Blame it on Marketing ™

Emma Davies and Ruta Sudmantaite
  • 3.7 (3)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Do you ever feel like it's always marketing at fault? We know the feeling. We can't afford more therapy so we decided to collect all the ridiculous things that marketers hear and invite our friends to chat about them. If you want to hear us (Emma and Ruta) rant about sometimes funny sometimes serious topics this is the place for you.

  1. APR 16

    Conversion, Not Clicks | Live with Paul Rawson @ BCMU!

    If your leadership team only cares about “what did we close?” but you’re stuck reporting traffic, followers and vibes… this episode is for you. 😅 In this live session, we’re joined by Paul (20+ years in marketing, now at Marmalade Marketing and a HubSpot Gold Partner) to get into the actual data and metrics that matter — what to stop reporting, what to track instead, and how to explain B2B buying journeys without hiding behind a funnel diagram. Marketing confession of the episode:  Paul got Argos catalogue pricing wrong and a product that should’ve been £79.99 went out as £39.99. Print mistakes are forever. We get into:  ✅ Vanity metrics to ditch (and why CEOs eventually come for “commercial impact”)  ✅ The three numbers that matter most: revenue, pipeline, ROI — and why conversion and velocity deserve a seat too  ✅ People, not personas: why named accounts beat “Jane, 32, reads The Guardian”  ✅ The funnel is not linear (and maybe never was) — so how do we explain the journey?  ✅ Account-based thinking: quality, penetration, and activity in the right accounts  ✅ How long B2B journeys really are (and why 3 website visits over 2 years can still be a win)  ✅ Lead scoring as a practical way to track progress without funnel theatre  ✅ The “so what?” problem: data everywhere, but no story — how to fix analysis and reporting  ✅ Minimum data every marketer should have: TAM, conversions, velocity, plus GA and website behaviour tools  ✅ Website metrics: what matters, what doesn’t, and why top-of-funnel numbers still need context If you’re tired of getting dragged into “why didn’t this channel convert?” arguments, or you need a smarter way to communicate marketing impact to finance and leadership — hit play. Like, subscribe, and drop your worst “CEO hates my metrics” moment in the comments. #B2BMarketing #MarketingMetrics #ROI #Attribution #HubSpot #MarketingOps #ConversionRate #ABM

    26 min

  2. APR 16

    Data that actually influences | Live with Jade Faulconbridge @BCMU

    Ever walked into a meeting with a spreadsheet… and watched everyone’s eyes glaze over? 😅 This episode is for the marketers trying to use data to influence up, sideways, and across the business — without being ignored, undermined, or dragged into a channel-by-channel debate. We’re joined by Jade Faulconbridge, marketing ops consultant (finance, manufacturing, payroll — the full chaos), to talk about how to build a data story that executives actually understand, and how to use that story to set boundaries, win budget, and prove marketing is a revenue team. Marketing confession of the episode: Jade got fired from her shortest-ever job after pushing back on a founder’s “AI will replace SEO and write all our content” plan. Painful… but also iconic. We get into: ✅ Why marketing should be treated as a revenue-generating team (with KPIs that matter) ✅ The only way to win influence: pick your numbers, repeat them, report over time ✅ Why you should never start with data — start with the “why” and use data to back it up ✅ The 3 numbers to take to the board every time: revenue, pipeline, ROI (plus conversion and velocity if you’re feeling spicy) ✅ Direct vs influenced attribution — and how to talk about both without getting eaten alive ✅ How to push back without saying “no” (be curious, force trade-offs, let them realise it’s a bad idea) ✅ Why CRM and reporting foundations come first — otherwise you’re “just doing stuff” ✅ What not to share with leadership until you’ve fixed it (some dashboards are inside-only) If you’re tired of being asked to prove marketing with one month of data, or justify every channel like it lives in a silo — this episode will save your sanity. Like and subscribe for more Blame It On Marketing episodes. Comment your worst “show me the ROI” meeting story below. #MarketingOps #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #Attribution #ROI #RevOps #StakeholderManagement #MarketingLeadership

