of they interacted with. Christian Klepp  00:26 In the world of B2B SaaS speed is the name of the game. Get to market, quickly collect feedback, quickly iterate quickly and close deals quickly. But what happens if your sales and marketing teams get stuck with underperforming funnels that don’t generate the results you need? How can teams turn these funnels into growth machines without massive spend or long timelines? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on a Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking with Apryl Syed, who will be answering this question. She’s the CEO of ApertureCodex who gives founders the strategy and the psychology needed to jump into fast revenue gains. Let’s dive in. Okay, and away we go. Apryl Syed, welcome to the show. Apryl Syed  01:12 Thank you so much, Christian. I’m so excited to be here. Christian Klepp  01:15 Glad to have you on the show. I think we had such a great pre interview conversation. I kept telling myself I should have hit record, and I talked to you the first time, right? But, you know, two times is a charm or three times. But anyways, this is the second time we’re talking. So I’m really looking forward to this conversation Apryl, because we’re going to touch on a topic today that I think is not just relevant to sales teams. It’s really important to marketing teams as well. So I’m going to keep the audience in suspense just a little while longer while I set up this first question. Right? So you’re on a mission to help B2B SaaS teams turn underperforming funnels into growth machines without massive spend or lengthy timelines, and for people that didn’t hear that the first time, I think everybody wants something like that, right, quick results without spending massively, right? So for this conversation, I’d like to focus on the following topic and just unpack it from there, right? So how can SaaS teams leverage a quick win revenue approach for better and more predictable growth. And I mean, come on Apryl, who the heck doesn’t want that, right? Who doesn’t want predictable growth, right? So I want to kick off this conversation with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them. So first one is, where do you see many SaaS teams struggle with revenue growth? And the second question is, what are some of the key causes of this? Apryl Syed  02:44 It’s really great, by the way. As a side note, I got turned down for a podcast this week because they said I talked too much about quick wins, and they felt that it conflicted with their policy. I won’t mention the name, they’re an agency out there, but they were all about big spend, and they felt that I conflicted with that. And this exactly ties in. This is probably why the subject that I talk about so. Christian Klepp  03:13 Well, I’m sorry for them. Apryl Syed  03:15 Yeah, that’s okay. That’s okay. We don’t, we don’t match. You know, I’m not for everyone. Well, I think that, like SaaS teams don’t realize that they’ve got data. And within their data really, really lies some of the tweaks, opportunities and things like that that can make them extra revenue that they might not be looking at today. And I think, you know, perhaps it’s in tweaking their sales process. Maybe they don’t have a sales process misalignment between sales and marketing. Marketing is talking about one thing, sales is selling another thing, or could be marketing is marketing to one type of industry and user, and sales is saying that’s not the right user. It’s something completely different, that misalignment in itself causes revenue conflict, revenue opportunities. And you know, sometimes it’s spending on expensive tools before you’ve actually broken down some of those points in the funnel. Or could be tools that you’re getting a lot of data from, or they’re not doing anything with the data on a regular basis. So I think, you know, those are where I see some of those, like, struggle with revenue because of some of those issues and and then I think your second question was kind of like, well, how to, how do they kind of avoid some of those scenarios? Right? Christian Klepp  04:40 It was more about the the key causes, but you but, but you did talk about that already, right?   Apryl Syed  04:44 So, right, right? That definitely is there. Well, I think, you know, it’s also could be, you know, where they’re chasing certain metrics and focused in, and we had this conversation earlier. It’s like brand, for instance, doesn’t work at. Yourself into any metric, but it makes every metric better across the board. So sometimes we’re chasing these metrics and like the attribution of where a particular deal came from, or how did they find out about us, and we’re not thinking about all of the things that are outside in the flywheel that are, you know, causing that person to, yes, eventually convert. But were there seven or eight other things that kind of they interacted with before they got to that point? And we had to get them ready? So, you know, can definitely be about just chasing those metrics too much, which means you avoid doing things that don’t give you that instant metric. And I think that is a big challenge and pitfall that that teams can can certainly fall into. I think also the the challenge of treating marketing as a cost center and not letting them be in charge of all of those metrics down to the sale that happen. And that might sound weird to some folks, but I’ve certainly been in enough teams and enough experiences across you know my background that I’ve seen that sometimes you can make a change in marketing. It produces a lot of leads, but those leads aren’t qualifying and they’re not turning into revenue, and yet, if the metric is producing leads, well then marketing can walk away the end of the day and meet their metrics and jobs, but if the metric is revenue, then they’ve got to go all the way to that end cycle and see that it’s a qualified opportunity. That, of course, goes back to my original point that if sales and marketing aren’t in lock sync with each other, and they don’t have a good relationship and dynamic, then it ends up in finger pointing when things aren’t going wrong, instead of both teams coming together, being on the same page and figuring out what’s going to work. And that’s that’s really the key. Christian Klepp  07:03 Absolutely, absolutely. And I think you might have brought it up, and maybe I didn’t catch it, and if not, I apologize. But like, one of the things that I didn’t notice, too, is, like, this misalignment of who, who the who the ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is, like the assumptions th

