MarTech Interview with Kelly Hopping, CMO of Demandbase

Kelly Hopping, CMO at Demandbase, joins her MarTech series to talk about the rapidly evolving market and martech landscape and how the future of marketing will be largely driven by AI:

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Hi Kelly, tell us about your time as CMO at Demandbase.

I’ve been at Demandbase for about 16 months and spent a lot of my time evaluating, building and restructuring key areas. When I started, I focused on familiarizing myself with the market, understanding customer sentiment, and clarifying our unique positioning. I led our company’s rebranding effort this year that we debuted in early October, aligning our story with our go-to-market (GTM) strategy, simplifying our pricing and packaging, and strengthening our team to support our goals. It’s been a great journey, and I’m really proud to have played a role in aligning our organization, refining our strategy and building trust across the team.

How about being a Marketing Leader that excites you most in B2B Tech?

I’m in a unique position at Demandbase, where I get to market to other marketers and actually use our product internally, which gives me authentic insights that shape how we communicate our value. Connecting with other CMOs, hearing their challenges, and continually using that feedback to improve our approach is rewarding. I get excited every day to engage with an audience that I understand so deeply and speaks to them in a meaningful way.

How common top of mind myths surrounding the goals and roles of marketers in technology would you like to bust today?

A widespread myth about AI in marketing is that it is about efficiency and cost reduction, which is why many fear that it will replace jobs, especially in content creation and creative roles. I believe AI should be seen as a revenue generator, not a job eliminator. It allows strategic marketers to work more effectively, freeing them up to focus on creative thinking and innovation. Rather than replacing roles, AI enhances our ability to make smarter, data-driven decisions, automate mundane, time-consuming tasks, and unlock insights we couldn’t access before.

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How have you used martech and AI-powered marketing technologies to drive marketing impact in recent years?

At Demandbase, we’ve been using AI for years, leveraging our own platform to automate data analysis and identify intent signals that drive our GTM strategies. We also focus on automating workflows with AI agents to simplify configuration and streamline processes for our customers. Outside of Demandbase, we use tools like ChatGPT to generate schemas or transactional content and Jasper to automate content creation workflows across different teams. Additionally, we use Clay to augment account data for our SDRs, helping them spend more time engaging with prospects instead of doing manual research.

What are some of the biggest martech innovations you’ve been most excited about in the recent past and why?

I have become more excited about the shift towards more modular technology stacks. While integrated platforms like Demandbase have dominated, I have seen a growing trend of companies unbundling these solutions to build their own proprietary stacks integrating with the best available solutions. Enterprise companies in particular are eager to adapt their stacks to meet specific needs and operate with greater agility, and moving toward open data, open APIs, and customizable integrations enables this.

How can marketers drive better marketing cycles in B2B SaaS until 2025? What top ideas and tips would you share?

In simple terms, marketers need to approach the buyer’s journey holistically to drive better marketing cycles. Customers enter the funnel at different stages, so old linear models no longer apply. Marketers should focus on providing content and resources that meet the specific needs of customers at each stage, such as educational content, testimonials or quick videos.

By anticipating customer needs and ensuring a smooth interaction between stages, from SDRs to sales to post-purchase, marketers can keep prospects engaged and moving through the funnel, ultimately improving conversion rates. Clean, efficient lead flow management and quick follow-ups will make a massive difference in driving better results.

Do you have a “perfect martech stack” – what does a perfect martech stack entail in your view?

Something along the lines of:

Five predictions about the future of AI and martech before we finish?

1. AI agents will optimize workflows: For a while, AI was treated as a feature in products, but in the future, it will be the basis for workflows that users can enable. This will give marketers more control over how they use AI in their day-to-day operations and decision-making.
2. Businesses will reshape their AI strategy: To thrive, companies must expand their vision of AI beyond their current niche. Those who position themselves as full AI players in their space will have greater growth potential than those who simply push AI to existing solutions.
3. AI self-service for customers: As AI agents become more sophisticated, companies are using them internally and allowing customers to leverage AI for their needs. This shift towards empowering users to build their own AI solutions could become a major trend, especially as many businesses want more control over their AI use.
4. Service-as-a-Software: Instead of selling only SaaS products, we see a growth of “service as software” in the future. This model offers AI-driven services embedded in software, enabling companies to deliver value through continuous service delivery rather than technology alone.
5. Specialized AI roles will emerge: New specialized roles will be carved out in organizations, such as AI product managers and product marketers that are focused on data and AI. These positions will help teams manage and navigate the complexities of AI technology stacks effectively.

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