[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":4319},["ShallowReactive",2],{"podcast-marketing-leaders-icp-isnt-static-heres-how-to-get-it-right":3,"header-articles":846,"updatesSection-all":2586,"updatesSection-all-team":3332},{"_path":4,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":8,"description":9,"date":10,"audio":11,"guest":14,"iframe":15,"series":16,"authors":17,"episode":19,"minutes":20,"guestimg":21,"guesturl":22,"seotitle":8,"guestabout":23,"body":24,"_type":840,"_id":841,"_source":842,"_file":843,"_stem":844,"_extension":845,"category":5},"/podcasts/marketing-leaders/icp-isnt-static-heres-how-to-get-it-right","marketing-leaders",false,"","ICP Isn’t Static—Here’s How to Get It Right","In this episode, Yehuda Cagen discusses how to define and refine your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) in today’s highly skeptical B2B landscape.  He breaks down why ICP is the foundation of any marketing strategy, how to identify the right audience, and what it takes to build messaging that actually resonates—especially in cybersecurity where trust is hard to earn.","2026-04-02T19:26:00Z",{"url":12,"length":13},"https://share.transistor.fm/s/bff062be","64971418","Yehuda Cagen","https://share.transistor.fm/e/bff062be","Back on T-R-A-C-K",[18],"Kerry Guard","215","62","/images/podcast/yehuda-cagen.webp","https://www.linkedin.com/in/yehudacagen/","Yehuda Cagen is a results-driven marketing leader who builds high-impact campaigns that drive growth, efficiency, and brand value.",{"type":25,"children":26,"toc":835},"root",[27,40,46,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100,105,110,115,120,125,130,135,140,145,150,155,160,165,170,175,180,185,190,195,200,205,210,215,220,225,230,235,240,245,250,255,260,265,270,275,280,285,290,295,300,305,310,315,320,325,330,335,340,345,350,355,360,365,370,375,380,385,390,395,400,405,410,415,420,425,430,435,440,445,450,455,460,465,470,475,480,485,490,495,500,505,510,515,520,525,530,535,540,545,550,555,560,565,570,575,580,585,590,595,600,605,610,615,620,625,630,635,640,645,650,655,660,665,670,675,680,685,690,695,700,705,710,715,720,725,730,735,740,745,750,755,760,765,770,775,780,785,790,795,800,805,810,815,820,825,830],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":30,"children":32},"element","h2",{"id":31},"overview",[33],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":35,"children":36},"strong",{},[37],{"type":38,"value":39},"text","Overview:",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":42,"children":43},"p",{},[44],{"type":38,"value":45},"Yehuda explains why marketers need to move beyond broad targeting and focus on the accounts that truly align with their product. He also highlights the importance of understanding the full buying committee—from champions to economic buyers to internal blockers—and tailoring messaging for each. The conversation reinforces a key idea: when you know who you’re speaking to, and just as importantly, who you’re not, your marketing becomes more focused, more effective, and far more trusted.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":47,"children":49},{"id":48},"transcript",[50],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":51,"children":52},{},[53],{"type":38,"value":54},"Transcript:",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":56,"children":57},{},[58],{"type":38,"value":59}," 0:00  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":61,"children":62},{},[63],{"type":38,"value":64},"But at the same time, you can't work in fear, right? And I mean that that doesn't necessarily help either. Now, it's good to match, you know, mesh in a little bit of fear with some of the passion, but at the same time, if you understand your audience well, and you know that certain messages resonate with that audience, then I don't think you have much to be fearful of. Now, obviously, there's going to be people that have a bad day, and they'll lash out at you, and you just have to kind of take it for what it is, right? They probably had a bad day, and then it you're going to, no matter what discipline you're in, you're going to come across challenges and problems.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":66,"children":67},{},[68],{"type":38,"value":69},"Kerry Guard  0:48  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":71,"children":72},{},[73],{"type":38,"value":74},"Kerry, hello, I'm Kerry Guard, and welcome to Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders. This episode is brought to you by mkg marketing, the digital marketing agency that helps complex brands build trust with complex audiences via SEO and digital ads. We are live on LinkedIn and YouTube. If you are here, say hello. I'm hanging out in the comments. I want to know. I can't see you unless you say hello. Say something. Tell me where you're from, tell us what's going on, what's hard for you. We're here for it, and we, most importantly, look forward to all of your questions, because that's the beauty of being live here on LinkedIn and YouTube, is we get to hear from you and make sure you feel like you can walk away with something, you can go do something, lean into something, and ensure your marketing is better in terms of building trust with your end user, which is the ultimate goal of all of the things in terms of how marketing should roll. So we are here for it. We look forward to hearing from you. Let's go. Let's go. With me today is Yehuda Kagan, an experienced and results-oriented marketer with the ability to develop, implement, and manage forward-driven marketing campaigns that drive lead gen, increase revenue, and elevate brand value. He's a dedicated marketing innovator with experience in motivating teams to deliver peak performance, enhancing the efficiency of processes and spend, to positively impact revenue and brand equity. The dream. You are the dream, Yahuda, we are here for it, and we're excited to dive into today's conversation around the ICP. We're going to get into what that acronym soup means in a second. But welcome. You had a thank you for joining me. Thank you. Thank you for having me excited about this discussion. It should be good. We have a lot to dig into before we get there. Though I gave a brief, very brief, very high-level synopsis of where you are today and what you're looking to do. But what's your story like? You know, what are you doing now, and how, and how did you get there?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":76,"children":77},{},[78],{"type":38,"value":79},"Yehuda Cagen  2:56  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":81,"children":82},{},[83],{"type":38,"value":84},"So I work, I've worked almost exclusively in B to B Tech. Starting in the mid 2000s and MSP, and then I've kind of worked my way towards supply chain integration software, and now I'm working for Stendio, which is cybersecurity software, GRC, cybersecurity software. So I've spent the majority of my career in B-to-P TECH. It happened because I was, I lived in, I'm, I still do, and I live, I live in Houston, and at the time, there wasn't a huge I was really into advertising, that kind of thing. And I like its creativity and the humor in and around it. The problem was, is that, or the challenge was, for me at the time, is that there weren't a whole lot of B to C kind of opportunities here in Houston, and so my career path just, you know, the trajectory went in the way of B to B Tech, and I've been in it ever since. It's been fun. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":86,"children":87},{},[88],{"type":38,"value":89},"Kerry Guard  4:04  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":91,"children":92},{},[93],{"type":38,"value":94},"I feel like B to B Tech and cyber security in particular have sort of like a moat around it. Either you, you know, trip over a rock and, like, skip over the moat and land in cyber, or you go after it really, really hard. It's not something it's not generally something people find themselves in. It's an interesting it's an interesting niche. It's an interesting industry that not many people are in are familiar with. So can you tell us your story in particular, of how you found yourself in cyber in particular, sure.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":96,"children":97},{},[98],{"type":38,"value":99},"Yehuda Cagen  4:44  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":101,"children":102},{},[103],{"type":38,"value":104},"Well, when I worked for the MSP, I was, you know, we talked a lot about cybersecurity in general, right? Because, as things were starting to gravitate towards the cloud, it became very apparent that cybersecurity had to be taken very seriously. And so as the cloud. Became more commonplace. I would give seminars and webinars in and around the subject of cloud and internet security. And I took about a 767-year break when I moved to supply chain integration software. And then when I was asked to join Astenio, I had a good idea, a really good idea, of, kind of, some of the implications of cybersecurity. I didn't quite have the compliance side knowledge of it, which I later learned when I when I came on board, but that's kind of how I stumbled into it. I knew the components of a security program, you know, whether it is, you know, endpoint security or disaster recovery or business continuity, I would actually give, we live here in Houston, and so business continuity and disaster recovery are a really big topic down here due to the storms and hurricanes, things of that nature. So I had a familiarity with it, and so it seemed like a pretty natural fit for me. So that's kind of how I, if you will, stumbled into cyber security.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":106,"children":107},{},[108],{"type":38,"value":109},"Kerry Guard  6:11  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":111,"children":112},{},[113],{"type":38,"value":114},"It's interesting because you mentioned Houston a couple of times, and being in a remote world these days, location doesn't always come up that often, but it sounds like location for you has actually played an important role. So you've always grown up in Houston, or I grew up and moved to you there.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":116,"children":117},{},[118],{"type":38,"value":119},"Yehuda Cagen  6:30  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":121,"children":122},{},[123],{"type":38,"value":124},"No, no. Actually, my dad worked work, moved us here. And so my grandparents are all born in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, and to the chagrin of my extended family, I'm a Houston Texans, Astros, and Rockets fan, and I have no allegiance, or little allegiance, I should say, to the end of the Milwaukee area sports teams. So for the most part, I grew up here in Houston, with warmer weather.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":126,"children":127},{},[128],{"type":38,"value":129},"Kerry Guard  6:58  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":131,"children":132},{},[133],{"type":38,"value":134},"I don't blame them.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":136,"children":137},{},[138],{"type":38,"value":139},"Yehuda Cagen  7:02  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":141,"children":142},{},[143],{"type":38,"value":144},"It's, it's, it's very warm, much warmer weather, right? There. There are two, two. They say there are two seasons here in Houston: there's hot, and then there's hell, right? So those are the two seasons here. But, you know, it's a good place. It's kind of heck. It's got a big city, but it's kind of a small-town mentality. People are very friendly here, so you know? So I stuck around, and I'm now raising my family here.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":146,"children":147},{},[148],{"type":38,"value":149},"Kerry Guard  7:33  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":151,"children":152},{},[153],{"type":38,"value":154},"I love that, and it sounds, you know, when you talk about B to B and tech, Houston isn't generally a city that pops up. It's usually San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. It's not Texas. It's not any cities in Texas. So I find it really fascinating that not only is Houston sort of a booming area for B to B, but in particular cybersecurity, and the fact that you mentioned storms around that, too, I think is an interesting parallel and dichotomy as well.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":156,"children":157},{},[158],{"type":38,"value":159},"Kerry Guard  8:11  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":161,"children":162},{},[163],{"type":38,"value":164},"I'm sorry, go ahead. No, no, no, I want to hear, I want to hear what we've got going.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":166,"children":167},{},[168],{"type":38,"value":169},"Yehuda Cagen  8:14  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":171,"children":172},{},[173],{"type":38,"value":174},"Austin has a nice tech scene. Now, Austin, Texas, has a pretty nice tech scene. And actually, I, you know, the company I work for is based out of Virginia, and I actually work remotely. When they asked me, and this was towards the end of COVID, they asked me, Do you think you'd be able to manage a team remotely? And I told them, Look, honestly, before COVID, I know I probably thought I could, I was, but I couldn't give you any real answer whether as to whether I can actually do it. But, you know, since COVID happened and we had to go through it, so that's, that's, it actually gave rise to an opportunity based out of Virginia, which was great remote work.