    41 min

  4. FEB 19

    How AI Agents are Disrupting the AdTech Landscape

    How AI Agents are Disrupting the AdTech Landscape Semantic content classification driven by AI agents is currently transforming digital advertising and B2B content monetization as we know it. When leveraged the right way, marketers can classify B2B content into actionable signals and find the most relevant content across the open web. This shift toward AI-native advertising allows for a more sophisticated approach to targeting that moves beyond traditional cookies. So, how can brands strategically implement these tools to generate impactful results, and what does the rise of autonomous agents mean for the future of your digital marketing strategy? That’s why we’re talking to Brendan Norman (Co-Founder and CEO, Classify), who shares his expertise and experience on how AI agents are disrupting the AdTech landscape. During our conversation, Brendan discussed the evolution of digital advertising and the critical integration of AI and cloud-based tools to automate manual tasks and improve campaign optimization. He also elaborated on the massive shift from human-centric to agent-centric traffic, predicting that agent traffic will surpass human traffic within 18-24 months. Brendan also explained why he believes that the future belongs to marketers who can blend audience and contextual signals to monetize human and agent attention. He highlighted how new AI-native tools are democratizing advanced ad tech, significantly reducing costs and improving efficiency for large and small advertisers. https://youtu.be/yVobWZTmwco Topics discussed in episode: [03:01] Beyond Keywords: How semantic understanding allows advertisers to target the nuance of a page (like “snow removal” vs. just “winter”) rather than broad categories.  [06:46] Optimizing for AI Agents: Why “Generative Engine Optimization” (GEO) complements traditional SEO, and how brands must prepare for agents retrieving information instead of humans.  [12:34] The Shift in Web Traffic: The prediction that agent traffic will surpass human traffic on the web in the next 6 to 24 months.  [15:50] The Power of Context + Audience: Why the best advertising strategy combines who the user is (audience) with what they are consuming in the moment (context).  [20:47] Democratizing Ad Tech: How AI agents and new frameworks will allow smaller brands with smaller budgets to access sophisticated programmatic advertising tools.  [26:54] High-Fidelity Curation at Scale: How AI reduces the cost of processing massive data sets, making real-time optimization and curation accessible and sustainable.  [33:44] The “Middleman Tax”: A look at the inefficiency of current ad tech where only 35 cents of every dollar reaches the publisher, and how AI can fix this.  Companies and links mentioned: Brendan Norman on LinkedIn  Classify  Bluefish AI Agentic Advertising Org  IAB Tech Lab Transcript Brendan Norman – Classify, Christian Klepp Brendan Norman – Classify  00:00 I think overall, jobs will change. I think that people will have to spend a lot less time doing a lot of the manual, rote tasks that they’re doing today. You know, kind of in parallel with what we’re seeing in terms of vibe coding and people’s ability to build product really quickly, design new web pages really quickly, like get ship things out quickly. I think a lot of the infrastructure layer tools, or just call them like, like, chatGPT style, cloud based tools, LLMs (Large Language Models), we’ll see a lot deeper integration into existing advertising product. And what that does is it helps democratize the whole ecosystem. So I think it frees up people’s time, you know, to not have to do a lot of the basic administrative, you know, reporting, manual, campaign, optimization type stuff, and it will help service a lot better insights. Ultimately, I think the industry grows, and I think it scales even faster and cautiously, optimistically. I think that we, we will have back to building on the curation piece, and, you know, the advertiser, outcomes piece, publisher monetization piece, user experience piece, I think that all those things will increase. Christian Klepp  01:07 When done the right way and leveraging the right approach and technology, you can classify B2B content into actionable insights and find the most similar content across the open web. So how can this be done the right way, and what role do B2B Marketers play? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers in the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp. Today, I’ll be talking to Brendan Norman about this. He’s the Co-Founder and CEO of Classify, a software that organizes the world’s digital content, making a privacy, safe, searchable and monetizable. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is, and off we go. I’m gonna say Mr. Brendan Norman, welcome to the show. Brendan Norman – Classify  01:49 Thanks for having me, Christian. Christian Klepp  01:51 Great to have you on. I’m really looking for this conversation because, man, like you know, in our previous discussion, besides talking about snow and bad weather, we did have, we did have we did have some interesting discussions around, I’m going to say, AI machine learning, and how that all has some kind of like strong correlation to content. So let’s just dive in. I’m going to start with the first question here. So you’re on a mission to help publishers increase monetization potential and advertisers target the most relevant, curated inventory. So for this conversation, I’m going to focus on the following topic, and we can unpack it from there. So how B2B brands can optimize their own content. And you know, let’s be honest. Brendan, who the heck doesn’t want to do that, right? So your company classify, if I remember correctly. It’s a software that organizes the world’s digital content, making it privacy, safe, searchable and monetizable. So here’s the two-pronged question I’m happy to repeat. So first one is, walk us through how your software does that and B, how does this approach benefit? B2B companies looking to optimize their own content? Brendan Norman – Classify  03:01 Historically, how a lot of content gets categorized, classified, organized, it’s fairly unsophisticated, and it’s been fairly unsophisticated for a long time, just because, you know, the technology is difficult to do, and we haven’t really had the foundational ability to understand it in a way like a human understands it until fairly recently, and do it at Deep scale. So good analogy for this question is like, if you were having a we were having a conversation just a minute ago about the snow, you know, happening in Canada, and how cold it was and how much snow you got, and, you know, also around the fact that, like you had to shovel your driveway, you have a snow blower you were putting the snow. There’s a lot of different nuance to that conversation. I as a human, and most humans, are able to interpret all of that nuance and kind of positively negatively, understand that there’s a snow blower involved in that snow blower was used to remove the snow historically that conversation, you know, if it was just a blob of text, or if it were a web page, the the basic technology to understand it would have reduced it down to a category like snow or maybe winter, and that’s it, and that’s all the targeting that would have happened to that page. So our conversation, you know, gets transcribed. It gets put on a blog, or it gets put on a news site. The only thing that a machine could understand about it was, you know, snow and then potentially a keyword, tagged snow blower. And that’s all so we took a very different one. One of the reasons why you know that that makes it challenging for advertisers and also for publishers. If you’re the publisher of that content, you’re not able to help advertisers really understand the nuance to like, what are we talking about here? Because maybe an advertiser wants to sell snow blowers for that specific site. Maybe they’re looking to sell ski and since we were talking about removing snow from a driveway, probably not the best application to go sell skis on. What is helpful is to deeply understand all the nuance to like we were talking about a driveway. We were talking about removing snow from that driveway. So we invented, you know, a much better, more sophisticated way to scrape content, classify it according to all of the different, you know, nuances semantic understanding much more like a human would, and then embed all of those different, you know, semantic understandings into, you know, this, this, this file, and then we organize that in a way that makes it searchable and kind of understands all the relationships very quickly. And what that does is it helps advertisers, like if you know, I’m Honda selling snow blowers, which they make, arguably the best snow blower in the market, if they’re looking to reach people that are talking about snow removal from the driveway, they can very quickly see the list of all the different URLs across the internet, and they can build, you know, a deal ID, or they can build a targeting, contextual targeting segment to specifically pinpoint those very specific web pages. And that’s kind of how the technology works, and then also, also why it’s relevant to advertisers. Christian Klepp  06:21 Thanks so much for sharing that Brendan that definitely helps us give, you know, some perspective into, like, what your software does. And you know, just, I’m asking you this from, from somebody who probably has learned to write one or two lines of code, and that’s as far as my dev skills go. But like, how, how is your software different from like GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), or is there some kind of overlap? Brendan Norman – Classify  06:46 It’s fairly complementary. I mean, the problem that GEO, you

