Poor understanding of B2B marketing - Marketing Elucidat Employee Review

The rot at this company descends from the top. They adopt a rigid framework that seems optimised for an eventual buy-out; I can only speculate that this company is ultimately a vehicle for its owners' retirements. One director proudly boasted to me that he had never been an employee, failing to see how that could warp his understanding of the effects of wielding managerial power or add limitations to his empathy. Unsurprisingly, that same director publicly humiliated a low-level employee in the office for a small infraction. I still can't work out if that was a Learn, Care or Share moment, which are the purported company values. In marketing, expect arbitrary targets and a relentless focus on seeing all work through that lens. Sadly, the owners' understanding of how B2B marketing works for high-ticket, high value software is extremely limited. A favourite expression is they "manage by metrics". However, more accurate is they manage by *metric*, singular. That metric is leads. This (sort of) fits for a B2C SaaS company that charges $8 a month. It really can happen that someone clicks through from an ad and makes a purchase. But a singular focus on leads makes little sense for a business that has long buying cycles, very large annual costs, and which is targeting buyers that frequently already know the main options. Here the key concept is demand generation, but that's lost on them. You may think you can alter this understanding. You're a marketer who knows your stuff. But you cannot. So be prepared to step back in time, back to a world of MQL-chasing, where HubSpot and the Traction framework still rule unchallenged, and where the Harlem Shake is a thing. Come to think of it, I was once asked to look at making Elucidat "viral"; perhaps in their mind B2B elearning authoring tools will be the new Flappy Bird. I've said "owners" repeatedly, but that's not just the directors. As they've had considerable investment, they're now under the cosh, needing to meet their investors' expectations. This pressure does not dissipate – it *multiplies* downwards in some departments. It was sad to see formerly optimistic, pro-Elucidat people go from glowing five-star praise to sombre criticism over a period of years; I recognise one or two in these reviews. If you're looking for a marketing role at this company, pay very close attention to this review and another recent one. Ask some hard questions – and don't be fooled, as I was. It doesn't matter how good you are, if your work is ultimately going to be spent on a mad flailing to immediately conjure leads out of thin air based on a linear progression dreamed up in a boardroom. This is not a good way to be alive. It does not make you happy or connected to your work. You probably deserve better. I did, and I happily found it elsewhere.