Diary of a first-time CMO

Alice wraps up her thoughts on her four year journey and the diary of a first time CMO.

Alice goes over the skills she looks out for in her ‘dream demand gen marketer'.

Alice talks through her transformational predictions for content marketing in 2023 and beyond.

The 10% more mindset. One of the biggest mindset hacks that has driven Alice's success. It won't be for everyone, but it's a sober look at what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of marketing leadership.

Alice talks through the impact of sharing in public and the demand generation movement in attracting quality talent to Cognism.

Alice makes the case for not retreating back to the Google Ads when things get tough in an uncertain economic climate.

What should the content team look like in a demand gen focused org? Alice unpacks how we structure things at Cognism.

Alice unpacks the full Cognism re-brand that took place in 2022. With key lessons and learnings drawn from the experience.

Imposter syndrome. We all feel it. Alice reveals how she has coped with this and the realities that it will always be something we contend with as marketers.

Ungated, friction free, all the time. Alice unpacks what an ungated media machine looks like at Cognism.

Alice talks through the massive shifts in the last decade that have had the biggest impact on the role of B2B marketers.

Alice addresses the tricky issue of reporting on a demand gen strategy. Get a look at what metrics matter for this approach.

Alice provides a practical step-by-step guide to making the switch from lead gen to demand gen.

Alice discusses the critical skill of knowing when to pivot as a marketing leader. But also knowing when to adopt external advice, and when not to.

Alice reveals the best cold outbound she's ever received, and what she thinks people need to do to get a CMOs attention.

Alice unpacks when to outsource in your team and guidance to help you get the most from external resource.

Alice breaks down the internal marketing org set up at Cognism, and what roles she thinks you absolutely should keep in-house.

Alice talks 4 practical examples of ‘operational' CMO work that made a huge impact on the Cognism marketing function.

Alice shares the secrets behind how Cognism attracts ‘unicorn marketers' that help solve the thorny issue of hiring well.

The new funding press release, a necessary evil? Alice offers her thoughts and how to get more creative with your releases.

Alice unpacks how to identify external SMEs for long term partnerships and how to set up clear KPIs in your working agreement.

Alice teaches us how to avoid ‘random acts of marketing' and how to make sure your team executes on the most meaningful work.

Alice talks about her 2022 marketing predictions, and how SMEs played a crucial role in Cognism's growth in 2022.

Alice talks about one of her ‘proudest CMO moments' and how hiring was critical in making it happen.

Alice discusses the vital importance of customer research, the central role of it in successful demand generation and how she built it into her workflows.

Alice talks about how she found a ‘unicorn marketer' who doubled Cognism's paid ads pipeline.

Alice offers her thoughts on ABM, and how she would approach it from an MVP standpoint if she ran an ABM play at Cognism.

Alice talks about setting a revenue record in August 2021, and the key lesson that helped her realise this milestone.

Alice talks about the 80/20 principle, and how to laser focus your time on the areas that offer the biggest impact.

Alice goes in depth on why the buying journey isn't linear, and how un-gating Cognism's content was key in marketing to buyers how they actually BUY in 2023.

Should marketers stop being operational when they reach CMO? Alice breaks down why she considers herself an ‘operational' CMO and the value that's brought Cognism's marketing team.

What do you need to report on when you make the switch to demand gen? Alice unpacks splitting the funnel and getting your reporting in shape.

A lot of people are talking about building a media machine. Alice takes us through how she built one at Cognism.

B2B vs B2C marketing? Alice unpacks why she thinks the difference isn't as great as some make out. We're still marketing to humans!

Alice talks through the huge unlock of asking for an experimentation budget - and the path that set Cognism on towards a demand generation strategy.

Cognism's speed to pivot is one of our chief advantages. Alice explains how she's built this into the team, and how the ability to change has reaped huge rewards.

Cognism's speed to pivot is one of our chief advantages. Alice explains how she's built this into the team, and how the ability to change has reaped huge rewards.

Alice gives her advice for how to get hiring externally and outsourcing right. And how you can nurture that relationship into a closer working arrangement.

Alice talks about the benefits of taking time away from the busy day-to-day, to refocus and see with clearer eyes where your attention is most needed.

Do you give your team enough room to be creative? Alice talks on how she opens up space for her team to push the envelope with creative ideas.

An MVP approach to B2B marketing? Alice breaks down her thoughts on building the demand for something and THEN building to scale it.

How should a company set a strategy for its LinkedIn page? Alice breaks down how we approach the company page at Cognism.

Alice unpacks the four principles that guide the Cognism marketing team in its approach and its decision making.

Alice breaks down why B2B marketers should put so much stock in providing value with every activity they commit to.

Alice breaks down tips on how sales and marketing can align their destinies under a demand gen focused strategy.

Don't worry about how to scale something until you've proved its value. Alice underlines the importance of testing ideas without knowing *exactly* how they'll scale afterwards.

What do CFOs, Sales and other departments care about? Alice talks through how she manages inter-departmental relationships and how she ensures marketing's value is understood through the organisation.

A good idea is only as good as the execution. Alice breaks down why ideation and execution have to have balance. Un-executed ideas themselves hold little value.

Should marketers tie themselves to a revenue target? Alice absolutely believes they should and explains why it's needed.

Work in progress = no value added. Alice discusses how she ensures work gets activated at Cognism, not just stuck on an ideas board.

Rule #1 at Cognism: DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT. Alice talks through how she has ingrained this mindset in the Cognism marketing team, and the benefits it's brought.