    38 min

  5. FEB 12

    How to Scale Faster with B2B Brand Strategy

    How to Scale Faster with B2B Brand Strategy Here’s a common scenario in B2B marketing: you launch campaigns, hit the deadlines, and fill the pipeline, but the results feel disconnected from your long-term goals. Internal messaging discussions resurface, campaigns feel shallow and reactive, and when you ask people what your brand stands for, you get 50 different answers. This inconsistent approach creates friction and impedes scalable growth. So what can B2B marketers do when their tactical execution is outpacing their brand strategy, and how to do you realign for lasting impact? That’s why we’re talking to JoAnne Gritter (COO, ddm marketing + communications), who shares her expertise and actionable insights on how to scale faster with B2B brand strategy. During our conversation, JoAnne underscored why a foundational strategy is crucial for building credibility and trust in competitive markets. She also discussed the role of AI in marketing, commenting that while it can support with idea generation and research, it shouldn’t replace direct communication with customers and employees. JoAnne shared some common pitfalls such as messaging misalignment and inconsistent branding, which can lead to distrust and reduced credibility, She explained the importance of having a cohesive brand strategy that aligns values, messaging, and customer experiences across all company touchpoints through proactive brand management. https://youtu.be/_Alwkinhw-g Topics discussed in episode: [02:36] The “Soul vs. Body” framework: Why marketing is just the body in action, while brand strategy is the soul that provides direction and values.  [06:51] Red flags that your marketing has outpaced your strategy: When content feels fragmented and sales teams are telling completely different stories.  [08:52] Defining true brand strategy: Moving beyond logos and colors to include deep research, stakeholder analysis, and internal alignment.  [14:41] The critical differences between a brand refresh (auditing existing assets), a complete revamp (starting from scratch), and branding during a merger.  [24:10] Actionable steps you can take to realign your brand: – Audit your customer journey – Define messaging pillars – Ensure HR and onboarding match the brand promise  [29:37] Why “data-only” marketing fails: The importance of human emotion and psychology that performance data often misses.  Companies and links mentioned: JoAnne Gritter on LinkedIn  ddm marketing + communications  Transcript JoAnne Gritter, Christian Klepp JoAnne Gritter  00:00 AI can be used as a tool. It should not replace thinking and actually talking to your customers and your employees and your sales team. So you can use AI as a crutch to to like, ask it for ideas, idea generation. You can use it for deep research on your on your audience, and stuff like that. But nothing replaces the gold standard of talking to people. I see this in messaging misalignment or content misalignment. If content feels like it’s been written by four different people or completely different companies, that’s a red flag. Christian Klepp  00:37 This is a common scenario for B2B Marketers. You launch campaigns, hit the deadlines and fill the pipeline. It all looks great on paper, but something is still off internal messaging discussions resurface. Campaigns feel shallow and reactive, and when you ask people what the brand stands for, you get 50 different answers. So what can B2B Marketers do when their marketing is outpacing their brand strategy? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers in the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking to JoAnne Gritter, who will be answering this question. She’s a member of the leadership team at DDM Marketing Communications that provides integrated marketing solutions to drive business success. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is and here we go. JoAnne Gritter, welcome to the show. JoAnne Gritter  01:25 Hi Christian. Happy to be here. Christian Klepp  01:27 We you know, we had such a wonderful, like, pre-interview conversation. I almost feel like we’re neighbors or something, and something to that extent. But I’m, I’m really, like, happy to have you on the show, and I’m really looking forward to this conversation, because this topic is, I’m a little bit biased because I am in the branding space, so it’s a bit near and dear to my heart, but it’s also something that’s extremely important, because you’ll agree. I mean, you, I know you’ll agree because you wrote an article about it. JoAnne Gritter  01:54 Yeah Christian Klepp  01:55 It’s something that marketing teams tend to overlook. And good, goodness gracious me, I’m gonna, like, stop keeping people in suspense. We’ll just jump right in all right. JoAnne Gritter  02:04 Okay Christian Klepp  02:04 So JoAnne, you’re on a mission to provide integrated marketing solutions that drive B2B business success. So for this conversation, let’s focus on this topic, how brand strategy helps B2B organizations to realign for long term growth. So I’m going to kick off this conversation with the following question. In our previous conversation, our previous discussion, you talked about how marketing without a brand is a strategy without a soul. Could you please explain what you meant by that? JoAnne Gritter  02:36 So I just made the comparison kind of to the whole human, as in, like the brand is your soul, meaning like your values, what drives you, why you’re here, what differentiates you, what makes you different than the person standing next to you, whereas, like marketing is your body in action, or action in general, where you hopefully, if you if you’re a trustworthy person, what is, what are your values internally are matching your actions externally? And that is often where we see a divergent in companies, because they don’t think about those as like two sides of the same coin. It is really important that you make sure that you know the direction that you’re going as a company and what you stand for and who you’re there to support or serve, and what markets you’re there to do, and like your whole company, everybody that’s part of interfacing with customers understands that and is and is speaking the same language. Christian Klepp  03:37 Yeah, no, absolutely. And I suppose the the follow up question to that is like, where do you see a lot of, like, marketing teams go wrong. Because, like, you know, more often than not, a lot of teams are like, Okay, we’ve we’ve implemented the campaigns check. We’re generating results and driving pipeline or filling the pipeline, rather check. So where does it all go wrong? JoAnne Gritter  04:00 If you are not paying attention to your branding, you can have a lot of activity without a lot of traction. So or you can have a lot of different messages going out that seem not cohesive or fragmented. And so you can or more examples you can have, like your sales folks going out and telling different stories about about what your company stands for and what you do and how you’re different, that creates a lot of waste, because then you’re continuously trying to get more activity and more campaigns going more sales people out there, because you’re not getting the quality leads that you need, because nobody really knows what you stand for. Everybody says it a little bit differently, and that goes for customer service too. Branding. People think about branding as a marketing problem, or a marketing, you know, teams problem. But if, let’s say part of your brand is your brand identity or values is to put the customer. First, if you don’t really solidify that from your sales team and your customer support team, then there would be a mismatch there, right then you’re just putting out into the world that customers first, but that doesn’t match up with what the customer is experiencing. Christian Klepp  05:16 Yeah, there’s certainly some kind of misalignment there, and you touched on it, like, briefly. It’s interesting to me, like, even in my own experience, one of the telltale signs of that is when you ask people within the organization, well, what makes you different? And you get 50 different answers, and some of them are similar, and some of them are completely, like, different. And it’s like, okay, yep, okay, I see where this is going, or to your to your other point, when sales teams are having those discovery calls, and you listen back to some of those recordings, which I hope you marketing people out there are doing, and you listen to the way that the sales deal with objections, and maybe the procurement team or people like, you know, on the prospect side, they’re probably not phrasing it exactly the way I’m going to say it right now, but like, but they probably are asking something to the effect of, okay, what makes you different from vendor B, C and D, right? What is different about your solution? Like, why are you charging this guy? Why are your rates like, this high. JoAnne Gritter  05:16 Right. Absolutely. And if they have different answers, or if you go and you listen in on four different sales calls and they’re all a little bit different, then that tells you have a branding issue that people don’t fully understand your brand and how you’re different and who you support and serve. Christian Klepp  05:16 Yep, absolutely, absolutely. So you’ve touched on it a little bit, but like, tell us about some more of these. I’m going to call them red flags, right? That signal when marketing has outrun brand strategy. JoAnne Gritter  05:16 Sure, I see this in messaging misalignment or content misalignment. If content feels like it’s been written by four different people or completely different companies, that’s a red flag. If, like we mentioned, your sales te

