How can B2B marketers create stronger connections with their market without losing the human side of the buying experience?
In this episode of Connect To Market, host Casey Cheshire sits down with Kate Wood, seasoned CMO for startups, to explore why the key to better marketing is learning to follow the emotion. In complex B2B markets, it’s easy to get caught up in data, technology, and sophisticated messaging. Kate argues that buyers are still human beings who make decisions based on how they feel, and marketers need to understand the emotional experiences they’re creating throughout the sales cycle. From identifying where prospects disengage to finding opportunities to build stronger relationships, she explains how bringing more humanity into marketing can help accelerate deals and increase revenue.
Kate shares practical ways to put that philosophy into action, including learning from both your biggest champions and your harshest critics, using storytelling and brand identity to create meaningful connections, and aligning your company’s external messaging with its internal culture. She and Casey also explore how to balance automation with authentic human interaction, why marketing needs strong RevOps reporting to prove its impact, and how to identify the emotional friction that can reveal opportunities for growth. Drawing on her experience scaling technology companies and leading marketing teams, Kate explains why relationship-building and social capital matter just as much as hard work, and why the best marketers never stop learning, questioning themselves, and finding ways to connect with the people on the other side of the screen.
Takeaways:
Follow the emotion throughout the sales cycle. Map the experience prospects and customers have at every stage, from their first interaction to the close. Identify what they love, what frustrates them, and where conversations stall or prospects ghost you. These emotional signals can help marketing teams uncover opportunities to improve engagement, strengthen relationships, and accelerate deals.
Use storytelling and brand identity to make your business feel human. Your brand communicates something before prospects even read a word, from your colors and imagery to the personality you project. Pair a clear, authentic brand identity with storytelling that shows customers how you help them succeed. The strongest brands align what they say externally with their actual culture, values, and operations.
Balance human connection with measurable results. Automation and scale are important, but removing every point of friction can mean losing opportunities to build relationships. Pay attention to both positive and negative emotional signals, then use qualitative feedback to understand what’s happening behind the numbers. Strong RevOps reporting and clean data help you connect those insights to pipeline, revenue, and ROI.
Build relationships and embrace healthy friction. Professional success takes more than working hard and delivering results. Building social capital means showing genuine interest in colleagues, understanding different personalities, and developing relationships that help teams navigate difficult conversations. Leaders who make space for healthy conflict, curiosity, and continuous learning create stronger teams and better working relationships.
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateswood/
Priya Parker’s Books: https://www.priyaparker.com/priya-parker-books
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Connect To Market is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/
