What’s the biggest challenge B2B CMOs face today? | Stefania Casciari Carter, CMO, Precis

Creating content is no longer the hardest part of marketing. The real challenge today is cutting through the noise. Audiences are overwhelmed, and traditional channels are losing their power. As new "invisible channels" emerge, the modern CMO must find ways to stay visible in a crowded, fast-moving space.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Amanda Smith sits down with Stefania Casciari Carter, CMO at Precis, to discuss how AI is changing what marketers need to focus on. Stefania shares her insights on why distribution is now the top challenge for B2B CMOs and how brands can use AI to streamline efforts while keeping creativity and originality at the forefront.

You’ll learn:

• How to navigate the emerging “invisible channels” in marketing
• Why distribution should be your focus, not just content creation
• How AI can support, but not replace, the human element in marketing

Jump into the conversation:
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Stefania
(01:30) Why distribution has become the CMO’s biggest test
(01:58) The rise of "invisible channels" and new marketing spaces
(02:42) How AI is changing content creation and marketing teams
(03:24) Balancing technology and human creativity in marketing
(04:30) Stefania’s approach to empowering marketing teams for the future

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who’ve been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you’ll want to play again.

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At Share Your Genius, we have the same questions, so we're tapping the best in the space for their answers—one voicemail at a time.

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[00:00:00]
[00:00:09] AI has solved one problem in marketing, and then created another, right? It's a thing that always happens when new strategies, products, philosophies evolve. While we might not struggle as much to create content or use AI to give us a leg up, The real challenge now is getting that content seen, because the landscape is changing. Audience are bombarded, traditional channels are losing traction, and new ones are emerging faster than most teams can keep up.
[00:00:41] What I'm finding is that distribution has become the modern marketing team and CMOs' biggest test. So that's why I called up Stefania Carter to make sense of it, because
[00:00:53] as CMO at Precis, she's helping brands rethink what marketing looks like in the AI era.
[00:00:59] Because even with all the tech in the world, originality is what keeps a brand human. So, question I asked her? What's the biggest challenge B2B CMOs are facing today? Here's what she said.
[00:01:12] ​
[00:01:22] Stefania Carter: Hi, Amanda. Thank you for the question. And, this was really an interesting one, so I'll try to keep it brief, but hopefully I can cover all my thoughts.
[00:01:31] Stefania Carter: I think the biggest challenge for CMOs today is not doing good marketing anymore, but it's distributing good marketing. I think with AI, obviously, it is so much easier to create good content. It could be video, it could be articles, it could be images. The real challenge is actually how to get that content to our prospects and clients in a world where they're bombarded with content.
[00:01:58] Stefania Carter: It's really challenging for us nowadays to understand not just what resonates with the people we wanna sell our services to, but how to get there. Some of the traditional channels are not that effective anymore. There are new channels that are emerging and we can't be everywhere.
[00:02:15] Stefania Carter: So I think the key is really creating that unique content and unique brand experience that can naturally find their way into this kind of invisible channels or spaces where our prospects are. AI can be a great help to do so, but at the same time, because of AI, there's so much content out there that it becomes really difficult to stand out.
[00:02:39] Stefania Carter: I would say that's maybe the biggest challenge.
[00:02:42] Stefania Carter: And the other one is how to build marketing teams and organizations with AI in mind. Most companies are not AI ready. Mostcompanies are experimenting with AI. We use tools, we build custom GPTs, but the reality is that we don't build our teams with AI in mind.
[00:03:04] Stefania Carter: I think the companies that will do that, build marketing teams, and in general, like things with AI in mind, they will have a massive advantage. They will have cost efficiencies. They will have competitive advantages, at least for a time. But I think they will eventually incur the same problem as everyone else.
[00:03:24] Stefania Carter: Okay, now everyone is super efficient, now everyone is really fast. We have basically reduced our cost as much as we can, but still the problem is how do we get to our prospects? How do we build something that's really unique? So I think there's kind of two phases of the same challenge, which is how to use AI in the best way, but how to stand out in a world where AI content is everywhere.
[00:03:51] Amanda Smith: We do try to use AI as much as we can in content production and automation and trying to reduce inefficiencies. I think content is maybe the area where we have been using AI the most, and copywriting as well. We can keep quite a small and lean content team.
[00:04:10] Stefania Carter: So I can already see some cost efficiencies. And also we use it when it comes to design. We are experimenting quite a bit with design. We feel AI video maybe is not where it should be for us, at least with the resources that we have, but we still feel quite positive that we'll get there.
[00:04:30] Stefania Carter:
[00:04:30] Stefania Carter: I really hope this was useful. And again, great question. I really hope other B2B marketers and CMOs have similar challenges, 'cause otherwise I will feel really alone.
[00:04:49] Amanda Smith: ​Thank you for listening. Want your podcast to do more? Subscribe to Genius Cuts because it's never just a podcast.