CRM Hygiene 101: Stop the Rot, Start the Revenue | E107 with Jack Roberts

Your CRM is meant to be the backbone of marketing… so why does it feel like a haunted house? 👻In this episode, we’re joined by Jack, a CRM and automation expert (marketing + recruitment), to unpack what actually goes wrong inside CRMs — and what to do when your “single source of truth” is anything but.We talk messy data, broken integrations, Franken-stacks, and the classic problem: one marketer builds a beautiful system… then leaves… and nobody knows what anything does.We get into:✅ The most common ways teams wreck their CRM (and don’t realise)✅ Data hygiene first: how to audit what’s broken before “fixing” anything✅ Zombie contacts and old records: when to delete, when to downgrade, and why it matters✅ Custom fields, forms, and lists: how to simplify before it becomes unreportable chaos✅ Lead source is everything (so why does nobody capture it properly?)✅ HubSpot + Salesforce together: the pain, the mismatched numbers, the “who changed that field?” drama✅ Naming conventions and documentation: how to make your CRM survivable when people leave✅ Automation that protects your data (alerts, required fields, and keeping things clean over time)✅ AI and CRM ops: what’s worth learning now if you want to go full marketing-nerdIf your CRM is currently held together with hope, duct tape, and 400 undocumented workflows — this one’s for you.

Why is marketing the one industry where you can be “too young” and “too old” at the same time? 🤯In this episode of Blame It On Marketing, we’re talking ageism in marketing (and yes… the sexism that comes with it). We’re joined by a mother-daughter duo: Justine, Marketing Director at The L Factor, and Lenna, award-winning business mentor and professional “nosy parker” (her words, not ours).We get real about what ageism actually looks like in marketing, why it’s so baked into the industry, and how to handle those comments without losing your mind (or your professionalism).We get into: ✅ Why ageism and sexism are basically inseparable for women at work ✅ The weird questions women get asked at events (and how to respond) ✅ Why marketing “experience” is misunderstood — and how to reframe it ✅ How to challenge ageist behaviour without going full confrontation mode ✅ Cross-generational lessons: what newer marketers miss, and what older teams miss too ✅ The AI hype problem: not everything needs to be “AI powered” ✅ Why “looking busy online” is just digital confetti (and what actually builds trust) ✅ Reddit honesty: how to show up without pretending you’re “one of the community”If you’ve ever felt dismissed, underestimated, or boxed in because of your age — this one’s for you.Subscribe for more B2B marketing truths, rants, and real talk. 💛 We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Ah yes.The three words that have launched a thousand unnecessary redesigns.In this episode of Blame It On Marketing, we’re joined by the brilliant Juliana Germinio from Yellow Zest to unpack the most vague, infuriating, soul-crushing piece of feedback marketers hear on repeat:“Can you just… make it pop?”Pop how?Pop why?Pop for whom??WHAT IS POP?!From rogue email links sending restaurant guests to skincare masks (we’ve all been baptised) to websites 80% complete before someone decides it’s “not doing it for them” — we get into why bad feedback happens, why senior leaders default to aesthetics, and how marketers can stop drowning in subjective chaos.But this isn’t just a rant. (Okay, it’s partly a rant.)What you’ll actually learn:🔥 How to turn “make it pop” into actionable feedback🔥 The exact follow-up questions to ask when feedback is vague🔥 How to coach senior leaders to give better input🔥 Why defining the emotion and audience outcome changes everything🔥 How to protect your process (and your sanity) with better expectation-setting🔥 When to push back on AI-generated feedback — professionally🔥 Why “it’s not for you, it’s for your audience” is your new favourite lineWe also cover:The danger of skipping proper briefing stagesWhy visual feedback feels easier (even when it’s wrong)How to avoid 20 hours of unnecessary redesignAnd the legendary “hot pink website” story featuring a colourblind CEOThis one is for:Designers.In-house marketers.Agency owners.Fractionals.Anyone who has ever been handed two words of feedback and expected to magically interpret them.If you’ve ever stared at a screen thinking, “I literally cannot do anything with this” — welcome home.Let’s stop making things “pop.”Let’s make feedback better.