Expert Advice for Better B2B Marketing Campaigns for Tech Companies

Every company today operates as a technology company, whether they realize it or not. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Dr. Tracy Tuten, VP of qualitative research at Illuminas, a Radius company, where she leads the qualitative practice. They discuss how companies across all sectors must recognize they're operating in a technology-driven marketplace and adapt their digital transformation strategy accordingly through strategic brand positioning. Tuten shares her expertise on emergent positioning dangers and grand flag concepts, explaining how businesses can navigate competitive landscapes through strategic research and positioning. She demonstrates through real-world digital transformation case studies like ONTIC versus Resolver and Stripe versus Audion how companies can understand the B2B customer journey and uncover the right positioning strategy using market research to differentiate themselves in crowded markets and even redefine entire industry categories. The conversation addresses the high-stakes nature of product launches and market positioning in today's competitive landscape, where companies have limited budgets and marketing automation resources. Tuten emphasizes how understanding buyer psychology and strategic research provides the foundation for confident decision-making in these critical business moments. "Research is the antidote to risk," Tuten explains. "We have a limited budget. We need to see success from it. Research is the investment that you make to have that antidote to risk." McKinney and Tuten also discuss practical frameworks for avoiding common positioning pitfalls, such as kitchen sink messaging, parity positioning, and attempting to win where competitors already dominate. They emphasize how engineered positioning strategies enable companies to establish a foothold on competitive ground they can actually hold and defend. Sponsors: Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the difference between business success and stagnation lies in distinguishing flashy metrics from insights that beat your competition? On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Andrew Elder, SVP for Advanced Analytics at Illuminas, a Radius Insights company, about the critical shift happening in quantitative research and competitive analysis. They explore how AI tools are transforming the baseline of what clients can accomplish independently, forcing research professionals to evolve beyond traditional metrics like Net Promoter Score toward more sophisticated competitive positioning strategies. Elder also explains how B2B decision-making complexity creates unique challenges that AI cannot fully address, particularly when dealing with collaborative organizational decisions involving multiple influencers across different timeframes and contexts. The conversation reveals why understanding your competitive position requires moving beyond simple recommendation scores to capture the nuanced reality of how brands elevate within their specific market categories. "The competitive context is absolutely crucial," Elder explains. “The reality is that companies need buyers to not only think positively about [their] brand, but also think about how that fits [their] needs relative to other options.” The discussion also covers Illuminas' "Science of Winning" methodology, which builds on over 10 years of research demonstrating that relative brand position predicts future outcomes far better than absolute scores. This approach helps technology companies understand that becoming the most recommended brand within their competitive set matters more than achieving high scores in isolation, whether they're competing at the platform level or within specialized technology stacks. Sponsors: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology buyers can't make decisions based solely on immediate needs. On this episode of Digital Transformation Success, host and Little Bird Marketing CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with Jay Shutter, CEO of Illuminas, who has spent three decades interviewing CIOs and senior IT leaders across every major technology transition. How do you use tech products when you’re studying tech products? Interesting question and a good place to start when talking to an expert on market research in the tech space. McKinney takes the opportunity to get a finger on the pulse on how tech companies are struggling to understand enterprise buyers and how they gain a competitive advantage. Shutter gives an informed explanation of how technology purchasing decisions have evolved as systems become more integrated, requiring buyers to consider three to five-year implications because technology stacks create vendor dependencies. He shares insights from launching Radius Tech, which combines decades of technology research experience with AI-powered tools like Radius IQ for real-time qualitative probing within quantitative surveys. "Technology buyers today can't just think about what they're buying for today," Shutter explains. "Because technology changes so fast, you as a buyer have to think about today and the future." They go a bit deeper, examining how marketing automation platforms have reshaped partner ecosystems. This part of the conversation reveals how market research can identify and address common positioning mistakes when companies try to reach skeptical enterprise buyers. In the end,  digital transformation consulting approaches must evolve beyond traditional methodologies, and while AI levels the competitive playing field technologically, customer service excellence and human relationships are the standout differentiator for technology companies. Sponsor: Priscilla McKinney here! I am very excited to tell you about my book:  Collaboration is the New Competition: Why the Future of Work Rewards A Cross Pollinating Hive Mind and How Not to Get Left Behind The book's chapters are designed to be time-efficient, ensuring busy professionals can easily integrate these transformative ideas into their workflow. From discussing the state of affairs in business to providing fundamental strategies and seven practical anchors for staying on course, this book offers a fresh perspective and a competitive advantage in today's complex business landscape. Visit priscillamckinney.com for more information. Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks – teaching you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg Satell, master of digital transformation, joins Priscilla on this episode of Digital Transformation Success to discuss his two fantastic books, the effects of digital skepticism, and how digital transformation differs greatly from innovation. This episode wraps up with a discussion of how problem-solving promotes the most valuable innovation and how businesses everywhere can capitalize on this mindset.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices