The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

#334 | Dave is joined by Jessica Serrano, CMO at Bagel Brands (Einstein Brothers, Noah's, Bruegger's, Manhattan Bagel), for a conversation about what B2B marketers can learn from consumer restaurant marketing. They discuss why consumer and B2B marketing are way more similar than people think, how she’s using AI across her marketing and sales process, and her philosophy that her job is to ‘build brand over time and drive sales overnight.’ Jessica shares how COVID forced Dig Inn to rebuild itself as an e-commerce business, how she built a B2B catering sales motion from scratch using HubSpot and buyer personas, and how filtering work emails out of a consumer list became a real customer acquisition tactic. Listen to this episode to learn tactics that work whether you're selling bagels or software.

Timestamps
  • (00:00) - Why a consumer CMO listens to B2B marketers (and vice versa)
  • (04:30) - How COVID forced Dig Inn to rebuild as an ecommerce business overnight
  • (07:52) - The math behind going after $500 catering orders vs. $15 walk-ins
  • (11:30) - Building buyer personas for office admins, sports nutritionists, and universities
  • (17:02) - Why Jessica switched from ChatGPT to Claude (and the breakthrough moment)
  • (23:51) - Using AI for rapid product testing on a budget that wouldn't cover traditional research
  • (29:42) - "Build the brand over time, drive sales overnight" and what that looks like at Bagel Brands
  • (32:35) - Why you can't just copy a playbook from Taco Bell to Burger King
  • (36:54) - The biggest lesson from working at brands with nearly 1,000 locations
  • (40:22) - Google reviews as a source of truth for aligning marketing and operations
  • (47:25) - Why organic-first content matters more in the age of AI and dead internet theory

Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/

***

Brought to you by:

Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link.

Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn more at vector.co, and get on the waitlist for their new MCP server by clicking here. 

Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***

Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
  • They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
  • Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
  • Visit hatch.fm to learn more

What is The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)?

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com