Darren Guarnaccia

Attention consumer marketers and consultants - watch this helpful guide on how to go from question to insights in a few quick steps using Prodege, LLC ‘s Pollfish Inc platform. Combining an easy to use platform with best quality audience and instant insights is our answer to the biggest pain points in #marketresearch : speed, Quality and cost #mrx And we are not done yet. Our relentless pursuit of perfection continues - stay tuned for our upcoming new product announcements

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📣 It's been an incredible 4 months since starting at Snorkel AI. Surfacing from getting up to speed / firehose of AI infrastructure, I'm in absolute AWE of the practical foresight the team consistently demonstrates 😍 Alexander Ratner recent post is another example. If you are interested in learning how enterprises will drive long term value from AI, here's a succinct summary for how we make foundational LLMs work in accordance with enterprise policies, regulatory conditions and brand ... absolutely nails 🔥 '...what matters most now, as the algorithms and infrastructure for doing fine-tuning has already standardized and commoditized? The LABELED DATA!" #genai #LLMs #enterpriseAI

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I see an industry wide need to include more functions and teams in the GTM motion, this one reflects pretty closely to what I have in mind https://lnkd.in/ek2iCWXb

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Sharing RevOps co-op community best practices on something we all know is critical - designing territories to ensure the success of your sales force and, by extension, your company. The number of different strategies available make selecting the right one both challenging and critical. The team at RevOps Co-op delve deep into this topic 👇 https://gag.gl/Nm2xoO #RevOps #Data #DataQuality

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It's time for 2025 budget planning, and the alignment meeting Finance & Engineering is more important than ever. Yeah, yah. I know I'm a marketing leader, but I do think the Engineering/Finance relationship affects the entire organization when planning for the next year. This is especially true with GenAI transforming our workflows. It's crazy out there! You must back every R&D investment with solid data rather than just intuition. Lucky for us, we have Joanne Cheng as our CFO. In her latest post, she shares how Finance and Engineering can work together for more effective R&D budgeting. Read the full post to start planning with clarity and confidence: https://lnkd.in/g5dJxtx8

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I help oversee marketing at a lot of companies and support a lot of CMOs. By far, it's the most misunderstood function in B2B software. This causes companies to underperform their potential, especially now that so much of the buyer's journey is self-driven by the prospective customer. The influence of sales has diminished. However, Marketing doesn't play the role that it could/should because: 1. CEOs don't fully understand marketing (but they think they do) 2. Finance doesn't know how to think about marketing investments or evaluate them 3. Sales has a mixed relationship - they need marketing desperately but don't fully understand it and go hot/cold 4. Post-sales teams (CS, ProServ, Support) could/should leverage marketing to help manage the customer journey, but there is limited contact 5. Few CMOs really understand the full domain in what is the most heterogenous function in a business (inbound, outbound demandgen, product marketing, corp marketing, customer journey, marketing operations, etc) 6. Not enough CMOs have full/strong business acumen and they know how to educate their exec peers + CEO/board on the function and influence them. Btw, because of the above, I love working with CMOs. So much upside for the marketing function to add more value in companies. I came up on the Sales and CS side, but in my PE gig, I spend more time on marketing than anything else. It's the biggest value creation lever. I've learned so much in the last 4.5 years. For this reason, I'm a big fan of what Shiv Narayanan is doing with How To SaaS. He's written a great book (Exit Ready Marketing) on the SaaS marketing function and now he's launching a C-Level Marketing training program. It's not just for marketers, it's more for those seeking to understand the function and leverage its full potential. Check it out.. https://lnkd.in/geBkVHgR I haven't taken the course, but I've read the book and reviewed the detailed syllabus. Really looks good. Encourage people to check it out. Shiv, btw, I can name a few new chapters/modules to add! Rebecca Carr, Sabra Jan Willner, Amy Love, 🦄Pablo Dominguez, Manish Goyal, Lauren Shleifer Goldstein, 🐶 Jacco van der Kooij, Kathleen Booth, Sam Jacobs, Vinay Bhagat, Bob Wright, Mike Linton, Cathy Benko, Alfonso Pulido, Chris Dent, Gail Moody-Byrd, Sara Varni, Sari Green, Alison Wagonfeld, Katrina Wong, Lisa (Ramirez) Ames, Nipul Chokshi, Jon Miller, Luanne Tierney, Deepak Bahree, Cynthia Gumbert, Micheline Nijmeh, Michael Londgren, Claire Darling, Sydney Sloan, Paul D'Arcy, Meagen E., Craig Rosenberg, John Common, Rajiv Parikh

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Check out our latest podcast that features Chad Reynolds' Brand Innovators fireside chat with Shelly Palmer and he answers questions from the Vurvey community! Tune in for thought-provoking perspectives on using AI to drive creativity, brand loyalty and meaningful engagement: https://lnkd.in/ePQK7ecG #AI #Marketing #Branding #ConsumerInsights #AIPoweredByPeople #AgenticAI #AICompanionship #CollaborativeAI #Marketing #Branding #ConsumerInsights #AIPoweredByPeople #AgenticAI #AICompanionship #CollaborativeAI Steve Berkowitz

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Fun fact(s): 👀 1. No one enjoys working with our LiveRecover family more than I do. Especially the customers that push you to develop product faster so they can leverage our agents in more ways to expand P2P revenue capture. Hence, the CMO of a 9 figure brand from this email screenshot below. 👇 😆 2. If your brand uses Klaviyo, Postscript (and/or Postscript sales), Attentive (and/or Attentive Concierge), SMSbump, Emotive (if they are still around 🤷‍♂️), OR any SMS/email platforms --- you still are able to leverage LiveRecover agents for your P2P SMS channel. We work right alongside these platforms and cater the live agent experience to only engage with customer segments you approve. This is a fundamental shift in thinking that we are on a mission to help all marketers and friends alike to fully grasp. Your complete abandonment strategy needs to include P2P / live agents, OR you are missing out on capturing an entire new subset of customers (on avg. 10-20% incremental revenue lift). Why ONLY engage with a small fraction of your audience that are marketing subscribers (A2P), when the majority of the traffic you are spending money to drive to your site are not existing subscribers? If you are curious to test out P2P / live agents for your store this BFCM -- we will give you a free test run at measuring the incremental lift and also ensure a red carpet onboarding experience. DM's are open! 🏃‍♂️ 🔜

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Great insights Greg Head! I completely agree that SaaS is far from dead—it’s evolving, and the complexity you pointed out is what keeps things dynamic in the space. The market maturity is pushing companies to be more strategic, focusing on long-term sustainability rather than chasing valuations. I especially resonate with your point about how software is easier to build now but harder to differentiate, given the rise of AI and copycat competition. This shift is making product innovation and customer-centricity more important than ever. Another major change I’m seeing is how B2B buyers are increasingly looking for solutions tied to clear outcomes and measurable value for their companies. It’s no longer just about buying software, but about how it directly impacts business growth, efficiency, and scalability. While this demand might lead to new pricing models—likely more outcome-based or tied to specific performance metrics—it feels like old wine in new barrels. At the core, companies are still buying a service that relies on trust, value, and ongoing support. The trend toward subscription models isn't going away either. Consumers, including the ultimate end customers—us—have become accustomed to, and in many cases prefer, not owning everything outright but subscribing to more and more services in their daily lives. This cultural shift in how we consume products and services reinforces why SaaS will continue to grow. Looking forward to seeing how AI will continue to reshape SaaS products and GTM strategies. It’s definitely a challenging but exciting time to be in this space! Curious to hear your thoughts on which areas of SaaS might see the biggest disruption in the next few years.

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If messaging is the flashy pick-up line at a bar, then positioning is the personality that keeps people around for the second drink. Positioning is often more art than science, especially in emerging technology and product spaces. It requires a deep understanding of the target buyer – what they value and, ultimately, what they’re willing to spend money to solve. It’s also the most overlooked and undervalued part of marketing. And why wouldn’t it be? Messaging is creative, fun. Who doesn’t love debating the difference between “productive” and “efficient” for an hour? Positioning requires finesse, restraint, and commitment. But effective positioning is what closes business, not clever messaging. It’s easy to spot a product without effective positioning: ⚠️ Text-heavy homepage. This screams "no potential buyer left behind!" The result is an unfocused first-impression. ⚠️ Can’t describe the value your product offers your market in less than 3 sentences (If B2C, 1 sentence). Here’s a test – you’re at a social event and someone asks you “what does your company do”? You’re answer should be 10 seconds or less. ⚠️ Have more than 3 use cases. This is probably controversial as B2B products often have many use cases, but it should be obvious your core 3 (and what your sales and partners talk most about). ⚠️ Use a lot of business jargon. Tell me what this product does – “Our product leverages next-generation innovations to deliver scalable, customer-centric solutions that empower users to optimize performance and drive transformational outcomes.” No idea? Me either. And yet, positioning statements like this are commonplace, especially in B2B. Products that have clear product positioning enjoy ✨ Higher close rates. If you’re specific upfront about what you do, your MQLs and SQLs are better quality. ✨Faster deal cycles. Your funnel gets narrower faster, focusing your time on buyers more likely to convert from the start. ✨Better marketing ROI. A clear positioning approach drives more effective marketing placement and messaging, increasing your conversion. ✨More creative marketing. If you have firm guardrails, you spend less time on “will this work” and more time on testing novel approaches. Taking the time and effort to craft specific, targeted, focused positioning AND staying committed to in the face of “we don’t want to leave anyone out” pressure will simplify your entire marketing and sales strategy. Remember - a product built and marketed to everyone is one built for no one.  #productmarketing #marketing #positioning #products #productmarketers #techmarketing #tech

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If you're on the fence about taking a Revenue Architecture course, either in-person in Santa Cruz June 3-4 (see comments) or remote (see our website), please read what CEOs, RevOps Leaders, GTM Strategists, CMOs, Chief Customer Success Officers, and others have to say about this program: “THAT. WAS. AWESOME. 👏” “WOW. This course blew my mind.” “The "funnel" was turned on it's side.... literally....” “I wish I had taken this course years ago, but I'm so glad to have this information in my brain now.” “📜 This course has been an absolute game-changer, equipping me with the essential models for sustainable growth that constitute the Recurring Revenue Operating Model.” “This course is simply outstanding!” “World class instructor and the course content. It was fresh, appropriate for today's realities and most importantly - tangible". "You learn it and tomorrow use it”. “I highly recommend this course as it's super relevant for revenue leaders looking to add more science and data to their recurring revenue operations”. “Anyone wanting to deepening knowledge of how to drive growth and success with a company or division should absolutely take the Revenue Architecture class” “While I thought I had an amazing understanding of SaaS and Revenue models from years of building models, board decks and working with revenue teams and leaders...not to mention my MBA classes and focus in data analytics… I learned a ton!” “I can't say enough good things about this program." "I'm really fortunate to have had the opportunity to sharpen our tools and thinking." “Highly recommend it to every revenue & marketing operations professional out there!” “This course has given me a deeper understanding of the specific, proven models and frameworks to consistently achieve revenue goals 📈” “Incredible instruction! I can’t wait to elevate what I’ve always done with the teachings from this course! 💪🏻” “The methodology taught in this course allows you to architect your revenue in a way that achieves sustainable growth by understanding the fundamental principles of recurring revenue and the specific frameworks to apply across your GTM team.” “This course has been a game-changer for me. It was an incredibly insightful journey that taught me the fundamental models for sustainable growth that make up the Recurring Revenue Operating Model and provided a wealth of practical tools and resources. Honestly, it's one of the best courses I've taken professionally! 💯” “What a great course by Winning by Design on understanding the ins and outs of recurring revenue business 📈” "This will enable you to do the right thing at the right time to maximize success 🚀” “The Revenue Architecture course was an incredible course. I learned ways to increase growth by making some minor improvements, look at GTM motions and make sure they align with my business, and take the "right" action at different inflection points on the growth curve so my company doesn't flame out.”

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lockrKeys 🔐 It’s just a matter of clicking a button, Stephanie Mazzamaro said. “That’s it.” In today’s shifting landscape, publishers must leverage first-party audience data while maintaining flexibility and control. The pressure to iterate quickly often leads to rushed implementations, wasting resources and risking data integrity. But simply testing everything without being able to measure or adjust is a costly mistake. lockr’s Audience Integration Manager (AIM) helps publishers avoid this by allowing seamless integration and removal of providers without the need for complicated code changes. This flexibility is essential, as first-party data becomes increasingly valuable with the disappearance of third-party cookies. AIM ensures publishers control how data is used, shared, and protected. As the digital ecosystem evolves, AIM allows publishers to differentiate themselves with precision, not volume. By maintaining control and portability, publishers can effectively manage their most valuable asset — their audience — and drive future growth. Allison Schiff dives deep on all things lockr, AIM, lockrKeys, and the expansion of our offering in today's AdExchanger piece. Check out the link in the comments. Appreciate the support by Mathieu Roche at ID5.io, Travis Clinger at LiveRamp, and Gabe Richman The Trade Desk.

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Ach I really dislike this… more nonsensical marketing in the IDV industry. Let’s unpack this competitor’s claims: 1. In real-world measurements, Trustmatic performs around the same as this competitor (around 20 seconds best case). We have auto capture and real time quality check, which this competitor doesn’t have - meaning much lower levels of re-takes. 2. This competitor, according to their website, supports 11,500 IDs from 230 countries and territories. Trustmatic supports 13,500 documents from 248 countries and territories, including a large set of non-Latin alphabets. 3. 200% more conversions is a classic example of a made up piece of marketing fluff. This varies hugely depending on region, not to mention the competitor you’re measuring against. To measure against all competitors just isn’t feasible. In North America, Trustmatic delivers (in our most secure configuration) 91% first time approval, 9% rejection, and of the 9%, 40% are approved on their second try. The remaining are “true rejects” with a <1% false reject rate. 4. That’s probably because inaccuracies in their system drive a large % of retries. As an industry, we need to get serious about the marketing claims we make and back them up with real data - I’ve been saying this for nearly 10 years now.