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":176,"children":177},{},[178],{"type":38,"value":179},"Kerry Guard  8:54  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":181,"children":182},{},[183],{"type":38,"value":184},"I am so excited is here to stay. We've been remote since 2011, when we started. So we've been remote since the beginning. COVID hit, and we were like, just another day at the office, apart from kids and pets and all the other things that are our feet. But the other day, we knew how to work remotely. And I'm so grateful that the world has caught up, because it is a wonderful there's pros and cons to both, for sure, but now that we can actually play in both spaces officially, I worked on a Microsoft campaign, like, I don't know, 2010 and it was, it was this idea of, it was something about without windows or without walls, and to be able to work from anywhere. And it was like this novel idea of, like, working from a park, like, What are you talking about? And it's here. It's finally here. And I'm, I'm grateful it's here for so many people who have made, you, know, made work more accessible, yeah, and flexible, yeah.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":186,"children":187},{},[188],{"type":38,"value":189},"Yehuda Cagen  9:58  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":191,"children":192},{},[193],{"type":38,"value":194},"I've spoken to a few people. Who actually are being mandated to go back in the office? And my thoughts, what are you on an assembly line? Like? What? Like? Why is it so necessary? But, you know, I know that, you know, different industries require different things, and I think also it has to do with, you know, the accountability that is set by management as well, of course, as the accountability of the individuals, right? So that's that's a huge component of it. But if you have someone, if you have a culture, if you have built a culture in your organization around accountability, and you hire people who are accountable, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't allow them to work remotely.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":196,"children":197},{},[198],{"type":38,"value":199},"Kerry Guard  10:38  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":201,"children":202},{},[203],{"type":38,"value":204},"Yehuda, we could have a whole conversation just about, yes, we totally could, because I do think that there's a ton to unpack in terms of how you set it up for success. You can't just, like, take what you did in person and then move it to re-vote, or vice versa. I don't recommend either of those things.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":206,"children":207},{},[208],{"type":38,"value":209},"Yehuda Cagen  10:56  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":211,"children":212},{},[213],{"type":38,"value":214},"Yep, yeah, I agree. Agree. Part that'll leave that to for part two. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":216,"children":217},{},[218],{"type":38,"value":219},"Kerry Guard  11:01  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":221,"children":222},{},[223],{"type":38,"value":224},"Part two, I am here for it. Well, let's switch gears, or get back on track, or both. And I'd love to know for where you are now. You're in Houston, you're working for this company that's in Virginia. But what's hard for you right now, what's the challenge you're currently facing we've got going on over there?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":226,"children":227},{},[228],{"type":38,"value":229},"Yehuda Cagen  11:20  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":231,"children":232},{},[233],{"type":38,"value":234},"Well, I mean, I think the one challenge that you face, ultimately, particularly when you're with you're in cyber security, is understanding your audience, right? I mean, and the audience in cyber security, I mean, people have become a lot more skeptical, especially as the marketplace becomes cluttered with messages and promises. But I think you can take that to the nth degree in the cybersecurity market people, I mean, those people, cybersecurity experts, are, I mean, they're trained to be skeptical. So if you, if you, if you can't bring your A game and your a message to that, that cybersecurity buyer or influencer, you're going to be in trouble.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":236,"children":237},{},[238],{"type":38,"value":239},"Kerry Guard  12:09  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":241,"children":242},{},[243],{"type":38,"value":244},"I feel like it's gotten worse in the sense that they are, they're, they're always skeptics, but they're even more skeptical as it relates to marketing and sales in particular.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":246,"children":247},{},[248],{"type":38,"value":249},"Yehuda Cagen  12:25  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":251,"children":252},{},[253],{"type":38,"value":254},"Is that fair? Yes, I like I said, I think, I think they have to be, you know, for their for the work that they do, they have to be very skeptical. And I think anything that they bring into their environment, half of it has to kind of, it has to be seen with a very skeptical eye, because, you know, one miss misstep or a series of can can lead to another series of missteps, which can have catastrophic consequences, unfortunately, and so, but I agree, right? So anything that they bring into their, you know, their inner influence, and that includes any tools or platforms or services that they take advantage of, they're going to be skeptical of it right off the bat. And so you really have to build that trust. You discussed building trust as part of the process, and I think that is key in any market, but in particular to cybersecurity.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":256,"children":257},{},[258],{"type":38,"value":259},"Kerry Guard  13:30  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":261,"children":262},{},[263],{"type":38,"value":264},"I'm gonna get on my pedestal, high horse, whatever you wanna call it, for a hot second to sort of lay the stage for this, because I think this is such an important topic, and something I'm pushing pretty hard, to the point where I actually was on another podcast, and then he quoted me directly. And I was like, Wow, that sounds that sounds really harsh when you, like, isolate it as a thing. But I think this is really true, especially for this audience of as marketing and sales, we are a collective who do outreach to have people buy our products and end up using them at the core of what it is that we do have used scaling tactics in a way that has burned bridges and made it worse, took a skeptical audience and made them extra skeptical.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":266,"children":267},{},[268],{"type":38,"value":269},"Yehuda Cagen  14:27  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":271,"children":272},{},[273],{"type":38,"value":274},"Yes, yes, and like they say, you know, it takes a long time to build trust, and it doesn't take much at all to lose that trust. So yeah, you got to be really careful. Yeah, we're there, yeah, but exactly, but at the same times, you can't work in fear, right? I mean that that doesn't necessarily help either. Now it's good to match, you know, mesh in a little bit of fear with some of the passion, but at the same time, if you understand your audience well, and you know that. Yes, certain messages resonate with that audience, then I don't think you have much to be fearful of. Now, obviously, there's going to be people that have a bad day, and they'll lash out on you, and you just have to kind of take it for what it is, right? They probably had a bad day, and then it you're going to, no matter what discipline you're in, you're going to come across challenges and problems and difficult people or people reacting, you know, negatively to what you're doing. And so it's not just a matter of avoiding those challenges, it's how you deal with those challenges. And so you deal with it the way you would any other challenge, right? If someone gets upset, then you own it, and you move on.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":276,"children":277},{},[278],{"type":38,"value":279},"Kerry Guard  15:43  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":281,"children":282},{},[283],{"type":38,"value":284},"And if it's only one or two people, like, if it's only a handful of people, yeah, you know, you take that with a grain of salt, you know, take that as you will, good to learn from it, but also, like, you don't need to react to it, versus an upheaval. We are not Netflix, trying to, you know, break into two parts and DVD versus I think that's really important. Let's talk about the ICP, because that's really what we're here talk about today. And let's start from the beginning of ideal customer profile. We love talking and acronyms for marketers. We make them up all day. Ideal customer profile. Let's talk. Let's break this into two parts. You have your ideal customer, and then what a profile is. So let's talk about what it means to be an ideal customer. What is an ideal customer? And how do you know that you're talking to an ideal customer?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":286,"children":287},{},[288],{"type":38,"value":289},"Yehuda Cagen  16:42  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":291,"children":292},{},[293],{"type":38,"value":294},"Well, I mean the ideal customer profile, and I see it as the cornerstone of any marketing program, right, or any marketing campaign or plan. It's essentially understanding a specific segment within the market, and you know, and your message is basically based on that segment, and you're essentially telling your ideal client profile, or your ideal client, I should say, that you have a specific widget or platform or service that was created specifically just for you, right? And so that's why it's so critical. And I mean, I could take, I think we could take lessons from other industries, right? So we're typically B to B Tech, SAS, cyber security, but let's just, you know, I like to kind of blend a lot of what I do in B to B with some of other experiences and some of what I've read in terms of good marketing and companies that have really perfected the identification and the messaging to their ICP. So, in the case of a B, a good B to C example would be, here's kind of what I mean by the cornerstone of a marketing program. Imagine, imagine if Harley Davidson didn't have an ICP right, and then say, Oh, we just want to build a good mode of transportation for everyone. I mean, they wouldn't look anything near what they look like now. I mean, they kind of honed in on a segment of the population that was very passionate about the open road, very passionate about, you know, kind of their, their, you know, the way the machine has to work, and how they go about it, not just not an A to B. It's not just getting from A to B, right? I mean, if they just market it to the largest, largest segment of the population, they would be a totally different company. So that's what I'm saying. Like it has to be identifying that, that profile or that ideal client has to be the cornerstone of your marketing plan. Because if you don't, it's, you know, you just go into you keep a lot of self-doubt. You'll keep, keep going in many different directions. And then back to what we spoke about earlier, you might just take off some people, because it just doesn't resonate with them. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":296,"children":297},{},[298],{"type":38,"value":299},"Kerry Guard  19:01  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":301,"children":302},{},[303],{"type":38,"value":304},"Yes, to the ticking off piece for sure. Let's talk about the brand. Because I love, excuse me, I was holding my tongue because I had, like, a million brands on, you know, that I was ready to, like, launch into space of, you know, who I, who identified their ideal customer, and, like, really, you know, leaned into that. But the fact that you came up with Harley Davidson is just so magical. Because one, it's not one that came to mind for me. And two, when you think of Harley Davidson, you think of you, I have to imagine the rest of the audience did what I did, where they painted a picture of the person who's probably a bit rough and tumble, got a beard, bandanna on his head, some awesome leather jacket, maybe with an eagle on the back, and like they are riding this hog down the highway and cruising like it's all they want to do. All. Day, every day, you're to your point. There's no destination. They just love on this bike, right? Like, we all painted that a similar picture. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":306,"children":307},{},[308],{"type":38,"value":309},"Yehuda Cagen  20:15  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":311,"children":312},{},[313],{"type":38,"value":314},"And yes, like, yeah, you don't, you don't drive around in a Harley Davidson if you just want to, you know, skip traffic in Amsterdam or something, right? It just doesn't. It's just not, it's just not the persona. It's not the ITP.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":316,"children":317},{},[318],{"type":38,"value":319},"Kerry Guard  20:26  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":321,"children":322},{},[323],{"type":38,"value":324},"No, it's New Hampshire folks of live free or die, right? Like that, and in a good like, in the most, in the best way, I like, in the best, in the best way.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":326,"children":327},{},[328],{"type":38,"value":329},"Yehuda Cagen  20:41  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":331,"children":332},{},[333],{"type":38,"value":334},"And they can tell you. They can tell you what it is, right, every one of their customers, right, their clients.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":336,"children":337},{},[338],{"type":38,"value":339},"Kerry Guard  20:47  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":341,"children":342},{},[343],{"type":38,"value":344},"I have to believe, and I don't know, the story of Harley-Davidson. Now I want to go on this fact-finding mission, because I can't help myself, and I will, and it'll be magical. But I have to believe that it started with the person who built the company, where they probably had a similar persona themselves, where they saw themselves wanting to live this life, and they couldn't find it, and so they went out and built it.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":346,"children":347},{},[348],{"type":38,"value":349},"Yehuda Cagen  21:12  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":351,"children":352},{},[353],{"type":38,"value":354},"Yeah, I mean, it's like, like I said before, right? It's finding that segment of the market, you know, that in you telling that individual this service platform, widget, you know, bike with it was created specifically for you, right? This is who we created for, and this is why, and again, you just lean into their sensibilities, their philosophical viewpoints. I'm not, I don't know. I mean, there's a lot of talk these days around creating demand. Kind of hard to create demand, and we thought a huge budget, but you can certainly channel that demand, and kind of, like I said, lean into their sensibilities and what they're they're into, and what they believe. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":356,"children":357},{},[358],{"type":38,"value":359},"Kerry Guard  21:56  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":361,"children":362},{},[363],{"type":38,"value":364},"I think there's this element that's been lost in the world, and I'd love to, I'd love your opinion on this, Yoda, because you've worked with some smaller companies. Smaller companies and startups, as well as bigger companies. Is that, and I love using the Harley Davidson scenario, because I feel like when you build a thing, you start to think about all the possibilities of what this thing could do, and you lose sight of why you built the thing to begin with. And I feel like, going back to the founder, is a lost piece in that a lost piece to that puzzle of like, well, why did you build it? What did you want from this? Yes, why does this thing exist? Right? You're the ICP once, tell me more.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":366,"children":367},{},[368],{"type":38,"value":369},"Yehuda Cagen  22:43  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":371,"children":372},{},[373],{"type":38,"value":374},"That's right, that's right. Well, I mean, also bear in mind, I mean, the ICP is not something that you just said on the front end of your of your marketing plan and that, and that just stays static for perpetuity. I mean, this something that's all you know, understand that a it has to be realistic, right? You can't just say, Well, I'm just going to, I'm going to start, I'm going to start trying to, let's say, pry customers away from the Harley Davidson. I'm going to create my own bike, right? Be realistic, obviously, and then understand that it can be fluid, right? It can be, and at times, it needs to be fluid, because there's going to be a lot, a little bit of trial and error, though. Again, you should probably do a little bit more market research beforehand, but there's you have to understand kind of where your customers are, and sometimes you'll learn things along the way that you didn't realize, and you might, and that might open the door for other customers, or other segments of it, of the population as well, like look at Arm And HAMMER Baking Soda right now, they found a niche in keeping their freezers fresh, like, Who would have thought, right, right? I mean, so it's now become a fresh baking soda has become a freshness, you know, it's kind of like it's competing with Febreze, or Febreze competing with it, right, in terms of keeping things fresh. So you have to be open to the you know, you can't just be very static. You have to be open to that, the idea that the ICP can be fluid, but, you know, stick with it. And then give yourself, I don't know, 12-18 months, whatever you think is required. And then build, build off of that, right? And set the pivoting, set goals for yourself, and kind of how you want, how long you want to stick with this, and how long you plan to stick with it, and then realize that, and then reassess and see whether you've you've really hit the mark to what extent, and whether you have to pivot a little bit. But I think there is something about, you know, being the ICP, and representing the ICP, and kind of what you would like to see in the market. And there's definitely some validity in that. But you also have to, you know, there are some people like, for example, I mentioned that I'm a Houston Astros fan, or Houston, you know, Texans fan. And, you know, we have, there are certain things that I that I believe that the Astros should. Do, and, you know, that kind of thing. But there are differences in opinion on that. And so you have to, even though you're fonder and you're very passionate about and you understand, at least what you feel is the target persona, you have to also be open to open to a different perspectives, or at least very, you know, varying perspectives at the same time without again, going too far out of that the confines of the ICP.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":376,"children":377},{},[378],{"type":38,"value":379},"Kerry Guard  25:28  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":381,"children":382},{},[383],{"type":38,"value":384},"Let's talk about so I mentioned one way to sort of identify your ICP, about going back to the founder, depending on how big or small you are. But let's talk about how you really uncover. You mentioned so many great examples of how things might accidentally pivot, like Arm and Hammer is a wonderful air fresher for your freezer and so but, but they didn't know that. That's not why they created it, right? So, in thinking about the ICP and the problems we solve for cybersecurity in particular, where do we start in really knowing who we should be marketing to?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":386,"children":387},{},[388],{"type":38,"value":389},"Yehuda Cagen  26:09  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":391,"children":392},{},[393],{"type":38,"value":394},"Well, I think when you build the Yeah, so when you're building the company, or if Lisa, you're building the marketing program, or sales and marketing program, you have to understand, well, who is this for, right? I mean, everyone has to understand who their audience is, right? They say that you, if you try to market to everyone, you're marketing to no one. So you really have to understand, and you can't, you can't, when you look at this, and you do this analysis, you have, you obviously can't be in a vacuum. You have to recognize if there are others in this space, and there are others in this space, and particularly if they're established in this space, you gotta again that goes back to being realistic, right? If you want to go back to, let's say, the Harley Davidson analogy, it's gonna be hard. It'd be really tough to supplant Harley Davidson, right? So you say, well, well, then what other segment do I have, some motorbikes? You know, whatever what our segments could be, maybe it's off-road, right? Maybe it's, maybe it's just trying to get weave in and out of high traffic and high congested traffic areas, you know, whatever it is that you have to, sure, yeah, you're trying to, have to, you're trying to find the the area, or the segment of the population, or the second of the target audience, that that makes most sense to you and to what your platform strengths are, presuming that you've already built the platform, or you've built.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":396,"children":397},{},[398],{"type":38,"value":399},"Kerry Guard  27:30  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":401,"children":402},{},[403],{"type":38,"value":404},"Sure, you have a thing service, right? Sorry, you have a thing you're ready to market.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":406,"children":407},{},[408],{"type":38,"value":409},"Yehuda Cagen  27:37  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":411,"children":412},{},[413],{"type":38,"value":414},"Yeah, yeah, right. So you already have in place, then say, Okay, well, where do I? Where would I resonate most within this market? And obviously you can't be, you know, five people, unless you sell very high ticket items, right? It has to be a nice segment of the population, but also it has to kind of serve a need that is unserved. Otherwise, you get into high commoditization, and you don't want to be in that place, because it's hard to compete, you know, it's a race to the bottom if you want to just, you know, be the Walmart, or whatever your niche is, right? Because there's always going to be another knockoff, another Walmart, someone in China, building something else that's a lot cheaper. So it's just finding that area and then building on it. I, you know, what I like to do in particular. And this kind of speaks, maybe more of an Account Based Marketing, as opposed to, you know, ICP, protect in particular. But it is. It does introduce us to another acronym. So that's fun. ABM, right. You kind of start with, like a dream, a dream, let's say each, let's say sales rep. Because typically, the way I've seen it. Sales reps have always kind of sometimes predated marketing teams. I don't know why that is. Maybe they just, you know, typically, a lot of these cyber security or any kind of SaaS programs.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":416,"children":417},{},[418],{"type":38,"value":419},"Kerry Guard  28:51  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":421,"children":422},{},[423],{"type":38,"value":424},"Early, higher, yeah.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":426,"children":427},{},[428],{"type":38,"value":429},"Yehuda Cagen  28:52  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":431,"children":432},{},[433],{"type":38,"value":434},"Yeah, right. So they're an early hire. So maybe you just take a dream 200 or 100 200 and then go deep and wide on those that list in that particular segment, so you can, again, truly understand what their needs and wants are, and then you build off of that, so that you know that's what I would make recommend as a as a good start. And, just as important, when you're talking about the ICP, you also have to know which segment of the market not to market to and that will not appreciate what you have to offer. I mean, they may appreciate it, but you know, if you get to a point where it is, you've kind of charted into, you know, very cluttered waters, if you will, ever highly saturated markets, then again, you run the rest of become either commoditized or becoming, maybe perhaps a company or an organization or a vision that doesn't align with with a certain audience, and then you end up wasting sales reps time, you might even create a false sense of success, you know. Oh, look, look, all these opportunities. But it can ultimately lead to, you know. Again, wasting sales reps' time, poor sales forecasting, and then, you know, overall bad morale. Because then you start, you start questioning everything. So just as important of understanding who you are segmenting, you also want to understand and appreciate who you're not targeting.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":436,"children":437},{},[438],{"type":38,"value":439},"Kerry Guard  30:19  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":441,"children":442},{},[443],{"type":38,"value":444},"Let's double-click on that for a second, because there are two. Yeah, there are a couple of elements to that. It used to be a numbers game, right? Where it was like, We need CISOs. Let's market to all of them, and then we'll whittle down, and we'll get a handful of the ones who are the right ones. And to your point, Account-Based Marketing has absolutely flipped that on its head. It's like, well, let's stop trying to talk to everyone, and let's talk to the people who are really going to need this thing. There are a couple of challenges with that, though; there are challenges with both. One is you burn a lot of bridges on one side, which is going after every CISO, and then willing down to this will take a lot of time. You've got to muddle through a lot of crap. You definitely burn a lot of money that way. On the flip side, from the ABM perspective, you are honing in on your exact audience. What if it's very small, like there are pros and cons, right? Like, you're talking to the exact right people? Mm, hmm. What if they're not ready to buy right now? ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":446,"children":447},{},[448],{"type":38,"value":449},"Yehuda Cagen  31:27  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":451,"children":452},{},[453],{"type":38,"value":454},"Like, well, well, I mean, statistics suggest that most accounts, or most organizations, are not ready to buy right between three to 10% of the time, depending on, you know, the sales cycles, right? So that's when you have to start, you know, building. And we're going a little bit out of ICP, but, yeah, ICP, but yeah, I mean, sometimes if, again, you have to recognize, if it's a market of 150 you know, accounts or companies, it better be a high ticket item. And again, it has to align with sales goals, sales revenue goals, and growth goals, and everything like that. So you have to recognize at on front, the front end, you know, if you bake in at least some conservative close ratios, right, and say, like, we can get 10% of the market, or 10 we can close 30% of those that we speak to, right? And then you kind of work backward from that, from there. But you have to obviously be cognizant of it. And you said something interesting in terms of every CISO, right? So you have to also recognize, you know, who is the economic buyer, right? Who's signing off the deal, and who are the champ, who are the champions of the deal? Who is going to drive it, or who is going to ultimately be the champion of whatever service or software widget that you sell, right? So, you know, again, everyone likes to go straight to the CISO or straight to the CFO, right? Because they're economic buyer, but it's really critical to also, you know, not just segment the accounts or the companies, but also identifying the champion, a champion, not a championship. See, I'm talking about the Astros, and I'm thinking championship, but you have to identify the champion, and in also create messaging that appeals to those individuals that represent your ICP, because if you don't identify the champion, well, then you can't even make it to the CF the CISO, or the CFO or the the you're not going to make the shortlist to the economic buyer.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":456,"children":457},{},[458],{"type":38,"value":459},"Kerry Guard  33:21  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":461,"children":462},{},[463],{"type":38,"value":464},"It's true, and it makes sure it too, like if you're talking about, we're getting into Account Based Marketing here, but I think it's really critical. When you're talking about your ideal customer profile, it's not necessarily when you're talking. I know when we say, ICP, it sounds singular, ideal customer, singular profile, but the end dates what you're saying, Yehuda, it's actually profiles, and that each part of the organization is going is part of the buying process. It's no longer a single buyer. I don't know if I've ever was, but it definitely is not. Now. It's a committee that is harder. X exponentially harder. And so, really thinking about the different folks that touch this product, whether it's deeply like a practitioner versus a CFO who's just got to sign on the dotted line, you still need to think through the messaging of that and, oh yeah, try to negotiate with CFOs.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":466,"children":467},{},[468],{"type":38,"value":469},"Yehuda Cagen  34:25  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":471,"children":472},{},[473],{"type":38,"value":474},"Man, yeah, it's not easy. And, but you have to, like, not every persona. Let's say you have the champion, you have the Econ. That champion is, might be, let's say, in our space, might be a GRC, the head of compliance, head of security, head of it in some cases. And maybe the CISO or the CFO, in some instances, would be the economic buyer. And then there's the end user, right? And then there's everyone else. So not every persona is created equal, right? You got to focus on those championships, the champion. Here I go again. You got to focus. The champion, right? The champion is, it's, we're getting into baseball season, but you got to focus on the Champion. Just know what everyone else's role is, right? I mean, you can't ignore everyone else, but it's not the same message as everyone else. So if you have the champion, let's say, then who else is there? Right? There's, you have to know what their roles and capabilities are. And typically, if they're not the champion and they're in the decision-making process, then their role often, and their capability is often what is, maybe how to kill the deal. Like, you know, their role is almost like some like a sounding board and saying, what? Tell me why this is a bad idea, so that I don't take this risk. And you know, with this software, this platform, right? So if you know who the champion is, and then who are the potential deal killers, then you got to arm the champion with those you know ways to circumvent those objections, right? So again, different messaging, different materials, different approaches to different constituents within the organization.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":476,"children":477},{},[478],{"type":38,"value":479},"Kerry Guard  36:10  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":481,"children":482},{},[483],{"type":38,"value":484},"Okay, so here's what I heard you say: we have the champion, which is the ultimate person who's going to use this thing and has to figure out how to convince other people that they need it. Yes, you have the economic buyer who is going to sign on the dotted line and approve the thing. And then you have the naysayer, which wasn't your word, but I couldn't remember exactly your exact word, but the person who's coming in to figure out all the reasons why this thing is probably not a good idea. And so you have these three audiences that you have to help your champion, yes, navigate through the right?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":486,"children":487},{},[488],{"type":38,"value":489},"Yehuda Cagen  36:49  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":491,"children":492},{},[493],{"type":38,"value":494},"Exactly, yeah, exactly. I love right. So you're not trying to give the same set of benefits and say, and like you're talking to the champion, and you give them a set of benefits that you know resonate with them. You're not going to take that same set of benefits and speak to other constituents that whose role is essentially to potentially kill the deal. Right? You're going to, you're going to start talking about objections and why you wouldn't, and then responses for why you would, right?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":496,"children":497},{},[498],{"type":38,"value":499},"Kerry Guard  37:14  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":501,"children":502},{},[503],{"type":38,"value":504},"So, objections. Man, talk about objections enough. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":506,"children":507},{},[508],{"type":38,"value":509},"Yehuda Cagen  37:20  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":511,"children":512},{},[513],{"type":38,"value":514},"I don't think, especially in a B-to-B sale, there's always, I mean, because not every audience falls into the same category, right? I mean, even like you just take it in generalities. Forget about cybersecurity, necessarily. C-suite, they're typically looking towards the future. They're looking okay, new way versus old way, right? That kind of thing, you know, those that are maybe in the mid level, you know, mid level managers, mid level management, they want things that are easy to implement, right? They want ways to know that it actually works, right? Because they're, you know, this is typically the champion in many cases, but not always. And so they want to make sure that, you know, since they put, you know, it's their it's their job on the line in many cases, and then there's the end users, right there. They're making the salami or the donuts or whatever, right analogy you're trying to use, right? So for them, you know, sometimes they're not, they may not be decision makers, but those days, those may be how to work it, right? They know, right? They have, they have to know how to work it, because then, then you get into customer attrition or client attrition, and you know, definitely don't want that.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":516,"children":517},{},[518],{"type":38,"value":519},"Kerry Guard  38:26  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":521,"children":522},{},[523],{"type":38,"value":524},"Anyway, I actually went to battle. No, this is important. This is this is critical, because I actually went to battle. We were working with a company, and they wanted to keep working with us. And I was like, the only way we can keep working with you at this point, because it is if you give us somebody, a person who can literally train up my new people, because we've had turnover, and learning your product has been really tricky. So unless you can give me a person who can train them, I cannot redo with your product like that's and that's an end user, and then, like my end users, the people who were coming on board to use this thing had no say in this being the thing that they were going to use, but they had to know how to use it. I think that's so important. And something we're absolutely like, once the once the sale happens, it's like, we're good to go. And it's like, in a fast product, you are not good to go,",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":526,"children":527},{},[528],{"type":38,"value":529},"Yehuda Cagen  39:23  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":531,"children":532},{},[533],{"type":38,"value":534},"No more than anything, sales, marketing, and now CS, right, customer success have to all kinds of work in unison, and they all have to work off of each other, and they'll have to feed off of each other. So again, many different constituencies, constituents within the buying committee, if you will. And so you have to recognize who they are and what messages to send to those individuals, or to present to those individuals, or to present to the champion, to present to those individuals.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":536,"children":537},{},[538],{"type":38,"value":539},"Kerry Guard  39:53  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":541,"children":542},{},[543],{"type":38,"value":544},"And I think this is really helpful, because if you're narrowing it down to this, this helps you want to narrow it down. Right? Like, if you're just going after one segment, and that's you're just gonna go after all of them and blast them, that's one way to play it. Or even better, this makes it this makes a play at why Account Based Marketing is so critical to those higher price ticket items. Because if you really identify who is going to buy from you based off who's bought from you in the past. Know who your champions are of who's pushing the product through. So for us as a marketing agency, right? It's the VP. The VP is ultimately saying, I need, I need a good agency that's going to help my team do better, and then I can get across to the CMO, ultimately, like they're the champion. But we got to work with their managers to make sure that they want to work with us, that like, at the end of the day, they're the end user who's got to like, like us, and the CMOS got to feel like we're going to deliver on our promises, right? But it's the VP that's ultimately our champion in that, and we got to help them, you know, feel like they're making a good decision because it's their neck on the line. I think that's critical. And what gets lost is like it's not just having a champion to give them the right messaging to push this thing through. It's like they're putting themselves on the line to say, this is the product we should use. And here's why. Because if it doesn't work out, or something goes horribly wrong, it's them on the line for IT and security.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":546,"children":547},{},[548],{"type":38,"value":549},"Yehuda Cagen  41:23  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":551,"children":552},{},[553],{"type":38,"value":554},"That's right. You have to recognize their concerns and worries right now, then arm them right, so that's particularly the champions, I mean, in talking about those messages, I remember once, I think it was the beginning of COVID. Yeah, it definitely wasn't COVID. We ran a kind of cold email campaign. This is what background is in the supply chain integration software. And we didn't just target like our key ICP accounts, right? And we didn't just target different personas within the organization, but we also identified those types of companies that who may be suffering as a result of the pandemic, and those who may be succeeding as a result of the pandemic. And so, I think, all in all, we had like 14 different messages, right? So we have like different types of accounts, right to different segments within the within the population. So in the same supply chain, you often have, you know, buyers slash retailers, and then suppliers slash manufacturers. Then you have, then you have those within those areas that who are succeeding versus those that were, you know, probably suffering as a result of the like succeeding may have been, let's say, grocery or pharmaceuticals, or, you know, very, very essential. So those who may have been suffering may have been, you know, suits, right, right, formal wear, right? No one was buying foreign wear when the first, you know, six months of COVID, probably longer, so and so we identified different messaging that would where we hope would resonate with them. And I think it, like I said, 14 different messages. And yes, it takes a lot more time, or considerably more time on the front end, but it can, it can wait. It can save a lot on the back end, in terms of bang your head. Why aren't people, why message messaging resonating? Why are sales cycles so long? Why is it taking so much time to get a return on my investment? I think, I think I, if I recall correctly, you know that that campaign added I quarter million dollars of close revenue. So it's really important. It's really critical to kind of look at it and be as specific as possible. But again, you know, you don't have to say, Okay, we don't have to go that broad, right? 14 different messages, right? Because, again, some individuals within your, you know, within the corporate hierarchy, if you will, they don't really, necessarily hear it. They may need to overcome obstacles. So that's, you know, that's that's later on in the sales cycle, but just recognize kind of who you're talking to and what resonates most with them. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":556,"children":557},{},[558],{"type":38,"value":559},"Kerry Guard  43:50  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":561,"children":562},{},[563],{"type":38,"value":564},"Let's talk about that for a second, because it is a huge lift when you start slicing and dicing, and you're also taking a budget that you're slicing and dicing, right? So the more you divvy up this, these resources, the more you feel like you need. Is that true? Or because you're being so thoughtful and specific, it actually a smaller budget can go a longer way.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":566,"children":567},{},[568],{"type":38,"value":569},"Yehuda Cagen  44:19  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":571,"children":572},{},[573],{"type":38,"value":574},"I think you could be pretty creative with the budget, right? And let's take, you know, like, for example, if you're, if you have, like a, like a LinkedIn, like a LinkedIn type of campaign or paid LinkedIn, right? You're paying for people to, you know, to get in front of people, right? So that can, that's budget can get away from you really quickly. So you want to say maybe, all right, let's focus on the champions first, and then once we get later in the sales cycle, we can provide certain materials where that can satisfy some of the other constituents in the hiring committee, sorry, the buying committee, right? Whereas email, like I said, I mean, there wasn't really a whole lot in terms of, I mean, there was a little bit more time. But, like. I said, I think it turned out to be worthwhile in terms of the time commitment, but yeah, I mean, definitely there, you have to recognize what you what you feel that you can, you know, in terms of return on investment, whether it's a personnel investment or ad spend, you know, hiring consultancies or hiring different coaches or whomever right to kind of get you on the right track. But again, understand who you're talking understanding who you're marketing to, or who you're speaking to. I don't think you can. You don't want to skimp on that. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":576,"children":577},{},[578],{"type":38,"value":579},"Kerry Guard  45:43  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":581,"children":582},{},[583],{"type":38,"value":584},"You just don't know, especially if it's small, and like, you only have so many people shocked you. So if you only so many champions, you don't want to burn those bridges. So being really intentional and understanding about what their",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":586,"children":587},{},[588],{"type":38,"value":589},"Yehuda Cagen  45:55  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":591,"children":592},{},[593],{"type":38,"value":594},"Needs are, and ultimately, it makes it easier. Because, let's say I, you know, there's, I've seen a lot of, like, copywriters and those that, you know, a much, much of their messaging, and they kind of get cutesy phrased on their websites. It's a lot of crossing out, and kind of, you know, working with the messaging, how well it works, how well it doesn't work, what what is extraneous, what is what do we absolutely need? And that becomes so much easier when you have that. Let's say you have that. You know that Harley Davidson person in mind, right? Because you're not gonna, you might be able to weave in and out of traffic. You might be able to take it off-road. But you're not talking to those people, right? You're talking to people just want to hit the open road and, you know, miss the days of Route 66, right? Or whatever it is, right? So, right? You know, think about the days, yeah, so you have a method, and it makes that process a lot easier. Yeah, Nothing's easy, but it simplifies it.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":596,"children":597},{},[598],{"type":38,"value":599},"Kerry Guard  46:53  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":601,"children":602},{},[603],{"type":38,"value":604},"When you really can talk, when you really can talk to people who want to live the dream of whatever it is you're promising? Yeah, oh my gosh. I know we're using a B to C example, but I think we there's so much we can learn from from B to B, from B to C, of how to do a better job of storytelling, connecting with our audience, and helping them feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel of whatever problem they have that we're there to solve. How many times do we do things the hard way, not knowing that there's an easier way in a tool out, right? Like, yeah, so many things. How many, be honest? Yehuda, how many tabs you have open right now of Excel sheets and data?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":606,"children":607},{},[608],{"type":38,"value":609},"Yehuda Cagen  47:37  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":611,"children":612},{},[613],{"type":38,"value":614},"Too many likes, I actually have. I actually have, like, not just tabs on my, on my Chrome, but like, different sets of tabs based on whatever, whatever I'm working on, right? So there's, you know, ICP tabs, right? So that that includes, you know, notes on ICP notes, ICP documentation, right? And then there's competitor tabs, right? We're looking at the competitors, and there are all these different types, and there's paid, paid ads, and organic, right? So that can go straight to it. So yes, too, too many tabs, for sure.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":616,"children":617},{},[618],{"type":38,"value":619},"Kerry Guard  48:16  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":621,"children":622},{},[623],{"type":38,"value":624},"We have to believe that there's maybe a better way, but maybe there's not, and that's just the world we're in right now. But that's how our audience feels, right, like so painting that picture for them of less tabs and less headaches and less, you know, what the B to C community definitely has unlocked. And we're we're behind what we're catching up.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":626,"children":627},{},[628],{"type":38,"value":629},"Yehuda Cagen  48:34  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":631,"children":632},{},[633],{"type":38,"value":634},"Ultimately, you're just talking, yeah, exactly. Ultimately, you're talking to people. Still, I don't think AI is advanced enough for people to make those that's for to have aI make those decisions for you, though, might get there, but by the same time, you got to you got to be able to train the AI, but in any way. But when it comes down to it, I think a mistake that some B to B marketers might make is they ultimately in they're saying, Well, that's what, that's better for B to C, right? And that's better for this. But, you know, a lot of the B to C practices gave rise to some of the B to B marketing practices. And what happened is we became, so we became maybe, maybe that's an instance where we came too focused on, well, we're on B to B. So therefore, I have to speak in a matter that that has acronyms and jargon and everything like that, and that's where you and it just that doesn't work either, right? So just because 1b's to C and one's 1b's to B, you're ultimately talking to humans that are making these decisions, and you have to, again, lean into those, those them and their sensibilities and their philosophical viewpoints and everything that matters to them. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":636,"children":637},{},[638],{"type":38,"value":639},"Kerry Guard  49:44  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":641,"children":642},{},[643],{"type":38,"value":644},"Everything that matters to them so much. Yes, that's what I heard you say in a recap, and then giving you a chance to double down, Kerry, if I'm wrong or say something that maybe I missed. But really, what I'm hearing you say is, when you're trying to identify your ideal customer, start very high level. What are the accounts? Companies that are going to make the most sense of who's buying your product. And you can look at your existing customers, you can go back to the founder to understand what it was they were trying to do, but really understanding, like from a B to B perspective, who are the accounts, and then from there, identifying your champion, who is going to ultimately be able to make the decision on this thing, knowing that they are going to need a committee around them, but like, who's going to who's going to be the voice inside the company to say this is a product for me, and here is why. And then from there, identifying your end users who you're going to need to make friends with, because they need to love this thing once they're once they're making it happen to the C suite, who has to sign off, and you know, whether that's both the CISO and the CFO to the naysayers are going to come in and poke those holes and poke the bear and say, Do we really, though, but do we and really dialing in your messaging for all those audiences, but starting from the top, from those accounts, and then digging into your champion, and then beyond. In terms of who your ideal customer profiles are. Did I miss anything there, or hear anything you want to double down on? Help us. You're muted. Unmute yourself. Let's go. You're muted. You're muted.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":646,"children":647},{},[648],{"type":38,"value":649},"Yehuda Cagen  51:19  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":651,"children":652},{},[653],{"type":38,"value":654},"Sorry. There we go. Though I think you got it right. And the only thing that I would add to that is you've got to arm your champion, right, with the right materials, with the right objection handling, make sure that you make them the hero, right? That's critical. That's a critical component. You can't just recognize what those others are. You know that there are other constituents in the buying committee, but you have to arm them as well. So I think that's something that should be noted, as well. When you're building that ICP, you have to be on record. You have to recognize the competition, right? Again, you're not living it. You're not working in a vacuum, and if they've got strangleholds on it, then you've got to find a way. You know, either you can try to reposition, reposition the competition, like, okay, so I'll take, I'll show you an example of that repositioning up the competition. The competition would again be B to C, but I'll give another B to b1. Seven Up became the Un-Cola, whatever that means, right? But it was successful, right? And then, but it was successful because, you know, people that don't like the, maybe the heaviness of cola, it's a little lighter, right? It's, you know, so that's seven up. And then go back to, you know, one of the key kinds of cloud companies? One of the original Salesforce.com, they, you know, they used to have a software with an X through it, where they unsoft for a company, because you don't need to install software. You don't need to have experts that understand how to install and, you know, and implement the software. It's very intuitive. It's based, it's, it's, it's hosted in the cloud, right? So you can also reposition the competition. But what the thing I would add is that you have to make sure to take the the understand the competitive landscape as well as you're finding your ICP, and, you know, positioning your company within that ICP, and nothing else should matter after you've done that.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":656,"children":657},{},[658],{"type":38,"value":659},"Kerry Guard  53:20  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":661,"children":662},{},[663],{"type":38,"value":664},"Those are things. Yeah, yeah. I love that. I think that's a wonderful triangulation of the of really understanding what your customers up against. You need. You need those competitive you need the competitive landscape. You don't understand the negative space in which you play. And you need to understand what problems you solve for your customer, and then arming that champion to bring that all into the company. Yeah, yeah. Messaging is you got it is key. Your differentiation is key. It's so hard. We are not trying to show up and say you this is easy. You got this. We are here to say. We are here to help. So, Yehuda, if people want to understand more, and they have questions, and they want to say, yes, I want to do this, tell me more. Where can they find you? To do that?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":666,"children":667},{},[668],{"type":38,"value":669},"Yehuda Cagen  54:09  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":671,"children":672},{},[673],{"type":38,"value":674},"Oh, they can find me on LinkedIn. It's yeah, they can find me on LinkedIn. I also work for a Sten do right now. So they can, they can find me through astenio At, y, C, A, G, E N, at astenio, s, o, s, t, e n, d, I, o.com, but you know, LinkedIn is, you know, if it's just generic types of questions, then, you know, feel free to hit me up on on LinkedIn, and I'd be happy to provide any any guidance that I could I really enjoy this conversation, and I I enjoy doing this, doing this kind of thing, and talking marketing Absolutely.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":676,"children":677},{},[678],{"type":38,"value":679},"Kerry Guard  54:49  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":681,"children":682},{},[683],{"type":38,"value":684},"So we're here for Yes, yes. We need to, you know, that's one of the things that I really loved about the cybersecurity community, in particular, is that we are all in this together. From a marketing standpoint, we're all trying to figure it out. We're all trying to learn together. There is no secret sauce, or, I'm afraid, to give things away. It's here it is. Let me know. Here it is.