    22 min

  3. APR 16

    Why is marketing so hard right now? | Live with Jake Kitchiner @BCMU

    Marketing feels harder than it should right now. Bigger targets, tighter budgets, AI expectations, more noise everywhere… and somehow it’s still “why didn’t that email get opened more?” 😅 In this episode, Emma and Ruta sit down with Jake (co-founder of ChannelCrawler) to talk about why marketing feels so brutally difficult in 2026 — from both sides: founder brain and marketer reality. Marketing confession of the day:  Jake thought he was resetting a SendGrid API key… and it turned out to be a phishing scam. Cue password resets, broken automations, and a serious “I thought I was tech-savvy” moment. We get into:  ✅ Why marketing has always been hard — but budgets and expectations make it feel impossible now  ✅ The AI noise problem: more content, less quality, less attention  ✅ Founder syndrome: “I’ve got a great idea” vs the roadmap (and how to push back)  ✅ How to communicate marketing properly to sales and leadership (and stop the magic lead tree fantasy)  ✅ Why more traffic doesn’t mean more revenue (and why conversion can be the real priority)  ✅ Picking your path: channels, trade-offs, and committing without panic-sweating  ✅ Lead quality vs lead volume: why 50 MQLs are not all created equal  ✅ A practical tool to protect focus: OKRs and “what are we dropping to do this?” If you’ve been asked to do more with less, explain your existence in every board meeting, or compete with a tidal wave of AI slop — this one’s for you. Like and subscribe for more Blame It On Marketing episodes.  Drop your biggest “marketing is hard right now” pain point in the comments. #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #StartupMarketing #ConversionRate #MarketingLeadership #AIinMarketing

    19 min

  4. APR 2

    Ultimate marketer personality test | E108 with Michelle Hartley

    Why do some marketing teams move fast and break things… while others want a spreadsheet, a process, and a risk assessment before lunch? 😅 In this episode, we’re joined by Michelle Hartley from People Sorted to unpack marketing personalities using the Insights Discovery framework (the one with the four colours). We’re talking team dynamics, communication, decision-making, and why “just be more collaborative” is not a strategy. Plus: we do the personality reveal on Emma and Ruta (spoiler: it explains a lot). We get into: ✅ What the four colour energies mean (red, yellow, green, blue)   ✅ Why some people want speed and others want certainty   ✅ How your “work self” vs “real self” shows up under pressure   ✅ Why sales and marketing can feel like different species   ✅ The hidden reason “nice culture” still ends in chaos   ✅ How to work better with people who are the opposite of you   ✅ What a “perfectionist profile” looks like in marketing (and why it’s a blessing + curse) If you’ve ever thought “why is this person like this?” at work… this one’s for you. #marketing #b2bmarketing #leadership #teamwork #careerdevelopment We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing.  If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it. Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

    42 min

  5. MAR 19

    CRM Hygiene 101: Stop the Rot, Start the Revenue | E107 with Jack Roberts

    Your CRM is meant to be the backbone of marketing… so why does it feel like a haunted house? 👻 In this episode, we’re joined by Jack, a CRM and automation expert (marketing + recruitment), to unpack what actually goes wrong inside CRMs — and what to do when your “single source of truth” is anything but. We talk messy data, broken integrations, Franken-stacks, and the classic problem: one marketer builds a beautiful system… then leaves… and nobody knows what anything does. We get into: ✅ The most common ways teams wreck their CRM (and don’t realise) ✅ Data hygiene first: how to audit what’s broken before “fixing” anything ✅ Zombie contacts and old records: when to delete, when to downgrade, and why it matters ✅ Custom fields, forms, and lists: how to simplify before it becomes unreportable chaos ✅ Lead source is everything (so why does nobody capture it properly?) ✅ HubSpot + Salesforce together: the pain, the mismatched numbers, the “who changed that field?” drama ✅ Naming conventions and documentation: how to make your CRM survivable when people leave ✅ Automation that protects your data (alerts, required fields, and keeping things clean over time) ✅ AI and CRM ops: what’s worth learning now if you want to go full marketing-nerd If your CRM is currently held together with hope, duct tape, and 400 undocumented workflows — this one’s for you.

