How to Build a Customer Value Squad and Why

Article - A small, cross-functional team copes best with volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments — in the operating room or in marketing. William Terdoslavich writes for Martech.org about our discussion on Customer Value Squads.

CMS Wire Contributor of the Year 2022

Interview - CMSWire Managing Editor, Dom Nicastro interviews Kathleen about her work on marketing management innovations and the trends I see emerging.

How to Stop Pursuing Sales and Marketing Alignment (and Move to Customer Value Squads Instead)

Video Interview - In this 15-minute interview, Kathleen talks with Scott Vaughan of Acceleration Economy about why trying to align sales and marketing is inadequate for today’s complex digital era. We discuss how modern organizations are starting to truly integrate frontline teams and what the benefits of this methods are.

Why the Quest for Predictable Marketing ROI is Doomed – And What to Do About It

Video Conference Keynote - Despite advances in technology, pinning down return-on-investment (ROI) for the marketing budget remains frustratingly remote. Executives would be happier if spending marketing dollars reliably delivered a pipeline lift, but marketing’s nature works more like weather and stock markets than machines. While marketers understand the importance of financial valuation, work arounds such as attribution impart insights but fail to truly predict financial results. Martech Conference 2022 Keynote

Marketing and CX in a VUCA World

Podcast with Transcript - Consumers have high expectations, and brands go to great lengths to meet – and surpass – these expectations. But that task becomes more and more challenging as we continue to market in a VUCA environment – one that’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Kathleen Schaub, writer, advisor and CMSwire Contributor, has some advice for leaders looking to navigate these rough waters and deliver exceptional CX. She caught up with CX Decoded's Dom Nicastro and Michelle Hawley to discuss navigating customer experience and marketing through constant change.

Marketing Is Not a Vending Machine: Rethinking ROI for the Complex Digital Era

White Paper - Businesses long for marketing that works like a vending machine. Put your money in, and out pops your desired outcome, guaranteed. But marketing behaves more like stock markets or weather than predictable machines. This paper explores the why behind marketing’s capriciousness and offers a new way of thinking and managing – a “Complexity-wise” playbook, based on my experience as a CMO, my work with hundreds of marketing leaders why running IDC’s CMO Advisory practice, my research in the relevant sciences, and the practices of pioneering leaders in marketing and other turbulent environments. By working with marketing’s complexity instead of ignoring it, companies will realize more value.

Account-based Marketing and VUCA (Volatile, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity)

Video (YouTube) - Kathleen is interviewed about why account-based marketing (ABM) is a useful strategy in the complex digital era. Interview starts about 5 minutes into the video.

June 2021- ABM Friday Video Series with Jon Russo and Megan Heuer.