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":686,"children":687},{},[688],{"type":38,"value":689},"Yehuda Cagen  55:12  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":691,"children":692},{},[693],{"type":38,"value":694},"Exactly, exactly. And again, if you're dealing, if you're talking to cybersecurity, above everything else, know. If you know your ICP, you know that you cannot, Bs, then you cannot fluff your way into a conversation, right? Be real with them. You have to be real with them. Absolutely, that real, human, genuine, truthful, right? Because there's no other way to build trust, particularly with them, but in general, of course, as well, right? People are too skeptical these days.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":696,"children":697},{},[698],{"type":38,"value":699},"Kerry Guard  55:44  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":701,"children":702},{},[703],{"type":38,"value":704},"Yeah, the true thing. We could unpack that all day long. Well, Yehuda, before we close out, thank you for letting people know where to find you. But you're more than a marketer. You, too, are a human, and I love to know that, for 2024, we're still in the first half of the year. It's still early enough, COVID-19. We figured out how to live with it, but we are through the worst of it, and now we're on the horizon. So what are you most looking forward to in the year to come? ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":706,"children":707},{},[708],{"type":38,"value":709},"Yehuda Cagen  56:18  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":711,"children":712},{},[713],{"type":38,"value":714},"Are you saying beyond marketing or",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":716,"children":717},{},[718],{"type":38,"value":719},"Kerry Guard  56:21  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":721,"children":722},{},[723],{"type":38,"value":724},"yeah, life,",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":726,"children":727},{},[728],{"type":38,"value":729},"Yehuda Cagen  56:23  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":731,"children":732},{},[733],{"type":38,"value":734},"life, okay. I mean, sorry,",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":736,"children":737},{},[738],{"type":38,"value":739},"Kerry Guard  56:27  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":741,"children":742},{},[743],{"type":38,"value":744},"yeah. Life,",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":746,"children":747},{},[748],{"type":38,"value":749},"Yehuda Cagen  56:28  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":751,"children":752},{},[753],{"type":38,"value":754},"Yeah. I mean, I think, I think there's, there's, we talked a little bit about, you know, some of the positive outcomes of COVID and working remotely and Zoom and things like that. I think one of the things that I really like about what you've done and reached out to me, and like you said, everyone kind of helping out each other. I'm looking forward to kind of continuing conversations, not necessarily just with like-minded individuals, though that is a good marketing approach, but even those that may not agree with you. I think sometimes some of the negative ramifications of remote and remote working or remote communication is that you don't get really to kind of see different perspectives, particularly with social media, with the algorithms to keep you on there. You know, things polarized. So I'm looking forward to ways to connect with other people, whether or not they agree with me, and how things are going, and getting other perspectives. I mean that that is something I mean beyond sports, beyond watching the rest of Kerry's enthusiasm and last season, those are a few things. But just as a general rule, I'm really looking forward. I think it's really critical, and particularly as we kind of, so to speak, hide behind screens, right? And, you know, we can feel like we have a little bit of bravado, and we can kind of dig our heels in; again, that's that can be good for marketing. But you know, beyond that, and on a human level, and you mentioned a human level, I think we have to sometimes understand the diversity of thoughts, right? And what people come from different perspectives, and understand where they're coming from. Because I think the you know, when you stop having that conversation, everyone's, everyone's going to be tribal anyway, right? But if you can, if you can get those tribes to kind of understand where the other is coming from, I'm looking forward to, forward to a year that that people finally get to understand, you know, and come to understand each other, as opposed to just, you know, digging their heels in and feeling that their their way is the best, right? I That's kind of what I'm looking forward to again, beyond my sports teams, you know, Kerry's enthusiasm, all those cool things, and everything. With regard to my family, I mean, I'm looking forward to a good, happy, healthy, successful 2024, but I would like to see a little bit more of that, to be honest.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":756,"children":757},{},[758],{"type":38,"value":759},"Kerry Guard  58:51  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":761,"children":762},{},[763],{"type":38,"value":764},"Yes, oh my gosh, less polarization and more seeking to understand, absolutely yes, I am so here for that. If you are going to be at the Cybersecurity Marketing Con, I will be there in person. And if you are there, you had a love; I would love to have some more in-person conversations to unpack that. And if you're going to be there in person, those who are listening, come find me if you want to have honest conversations, like you just talked about. I am here for it. Yes, that. And having them in person, I think, just really opens up the space to not hide behind those screens, not hide behind texting and words, but to actually, like, really sit with our human and unpack, unpack it.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":766,"children":767},{},[768],{"type":38,"value":769},"Yehuda Cagen  59:35  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":771,"children":772},{},[773],{"type":38,"value":774},"Ah, exactly, exactly, and help each other out. Yeah, help each other out.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":776,"children":777},{},[778],{"type":38,"value":779},"Kerry Guard  59:41  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":781,"children":782},{},[783],{"type":38,"value":784},"We're all in this same LinkedIn, cybersecurity, B2B marketing space together, and the only way out is to build each other up. Yes to that.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":786,"children":787},{},[788],{"type":38,"value":789},"Unknown Speaker  59:50  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":791,"children":792},{},[793],{"type":38,"value":794},"Yes, yes, absolutely. I'm on board.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":796,"children":797},{},[798],{"type":38,"value":799},"Kerry Guard  59:56  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":801,"children":802},{},[803],{"type":38,"value":804},"I love it. I love it. Well, we are gonna have a part two, because. There are definitely some topics here that we have left unfinished, and I recognize that, but thank you all for hanging in there with us. Yehuda, I'm so grateful for this conversation. Thank you.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":806,"children":807},{},[808],{"type":38,"value":809},"Yehuda Cagen  1:00:09  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":811,"children":812},{},[813],{"type":38,"value":814},"Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. This was a lot of fun.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":816,"children":817},{},[818],{"type":38,"value":819},"Kerry Guard  1:00:12  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":821,"children":822},{},[823],{"type":38,"value":824},"This episode was brought to you by mkg marketing, the digital marketing agency that helps complex brands build trust with complex audiences via SEO and digital ads, complex brands like Extra Hub Networks, a cybersecurity marketing company who mkg went on a seven-year journey that culminated in a $900 million exit in Bain Capital and Crosspoint Ventures. It's hosted by me, Kerry Guard, CEO of MKG Marketing. And if you're a B2B digital marketing leader in tech and you like to be a guest, to unpack great topics like we had today, I would love to have you come find me. Let's hang out. Yehuda, thank you again.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":826,"children":827},{},[828],{"type":38,"value":829},"Yehuda Cagen  1:00:50  ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":831,"children":832},{},[833],{"type":38,"value":834},"Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":837},2,[838,839],{"id":31,"depth":836,"text":39},{"id":48,"depth":836,"text":54},"markdown","content:podcasts:marketing-leaders:icp-isnt-static-heres-how-to-get-it-right.md","content","podcasts/marketing-leaders/icp-isnt-static-heres-how-to-get-it-right.md","podcasts/marketing-leaders/icp-isnt-static-heres-how-to-get-it-right","md",[847,1148,1456,1815,2243],{"_path":848,"_dir":849,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":850,"description":851,"date":852,"img":853,"imgAlt":854,"body":855,"_type":840,"_id":1144,"_source":842,"_file":1145,"_stem":1146,"_extension":845,"category":849,"minutes":1147},"/blog/seo/the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm","seo","The 2026 Brand Visibility Audit: Is Your ICP Finding Your Competitors in the LLM?","When your target accounts use AI search to shortlist vendors, do you exist? Here is how to audit your brand presence and reverse competitive displacement.","2026-05-27T14:44:51.901Z","https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/1ebdbd36-b81a-40c3-b8d6-528986294139-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-hero-image.webp","Brand Visibility Audit",{"type":25,"children":856,"toc":1135},[857,862,867,889,894,902,911,916,921,926,931,940,945,950,970,975,982,991,996,1001,1006,1011,1020,1025,1030,1043,1048,1055,1064,1069,1074,1092,1097,1106,1111,1116,1121,1130],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":858,"children":859},{},[860],{"type":38,"value":861},"For years, B2B marketing operated on a straightforward logic: win the search engine results page, win the pipeline. Teams engineered content to capture specific keywords, mapped backlinks to boost domain authority, and celebrated when landing pages claimed the top spots on Google. If a prospective customer in your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) looked for a solution, your site appeared.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":863,"children":864},{},[865],{"type":38,"value":866},"That logic no longer holds. A complete decoupling has occurred between traditional website traffic and the actual vendor shortlisting process. B2B buyers are bypassing the endless lists of blue links entirely. Instead of clicking through five different websites to read corporate marketing copy, they are leveraging large language models (LLMs) to perform the heavy lifting of vendor evaluation.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":868,"children":869},{},[870,872,887],{"type":38,"value":871},"This behavior is a structural reality. Data from",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":874,"children":878},"a",{"href":875,"rel":876},"https://company.g2.com/news/g2-research-the-answer-economy",[877],"nofollow",[879,881],{"type":38,"value":880}," ",{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":883,"children":884},"u",{},[885],{"type":38,"value":886},"G2’s 2026 Answer Economy Report",{"type":38,"value":888}," reveals that 51% of B2B software buyers now begin their vendor research inside an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. Buyers are leaning into a centralized discovery model in which they issue a single, structured prompt to an LLM to compare market options. The model synthesizes data from across the web, evaluates capabilities, and surfaces a definitive recommendation.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":890,"children":891},{},[892],{"type":38,"value":893},"The challenge arises when your target accounts run these prompts, and your competitors are consistently cited as the preferred solution while your brand is completely left out of the answer. It is a highly efficient form of Competitive Displacement. If your organization does not appear in the model's synthesized output, you are filtered out before a sales representative is even considered. Reclaiming your place in the funnel requires moving past traditional SEO and mastering Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO).",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":895,"children":896},{},[897],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":899,"children":901},"img",{"alt":7,"src":900},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/15431b64-54bd-447a-b57e-c64f2f7b9398-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-image-1.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":903,"children":905},{"id":904},"the-reality-of-llm-synthetic-vetting",[906],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":907,"children":908},{},[909],{"type":38,"value":910},"The Reality of LLM Synthetic Vetting",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":912,"children":913},{},[914],{"type":38,"value":915},"When an LLM builds a B2B vendor shortlist, it doesn’t scan the web like a human. It isn’t impressed by a sleek homepage or polished brand copy. Instead, it treats the digital landscape as a single, connected dataset and assesses vendors based on entity clarity, semantic relevance, and pattern recognition.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":917,"children":918},{},[919],{"type":38,"value":920},"If an enterprise software buyer asks an LLM for platforms that meet specific compliance standards, deployment models, and pricing structures, the model goes back to its processed data layers for hard evidence. It searches for alignment across technical documentation, community conversations, and independent sources before producing an answer.