Performance Delivered

Steffen Horst
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Insider Secrets for Digitial Marketing Success

  1. 13h ago

    Building a Marketing Engine for Long Sales Cycles — with Caroline Ang Wright (AidKit)

    When your customers are governments, nonprofits, and humanitarian organizations, the traditional B2B playbook falls apart. Sales cycles stretch from six months to two years, buyers are complex, and trust is everything. In this episode, host Steffen Horst talks with Caroline Ang Wright, Vice President of Marketing at AidKit — a venture-backed public benefit corporation and certified B Corp that builds aid and benefits delivery infrastructure for governments and nonprofits at scale. Caroline has built marketing functions at early-stage startups working at the intersection of technology and public good. Before tech, she was a journalism fellow for the UN Environment Programme and a management consultant at Monitor Deloitte. She holds a BA in English literature from Brown University and master's degrees from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In this conversation, Caroline shares how to build a high-touch marketing engine when you can't rely on capturing existing demand — and how she pairs relationship-building with scalable, data-driven systems. In this episode: Why the "capture demand" SaaS playbook breaks in B2G — and what to do insteadThe real length of a government sales cycle (and one deal that took 78 touches to close)How AidKit vets conferences: ICP, seniority, themes, speaking slots, and geographyWhy events are AidKit's strongest channel — and how digital works best as an amplifier, not a standaloneMeasuring ROI when deals take 18 months: leading indicators, MQLs, and pipeline createdThe anatomy of their best-ever webinar (250 live attendees, ~50 of 60 minutes average watch time) with former FEMA Administrator Deanne CriswellUsing AI honestly — the "PhD intern" that still needs taste, QA, and directionAdvice for small marketing teams deciding between high-touch events and scalable digital

  2. Jul 23

    Turning Webinars Into a Pipeline Engine — with Nicole Gates (VP Global Growth Marketing, Varonis)

    Most marketers still treat webinars as a one-and-done content play — or worse, write them off as dead. Nicole Gates disagrees. As VP of Global Growth Marketing at Varonis, she's turned webinars into one of her top-of-funnel lead drivers and a repeatable, scalable revenue engine. In this episode, Nicole joins host Steffen Horst to break down how she structures webinar programs across the entire funnel, scales them globally without burning out a small team, and is now using AI to go further. What we cover: Why "webinars are dead" is wrong — and the mindset shift that makes them workStructuring webinars across the funnel (awareness → consideration → demo) and the metrics that matter at each stageHow the monthly "State of Cybercrime" series became a brand of its own — with zero product pitchingUsing webinar data to uncover positioning and audience (the Salesforce upsell story)Scaling across regions: when to invest in local languages vs. just shifting time zonesWhere AI fits today (deeper audience analysis, reactivating churned customers) and tomorrow (dubbing, semi-live replays)Live vs. on-demand — what actually convertsNicole's advice for teams starting from scratch: consistency, thought leadership, and giving it a year

  3. Jul 16

    Why Marketing and Sales Alignment Fails (And How to Actually Fix It) | Gerardo Dada

    Marketing and sales alignment is one of the most talked-about, least-solved problems in B2B. In this episode, Steffen Horst talks with Gerardo A. Dada, CMO at Catchpoint and former marketing leader at Microsoft, SolarWinds, Rackspace, and Motorola — about why the fix isn't more meetings or Slack channels, but shared systems and shared metrics. Gerardo explains why marketing should be measured on revenue instead of MQLs, tells the story of a team that gamed its PQL numbers with free t-shirts (and what it cost the sales team), and lays out a practical path for aligning on ideal customer profile, buying-stage gates, joint budget decisions, and "reverse forensics" on won deals. He also makes the case against merging marketing and sales under one leader, and shares how to keep messaging consistent between marketing content and sales conversations. Topics covered: Why misalignment is a systems problem, not a communication problemThe cost of measuring marketing on leads instead of revenueHow to define ICP, buyer personas, and true buying-stage gatesKeeping marketing and sales in sync on long sales cyclesWhy a shared org chart isn't the fixBuilding a consistent narrative across marketing content and sales conversations