    36 min

  6. FEB 5

    How to Fix Boring Brand Podcasts

    How to Fix Boring Brand Podcasts If we’re going to be perfectly honest, many branded podcasts are either boring or they sound just like a recycled commercial. To win the hearts and minds of your B2B target audience, you must move beyond generic corporate messaging and create high-quality content that addresses your listeners’ needs. So how can brands produce engaging content that will resonate with their audiences, and what strategic role does B2B storytelling play? That’s why we’re talking to Jen Moss (Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, JAR Podcast Solutions), who shared her expertise and strategic insights on how to fix boring brand podcasts. During our conversation, Jen discussed the importance of creating engaging brand podcasts that build trust and loyalty. She explained why B2B podcasts should go beyond product promotion and focus on deeper stories and societal issues. Jen also highlighted the need for creative courage, proper planning, rigorous pre-production, and engagement with the audience. She advised against rushing into production without proper ideation and marketing budget. Jen also underscored the power of authentic B2B storytelling and cautioned against relying too heavily on AI for content creation. https://youtu.be/sVlsvotzFEE Topics discussed in episode: [02:22] The definition of a successful brand podcast: It shouldn’t just be a CEO talking about products, but rather a way to facilitate deeper conversations on industry issues.  [05:12] Why brands need “creative courage” to stand out in a saturated market, including experimenting with fiction or narrative formats.  [08:32] How to tell a good B2B story by focusing on “beats,” high stakes, and the transparent struggle rather than just the solution.  [17:28] The top pitfalls in podcasting: Failing to budget for marketing, ignoring audience analytics, and drop-off rates.  [29:25] A real-world example of how Genome BC used human storytelling to make complex scientific topics accessible and engaging.  [37:40] Why using AI purely for speed and volume is a mistake, and why the mission of podcasting should be connection, not efficiency. Companies and links mentioned: Jen Moss on LinkedIn  JAR Podcast Solution  Genome BC Bumper Ira Glass Cory Doctorow Nice Genes! Podcast Another Round Podcast Hot Ones Podcast Transcript Christian Klepp, Jen Moss Jen Moss  00:00 Podcasting, especially audio podcasting, I will say, is a sacred space between the ears. You are literally whispering in people’s ears if they don’t like what they’re hearing, if they start to feel like you’re shilling to them, they will yank out the earbuds and it’s game over for you. Christian Klepp  00:17 If we’re going to be perfectly honest, many brand podcasts are either boring or they just sound like a commercial. To win the hearts and minds of your target audience, you need to create content that serves your listeners and is something they actually want to hear. So how can you achieve that? And what role does B2B Marketing play in producing successful brand podcasts? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers in the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today I’ll be talking to Jen Moss, who will be answering that question. She is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of JAR Podcast Solutions, which helps create quality podcasts that earn trust. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is, okay, and I’m gonna say, Jen Moss, welcome to the show. Jen Moss  01:05 Thank you so much for having me. Christian Klepp  01:07 Great to have you on. We’ve had such a fantastic conversation before. I hit record. I probably should have recorded this earlier, but in any case, Jen Moss  01:14 Yes, if anyone needs any parenting tips, we got your back. Christian Klepp  01:18 Absolutely, absolutely that that book is coming out soon on Amazon. I’m just kidding, But Jen, really looking forward to this conversation, because, man, we are going to cover a topic which, you know, might rock the boat a little bit, but it’s all, you know, constructive, and you know, it’s all for the sake of growing in a positive way, right? Jen Moss  01:35 I think so, Christian Klepp  01:36 At least I like to think so. Jen Moss  01:38 That is the goal. Christian Klepp  01:39 Absolutely, absolutely, all right, so here it comes. So Jen, you’re on a mission to help brands craft story first, podcasts that earn trust, build loyalty and connect deeply with the audiences that matter most. So for today’s conversation, I’d like to zero in on the following topic. Here comes how to fix boring brand podcasts. I know we’ve got a ton to talk about, but let’s kick off this conversation with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them. So what is it about brand podcasting that you wish more people understood? And number two is, where do most brand podcasts go wrong. Jen Moss  02:22 Okay, so those are both great questions, so that what is a branded podcast is probably a good place to start. A lot of people might think that it’s, you know, the CEO of a company talking about their products and services ad nauseam. And if you happen to want to buy those products and services, maybe you would listen to it, because you could get more information, like, kind of an informational, almost transactional thing. I think that’s what a lot of people imagine when they hear the words branded podcast. However, that there’s a lot more to branded podcasting than that, and a lot of the smarter sort of, I would say, savvy brands, the ones with kind of sophisticated marketing campaigns that are multifaceted, are looking at podcasting as a way to tell deeper stories, engage with conversations that are ongoing in society that really matter so, sort of a chance for the brand to show its stripes a little bit, and an opportunity to offer something to a target audience that is sort of like a kind of a gift. You know, like we’re going to give you something of value that you actually will benefit from or enjoy, learn something from, be emotionally moved by, you know, hear a good story, and it’ll be in an area that the brand cares about, that that kind of ticks the boxes in terms of, like, what are the brand’s values, but is not specifically, and this is very important, is not specifically related to the brand’s products and services, per se. So it’s more like, okay, the brand maybe exists in a certain wider industry, and there’s an issue in that industry that keeps coming up, or a new technology that’s affecting everything, something like that, something that needs to be talked about. And so they’ll, they’ll set out to kind of facilitate those kinds of conversations through their podcasts. And a branded podcast doesn’t need to be just a one on one interview. It could be, it could be a fiction podcast if you were feeling extra frisky and creative that day, you know, if you wanted to do something fun, like I had a conversation with a solar company not that long ago, and we actually pitched them a fiction podcast about a world powered by sun. And because we thought the opportunity for a solar panel company to sponsor a fiction podcast about a world powered by sun like sci-fi would be, would be exciting and different. Christian Klepp  05:11 How did that go? Jen Moss  05:12 Yeah, well, we didn’t end up getting that job because they didn’t have the creative courage to do it. And so this is, this is the kind of conversation that I’m always on with brands is like, have the creative courage to do something that’s a little out of the ordinary because there’s 500 million podcasts or whatever, so you’ve got to stand out. And so you’ve got to think about how to stand out, and one of the best ways to do that is to do something different that hasn’t been done before. For example, there is a great branded fiction podcast called Murder in HR, and it’s by an online HR platform company. And, you know, like, it’s just a scripted fiction true, true crime. It’s not really true because it’s scripted fiction podcast. But, you know, it’s kind of different and fun. So, so there’s stuff like that. There’s, you know what we would call narrative podcasting, which is a mixture of script and clip, where you’re kind of combining on scene recordings with interview tape, with narration, and kind of thoughtfully braiding all those things together, like an NPR (National Public Radio) storytelling experience or a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) storytelling experience. So there’s all of that that can be part of branded podcasting, and so I just frankly think it’s kind of lazy when brands just decide that they’re going to talk about themselves indefinitely in a podcast. If I want to learn about a brand, I and buy something from them, I’ll go to their website. But if the brand wants to win hearts and minds and raise awareness and build trust and kind of operate on that deeper level to widen their impact. That’s where a podcast, and sponsoring a podcast, or getting behind the production of a podcast can really help. So that’s, I mean, I guess that kind of answers your second question, where do brands go wrong? And it’s usually with just doing the obvious, doing the thing that they think is the most direct route to a customer. And with podcasting, I try to remind people there is a difference between a customer and an audience. A customer is someone who already, at least wants to know more about your product and is thinking of buying maybe they’ve bought from you before. An audience may include those customers, but it may include other people as well who have a wider array of interests and are not yet, do not yet know that they need to buy a new pair of running shoes, but then the next time they need a new pair of running shoes, they may think of you because of that ex