🎧 Listen now. And maybe send it to the person who keeps saying it. We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Why does “ABM” so often become a logo-swap landing page and a prayer? In this episode, Emma and Ruta sit down with Marta George (ex-Head of ABM, now Field & Channel Marketing) to get brutally honest about what real ABM takes—and when you shouldn’t do it at all.We get into: ✅ Why “ABM Lite” isn’t real (and why it keeps getting sold anyway) ✅ The village ABM needs: sales, SDRs, CS, product marketing, brand, design ✅ Account selection done right (data > opinions, relationships matter) ✅ Start small: 2–4 accounts, bottom-of-funnel first, then scale ✅ Timelines & expectations: quarters to years—not weeks—and what to report ✅ What to track (and why MQLs are the wrong question for ABM) ✅ When to skip ABM and do personalised demand gen instead ✅ Tools & AI: faster personalisation ≠ ABM ✅ Spicy take: why growth teams deserve bonuses/commission We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Why do smart companies still treat marketing like the “content machine” or sales’ on-call design team? In this episode, Ruta and Emma sit down with Margaux Grasso and Sarah Mardle to unpack marketing’s perception problem—and how to fix it with influence, data, and better internal storytelling. Expect practical playbooks for building credibility, aligning with sales, and pushing back on bad habits without starting a turf war. We get into: ✅ Why marketers accidentally fuel the “make it pretty” myth—and how to stop being the default Yes Team ✅ Building your internal brand: report like a strategist, not a task taker (show the link to business goals) ✅ Stakeholder personas: map power, pressures, and motivations so your message lands internally, not just with customers ✅ Alignment that sticks: shared goals, shared language, and moving from blame to ownership with sales ✅ Budget battles: make a business case, not an approval request—what to show the CFO and when ✅ Product-market fit reality checks: run shared experiments so “is it marketing or the product?” gets answered fast ✅ Career insurance: mentors, advocates, and relationship-building as a core marketing skill, not a nice-to-have Who’s on mic: • Margaux Grasso — Founder, Wripple. Helps marketing teams build internal credibility, align with sales, and set strategy.  • Sarah Mardle — Founder of Alma Business Consulting, Executive and business coach with a neuroscience PhD, supporting leaders and founders (especially in life sciences). Perfect for: marketers tired of being seen as order-takers, leaders who want real sales-marketing alignment, and anyone who needs a clean, confident way to ask for more budget—and get it. If you’re ready to swap “make it pretty” for “move the business,” this one’s for you.  We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Why do tiny marketing budgets come with sky-high expectations? 💸 In this episode, we’re joined by Lucy Blenkinsopp, marketing lead at Version 1, to talk about how to do more with less—without burning out or BS-ing the board. From choosing fewer, higher-ROI channels to proving marginal gains and building a real case for budget, we get practical about what actually moves the needle when cash is tight.We get into: ✅ Fewer channels, done better: double down on what works and drop the FOMO ✅ Test–learn–report: micro-pilots, clear hypotheses, and sharing results every quarter ✅ Create 25%, distribute 75%: repurpose relentlessly and let AI speed production ✅ CRM hygiene: turn it every 12 weeks, go “intent fishing,” revive stalled opps ✅ Measure marginal ROI: track incremental wins instead of waiting on full-cycle proof ✅ Budget storytelling: pipeline-to-spend ratios, define your attribution terms, post-it metrics ✅ CFO as ally: model scenarios together and set expectations early (not in Q4) ✅ Sales x Marketing: capture anecdotes from the field to complete the data picture ✅ Spoof-video sanity check: memorable ≠ relevant—know your ICP and the lineIf you’re being asked to deliver a miracle on a shoestring—or to “just get more pipeline” with lunch money—this one’s for you. We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Why do leaders still want to “be on LinkedIn”… even when the content makes buyers cringe? 🤳 In this episode, we’re joined by Brad Zomick—executive content coach and host of LinkedIn Famous—to get real about getting senior leaders to create content that actually helps the business (and doesn’t read like buzzword soup). We dig into when a CEO should be the face, what they should post, and how to build an idea flywheel that never runs dry. We get into:✅ Should every exec post? How to decide (audience fit, proximity to customers, time, POV). ✅Content that works: start with audience pain, not product; find content–market fit; avoid the “jargon casserole.”