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Doing an experiment like this - literally takes just minutes. For companies that have years and years of accumulated institutional knowledge, curated content, and customer interactions... experiments like this are the way to put all of that to work daily for better outcomes in sales, marketing, customer service, etc.

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I wrote two term sheets this week into startups backed by amazing founding teams, and in both cases I recommended a pivot to the team’s initial GTM strategy.   Sometimes being well networked, or building in a white hot problem space can be a gift and a curse when it catches the attention of enterprise customers.   On paper, it is the exact type of validation a funding team is seeking as they work through an initial version of their product, but more often than not it has the potential to derail a startup’s potential for success.   The startups in question were both experiencing this exact dynamic.  In one case, the team had caught the eye of one of the largest robotics companies in the world and begun conversations around a potential partnership.   The second company is backed by a 20 year industry veteran with a deep rolodex of enterprise customers within his ICP.  Some of the largest retailers in the world were engaging in conversations around piloting his product.  As I explained to both of these founders, this was amazing validation, but should also not be the focal point of their initial GTM.   The reality is, in order to successfully deploy within either of these customers, they were looking at a long and arduous path, filled with security reviews and product feature sets that realistically an early stage pre-seed company with 2 founders could not deliver upon.   My advice to them, continue those conversations, with the realization that they could take 1 year+ before realistic deployments, but focus the lion’s share of their GTM energies toward customers with lower deployment hurdles, in this case Series A/B backed robotics companies and $50M-$250M retailers.    To be clear, the  genuine interest from these enterprises is a massively positive indicator on the problem/solution set they are building for, and it is part of the reason we are bullish on the market opportunity of each startup.  I’ve just seen so many startups fail to deploy an initial product and ultimately never raise a seed round because they get stuck in a seemingly never ending enterprise sales cycle.

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Question for my industry analyst and AR friends and colleagues! What's your advice on the most relevant content for a first-time briefing deck from a vendor that's new to you? (May be a startup or just new to you) - How much company history vs future? - How much GTM strategy vs product roadmap? - When is a demo appreciated vs noise? - How much vendor viability vs customer momentum? I obviously have strong opinions myself based on my experiences on both sides of the briefing, but super valuable to hear from the experts on "just enough" vs "too much" vs "not enough"! #analystrelations #Gartner #Forrester #IDC #ISG Merv Adrian Mark Smith R "Ray" Wang Noel Y. Boris Evelson Holger Mueller Andrew White Betsy Summers Dave Frankland Mike Gilpin Michele Goetz Douglas Laney George Lawrie

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Some things are better when paired, like WINE & CHEESE. Others, not so much, as they ferment unfavorably. Content Management Systems (CMS) are actually better “headless” — meaning the front-end or presentation layer (“head”) is distinct from the back-end or content repository (“body”). Separating the content from the design layer lets editors distribute content while maintaining its integrity across multiple touchpoints and output channels. RubyLaw Content is a “headless” CMS. Learn more about it here, preferably while tasting WINE & CHEESE. At sunset. And responsibly. https://bit.ly/3xTRlZL

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When you’re the CMO of 5 different companies you leverage voice enabled conversational AI to deliver high quality leads to your various sales teams. Of course when one of those companies is a conversational AI company you get to write the scripts and prompts at 3:30am! Revmo AI Providertech

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Wanna learn more about Account-based Marketing (ABM) and Account-Based GTM Strategies please join my Newsletter "The Revenue Muse" on Substack. I have been an ABMer for over a decade. I have led teams and built strategic account-based infrastructure leveraging Terminus twice, 6Sense, Bombora, ZoomInfo, and more. While intent technology and ABM platforms are an advantage to accelerating pipeline and shortening sales cycle, they are premature if you don't have the Right Strategy to include: Right Fit, Right Audience, Right Message, and Right Measurement. My articles provide FREE GTM templates and instructions for: - Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) definition and strategy -ABM strategy as part of a holistic Integrated Marketing Strategy -Buyer Journey Mapping to dictate content strategy, advertising, and demand generation strategy -One Revenue team "pod team" collaboration. How it works. What are the roles and responsibilities of each team member? -Best practices for Sales and Marketing collaboration Please share with your network! #gtmstrategy #abm #abx https://lnkd.in/eAq_DKVd

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