    42 min

  7. JAN 29

    How to Use AI for B2B Storytelling Without Losing Your Brand

    How to Use AI for B2B Storytelling Without Losing Your Brand So many B2B companies and marketing teams waste budget on generic content that fails to resonate or support core business goals. In an era where AI-generated is everywhere, smaller B2B brands often struggle to maintain a unique identity while competing against larger firms with massive content engines. The key to staying relevant lies in a B2B brand’s ability to be authentic, human-centric, and strategically consistent despite the pressure to automate everything. So how can B2B brands effectively integrate AI into their marketing workflows without losing their unique voice and brand integrity? That’s why we’re talking to Nick Usborne (Founder, Story Aligned), who shared his expertise on leveraging AI through the lens of strategic storytelling. During our conversation, Nick discussed the critical distinction between simple narrative and a brand’s unique story, highlighting a significant gap where only 7% of top AI prompt libraries actually focus on storytelling. He shared actionable advice on building a “story vault,” training staff to avoid “brand drift,” and enforcing consistent AI usage to maintain the trust of the audience. Nick also underscored the importance of keeping human elements at the forefront of content creation to prevent AI from feeling overly mechanical, and advocated for a balanced approach that ensures scalable growth without sacrificing a brand’s authenticity. https://youtu.be/dtgvg2-XXoU Topics discussed in episode: [02:53] The “Why” Behind AI Adoption: Why companies must embrace AI not just for efficiency, but to avoid being left behind by competitors who are already scaling their reach.  [04:10] The “Moat” of Storytelling: Why narrative and voice can be easily copied by AI, but your brand’s unique “lived story” is the only defensible moat you have.  [11:27] Pitfalls of Inconsistent AI Use: The dangers of “shadow AI” use by employees (e.g., Using personal accounts vs. company custom GPTs) and how it leads to brand drift.  [16:46] The Human Element vs. AI: Nick explains why AI can describe the beach but can’t “feel the sand between its toes,” and why human “messiness” is key to connection.  [24:26] Building a Story Vault: Nick provides a practical framework for formalizing your brand’s folklore—from founder stories to customer service wins—so they can be systematically used in AI content.  [28:17] Actionable Steps for Marketers: Three immediate steps to take: build your story vault, interview key stakeholders (founders, early employees), and analyze customer service transcripts for sentiment.  [30:11] The Problem with “Killer Prompt” Libraries: Why copying “top 20 prompt” lists is a strategic mistake that leads to generic, non-differentiated content. Companies and links mentioned: Nick Usborne on LinkedIn  Story Aligned  Transcript Nick Usborne, Christian Klepp Nick Usborne  00:00 AI can do a wonderful job in many ways, but it’s never walked down the beach and felt the sand between its toes. It’s read about it. It’s never eaten ice cream. It’s read about that, but it’s never felt it. So that’s what I mean by lived experience. I think that content and stories that truly resonate with people you use those kind of touch points the the deeply human side of being alive. And like, say, I think AI can get close when you prompt it really well, but also, there’s a messiness that makes us recognize one another, the little mistakes we make. That’s what makes us human. We are messy. AI, it’s not very good at being messy. You can ask it to be messy, and it’ll try to figure that out, but it’s really not the same. And like I say, I think people are very sensitive to this kind of nuance. Christian Klepp  00:51 When brands rely on the same AI tools and prompts, they start to sound like everyone else. That loss of voice can hurt trust and lead to something called Brand drift. So how can B2B Marketing teams scale content with AI while staying true to their story? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers in the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking to Nick Usborne, who will be answering this question. He’s the Founder of Story Aligned, a training program for Marketing teams that want to scale content using AI while protecting the integrity of their brand story and voice. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is. Mr. Nick Usborne, welcome to the show, sir.  Nick Usborne  01:32 Thank you very much. Thank you Christian. Thank you for having me.  Christian Klepp  01:35 Pleasure to have you on the show. Nick, you know we had such a fantastic pre interview call. It was a bit of a you did drop a few hints and clues about what was to come, and I’m really looking forward to this conversation. I’m going to keep the audience in suspense a little while longer as I move us into the first question. So off we go.  