  4. Jul 9

    AI in Marketing: Deciding Better, Not Just Producing More (with Ashley Bowlin)

    Most marketing teams are using AI to produce more: more content, more campaigns, more output. But the marketers pulling ahead are using it to decide better. In this episode, host Steffen Horst talks with Ashley Bowlin, a marketing and growth executive with nearly 20 years of experience helping SaaS and professional services companies grow through smarter go-to-market strategy, about what that shift actually looks like. Ashley specializes in the "glue functions" that connect brand, product, sales, and partnerships — and she's here to talk about using AI to think more clearly, not generate more noise. In this episode: [02:05] Why teams default to using AI for output instead of better decisions[04:38] Pressure-testing brand positioning and differentiation with AI[08:07] How AI search is changing buyer behavior — and why there are now 20-70 touchpoints in a B2B buying journey[11:40] Closing the gap between data insight and action[12:48] Using AI to align brand, product, sales, and partnerships without adding fragmentation[14:14] Why LLMs are "notorious for pleasing" — and how to train them not to[15:23] The "post-mortem" technique: asking AI to critique its own recommendation[16:49] Holding the line against content for content's sake[21:45] Where AI helps executive-level decisions — and where human judgment has to lead[24:58] Preserving the human element in an AI-driven marketing orgAbout Ashley Bowlin: Ashley Bowlin is a marketing and growth executive with nearly 20 years of experience across SaaS and professional services. She currently works at Top Echelon, a staffing and recruiting technology company with an ATS, CRM, and split-placement recruiter network. Connect with her on LinkedIn: Ashley Bowlin. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Performance Delivered and leave us a review on your favorite podcast app: https://lovethepodcast.com/65692bc40e90de09ac168689

  5. Jul 2

    The Right to Win: How to Focus Your Go-to-Market Strategy

    Growing B2B companies often have products that can do dozens, even hundreds, of things — but that doesn't mean they should market all of them. In this episode of Performance Delivered, host Steffen Horst sits down with Rob Karel, Principal of GTM Perspective and former marketing executive at Precisely, Informatica, Lattice, and Okta, to break down a repeatable framework for identifying the handful of use cases where your company has a genuine "right to win." Rob shares: Why the busiest websites often signal the least focused go-to-market strategyHow to separate real market opportunity from internal wishful thinkingA two-axis scoring model for prioritizing use cases (and how to weight it for your market)Why 3–5 use cases beats 15–20, even at enterprise scaleHow Precisely narrowed 70+ sales plays down to 11 owned "right to win" use cases for 2026The difference between outbound and inbound GTM strategy — and how AI fits into the long tailWhy executive misalignment is the #1 reason prioritization frameworks turn into shelf-war Learn more about Symphonic Digital: symphonicdigital.com

  6. Jan 15

    AI Personas Explained: The Secret to Better SaaS Messaging

    AI has made content creation faster than ever — but for most B2B SaaS teams, it has also made messaging more generic, not more effective. In this episode of Performance Delivered: Insider Secrets to Marketing Success, host Steffen Horst is joined by Christopher Silvestri, Founder of Conversion Alchemy, to break down how SaaS companies can use AI personas, synthetic research, and AI-assisted workflows without losing clarity, differentiation, or brand voice. They explore why most messaging problems are not copy problems, but clarity problems, and why AI should be treated as an input system rather than an output shortcut. The conversation covers how to ground AI personas in real customer research, how to structure messaging frameworks that scale across teams, and where human judgment remains essential. This episode is especially relevant for B2B SaaS marketers, founders, product leaders, and growth teams navigating the intersection of AI, positioning, and go-to-market strategy. Key Topics Covered: Why AI tools do not fix messaging problemsThe difference between prompting and context engineeringHow to build AI personas based on real customer dataCommon mistakes SaaS teams make with AI-generated copyWhat a real AI-assisted messaging system looks likeHow to scale brand-consistent messaging without losing nuanceThe future of synthetic research in SaaS go-to-market teams 🔗 Learn more about Christopher Silvestri: https://conversionalchemy.net 🔗 Learn more about Symphonic Digital: https://www.symphonicdigital.com Subscribe to Performance Delivered for weekly conversations on performance marketing, AI strategy, and scalable growth.