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":922,"children":923},{},[924],{"type":38,"value":925},"That creates a serious blind spot for teams still operating on legacy marketing assumptions. You might own the top spot on a traditional search engine for a high-intent keyword, but if the model can’t confidently interpret your product architecture or validate your customer satisfaction, you’ll be excluded from its comparison set. Instead, it will surface competitors whose data is clean, structured, and consistently verified across the web.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":927,"children":928},{},[929],{"type":38,"value":930},"In this new reality, visibility is less about acquisition and more about indexation and structure. To influence how models evaluate your company, you must deliberately manage the information they ingest. Treat the public web as your LLM training data layer—and consider audited, third-party environments as your core competitive arena.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":932,"children":934},{"id":933},"executing-a-diagnostic-brand-visibility-audit",[935],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":936,"children":937},{},[938],{"type":38,"value":939},"Executing a Diagnostic Brand Visibility Audit",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":941,"children":942},{},[943],{"type":38,"value":944},"To correct a deficit in AI search visibility, an enterprise cannot rely on guesswork. You need a systematic, repeatable diagnostic protocol to discover exactly where the models are pulling their information, why they favor alternative solutions, and how they perceive your overall Search Sentiment.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":946,"children":947},{},[948],{"type":38,"value":949},"This diagnostic process requires three foundational execution phases:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":952,"children":953},"ul",{},[954,960,965],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":956,"children":957},"li",{},[958],{"type":38,"value":959},"Intent-Based Prompt Baselining: Test a standardized matrix of procurement prompts across major models like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT. Document the exact terminology used to describe your category, track which competitors populate the shortlists, and analyze the specific source citations generated by the engines to back up their recommendations.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":961,"children":962},{},[963],{"type":38,"value":964},"Review Ecosystem Quantification: Assess the volume, recency, and detailed text sentiment of your third-party evaluation profiles. Models rely heavily on independent customer validation to verify brand claims; a stagnation in your review pipeline signals a high risk of model omission.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":966,"children":967},{},[968],{"type":38,"value":969},"Entity Verification and Mapping: Inspect how consistently your core capabilities, naming structures, and integrations are stated across public channels. Inconsistent nomenclature across your website, product registries, and press releases dilutes the LLM's pattern-matching capability, causing it to bypass your brand due to data uncertainty.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":971,"children":972},{},[973],{"type":38,"value":974},"By treating this audit as a precise engineering diagnostic rather than a creative exercise, you reveal the specific technical gaps that are causing your competitive omission. You shift the conversation from a vague discussion about brand awareness to a concrete roadmap for structural data optimization.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":976,"children":977},{},[978],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":979,"children":981},{"alt":7,"src":980},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/7ff92deb-11ff-4c70-acaa-433b513eeac0-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-image-2.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":983,"children":985},{"id":984},"establishing-narrative-control-via-consistency",[986],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":987,"children":988},{},[989],{"type":38,"value":990},"Establishing Narrative Control via Consistency",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":992,"children":993},{},[994],{"type":38,"value":995},"The definitive solution to an AI visibility deficit is a relentless dedication to operational Consistency. In a marketing landscape that changes every quarter, consistency is the operational framework that turns sporadic actions into a predictable, compounding authority engine. For a language model to confidently output your brand name as a trusted option, it must recognize a steady, unfragmented pattern of authoritative data over time.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":997,"children":998},{},[999],{"type":38,"value":1000},"This operational rhythm applies directly to how you structure and distribute your subject matter expertise. Language models prioritize information that is backed by verified experts, deep industry use cases, and recurring, high-value concepts. When your technical leaders contribute regular, deep-dive insights to reputable public engineering repositories, trusted community hubs, and authoritative industry spaces, you continuously feed the exact data pools that models crawl.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1002,"children":1003},{},[1004],{"type":38,"value":1005},"A short-term, campaign-driven approach fails completely under this model. You cannot run a one-time push to force your way into an LLM's next update cycle. The models are designed to identify long-term consensus and verified domain expertise.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1007,"children":1008},{},[1009],{"type":38,"value":1010},"Maintaining a disciplined, predictable cadence of technical data output ensures your company is recognized as an immutable category leader. This approach hardcodes your product capabilities into the data layers that models rely on to construct competitive matrix responses, thereby protecting your pipeline from displacement.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1012,"children":1014},{"id":1013},"why-structured-data-ingestion-wins-the-funnel",[1015],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1016,"children":1017},{},[1018],{"type":38,"value":1019},"Why Structured Data Ingestion Wins the Funnel",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1021,"children":1022},{},[1023],{"type":38,"value":1024},"The primary advantage of a fully optimized brand footprint is the velocity at which you can capture modern buyer intent. When an AI search engine is tasked with compiling an urgent vendor shortlist, it favors the path of least risk and highest data integrity.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1026,"children":1027},{},[1028],{"type":38,"value":1029},"Consider the contrasting outcomes between two distinct structural approaches:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1031,"children":1032},{},[1033,1038],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1034,"children":1035},{},[1036],{"type":38,"value":1037},"The Unstructured Site: A company relies on creative, stylized copywriting buried inside static image layouts or gated PDF forms. The LLM cannot confidently extract technical metrics, security protocols, or API pricing structures. Fearing a hallucination, the model excludes the company from the generated answer.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1039,"children":1040},{},[1041],{"type":38,"value":1042},"The Structured Knowledge Base: A company deploys an advanced technical semantic layer that utilizes clean schemas, verified review pipelines, and consistent cross-platform definitions. The model instantly extracts, categorizes, and validates the company's compliance credentials, placing them at the top of the recommended shortlist with explicit trust citations.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1044,"children":1045},{},[1046],{"type":38,"value":1047},"This dynamic demonstrates why modern technical documentation is an essential component of a mid-funnel conversion strategy. API tables, security registries, and integration matrices are no longer just assets for post-sale implementation; they are high-value entry points for automated procurement discovery. By making this information perfectly machine-readable, you eliminate the friction that keeps your brand from being detected by automated evaluation systems.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1049,"children":1050},{},[1051],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1052,"children":1054},{"alt":7,"src":1053},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/80069c1b-7cc2-44cd-abe9-bc52ca56473f-mkg-blog-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-image-3.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1056,"children":1058},{"id":1057},"systematized-brand-visibility-optimization",[1059],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1060,"children":1061},{},[1062],{"type":38,"value":1063},"Systematized Brand Visibility Optimization",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1065,"children":1066},{},[1067],{"type":38,"value":1068},"Succeeding in this decentralized landscape requires moving past ad-hoc optimization tactics and installing a repeatable, unified operational system. Marketing programs must stop acting like creative experimental centers and begin running like structured technical operations.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1070,"children":1071},{},[1072],{"type":38,"value":1073},"This requires aligning your cross-functional execution around three operational areas:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1075,"children":1076},{},[1077,1082,1087],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1078,"children":1079},{},[1080],{"type":38,"value":1081},"Citations and Authority Share: Track how frequently major models cite your domain or your trusted third-party profiles relative to your primary competitors during category-focused prompts.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1083,"children":1084},{},[1085],{"type":38,"value":1086},"Data Pattern Uniformity: Enforce a strict internal governance model to ensure that every public reference to your product capabilities, pricing architectures, and compliance standards matches perfectly across the web.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1088,"children":1089},{},[1090],{"type":38,"value":1091},"Review Ingestion Velocity: Build an automated customer feedback mechanism that continuously streams fresh, high-context review text into independent directories, keeping the models supplied with recent trust signals.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1093,"children":1094},{},[1095],{"type":38,"value":1096},"When these operations run on a fixed, uninterrupted schedule, your organization builds an enduring market advantage. You stop chasing shifting search engine algorithms and start managing the foundational data infrastructure that governs all automated business decisions.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1098,"children":1100},{"id":1099},"reclaiming-the-initiative-in-the-era-of-inference",[1101],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1102,"children":1103},{},[1104],{"type":38,"value":1105},"Reclaiming the Initiative in the Era of Inference",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1107,"children":1108},{},[1109],{"type":38,"value":1110},"The emergence of the AI-driven buyer is not an existential threat to organizations that lead with deep expertise, operational clarity, and strict engineering discipline. It is a threat to organizations that rely on high-volume, generic content inflation and unverified marketing claims. If your digital presence reads like an un-indexed corporate brochure, automated systems will drop you from consideration.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1112,"children":1113},{},[1114],{"type":38,"value":1115},"We specialize in designing and implementing the technical architectures and operating cadences that keep organizations highly visible across the entire modern discovery funnel. By combining technical semantic layer engineering with disciplined execution rhythms, we ensure your brand authority is clear, verifiable, and undeniable to both human buyers and machine-learning algorithms.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1117,"children":1118},{},[1119],{"type":38,"value":1120},"Do not allow your company to be quietly displaced from your ideal market segments by an information structure failure. Audit your digital footprint, structure your institutional knowledge, and implement a brand-visibility operating model built to dominate the modern synthesis.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1122,"children":1124},{"id":1123},"summary",[1125],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1126,"children":1127},{},[1128],{"type":38,"value":1129},"Summary",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1131,"children":1132},{},[1133],{"type":38,"value":1134},"The B2B purchasing journey has undergone a dramatic structural shift, with 51% of software buyers now launching vendor research inside AI chatbots rather than traditional search engines. This behavioral change introduces a major risk of Competitive Displacement for brands that are missing from model outputs or excluded from automatic shortlist synthesis. To protect your pipeline, enterprises must deploy a rigorous Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO) strategy. By running systematic prompt diagnostics to audit Search Sentiment, maintaining a regular schedule for publishing expert content, and ensuring that all product capabilities are cleanly embedded in LLM Training Data, organizations can secure automated market discovery and reclaim narrative control across every AI search interface.