Why Brand is Your Biggest Revenue Driver?

Shownotes

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with marketing powerhouse Elizabeth Hague to explore the pivotal role of brand building in driving responsible growth and long-term revenue success. Drawing from her 15 years of experience, Elizabeth shares actionable insights on breaking down silos, aligning the brand with demand, and fostering customer obsession to create unified, revenue-driven strategies. From navigating B2B and B2C landscapes to leveraging AI for efficiency, she offers bold perspectives on category leadership, measurable brand success, and overcoming skepticism from boards and CFOs. Tune in to learn how a strong brand foundation can transform your business for 2025 and beyond.

Best Moments

• 05:01
  The Role of Brand in Revenue Growth: She discusses how a strong brand foundation is crucial for responsible growth and long-term revenue success.
• 15:01
  Breaking Down Silos: Elizabeth emphasizes the importance of unifying brand, demand, and product teams to create cohesive, revenue-driven strategies.
• 25:01
  Customer Obsession: She delves into how a customer-first approach can build brand trust and drive long-term success.
• 35:01
  Measuring Brand Impact: Elizabeth challenges the notion that brand initiatives are intangible, explaining how they can be linked to measurable outcomes like pipeline influence and customer retention.
• 45:01
  Leveraging AI in Marketing: She explores the role of AI in enhancing marketing efficiency, from content creation to personalizing customer experiences.
• 55:01
  Advocating for Brand Investment: Elizabeth provides strategies for demonstrating the tangible business outcomes of brand initiatives to stakeholders.
• 65:01
  Adapting Across B2B and B2C: She shares insights from her experience in both sectors, emphasizing the need to tailor brand strategies to industry-specific needs while maintaining a customer-centric focus.

About the guest

Elizabeth Hague is a seasoned marketing executive with 15 years of experience scaling brands and driving revenue growth. She has shaped a $2.3B valuation brand, scaled two companies to acquisition, and advised over 115 businesses. Recognized as one of Georgia’s “Most Remarkable Women” for her mentorship of female entrepreneurs, Elizabeth specializes in aligning brand, demand, and product strategies for pre-IPO companies. With a focus on customer obsession and measurable impact, she empowers teams to deliver full-funnel marketing success and long-term growth.

Connect with Elizabeth

Key takeaways

• Brand as a Revenue Driver: Elizabeth emphasizes that brand building is critical for responsible growth and long-term success, bridging the gap between customer trust and measurable revenue outcomes.
• Unified Marketing Approach: Breaking down silos between brand, demand, and product teams is essential for a cohesive strategy that drives category leadership and sustainable growth.
• Customer Obsession Wins: A customer-first approach fuels brand trust, repeat business, and long-term revenue, making customer success a key component of marketing strategies.
• A brand is Measurable: Contrary to popular belief, brand initiatives can and should be tied to measurable outcomes, such as pipeline influence, customer retention, and category leadership metrics.
• Leadership in Uncertainty: In tough economic times, aligning brand strategy with revenue goals helps companies navigate challenges and emerge stronger.
• Leveraging AI in Marketing: Elizabeth advocates for using AI to enhance efficiency, from streamlining content creation to personalizing customer experiences, while keeping a human touch.
• Advocating for Brand Investment: To address skepticism from boards or CFOs, marketers must connect brand strategy to tangible business outcomes, such as improved onboarding, NPS scores, and trust-building initiatives.
• Adapting Across B2B and B2C: Drawing from her experience in both spaces, Elizabeth underscores the importance of tailoring brand strategies to industry-specific needs while focusing on customer value.

Quotes

On Brand and Revenue Alignment:
“Brand isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a strategic asset that, when aligned with revenue goals, drives sustainable growth.”

On Customer-Centric Strategies:
“Putting the customer at the heart of your brand strategy transforms them into advocates, fueling long-term success.”

Highlights from this episode

Is brand building the key to responsible growth in today’s market?

Brand building is essential for creating a sustainable and scalable business model. A strong brand not only establishes trust but also works in harmony with demand and product strategies to deliver long-term value. Companies that focus solely on short-term demand generation often miss out on the deeper, lasting benefits that a strong brand can bring. For responsible growth, especially in today’s market, aligning brand initiatives with a unified revenue model and customer obsession is key. Brand efforts create the foundation for customer loyalty and advocacy, which drive repeat business and steady growth.