Nick Usborne  01:55 Okay. Christian Klepp  01:56 All right, so, Nick, you’re on a mission to equip Marketing teams to scale AI powered content while staying aligned with their organization, story and voice. So for this conversation, let’s focus on the topic of how to use AI for B2B content without losing trust. And it is at the time of the recording, the end of 2025 and of course, we’re going to talk about AI, but we’re going to zoom in on something specific as it pertains to B2B content and a little bit of branding in there as well. But I wanted to kick off this conversation with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them. So the first question is, why do you believe it’s so important for brands and their Marketing teams to embrace AI so that they can scale? And the second question is, why does this approach require the right prompts and guardrails? I think that’s one thing that you mentioned in our previous conversation, the whole the whole piece about prompts and guardrails. Nick Usborne  02:53 Well, the first question, why do companies need to embrace AI? And the ridiculous answer to that. It’s not a good answer, but it’s true is that because everyone else is, because your competitors are, and they will create content at scale while you are not, and they will achieve reach that you can’t achieve without AI. And in fact, if they do it well, their content, their new content, will be very good, content deeply researched beyond perhaps what you can do. So it’s like everything within AI right now, like, like, Why? Why do all the companies like open AI and Google and Meta, why they all racing? Because if they don’t, someone else will get there first. And it’s, I’m not saying it’s a great reason, but I think it is the fundamental reason for companies to embrace AI, is that you will be left behind if you don’t. This is a transformational moment, and as much as we’d like to have choice, I think in this matter, we don’t have a lot of choice. So that’s my answer to that question. Repeat the second question for me. Christian Klepp  04:00 Absolutely, absolutely so based on, based on that, like, why does this approach require the right prompts and guardrails? Nick Usborne  04:10 As part of my business, I’m constantly researching this, and in particular, I’m researching the prompts people do so when say, could be writers coders, but in our world. Let’s say writers, principally, or marketers, are using AI. They’re using prompts, and they’re generally prompting about two things. One is narrative, like, what should we say? Or, you know, please write us a blog post about x. So that’s the that’s the topic, that’s the narrative. And then they’ll put in something say, oh, please do it in a voice that is authoritative and yet accessible. All right, so now that’s a voice. What they haven’t mentioned is what I think is the foundational layer, which is, which is story. And that’s important, because story is the only thing that is uniquely yours, if you have an narrative, if you, if you have voice, if you talk about something in a particular way, I can copy that with AI. I can copy it at scale. I can, I can look at the transcripts of Christian podcasts, and I can say, oh, I want to do one in exactly. Tell her the same topic. I can, you know, so when you focus on narrative, on what you write about in voice. I can copy it. There’s no moat. The only moat you have is with story, because every company’s story is unique. We can look at origin stories, foundation stories, we can look at customer stories through case studies, things like that. Those are always unique. No one else has Apple’s origin story. No one else has virgin Atlantic’s Founder’s story, etc. But we did some research recently. Actually, we did some research months ago, and I reconfirmed it earlier this week. I ran it. I ran it all again to look at the data. If you look at the top 20 prompt libraries that you know the big, trustworthy companies and organizations that put out prompt libraries for companies. If you look at the top 20 libraries and the 1000s and 1000s of prompts within there, 76% of those prompts are about the narrative. What to say? 17 are about voice. How do you sound? Only 7% relate to story. So this, to my mind, is where we have a problem. We have a disconnect. Everyone is going crazy, prompting for narrative and story, both of which have 0, zero mode, anyone can copy them at scale. And only 7% this very small percentage, are actually focusing on the one thing that is uniquely theirs and cannot be copied or challenged. So that when you say, when you, when you say I’m on a mission, that’s the mission for me to say, Hey guys, wake up. You’re You’re prompting the wrong things in the wrong way. Let’s like, go back and look at story Christian Klepp  07:12 Absolutely, absolutely. It almost sounds like an

