Marketing leadership that moves the needle 🎯

Hi there,

What a month April has been! And topped off with some glorious sunshine to end on a high. More on that soon, but first up is this month’s video series exclusive to Wondrous subscribers.

Build Better B2B Marketing

In this month's feature, I share insights from our conversation with Mark Cousins, Fractional CMO and advisor.

With extensive experience leading high-performing marketing functions at multiple companies including Marqeta, Mark offers practical wisdom for marketing leaders at every stage.

Watch the full conversation below.

1. "One of the key things of good marketing leadership is to kill all distraction activity."

Mark emphasises that modern marketing teams are often overwhelmed with to-do lists and distractions. 

He advocates for regular evaluation of what's not working and the courage to eliminate those activities to create space for creativity and strategic thinking.

2. "Know the product better than anyone else in the organisation."

Spending time with customers and understanding the product from their perspective is crucial, regardless of your specific marketing role.

3. "Think long and hard about building a demand gen function from day one..."

Mark questions the conventional wisdom of prioritising demand generation when building a marketing function and advocates focusing on brand building first, particularly for companies targeting enterprise clients with longer sales cycles.

4. "Let's move beyond vanity metrics and focus on the customers we actually want to win."

Marketers need to rethink their metrics, moving from what Mark calls "total addressable market measurements" to "total relevant market measurements":

"I think we have had a bit of an obsession with almost vanity metrics, if you like. How many people have attended my webinar? How many website visitors have I got? Where we probably need to drive as a marketing team is what are the metrics associated with the customers that we really want to win."

He recommends focusing on engagement with named accounts and stakeholders that align with your strategic goals, rather than broader metrics that may look impressive but deliver less business value.

5. "Thought leadership isn't about you. It's about having a view on the future, and giving value back."

On thought leadership, Mark offers a clear distinction between true thought leadership and disguised product marketing:

"Thought leadership is not a solutions brochure that's packaged out there... thought leadership is really about, where's your industry going?“

Mark's approach to marketing emphasises consistency, creativity beyond industry norms, and building genuine value that creates gravitational pull toward your brand. 

By focusing on the fundamentals and moving beyond tactical short-term thinking, his insights provide a roadmap for marketing leaders looking to make a lasting impact.

Watch ‘Build Better B2B Marketing’ here.

Wondrous BTS

Our April in a nutshell:

We signed a new fintech client and have got stuck into creating materials for their event next month, and I wrapped up recording our latest interview series.

We made sure to balance work with play as we escaped the office for an afternoon of competitive mini-golf, and Steph's been brushing up on her tennis too.

Wondrous HQ had its first tiny visitor when Richard brought baby George to meet everyone, and Ben and I spent the Easter weekend in London with our kids.

Here’s to another memorable month in May (and plenty more sunshine!).

RISE UP 2025: Turning Kilometres into Careers

This May, I'm joining Sport 4 Life UK’s RISE UP 2025 challenge, walking 2.5km a day to represent the 25,150 young people in the West Midlands currently out of work, education, or training.

Every step I take helps raise funds to support young people with the skills, confidence, and opportunities they need to build brighter futures. My goal is to raise £250 and help Sport 4 Life reach 25,150km in total.

How you can support:

Donate: Every pound counts

Share: Spread the word and inspire others

Join: Take on the challenge and walk with us

If you’d like to make a difference by donating, you can do so here. Thank you for your support!

Coming up next time - an insightful interview with Tricia Rogers, a leading fintech marketer. Whether you're deep in the industry or just curious, there's plenty of actionable takeaways to sharpen your strategies.

See you next month,

Sally