How can companies measure the impact of brand initiatives?

The idea that a brand is immeasurable is outdated. Companies can measure brand impact through several metrics, such as customer retention rates, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and category leadership standings (e.g., Gartner quadrants, Forrester Wave). Top-of-funnel indicators like share of voice and bottom-of-funnel metrics like sales conversion also demonstrate brand value. Additionally, analyzing the influence of brand efforts on pipeline growth, account expansion, and customer satisfaction provides concrete data. Marketers must connect the dots between brand-building activities and tangible business outcomes to prove ROI to stakeholders.

What’s the role of a brand in navigating economic challenges?

A strong brand serves as a stabilizing force during times of uncertainty. In challenging economic climates, companies with a trusted and recognizable brand can retain customers, differentiate themselves from competitors, and maintain market share. When growth at all costs isn’t feasible, focusing on brand trust and customer-centric strategies helps businesses protect and expand their revenue base. Companies that invest in brand resilience during downturns position themselves to bounce back stronger when the market recovers.

How do you address skepticism about brand investment from CFOs or boards?

To overcome skepticism, marketers need to present brand initiatives as revenue-driving investments, not just costs. This involves showcasing metrics like improved onboarding experiences, higher NPS scores, and increased customer lifetime value as outcomes of brand strategies. Connecting brand activities to measurable revenue impact, such as pipeline influence and deal velocity, makes the case stronger. For budget-constrained organizations, marketers can propose phased brand investments tied to specific, short-term business goals to demonstrate quick wins and build trust for larger initiatives.

What’s the secret to navigating both B2B and B2C marketing landscapes?

Understanding your audience and tailoring your approach is crucial. B2C brands often excel at customer engagement and creating emotional connections, which B2B companies can learn from. However, the strategies must align with the business context—B2B requires a focus on customer education, trust-building, and aligning with the buyer’s journey. Successful navigation of both landscapes involves balancing creativity with strategic business thinking. Always start with the end goal and craft your marketing efforts to meet the unique needs of the audience, whether it’s a consumer or a corporate buyer.

What’s the biggest challenge in B2B marketing today?

Silos is the biggest challenge in marketing today. Departments like brand, demand, and product marketing often operate in isolation, leading to misaligned strategies and missed opportunities. This fragmentation extends beyond marketing into the broader organization, with sales, marketing, and customer success teams failing to share data or collaborate effectively. To address this, leaders must prioritize integration, create shared goals, and build frameworks that enable cross-functional collaboration. A unified approach ensures that all teams contribute to a cohesive customer journey and aligned revenue outcomes.

How should marketers break down silos between departments?

Breaking down silos starts with unifying teams under shared revenue goals. Marketing, sales, product, and customer success teams should align their strategies and maintain open lines of communication. This can involve cross-departmental meetings, shared KPIs, and collaborative planning sessions. When these teams work together, they create a seamless customer journey that improves the overall experience and drives long-term success. Additionally, fostering a culture of transparency and encouraging marketers to engage in areas like customer success or sales helps bridge gaps and align efforts.

What are your favorite AI use cases in marketing?

AI can significantly enhance efficiency in both small and large teams. For smaller teams, AI tools can streamline content creation, refine messaging, and automate repetitive tasks like reporting. For larger organizations, AI enables personalized customer experiences, such as tailoring email campaigns or optimizing product recommendations. Elizabeth highlighted creating custom GPT models that match brand voice and tone as a game-changer for content production. However, she stressed the importance of keeping a human touch, especially in roles like SDRs, where personal connections drive conversions.

Resource recommendations

Books

• “Stealing the Corner Office“: A practical and concise book providing insights on navigating workplace politics and leadership.
  
• “Revenue Architecture”: Elizabeth mentioned this new book, focusing on the bow-tie revenue model and aligning revenue leaders across marketing and sales.

Tech recommendations

• Superhuman: A tool for email management that helps achieve “inbox zero” efficiently, reducing stress and improving productivity.
  
• Zapier: A workflow automation tool that integrates apps and automates repetitive tasks.

Shout-outs

• Jane Serra– Elizabeth described Jane as a “shining beacon of positivity” who does a great job rounding up helpful posts that people may have missed each Friday.