  7. 11/06/2025

    Building a Brand That Moves People with Natasha Nikolaeva, Founder of StretchIt

    In this episode of Performance Delivered, host Steffen Horst speaks with Natasha Nikolaeva, founder of StretchIt, a leading wellness app and workplace platform helping people improve flexibility, mobility, and mindfulness through movement. Natasha shares her journey from practicing corporate law to becoming a wellness entrepreneur — and how she turned a personal struggle with back pain into a purpose-driven business that empowers people and organizations to move, feel better, and thrive. She reveals how StretchIt grew from an Instagram community into a global digital brand, the strategies behind its early marketing success, and how it continues to innovate in both the consumer and corporate wellness space. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How Natasha turned her personal wellness journey into a purpose-driven business. The early marketing strategies that helped StretchIt gain global traction. Why consistency and community were key to building long-term engagement. The shift from consumer fitness to workplace wellness — and what Natasha learned entering the B2B market. How StretchIt uses competitions, challenges, and personalization to boost retention. The metrics that truly matter when scaling an app-based wellness business. How purpose, storytelling, and product design drive user trust and brand growth. CONNECT WITH OUR HOST & GUEST 🎙️ HOST: Steffen Horst  – Host, Performance Delivered Podcast 🔗 LinkedIn:Steffen Horst  👩‍💼 GUEST: Natasha Nikolaeva – Founder, StretchIt 🌐 Website: stretchitapp.com 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-nikolaeva-b108b92/ 📱 Instagram: @stretchitapp TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Intro: From law to wellness entrepreneurship 01:20 – The spark behind StretchIt and Natasha’s personal story 03:30 – Building an app before launch and early marketing prep 05:00 – Instagram as the foundation for brand awareness 07:00 – Launching globally through community engagement 09:15 – Positioning StretchIt in a crowded wellness market 12:00 – Expanding from flexibility training to workplace wellness 13:50 – The shift to B2B and offline marketing strategies 15:00 – How StretchIt keeps users and employees engaged 17:50 – Retention strategies and the upcoming AI Coach feature 19:40 – The key business metrics that drive StretchIt’s growth 21:50 – How engagement differs between consumers and corporate users 24:40 – The power of small, consistent movement habits 25:30 – Where to connect and learn more about StretchIt The views and opinions expressed on the Performance Delivered podcast are solely those of the host and guests and should not be attributed to any other individual or entity. This podcast is an independent production of Performance Delivered, and all rights of ownership and reproduction are retained. © 2025

  8. 10/30/2025

    AI Meets PR: How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Media, Credibility, and Brand Visibility

    Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how audiences search, discover, and engage with information — and that means PR is evolving, too. In this episode, Jackson Wightman joins Steffen Horst to unpack how AI is reshaping media visibility, credibility, and the future of public relations. From Google’s shrinking search dominance to the rise of AI-driven “answer engines,” Jackson explains why earned media now plays a critical role in what AI surfaces and how brands can adapt before the landscape becomes fully commercialized. He also shares actionable steps for PR pros and brands to monitor their AI presence, tailor campaigns to different AI engines, and build true authority in the new era of intelligent search.

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Insider Secrets for Digitial Marketing Success

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  • Creator
    Steffen Horst
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    234
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Steffen Horst
  • Show Website
    Performance Delivered