In this insightful episode of Founders' Marketing Compass, host Etgar Shpivak interviews David Howland, CMO of Earnix, about navigating the complex world of B2B SaaS marketing. With extensive experience as a three-time B2B SaaS CMO and a decade at NASDAQ, David shares valuable perspectives on translating high-level business metrics into actionable KPIs, measuring both performance marketing and brand awareness, and building successful CEO-CMO relationships. The conversation explores how to effectively run intent-based ABM campaigns targeting enterprise clients, create meaningful industry thought leadership, and avoid common marketing pitfalls. David emphasizes the importance of curiosity, enthusiasm, and humility when building marketing teams, and provides insights into how the CMO role has evolved to become more strategic and integral to overall business success. Key Takeaways Modern CMOs need to be data-centric, able to directly tie 85% of marketing spend to pipeline impact and revenue generation For brand awareness measurement, focus on analyst coverage, win-loss analysis, and anecdotes from sales teams to complement performance metrics Successful CEO-CMO relationships require clear communication, alignment, and transparency about expectations and goals Long-term marketing success requires looking beyond immediate quarters to 2-3 years ahead The "hero mentality" in startups is unsustainable; building scalable marketing processes is essential When targeting enterprise clients, focus on qualifying accounts rather than individual leads (MQLs) Intent-based ABM campaigns are highly effective for enterprise sales, with Earnix averaging 150+ touches before securing a meeting Position your company as a facilitator of industry connections rather than just selling your product When implementing new marketing tools or strategies, ensure you have the right resources, people, and infrastructure The top three qualities to look for when hiring marketing talent are curiosity, enthusiasm, and humility Startups often mistakenly believe a single marketing tactic will drive growth instead of building a comprehensive foundation CEOs sometimes set mandates that aren't aligned with market signals, creating misalignment with marketing teams The CMO role has evolved to be more strategic, integrated across all aspects of the business, and a potential pathway to CEO Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and David's professional background 04:10 - Translating business metrics into actionable marketing KPIs 08:23 - Measuring brand awareness and thought leadership impact 12:03 - Building effective CEO-CMO relationships 18:33 - Setting clear expectations and communication channels 23:04 - Resource allocation and prioritization strategies 27:18 - Successful intent-based ABM campaigns for enterprise 30:29 - Creating industry events as relationship-building platforms 34:55 - Lessons from marketing campaigns that didn't succeed 37:16 - Top qualities to look for when hiring marketing talent 39:45 - Common mistakes and advice for marketing leaders David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmhowland/ Etgar's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/etgar/ Keywords B2B marketing, CMO, CEO relationships, intent-based marketing, marketing metrics, brand awareness, thought leadership, enterprise sales, ABM campaigns, marketing talent, digital marketing, marketing strategy, trust building, marketing KPIs, category leadership This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit etgar.substack.com
