Most Important Lessons I Learned From An AI + Martech CMO
Also - what 10,000+ Linkedin votes tell us about the state of marketing ops today
In this edition:
The Most Important Lessons I Learned from a Martech AI CMO
What 10,000+ Linkedin Votes Tell Us About The State of Marketing Ops Today
POLL: Which Area of Revenue Operations Drives the Most Impact on Revenue?
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Join me in Irvine for a MarketingOps.com Chapter Meetup (Aug 28)
I’m co-hosting an intimate, invite-only event with MarketingOps.com and Goldcast for Marketing Ops professionals in Orange County.
The evening starts with a fun, team-based escape room at Irvine Spectrum, followed by dinner and networking at Cucina Enoteca, one of my favorite spots in the area.
If you're a Marketing Ops pro near SoCal, this is a great chance to connect in a casual, no-pressure environment.
The Most Important Lessons I Learned From A Martech AI CMO
My co-host Phil Gamache and I recently interviewed Alison Lindland, a powerhouse CMO, on the Humans of Martech podcast. We talked about AI, Martech, and what it really takes to be a great B2B marketer today. Here are the biggest lessons we walked away with.
1. Drive your customer’s career forward
Alison’s core insight is deceptively simple: the best B2B marketing makes your customer successful in their career.
How can your work help your customer get promoted?
How can you earn them internal recognition?
How can you make them the hero of the story?
This mindset came from her background in customer success, and it’s the lens she applies to every marketing decision. It’s also something most marketers overlook.
2. Invest in custom tools to empower your team
Alison is relentless about leveraging technology—not just buying tools, but creating them. Her team has two analysts building internal apps for marketing and sales, including:
ICP/Avatar app to validate if a campaign is hitting the exact target persona
Content marketing search bot so marketers and sales can instantly find the best content for any campaign
She’s not waiting for vendors to solve problems; she’s empowering her team to move faster and smarter.
3. Make AI part of every workflow
Alison has a standing question in her one-on-ones: “How is your team using AI?”
She wants AI to be the default lens: every time a new project or task comes up, the first thought should be: how can AI help me with this? This cultural shift ensures the team experiments constantly and integrates AI in ways that create real value.
4. Speed matters—even in compliance reviews
As CMO of a tool that allows email content to be edited after send, Alison’s team can move much faster through legal and brand approvals. When teams know they can fix or update messaging on the fly, they gain a massive operational advantage without compromising compliance.
5. Be honest about what’s working
Don’t be afraid to cut out programs or initiatives that aren’t showing promise. Alison’s team launched a high-quality podcast that never got the traction they wanted. Instead of forcing it, they sunset the show and shifted resources to YouTube, where engagement was stronger. Candid, data-driven decision-making like this keeps teams effective and focused.
6. Turn customers into your strategy team
One of my favorite takeaways: she formalized a program that turns former customers into a strategy and insights team. These ex-users help shape marketing programs and guide how to help customers succeed. It’s a brilliant way to close the feedback loop and build marketing that actually moves the needle.
There’s a ton more in the interview.
Listen to the whole episode here.
What 10,000+ Linkedin Votes Tell Us About The State of Marketing Ops Today
I run a marketing + ops poll almost every week, let's dive in:
Which platform causes the most headache? (549 respondents)
CRM – 41%
CDP / Data Warehouse – 32%
Marketing Automation – 15%
Attribution / Analytics – 9%
Insight: CRMs require constant manual input from sales teams and are always in flux, so data integrity issues multiply.
What is the top data challenge you face? (501 respondents)
Data is different across tools – 55%
Incomplete data – 23%
Outdated data – 19%
Duplicate records – 3%
Insight: Most tech stacks are just collections of disconnected databases. Vendors design tools for themselves, not for interoperability. Unless you’re running a composable or warehouse-native approach, your data will always feel misaligned.
What’s missing from most GTM dashboards? (307 respondents)
Lack of clear insights/actionability – 50%
Consistent definitions – 25%
Trust from stakeholders – 15%
Real-time data – 8%
Insight: Building dashboards is easy. Acting on them is hard. Most reports are descriptive, not prescriptive, and inconsistent definitions across marketing, sales, and finance make “alignment” more aspirational than real.
Why is proving marketing ROI so hard? (362 respondents)
Bad or incomplete data – 49%
Can’t agree on attribution – 41%
Lack of tools/tech – 6%
Other – 4%
Insight: This is the classic ops problem. Data is rarely perfect, and attribution is inherently subjective. Multi-touch models (W-shape, U-shape, linear) are interpretations, not facts, which is why ROI conversations remain contentious.
Where would you trust AI in campaigns? (283 respondents)
Drafting copy – 50%
QA checks – 17%
Nothing yet – 15%
Building emails & landing pages – 14%
Insight: Ops pros are cautiously optimistic about AI. Drafting copy is a low-risk entry point, but there’s still a clear reluctance to trust AI with full campaign builds or launches.
Biggest blocker to career growth? (411 respondents)
Unclear career path – 37%
Heavy workload – 27%
Imposter syndrome – 23%
Lack of leadership support – 12%
Insight: Marketing Ops faces a career path crisis. VP of Marketing Ops roles are rare, and after Director/Senior Director, the next step is unclear. Without defined paths, top talent often moves to consulting or adjacent GTM leadership roles.
Which poll resonates with you?
This is just Part 1 of the Marketing Ops Social Scoop. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week.
POLL: Which Area of Revenue Operations Drives the Most Impact on Revenue?
Top Commentary from Social
I believe GTM Strategy & Alignment has the most impact because it brings together marketing, sales, and customer success toward a common revenue goal. It also acts as the foundation that activates other elements like data, automation, and AI initiatives. - Sant Singh Rathaur
The causal linkages between these and the external marketplace factors that dominate 70-80% of why things happen the way they happen. Any of these in isolation from the others is more of the same thinking that’s thrown B2B GTM into the ditch. - Mark Stouse
Seems to me they're all tied together:
- You need data and insights to know if you're betting on the winning horse.
- Process and enablement facilitate efficient execution.
- Tech, AI and automation contribute to efficiency in execution.
- They all support GTM strategy & alignment.
None of them outweighs the others. - Gerben Busch
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