    31 min

  6. MAR 5

    You're too Young/Old for Marketing | E106 with Justine Lou and Lenna Lou

    Why is marketing the one industry where you can be “too young” and “too old” at the same time? 🤯 In this episode of Blame It On Marketing, we’re talking ageism in marketing (and yes… the sexism that comes with it). We’re joined by a mother-daughter duo: Justine, Marketing Director at The L Factor, and Lenna, award-winning business mentor and professional “nosy parker” (her words, not ours). We get real about what ageism actually looks like in marketing, why it’s so baked into the industry, and how to handle those comments without losing your mind (or your professionalism). We get into:  ✅ Why ageism and sexism are basically inseparable for women at work  ✅ The weird questions women get asked at events (and how to respond)  ✅ Why marketing “experience” is misunderstood — and how to reframe it  ✅ How to challenge ageist behaviour without going full confrontation mode  ✅ Cross-generational lessons: what newer marketers miss, and what older teams miss too  ✅ The AI hype problem: not everything needs to be “AI powered”  ✅ Why “looking busy online” is just digital confetti (and what actually builds trust)  ✅ Reddit honesty: how to show up without pretending you’re “one of the community” If you’ve ever felt dismissed, underestimated, or boxed in because of your age — this one’s for you. Subscribe for more B2B marketing truths, rants, and real talk. 💛 We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing.  If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it. Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

    52 min

  7. FEB 19

    “Make It Pop” – Like, Seriously? | E105 with Juliana Germinio

    Ah yes. The three words that have launched a thousand unnecessary redesigns. In this episode of Blame It On Marketing, we’re joined by the brilliant Juliana Germinio from Yellow Zest to unpack the most vague, infuriating, soul-crushing piece of feedback marketers hear on repeat: “Can you just… make it pop?” Pop how? Pop why? Pop for whom?? WHAT IS POP?! From rogue email links sending restaurant guests to skincare masks (we’ve all been baptised) to websites 80% complete before someone decides it’s “not doing it for them” — we get into why bad feedback happens, why senior leaders default to aesthetics, and how marketers can stop drowning in subjective chaos. But this isn’t just a rant. (Okay, it’s partly a rant.) What you’ll actually learn: 🔥 How to turn “make it pop” into actionable feedback 🔥 The exact follow-up questions to ask when feedback is vague 🔥 How to coach senior leaders to give better input 🔥 Why defining the emotion and audience outcome changes everything 🔥 How to protect your process (and your sanity) with better expectation-setting 🔥 When to push back on AI-generated feedback — professionally 🔥 Why “it’s not for you, it’s for your audience” is your new favourite line We also cover: The danger of skipping proper briefing stagesWhy visual feedback feels easier (even when it’s wrong)How to avoid 20 hours of unnecessary redesignAnd the legendary “hot pink website” story featuring a colourblind CEOThis one is for: Designers. In-house marketers. Agency owners. Fractionals. Anyone who has ever been handed two words of feedback and expected to magically interpret them. If you’ve ever stared at a screen thinking, “I literally cannot do anything with this” — welcome home. Let’s stop making things “pop.” Let’s make feedback better. 🎧 Listen now. And maybe send it to the person who keeps saying it. We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing.  If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it. Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

    43 min

  8. FEB 5

    Don't do ABM | E104 with Marta George

    Why does “ABM” so often become a logo-swap landing page and a prayer? In this episode, Emma and Ruta sit down with Marta George (ex-Head of ABM, now Field & Channel Marketing) to get brutally honest about what real ABM takes—and when you shouldn’t do it at all. We get into:  ✅ Why “ABM Lite” isn’t real (and why it keeps getting sold anyway)  ✅ The village ABM needs: sales, SDRs, CS, product marketing, brand, design  ✅ Account selection done right (data > opinions, relationships matter)  ✅ Start small: 2–4 accounts, bottom-of-funnel first, then scale  ✅ Timelines & expectations: quarters to years—not weeks—and what to report  ✅ What to track (and why MQLs are the wrong question for ABM)  ✅ When to skip ABM and do personalised demand gen instead  ✅ Tools & AI: faster personalisation ≠ ABM  ✅ Spicy take: why growth teams deserve bonuses/commission We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing.  If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it. Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

    40 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Do you ever feel like it's always marketing at fault? We know the feeling. We can't afford more therapy so we decided to collect all the ridiculous things that marketers hear and invite our friends to chat about them. If you want to hear us (Emma and Ruta) rant about sometimes funny sometimes serious topics this is the place for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Emma Davies and Ruta Sudmantaite
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    111
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Blame it on Marketing ™
  • Show Website
    Blame it on Marketing ™

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