✅Pillars × funnel: top- and mid-funnel stories 80% of the time; when to dip into BOFU. ✅The podcast play: easier than talking-head videos, produces endless clips, and doubles as elite product-marketing research. ✅Idea pipeline: sales FAQs, customer calls, events, team-sourced prompts—and why thoughtful commenting now has real reach. ✅Coaching execs: make it easy, measure in quarters (not days), encourage smart risks, and help them find the fun so it sticks. ✅Gossip corner: AI makes us “bionic marketers”… and why that can help or hurt depending on how leaders use it. If your exec wants to “get LinkedIn famous” by next week, play them this—and build something that actually moves pipeline, product, and trust. We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Why do the same marketing headaches keep coming back every year? 🤯 Three years in, 100 episodes later, and we’re still hearing “can you make it go viral?” like it’s a brief.In this special 100th-episode live show, Ruta and Emma look back at the biggest themes from Blame It On Marketing so far—and the stubborn problems that refuse to die. From CROs who are just Head of Sales with a shinier title, to “pipeline” being treated like a strategy, to AI hype outrunning reality, we get honest about what needs to change (and what marketers can actually do).We get into: ✅ “Make it go viral” and other immortal bad briefs (plus what to ask instead) ✅ CRO ≠ Head of Sales: what a real revenue leader should own (product, CS, renewals) ✅ Pipeline isn’t a strategy: start with business strategy → marketing strategy → goals ✅ Firefighting culture: why constant “sprints” without breathers burns everyone out ✅ Video obsession & personal-brand pressure: formats ≠ strategy, receipts > vibes ✅ Sales & marketing alignment: the forever battle (and the only fixes that stick) ✅ AI reality check: you’re not late, you don’t need “vibe coding,” and it’s AI-in-workflow, not human as an afterthought ✅ How to push back internally without sounding like a jerk (or losing your budget)If you’ve ever wanted to hand your CEO a five-year plan when they ask for “viral,” this one’s for you. And if you’ve been here since episode 1—thank you for sticking with us. 💛

Why are marketers still arguing about ROI in 2025? 🤯 “ROI is reductive!” “You can’t measure brand!” Meanwhile…budgets are getting slashed and CFOs are sharpening their scissors.In this episode, we’re joined by Jordan Stachini—founder of Co & Co and proud member of the “least-fluffy marketers” club—to cut through the noise. We get real about what ROI actually is (and isn’t), how to report it without strangling creativity, and how to keep your budget safe when the money people come calling.We get into: ✅ “All sales are conversions—but not all conversions are sales.” How to set objectives and measure the right thing at each stage ✅ Holistic > siloed: why channel-by-channel ROI gets marketers in trouble (and how to report at the right altitude for board, C-suite, and team) ✅ When you don’t have revenue access: scrappy ways to start measuring today (yes, even if it’s manual) ✅ Offline → online is one journey: activations that earn digital reach (and why tying every post to a till receipt is a trap) ✅ Founder taste ≠ ICP truth: keeping opinions out of your metrics ✅ Talking to CFOs without losing your soul (or your budget) ✅ “Champagne results on lemonade money”: setting realistic ROI expectations ✅ AI vs human creativity: Billy bookcase content vs bespoke craftsmanship—and why connection still wins ✅ Regional ads that slap (Hooch in Ancoats) vs ones that flop (Magnum in Piccadilly Gardens)—and the ROI lesson behind bothIf you’re done with ROI theatre and want a practical playbook for proving value without dumbing down your marketing, this one’s for you. We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.

Why does every second LinkedIn post promise an “AI system” that will fix your marketing overnight? 🤖✨ If you’ve been told to “just automate everything,” this episode is your antidote.In this episode, we’re joined by Fiona Sherwood (fractional CMO & AI marketing trainer) and Joanna Edwards (events leader behind a GenAI-for-marketers summit) to get practical about what an AI strategy actually is—and why tools come last, not first. We get into: ✅ Why “automate everything” isn’t a strategy (and where automation does belong)  ✅ Using real customer insight (CRM + sales-call transcripts) to fuel content that isn’t beige  ✅ Guardrails that matter: GDPR, FCA/regulated industries, brand voice, approvals, and culture  ✅ Tooling sanity: start small, personalize your stack (Copilot, GPT, etc.), and budget for training  ✅ How marketers can lead company-wide AI standards—without shaming or “AI-washing”  ✅ Measuring what matters, spotting hype, and setting expectations with the C-suite If you’re tired of guru threads and beige outputs—and you want an AI plan tied to revenue, compliance, and actual customer problems—this one’s for you.  We’re Ruta and Emma, the marketing consultants behind Blame it on Marketing. If you’re in B2B SaaS or professional services and looking to do marketing that actually drives revenue and profit, we’re here for it.Visit blameitonmarketing.com and let’s get this show on the road.