Delivering on the Supply Chain of Revenue As a SaaS CMO Today

How do you not only keep up with seismic changes as a SaaS marketing leader but also proactively confront them?

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel of The Connective Good talks with Wanda Cadigan, SVP of Marketing for Cloudinary.  

Wanda shares how she delivers on the 'supply chain of revenue' in an environment where AI has joined the buying committee. From growing organic traffic when buyers arrive far more informed, to orchestrating smartly across PLG and enterprise motions, to building trust not just with humans but with AI-driven gatekeepers, Wanda offers valuable insights for leading SaaS marketing teams.

You will learn about:

• Treating the entire go-to-market as a revenue supply chain, not siloed teams
• Why experimentation can go off the rails if it’s “a mile wide and an inch deep,” and how to drive disciplined experimentation with rapid prototyping by micro experts
• Treating AI chat agents as a persona to market to, since AI is now part of the buying committee
• How PR teams will experience an opportunity to really prove their worth and connect to more commercial intent by leaning into citations, structured data, and micro-influencers, and optimizing for discoverability in both human- and machine-driven ecosystems.
• Designing an org with both Swiss army knives and scalpels: a mix of broad generalists and more narrow specialists to tackle specific experiments and channels
• Orchestrating across PLG and enterprise motions without siloed thinking
• Smarter interviewing: Defining not just questions, but also what good, average, and great answers look like to align interviewers across the org
• Protecting your time: Staying fiercely focused and resisting the “people pleaser” trap

Notable quotes:

• "Nobody just wakes up one morning and says, I'm going to submit a Contact Us form. Of course not. It's been pre-planted in your head. You've learned about a company or been educated about a problem that you may have been grappling with, and you could be exposed to press relations, analyst reports, events. You might have seen a vendor at an event. All of these great marketing programs do influence the final point of conversion of, Hey, I'm going to reach out and talk to these people. I think they can help me with my problem… so it's a supply chain."
• "Your time is your most valuable asset. Be ferociously protective of it and resist the common marketing challenge of being a people pleaser."

00:00 Introduction to The Get Podcast

00:29 Meet Wanda Cadigan: SVP of Marketing at Cloudinary

01:26 Wanda's Journey and Marketing Strategies

03:47 The Dual Funnel Approach at Cloudinary

08:31 Navigating the Tsunami of Change in SaaS Marketing

13:05 The Role of PR and Brand in the Age of AI

16:10 Experimentation and Micro Experts in Marketing

21:43 Hiring Strategies and AI in Recruitment

28:22 Final Thoughts and Advice for Marketing Leaders

31:59 Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is how SaaS marketing organizations are changing — in both seismic and subtle ways. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at erica@theconnectivegood.com. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.