Beyond "Good Enough": What CMO Secrets Could Transform Your Marketing Team Today?

What if the difference between good and great marketing isn't just doing more of the same? At INBOUND 2024, HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar and Asana CMO Shannon Duffy shared strategies that go beyond data and efficiency and challenged how we lead, communicate, and connect.

Their session uncovered the overlooked ingredients behind standout marketing: emotion, instinct, and bold transformation. Here’s what every marketing leader should take away.

The Emotional Edge: Why Logic Alone Won't Work

Marketing leaders often default to spreadsheets, dashboards, and conversion rates when presenting to the C-suite. But real customer decisions? They start with emotion.

"As marketers we want people to feel something. Whatever it is we're marketing, you need to feel a way about the product, service or thing." - Shannon Duffy

When you're talking to your CFO or sales leaders, those conversations tend to be all numbers and logic. But, Bodnar reminded us that's not how buying decisions really work: "They [people] make decisions based on emotion. If your work is very logical, you won't be as successful as if you also have a lens of emotion."

While you're expected to report on metrics, data, and ROI to leadership, your actual customers are making decisions based on how they feel about your brand, your messaging, and what you stand for. The most successful campaigns find ways to blend both: using data to target the right audience but connecting with them through messaging that sparks emotion.

Stop Wasting Talent on Busy Work

Both HubSpot and Asana help organizations work better, and Duffy pointed out something we all know but rarely address: "People waste time on silly things. We were all hired because we have an innate gift or skill. So much of that skill is wasted on busy work and things that don't matter."

Both CMOs agreed on biggest productivity killers for marketing teams:

Searching for information across disconnected systems
Waiting for updates on project status
Meetings that could have been emails (or quick messages)
Manual reporting that could be automated

By addressing these systemic issues instead of just pushing people to "work harder," marketing leaders can unlock the creativity and talent that attracted them to their team members in the first place. This shift from quantity of work to quality of contribution is what truly transforms marketing performance.

AI Isn’t Replacing You, It’s Joining Your Team

The rise of AI in marketing has triggered understandable anxiety. But for Bodnar and Duffy, the opportunity outweighs the threat. Both CMOs see AI as a tool that helps marketers do more of what they're best at.

For marketers concerned about AI's impact, Duffy offered reassurance and perspective: "AI is not a fad. If you think about what AI will disrupt, it is really around knowledge workers... my perspective as a marketer and the perspective of my team is we need to embrace this. Not to fear it and not think it's going to take our jobs."

At Asana, AI is treated as a team member. Rather than vague status reports, their AI systems surface actionable insights so teams can focus on the high-value work only humans can do.

This transparency creates a more effective marketing operation where problems get solved earlier and creative energy goes to the work that matters most. Marketing leaders should champion AI as a multiplier. Let it handle data analysis, content optimization, and routine tasks while humans focus on strategy, creativity, and emotional intelligence.

Trust Your Marketing Instincts

One of the most powerful lessons came from a failure. Duffy recalled an event she knew would flop, but didn’t stop.

"My gut was telling me that this [event] was not going to work... every nerve in my being was like, this is not going to work. Instead of really leaning into my gut and instinct... I kind of let it go." - Shannon Duffy

The event underperformed, but the lesson stuck. Duffy used the moment to reset the strategy and regain customer trust, rather than hiding the mistake. As marketing leaders, ignoring instinct can be costly. While it may feel painful at first, mistakes provide opportunities to transform and reset.

Try Influencer Marketing (It's Not Just for B2C)

While influencer marketing might seem like it's just for consumer brands, HubSpot has found it surprisingly effective for B2B. In fact, it's delivering results at 5-7x cheaper rates than traditional programmatic advertising.

The key is authenticity. Bodnar’s team targets creators with 50,000–500,000 subscribers who have a strong rapport with niche audiences.

The formula:

Focus on creators whose audiences match your ideal customers
Let them tell your story in their voice
Pay flat fees to keep things simple
Track success by quality leads, not just impressions

For B2B marketers in creative, productivity, or tech spaces, this approach offers an authentic alternative to generic ad campaigns.

Closing Thoughts: Speak Human

Marketing that connects sounds like a conversation, not a pitch. Duffy put it plainly:

"Stop putting so many buzz words in your content. No one cares. Write like normal people read and talk."

The best B2B marketing doesn't sound like B2B marketing at all, it sounds like one person talking to another about solving a problem. Bodnar echoed the sentiment. Customers want clarity: What does your product do? How does it help me? What will it cost? Skip the complexity and deliver answers.

The best marketing simplifies. It respects your audience’s time and intelligence; and that’s a competitive edge in itself.

Ready to Level Up Your Team?

Marketing is changing faster than ever. What worked yesterday won't cut it tomorrow, and the difference between good and great often comes down to:

Leading with emotion, not just data
Eliminating work that doesn’t matter
Embracing AI instead of fearing it
Trusting your get, even when it’s risky
Experimenting beyond traditional tactics
And most importantly, speaking like a real person

As these CMOs discussed, the path forward is clear: doing more of the same won’t elevate your team. Want more tips to make your marketing team truly great? Watch the full session here and join us at INBOUND 2025 in San Francisco!