What’s Giving Marketing Teams a Competitive Edge? This Month on B2B Marketers: Off The Record

Episode 1: Kevin Kapezi (Growth Hack IO) – Attribution Is Harder Than We Admit

Kevin Kapezi, founder of SEO and AI search agency Growthack.io | The Beyond SEO® Agency, spoke with Chloe Addis about what challenge a lot of marketers are dealing with.

And that’s proving what is actually driving the sale.

With buying cycles stretching 12-18 months and the increasing number of touchpoints along the way, trying to credit one campaign or one channel is a losing game.

Kevin Kapezi referenced Daniel Priestley’s famous ’11 interactions’ before someone trusts you enough to buy.

“How can you attribute one interaction or one platform… to be the thing that drove the growth?”

And for those thinking about abandoning tracking, take Kevin’s advice; get closer to the people who own the numbers.

Ask Sales and RevOps what’s moving through the pipeline; don’t rely on ‘last-click’ data that only tells a partial story.

Catch Kevin Kapezi on B2B marketers: Off The Record

Episode 2: James O’Flaherty (Span B2B) – What You’re Really Buying From an Agency

James O’Flaherty , Managing Partner at Spanb2b, came with an experience and a perspective not a lot of marketers see: years on the agency side working with B2B marketers across multiple holding groups.

His take on choosing an agency partner cut through a lot of the usual noise around size, roster, and case studies.

“You’re buying ideas… you want people who are really passionate about it… they have to have that judgment layer above whatever they do.”

James O’Flaherty pointed out that when services become commoditized, the thing that makes a difference is the judgment and investment of the people doing the work.

Before briefing anyone, take James’s advice and ask who you’re going to be trusting to help you do your job better.

Catch James O’Flaherty on B2B Marketers: Off The Record

Episode 3: Carina O’Brien (Siemens Mobility) – What Marketers Get Wrong About Having All the Answers

Carina O’Brien, Head of Strategy ANZ at Siemens Mobility and host of the Working Mumma podcast, took us back to how an early-career lesson about how she assumed marketing had all the answers, before she thought to learn properly from technical colleagues for the customer voice.

“When I collaborated with others… you get to see their insights, and you hear what’s coming from the customer and make it land.”

That lesson now shapes how Carina O’Brien operates today.

Bring in technical experts into the room early on, rather than treating marketing as a standalone function that hands down messaging from on high.

Carina O’Brien expressed that even when things tighten, investment in people should be protected first, because good people are what make everything else work.

Catch Carina O’Brien on B2B Marketers: Off The Record

Episode 4: Theresa Potratz (Insights Finder AI) – Marketers Are Becoming More Technical, Not Less Human

Theresa Potratz, MBA, Director of Growth Marketing at InsightFinder AI and host of Unhinged History podcast, made the case that the next wave of marketing skill-building is both creative and technical.

(We see you marketers that are arguing it’s either/or 👀)

Theresa made the point and talked about needing marketers who can at least “vibe code” or work inside tools like Clay to bridge the gap with developers.

“We’re going to need marketers that not only have the marketing chops, but also know how to code, at least vibe code.”

Theresa Potratz, MBA, even brought in some of her history knowledge and drew a sharp historical parallel: when the washing machine arrived, it didn’t end the careers of laundresses for good; it just changed the work.

It’s the same for the impact AI has on marketing roles.

“It’s adapt, migrate, or die”

Catch Theresa Potratz, MBA, on B2B Marketers: Off The Record

The Bigger Picture

So, what gives marketing teams a competitive edge right now?

Companies are trying all sorts of fancy new tools and the latest tactics, when in reality, all marketing teams need is a little space.

The biggest gain comes from better collaboration across the people already in the room.

So if you want the edge?

Tear down the walls marketing builds around itself, back the people who do the work, and give your team space to think, because everyone has access to the same technology, tools, and channels, but the people using it well are the ones getting the edge.