    36 min

  8. JAN 22

    PPC Strategies for Small B2B Brands to Beat Big Competitors

    PPC Strategies for Small B2B Brands to Beat Big Competitors So many B2B companies and marketing teams waste budget on tactics that don’t drive results or support core business goals. Smaller B2B brands often compete against much larger companies while working with less internal bandwidth, tighter budgets, and limited resources. The key being successful lies in their ability to be strategic, efficient, and resourceful despite these obvious constraints. So how can small B2B brands outmaneuver big competitors using PPC and smarter marketing strategies? That’s why we’re talking to Andy Janaitis (Founder and Chief Strategist, PPC Pitbulls), who shared his experience and PPC strategies for small B2B brands to beat big competitors. During our conversation, Andy discussed the importance of foundational B2B marketing elements like high-converting landing pages, automated email flows, and a well-structured PPC strategy. He highlighted why targeted messaging and measurement are essential to compete more effectively against competitors. Andy also underscored the value of understanding B2B audience pain points, having a well-designed website, and leveraging key metrics such as first-order profitability and customer lifetime growth. He emphasized the importance of transparency and authenticity in B2B marketing strategies and advocated for a data-driven approach that achieves scalable, profitable growth. https://youtu.be/DR6d_dFfnVI Topics discussed in episode: [03:06] The Small Brand Advantage: Why being smaller allows for more targeted messaging that resonates better than broad, big-brand ads. [05:05] Avoid the Testing Trap: Why splitting a small budget across too many creative tests leads to insufficient data and wasted spend. [07:14] Winning the Auction: How the real-time ad auction rewards quality and specificity, allowing you to pay less than big brands for premium placements. [09:50] The Conversion Ecosystem: The critical role of landing pages and automated email flows in nurturing leads who aren’t ready to buy yet. [14:58] 5 Essentials for Ad Readiness: A checklist of what you need (from audience understanding to goal clarity) before launching your first campaign. [21:55] AI in PPC: How AI-driven automation has powered platforms for years and where it is heading next. [25:34] Better Metrics: Why you should look past ROAS and focus on first-order profitability and customer lifetime growth. Companies and links mentioned: Andy Janaitis on LinkedIn  PPC Pitbulls  Transcript Andy Janaitis, Christian Klepp Andy Janaitis  00:00 If you’re sending people to a landing page that’s not built to convert, if it doesn’t have the social proof that gives somebody the trust in your product or your service, you may be able to get folks to your site, but they’re not ultimately going to purchase for you, and that’s just one other component. Something else we see all the time is email flows, so making sure that you have automated welcome flows, that if they don’t purchase the first time they’re on your site, they have a lower value touch point, whether it be downloading a free lead magnet or something like that, that brings them into your ecosystem and allows you to start nurturing the relationship over time. Those are two things that we see all the time, landing pages and email flows that are fundamentals that get overlooked and people say, hey, the ads aren’t working, you know, I gotta, you know, try more creative. I gotta keep tweaking. I gotta change, you know, the different structure that some YouTube Guru told me that I need to be running, when in reality, it’s like, no, there’s some key fundamentals that you’ve got to get right about your business first. And getting those things right is going to have 100 times more impact than tweaking little bits of the creative here and there. Christian Klepp  01:04 So many B2B companies and their marketing teams waste money on marketing that doesn’t match their business goals. They go up against much larger competitors, while also having to contend with limited budgets, resources and bandwidth. So how can smaller B2B brands outsmart their biggest counterparts and win? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today, I’ll be talking to Andy Janaitis, who will be answering this question. He’s the Founder and Chief Strategist of PPC Pitbulls, a boutique digital marketing agency that helps B2B businesses grow past seven figures through leveraging Google and Meta ads. Tune in to find out more about what the speed to be Marketers Mission is. All right, and off we go. Mr. Andy Janaitis, welcome to the show, sir. Andy Janaitis  01:50 Thanks for having me, Christian. Christian Klepp  01:51 Really enjoyed our pre-interview conversation, Andy. We talked about a lot of things that range from B2B Marketing to family and hobbies and the different cities that we’re living in, and what have you. But I am really looking forward to this conversation, because it’s something that I think a lot of people in the B2B Marketing world can relate to. And if they can’t relate, they should all right, so let’s dive right in, because I think this is going to be a really interesting conversation, right? Andy Janaitis  02:19 Definitely. Christian