In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Erik Blaze interviews Jay Hinman, the VP of Marketing at Vibes, a trusted mobile engagement platform for enterprise brands. They discuss the evolution of Demand Generation (Demand Gen), highlighting how it has transitioned from being seen as a cost center to a revenue center, largely due to advancements in cloud-based marketing automation platforms and the rise of Account-Based Marketing (ABM). He delves into the shift in success metrics in the field and how Vibes helps brands nurture customer relationships on mobile platforms. Jay further explores the engagement gap between email marketing and mobile app marketing and the future of mobile marketing technology. Finally, they discuss navigating economic downturns and the power of testing and learning from small successes.
Jay Hinman is the VP of Marketing at Vibes, the most trusted mobile engagement platform for enterprise brands. Jay has been a B2B marketing leader for over twenty years at both large global companies (Opera Software, MobiTV) and Silicon Valley start-ups (Lily AI, Neumob, DigitalGenius). His focus has been on “full-stack” marketing leadership across demand generation, product marketing, branding, and positioning, as well as on developing high-performing, revenue-enhancing marketing organizations.
“B2B marketing became far more analytical and began to be seen as a true revenue center, rather than a cost center.”
– Jay Hinman.
Jay explained that the evolution of demand generation took off with the advent of cloud-based marketing automation platforms such as HubSpot, Pardot, and Marketo. The key shift came around 2012 or 2013 when B2B marketing became more analytical and started to be viewed as a revenue center instead of a cost center. This shift, coupled with the rise of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and revenue platforms like Demandbase, led to a new class of marketers who focused on core demand gen metrics.
Before modern tools, Jay explained, marketing was more focused on generating leads rather than prioritizing lead quality. As a result, there was often tension between marketing and sales because marketing would meet their lead targets, but sales struggled to close deals due to poor lead quality. The understanding and application of pipeline coverage evolved.
Jay shared that initially, the focus was on lead quantity. Over time, it shifted to qualified leads and then eventually to understanding opportunities. The rise of platforms like Demandbase, Terminus, and 6sense enabled a more comprehensive view of accounts. Now, Jay focuses primarily on marketing-sourced or influenced opportunities and marketing’s influence on closed deals.
As the VP of Marketing at Vibes, a mobile engagement platform, Jay ensures that their target accounts know about Vibes and consider them when looking to delve into mobile marketing or expand their current efforts. His team, composed of B2B veterans, focuses on demand generation, content marketing, SEO, and visual design.
Jay discussed how email marketing has a high reach but low engagement, while mobile apps have a low reach but high engagement. To bridge the engagement gap, marketers in the retail and restaurant industries utilize SMS or mobile wallet services, which have high open rates.
Jay believes that they are still in the early stages of mobile marketing technology. He anticipates SMS messages becoming more visual and an increase in engaging multimedia messages. He also sees mobile wallet offers, synced easily to Apple or Google Wallet, becoming a key way to drive users into stores or restaurants with increased individual segmentation and personalization.
Jay mentioned that in response to the economic downturn, brands are focusing more on what works and de-emphasizing the things that don’t. Email campaigns and mobile app development that do not engage customers are being deprioritized in favor of SMS campaigns and mobile wallet activities that have higher engagement rates.
April Dunford – Author and Founder at Ambient Strategy
Jessica Foster Brandt – Director of Demand Generation at Lily AI
Brian Finnerty – Vice President, Revenue Marketing at Udacity
Sunny Side Up
B2B podcast for, Smarter GTM™