FloQast's CMO credits his early career in B2C e-commerce for his success in B2B SaaS. The skills learned in driving direct conversions and understanding self-serve motions became a key differentiator as B2B marketing has increasingly adopted more consumer-centric tactics to engage human buyers.

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The need for emotional connection isn't limited to consumer products. All software is used by humans whose expectations are set by the best B2C experiences. Even enterprise products must honor user emotions to succeed, a concept termed 'Business to Human'.

The ultimate PLG companies are consumer brands like shampoo, which sell on brand affinity, not commoditized features. As software becomes more commoditized, B2B companies must similarly build a strong brand theme that inspires users to associate with them, creating a more durable moat than features alone.

Avoid pursuing prosumer and enterprise motions simultaneously. The optimal sequence is to first build massive bottoms-up love and brand trust with individual users. This creates internal champions within target companies, providing crucial momentum and turning a cold B2B sale into a pull-based motion.

B2B marketing often assumes a sterile, professional-only mindset. This is flawed. The same person scrolling LinkedIn during the day also binges consumer entertainment at night. B2B content should embrace humor and personality, recognizing that you're always marketing to the same multifaceted human being.

A foundation in one-to-one sales reveals the human element often missing in marketing. This experience highlights the void of genuine storytelling and creativity in many marketing departments, equipping professionals to fill it with authentic, person-to-person narratives instead of just focusing on metrics.

The traditional divide between B2B and B2C marketing is obsolete. Effective brands must speak to business and consumer audiences with the same authentic voice, bridging efforts to create a cohesive identity, much like how the NFL mothership brand supports individual team brands.

Professionals use sophisticated consumer apps like Nest and Ring at home, creating a powerful psychological contrast with their clunky work software. Startups can win by delivering a consumer-grade experience, which makes the product feel modern and intuitively superior to legacy enterprise tools.

Unlike many private sector roles, a state CPO serves two distinct customer bases. They build B2C digital services directly for constituents while also developing a B2B platform-as-a-service to be adopted by other state agencies, requiring separate strategies for product marketing and adoption.