In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Rebecca McNeil, VP of Marketing at SureCost, a smarter procurement and inventory solution for pharmacies. Rebecca shares how her team built a unified marketing operation where BDRs report directly to marketing, creating seamless alignment from top-of-funnel campaigns through demo booking. In an industry where traditional digital channels underperform, she's carved out success through association partnerships, trade shows, and a "value-first storytelling" approach that turns complex category creation into compelling narratives. Topics Discussed: Building integrated marketing and BDR teams under one revenue-focused organization Creating "value-first storytelling" frameworks for category creation Abandoning paid media strategies for industry-specific association partnerships and trade shows Implementing AI-driven ABM platforms with personalized tokens at scale Scaling content creation while maintaining authentic voice through systematic AI adoption Training teams to validate and guide AI outputs rather than blindly accepting them Analyzing BDR call transcripts for pattern recognition and messaging optimization Lessons For B2B Tech Marketers: Unify Marketing and BDRs Under One Team: SureCost's 10-person marketing org includes six BDRs reporting through a BDR manager to the VP of Marketing. This eliminates red tape and ensures campaign messaging flows seamlessly from top-of-funnel content through BDR conversations. When prospects engage with a campaign, they hear the same story on follow-up calls—creating a consistent narrative that drives conversions. The key is working out operational SLAs upfront and fostering true collaboration with sales leadership through roundtable meetings and buddy systems. Build Multi-Channel Campaigns Around "Choose Your Own Adventure" Frameworks: Rather than linear campaign flows, create branching conversation frameworks where every potential prospect question has a prepared response rooted in value proposition and customer stories. This approach transforms BDRs into storytellers who can adapt messaging based on how prospects engage, while maintaining consistency across all touchpoints. It takes time to build—SureCost invested four and a half years—but the result is campaign integration where content, operations, and conversations all reinforce the same narrative. Go Where Your Customers Actually Are, Not Where Marketing is Exciting: SureCost abandoned paid media strategies that worked at previous companies because pharmacy audiences don't engage through typical B2B digital channels. Instead, they focus on industry-specific associations and media companies that pharmacists trust, publishing content through these channels and sponsoring their conferences. While creating "the best LinkedIn campaign ever" might be more exciting, driving actual leads means meeting customers in their preferred channels—even if those channels feel less cutting-edge. Establish AI Foundations Before Scaling With AI Tools: SureCost's team built deep value proposition expertise and messaging frameworks before integrating ChatGPT and AI-driven ABM platforms. This means every marketer—from BDR managers to operations specialists—can write quality marketing emails manually, giving them the critical judgment to validate AI outputs. They know when AI is sourcing the right information, when to push back, and how to guide tools toward better results. This human foundation allows them to scale content confidently, turning webinar transcripts into blog posts while maintaining quality. Use AI for Hyper-Personalization That Humans Can't Scale: SureCost implemented an AI-driven ABM platform that uses personalized tokens based on detailed personas. While their team created the personas, messaging, and segmentation strategy, the AI generates thousands of campaign variations that would be impossible to create manually. The key is providing the strategic direction—knowing exactly which segments to target and what messaging resonates—while letting AI handle the execution complexity of creating 45,000 different email versions. Analyze Conversation Transcripts for Pattern Recognition: Beyond using AI for content creation, leverage it to analyze transcribed BDR calls and demo recordings. Look for patterns in what's working with prospects, where challenges consistently emerge, and what language resonates. This transforms qualitative conversations into quantifiable insights that inform campaign strategy, BDR training, and messaging refinement. The analysis scales your ability to learn from every customer interaction rather than relying on anecdotal feedback. Stay Close to the Customer as You Move Into Leadership: Rebecca's top advice for VPs taking on BDR responsibility: participate in customer advisory board meetings, talk to product teams, sit in on demos, listen to BDR calls, and hear customer feedback firsthand. Don't rely solely on secondhand information or get too focused on operations and campaign creation. Your unique marketing perspective on direct customer interactions will surface insights that BDRs might miss—insights that enable the entire team and feed back into top-of-funnel campaigns. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
