Thunderhead scooped no less than four B2B Marketing Awards in 2011. Here, its CMO, Marchai Bruchey, reveals her best piece of marketing advice, current challenges and top tips
What was your first B2B-related job?
Alliance and business development director for Digital Equipment Corporation, the second largest computer company in the world at the time.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
Aligning marketing strategy to overall company strategy; crafting marketing plans and messaging that takes the value of the business to a new level.
Which B2B brand do you most admire?
IBM. The company has reinvented itself many times since its inception but has never lost sight of its brand promise. For a company that has acquired many firms through the years, whether software, hardware or consulting companies, it
has always maintained focus on their brand value.
Whose job would you like most?
The president of Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organisation that builds homes for low income and homeless families. The concept of donated materials and volunteer labour working side-by-side with a potential homeowner establishes a feeling of self-worth for the homeowner, which is as valuable as the home that
was built.
What’s the best piece of marketing advice you’ve ever been given?
Focus, focus, focus. There can be many distractions along the way but you should always focus on the high pay-off activity for the business and your customers.
What is your proudest achievement?
Mentorship. Throughout my early career I had the privilege of having great mentors and for the last 20 years as a leader, I’ve been able to return the favour for many young men and women, and to watch these individuals grow in their careers has truly been a proud achievement.
What’s the next big thing in B2B marketing?
Using advanced technology to design and manage the customer journey. With the prolific use of mobile and social technologies, the secret will be to bring those interactions together with all of the traditional touchpoints; marketing, sales and service to provide a relevant, contextual conversation.
Our jobs would be easier if…
We could limit the number of internal emails sent in a given day.
To succeed, a B2B marketer must…
Know your market, your prospect, your buyer and your customer.
What are the traits you most and least admire in yourself?
The trait I admire the most is that I am a person of integrity, for me it’s all about doing the right thing. The least admired trait is my lack of patience, need I say more…
My biggest extravagance is…
My vacation home on the coast of Florida.
What marketing challenge are you currently wrestling with?
Organisational structure for the new digital age of marketing.
What was your last marketing epiphany?
That perhaps it isn’t all about marketing; isn’t that siloed thinking? It’s really about our customers and prospects and their experience with our company as a whole.
Which marketing campaign or idea do you wish you’d thought of?
The advertising-based business model for internet companies.
Which individual has had the most influence on your career?
A former COO I worked for taught me you should always stay focused on the goal and to keep it simple. A favorite saying of his was, “Interesting but not relevant.”
Which marketing or business books would you recommend?
The Leadership Moment by Michael Useem; Good to Great by Jim Collins; Built to Last by Jim Collins and No Bullshit Social Media by Jason Falls & Erik Deckers
