Kevin Lau

We all know segmentation is key, but it's often limited to company firmographics. So when Clay announced their integration with HG Insights today, I have been geeking out layering in new insights to our ABM list. Instead of rattling off a bunch of features or "what this means," I'm going to explain exactly how I plan on using this to paint the picture: 1) We know which accounts we want to go after, but that's often based on things like their location, size, industry, etc. What we *don't* know is if they currently have a solution in place to solve for what we want to help them with, or if we do, it's either sketchily acquired or probably out of date 2) To create a truly relevant message, knowing what an organization does isn't enough. We need to go beyond that by understanding how they're approaching what they do today, and that execution is often a function of the tech they use 3) Enter Clay x HG Insights. I can now further prioritize our target account list by going beyond firmographics and layering in technographics. What are our prospects currently using? Which competitors are low-hanging fruit that we can beat? Which competitors are going to be uphill battles because they've got a great product? This is a huge help in resourcing our overall GTM efforts. 4) Enrich the rest of the account data appropriately. Find the relevant contacts + engage them in a HIGHLY relevant way based on all of the above. 5) Sit back and watch your win rates increase, sales cycles decrease, and your GTM team (AEs, BDRs, Marketing, etc.) breathe a HUGE sigh of relief as acquisition has just become a lot easier. HG Insights has historically only been used by companies with big budgets because it's not a cheap product. That all changes today.

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Oh hey, LinkedIn, quick question for the community of marketers and rev ops folks here. Jon Miller, and I were on a panel at Pavilion CMO Summit (with the awesome Ray Rike) recently talking marketing financial benchmarks, which, naturally, led us to double-click on measurement. Jon (as he does) dropped a little one-liner that hit just right: “Attribution should inform your decisions, not justify them.” It echoes something I often say in same spirit, using different words: Marketing (and our partners in ops+) needs to evolve from grading to guiding. Yes, we all track attainment, ROI, CAC, LTV by channel, the usual lagging indicators of growth. Sound familiar so far? But what about the early signals? The ones that tell you something’s working before the dashboard does. If so, here’s my ask: 👉 How do YOU define a “signal”? 👉 And what’s one piece of signal tech or process you can’t live without to stay ahead of shifts in your market, audience, messaging, or channel mix? Appreciate anyone who helps make me become a little smarter than I was yesterday. Talk to me! Humbly, This CMO #MarketingAttribution #CMOlife #RevenueOperations #B2BMarketing

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We’re 2 months away from the start of the busiest travel months of the year. Last year brought recorded setting TSA throughput—are we in for a repeat? For the sake of the industry, I’m hopeful but my current gut feeling is no. Our insights team analyzed current policy data for trips departing between June and August to see what we could uncover … Here’s a teaser for a new battleface insights pod dropping soon! We’re covering developing summer travel trends for US travelers featuring key stats like: 👉🏻 trending destinations 👉🏻 average trip cost 👉🏻 average trip duration 👉🏻 key traveler demographics … and more!

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New CMO: "We need to redesign the website" CFO: "Why? What's wrong with the current website?" CMO: "It's out of date, the content is stale" CFO: "How did that happen?" CMO: "The old CMO redesigned it at the beginning of their tenure, 18 months ago" CFO: "So it's new" CMO: "No, it hasn't been updated since then" CFO: "Why?" CMO: "It's hard to make changes to our website" CFO: "Why?" CMO: "Looks like they over-invested in a clunky smoke-and-mirrors tech stack that makes it hard to do the things we want to do and doesn't really work. No one knows how to use it, and it's created a lot of friction with IT that no one wanted to deal with...so the web got stale and it's keeping us from moving the needle." CFO: "So you need a platform that makes it easier for your team to work together and make regular changes to the web so we can drive revenue?" CMO: "That will take too long. We need to redesign it now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." *18 months later* Next CMO: "We need to redesign the website"

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The 1️⃣ question to ask before your brand takes a public stance: "Does this stance genuinely reflect who we are as a company or is it primarily performative?" – that's the litmus test I shared in a recent Forbes Communications Council piece. In an era where consumers are more values-driven than ever, performative statements are easily sniffed out and can backfire spectacularly. True alignment between your actions, mission, and public messaging isn't just about avoiding backlash; it's the foundation of genuine brand loyalty. It's about doing the right thing, not just saying it. Thanks to my co-contributors: Sara (Cziok) Payne, Rich Bornstein, Rob Robinson, Rekha Thomas, Sarah Lero, Victoria Zelefsky, Katie Jewett, Andrew Frank, Cade Collister, Toby Wong, CPACC, ADAC, Barnaby Pung, PhD, Kerry-Ann Betton Stimpson, and Bob Pearson Link to the full article in comments below 👇👇👇 🤔 What's your take on brands making public statements? 🤔

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Marketing leaders who only run campaigns are obsolete. Most CMOs are glorified brand managers... They can drive awareness, spin up a campaign, or polish a deck. But the future GTM leader? 👉 Part operator 👉 Part product strategist 👉 Part revenue architect If you don’t understand how the product P&L works, you won’t have a seat at the table in 3 years. Do you think marketing leaders should be trained more like general managers than campaign managers?

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I’m a growth marketer, and I’m a stickler about our messaging. Which might surprise some... But nothing kills a campaign faster than bad messaging. And the right messaging - can create momentum. When messaging clicks: ⚡ Channels compound: paid, organic, events, and sales reinforce each other. ⚡ Conversion accelerates: prospects “get it” before your CRM even logs a “first touch.” ⚡ Effort decreases, impact increases: teams spend less time re-explaining and more time scaling. And all that leads to growth. Because strong messaging isn’t "fluff". It’s the multiplier on your entire go-to-market. And without it? You’re just paying more to run in place.

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