Klepp  02:20 Okay. So Andy, you’re on a Mission to help scale independent B2B brands with data driven Google and Meta ads. But for this conversation, I’d like to zero in on the topic of how smaller B2B brands can outsmart the bigger competitors by being strategic with PPC. If we’re going to use military terms, it almost sounds like you have to learn how to use Guerrilla warfare instead of conventional war tactics, right? So I’m going to kick-off the conversation with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them all right? So the first question is, what is it about PPC or Pay Per Click that you wish more people understood? And the second question is, why do you think small brands fail when they try to copy big brand ad strategies? Andy Janaitis  03:06 There’s a lot, a lot there to unpack, and I think, you know, there’s, I think you touched on it there, but there’s a lot of anxiety among small brands. We work with Founders and Marketing Directors of these independent brands, and oftentimes there’s a fear of a Google Ads or Meta ads, because they say, Hey, there’s some big competitors out there in my space that are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. And if I’ve got my little budget, if I’m trying to spend $5 or $10,000 a month, how do I have any chance of competing with them? You know, surely they’re going to outbid me on every single keyword, every single ad placement that I could be in, and what gets missed there is that you actually do have a big advantage in that being smaller. Your product probably has a smaller niche than you think, because you’re not distributed to everybody, you’re speaking to a smaller audience, which allows you to be much more targeted in your messaging. So in that way, where you might have some of these bigger brands that are, of course, way out investing, you that investment is being spread across so many different audiences and so many different placements, whereas you have the ability to say, Hey, I’ve got a limited budget. Let me only target, you know, the most likely people to purchase from me, and the people who are, you know, who I’m most likely to resonate with, and then give them a message that really speaks directly to them. So I think that’s the first and foremost thing to remember, is that you can take this, you know, supposedly disadvantage, and really turn it into an advantage when you when you focus in on, you know, who is your smallest, tightest, ideal client, that that you can target and speak to. I think that’s really, really important and gets missed and to your second question around, you know, the big brand tactics. I think a lot of times people see these in Instagram reels, LinkedIn posts that come up with a lot of different strategies that could work well, but are only going to work well on those larger budgets. So one great example of this. A lot of times I see people talking about creative testing and talking about needing we tested across 100 different assets, talk about, you know, let’s use AI so that we have the model in this particular influencer ad. You know, we can change the hair color and the shirt color and all these different combinations and test all these different things. The problem with that is, if you try that with a much smaller budget, you’re necessarily going to split, you know, the budget that many different ways. So say you run 100 different combinations, 100 different messages targets, you’re splitting your budget that many different ways, and you’re not building up enough data about any one of those individual combinations to make a good decision. So I always kind of tell people focus on the fundamentals. First worry about your top level messaging. What is it that really matters most and makes your product different, you know, and your really key differentiators to your to your most ideal audience, forget about, you know, button colors, or, you know, with these smaller budgets, don’t worry about testing. You know, what’s the color of the shirt that the model is wearing kind of thing, you know, you’ll have time to test those things in the future. But, you know, I think people get too caught up in those, those types of practices that, you know, big brands are spending a lot of time and money on and forget about, you know, the fundamentals themselves. Christian Klepp  06:35 Absolutely, absolutely. You brought up some really great points. I like to go back to like, two of them that you mentioned, I think the first one, short of getting too granular or getting too in the weeds, but you brough

    38 min
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About

On this podcast, we’re on a mission – to change and disrupt the way people think about B2B marketing one insightful conversation at a time. Get inspiration from interviews with B2B marketers and industry experts who share their stories, achievements, thoughts on trending topics, and give B2B marketing tips and recommendations. This show is hosted by Christian Klepp, Co-founder of EINBLICK Consulting.

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  • Creator
    EINBLICK
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    209
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ©2020-2025 EINBLICK Consulting Inc.
  • Show Website
    B2B Marketers on a Mission