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":1136},[1137,1138,1139,1140,1141,1142,1143],{"id":904,"depth":836,"text":910},{"id":933,"depth":836,"text":939},{"id":984,"depth":836,"text":990},{"id":1013,"depth":836,"text":1019},{"id":1057,"depth":836,"text":1063},{"id":1099,"depth":836,"text":1105},{"id":1123,"depth":836,"text":1129},"content:blog:seo:the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm.md","blog/seo/the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm.md","blog/seo/the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-is-your-icp-finding-your-competitors-in-the-llm",8,{"_path":1149,"_dir":849,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":1150,"description":1151,"date":1152,"img":1153,"imgAlt":1154,"body":1155,"_type":840,"_id":1453,"_source":842,"_file":1454,"_stem":1455,"_extension":845,"category":849,"minutes":1147},"/blog/seo/escaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you","Escaping the Black Box - Installing an SVO Operating System That Runs Without You","When marketing feels like a high-priced experiment you have to babysit, it's time to build a system that captures AI demand autonomously.","2026-05-20T16:17:50.900Z","https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/24970ef5-a49e-4a91-b5fd-c8c55d107084-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-hero-image.webp","Thought leadership workspace with AI strategy planning.",{"type":25,"children":1156,"toc":1445},[1157,1162,1167,1172,1186,1191,1196,1203,1209,1214,1219,1252,1257,1262,1268,1273,1278,1311,1316,1323,1329,1334,1339,1372,1377,1383,1388,1393,1398,1405,1411,1416,1421,1426,1431,1435,1440],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1158,"children":1159},{},[1160],{"type":38,"value":1161},"Many founders eventually hit a point where marketing feels less like a predictable growth engine and more like an expensive experiment. Budgets get spent, campaigns go live, and specialized agencies share intricate dashboards full of surface-level metrics. But despite all that activity, what's actually happening inside the operation remains unclear. Pipeline swings up and down, and the real drivers stay hidden in a \"black box\" of technical jargon, fragmented reports, and assumptions no one can confidently prove.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1163,"children":1164},{},[1165],{"type":38,"value":1166},"When marketing runs this way, the burden shifts back onto leadership. You're pulled into weekly status calls to fix strategy on the fly, interpret conflicting channel data, and manually translate between siloed teams. Instead of guiding the company's growth, you're stuck overseeing execution. You effectively become the project manager of your own growth engine—a role that drains your attention and pulls you away from running the business.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1168,"children":1169},{},[1170],{"type":38,"value":1171},"As the digital landscape continues to evolve, this model simply doesn't hold. The old approach, buying traffic and sending it to a static landing page to collect a form fill, is breaking down under new buyer behavior. The customer journey has split into multiple paths, and traditional search alone can no longer capture every qualified prospect who raises their hand.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1173,"children":1174},{},[1175,1177,1184],{"type":38,"value":1176},"According to",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":1178,"children":1181},{"href":1179,"rel":1180},"https://learn.g2.com/g2-2026-ai-search-insight-report",[877],[1182],{"type":38,"value":1183}," G2's 2026 Answer Economy Insight Report",{"type":38,"value":1185},", 51% of B2B software buyers now begin their purchasing research inside an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. These buyers are bypassing search results entirely, using structured prompts to command large language models (LLMs) to synthesize vendor shortlists on their behalf. They are looking for direct, synthesized comparisons rather than an endless list of blue links to open individually.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1187,"children":1188},{},[1189],{"type":38,"value":1190},"If your marketing program only works when you're personally involved, it isn't built for a world where machines are increasingly evaluating other machines. When a large language model scans the web to build a vendor shortlist for an enterprise buyer, it's not admiring your branding or clicking on your clever CTAs; it's processing data.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1192,"children":1193},{},[1194],{"type":38,"value":1195},"Breaking out of this pattern requires moving away from one-off tactics and toward Systematized Growth. That means putting a true operational structure in place, a Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) framework, designed to automatically capture demand from generative search, so your company can scale without constant founder oversight.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1197,"children":1198},{},[1199],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1200,"children":1202},{"alt":7,"src":1201},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/01d3c7af-7410-4a50-8d1c-d1ed6728438d-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-image-1.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1204,"children":1206},{"id":1205},"the-operational-breakdown-of-gated-marketing",[1207],{"type":38,"value":1208},"The Operational Breakdown of Gated Marketing",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1210,"children":1211},{},[1212],{"type":38,"value":1213},"When marketing turns into an unmanaged black box, it's often because the company has grown on random acts of marketing. One contractor runs ads, an agency owns organic search, and someone in-house is responsible for content. Each group uses its own tools, cadence, and success metrics—leaving the founder to play interpreter and enforcer, tying everything together by hand.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1215,"children":1216},{},[1217],{"type":38,"value":1218},"This manual oversight introduces severe structural vulnerabilities across the organization:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1220,"children":1221},{},[1222,1232,1242],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1223,"children":1224},{},[1225,1230],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1226,"children":1227},{},[1228],{"type":38,"value":1229},"Fragmented Data Layers:",{"type":38,"value":1231}," The advertising team measures cost per click, while the content team tracks page views. Neither team can tell you how their efforts affect the AI models actively shaping your industry's vendor shortlists, leaving a massive gap in your overall pipeline attribution.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1233,"children":1234},{},[1235,1240],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1236,"children":1237},{},[1238],{"type":38,"value":1239},"Wasted Executive Energy:",{"type":38,"value":1241}," You spend critical leadership hours in meetings that read updates out loud, rather than making strategic adjustments based on data trends. Instead of reviewing outcomes, you are tracking tasks.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1243,"children":1244},{},[1245,1250],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1246,"children":1247},{},[1248],{"type":38,"value":1249},"Invisible Funnel Leaks:",{"type":38,"value":1251}," When a buyer asks an LLM to compare your product to a competitor, and the model misrepresents your pricing or ignores your core security features, your team doesn't catch it. The loss happens in private, untrackable environments before a lead is ever generated.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1253,"children":1254},{},[1255],{"type":38,"value":1256},"To remove this friction, marketing needs to run on a repeatable, transparent operating system. Work can't live in someone's inbox or on a personal drive—it has to move through a shared workspace where priorities, blockers, and owners are immediately clear.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1258,"children":1259},{},[1260],{"type":38,"value":1261},"With this kind of systemic visibility in place, you can achieve true off-my-plate execution. The founder can quickly check progress at any time, without chasing down updates or pulling the team into extra status meetings.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1263,"children":1265},{"id":1264},"structuring-the-svo-operating-system",[1266],{"type":38,"value":1267},"Structuring the SVO Operating System",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1269,"children":1270},{},[1271],{"type":38,"value":1272},"A scalable marketing engine cannot rely on human vigilance; it must rely on a closed-loop infrastructure. We apply a standardized architecture that aligns strategy, processes, and people into a singular operating rhythm. This framework ensures that your technical authority is structured correctly for both the human prospect and the LLM crawler, operating entirely without founder hand-holding.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1274,"children":1275},{},[1276],{"type":38,"value":1277},"This structural shift requires executing three distinct operational deployment steps:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1279,"children":1280},{},[1281,1291,1301],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1282,"children":1283},{},[1284,1289],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1285,"children":1286},{},[1287],{"type":38,"value":1288},"Funnel Bottleneck Diagnosis:",{"type":38,"value":1290}," Strip away channel-specific commentary to analyze exactly where pipeline value is stalling—whether it is an attribution deficit in your digital advertising or a visibility failure inside AI search databases. We locate the single point of failure rather than spreading focus across twenty different minor metrics.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1292,"children":1293},{},[1294,1299],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1295,"children":1296},{},[1297],{"type":38,"value":1298},"Weekly Sprint Cadence:",{"type":38,"value":1300}," Shift execution from monolithic quarterly goals to predictable weekly sprint cycles. Each sprint must assign clear deliverables, explicit ownership, and measurable output criteria to eliminate execution drift and keep the team focused on high-priority tasks.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1302,"children":1303},{},[1304,1309],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1305,"children":1306},{},[1307],{"type":38,"value":1308},"Semantic Layer Integration:",{"type":38,"value":1310}," Map your product specifications, technical case studies, and compliance data into clean, structured schemas that LLMs use to validate brand capabilities, turning your website into an authoritative knowledge base that can be indexed programmatically.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1312,"children":1313},{},[1314],{"type":38,"value":1315},"When these components run in harmony, marketing ceases to feel like a series of disconnected bets. It becomes a predictable workflow that converts institutional knowledge into structured data, ensuring your business is automatically indexed wherever buyers are conducting research. The machine does the heavy lifting of discovery, freeing up your team to focus on conversion and retention.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1317,"children":1318},{},[1319],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1320,"children":1322},{"alt":7,"src":1321},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/0d285696-fa87-49eb-8fb7-497be4070be7-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-image-2.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1324,"children":1326},{"id":1325},"why-a-systematized-infrastructure-always-wins",[1327],{"type":38,"value":1328},"Why a Systematized Infrastructure Always Wins",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1330,"children":1331},{},[1332],{"type":38,"value":1333},"The primary benefit of removing the founder from the daily execution loop is speed and consistency. When your marketing is run through a rigorous operating system, it builds a compounding data advantage that ad-hoc campaigns cannot match. It shifts the organization from a reactive posture to a proactive, predictable model of demand generation.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1335,"children":1336},{},[1337],{"type":38,"value":1338},"Consider the operational differences between an ad-hoc marketing structure and a systematized environment:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1340,"children":1341},{},[1342,1352,1362],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1343,"children":1344},{},[1345,1350],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1346,"children":1347},{},[1348],{"type":38,"value":1349},"Continuous Market Alignment:",{"type":38,"value":1351}," While an unmanaged team waits for a monthly review to pivot strategy, a sprint-based system adjusts execution every seven days based on real-world data signals and performance trends.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1353,"children":1354},{},[1355,1360],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1356,"children":1357},{},[1358],{"type":38,"value":1359},"Automated Authority Building:",{"type":38,"value":1361}," Instead of treating executive thought leadership as a sporadic task dependent on free time, a systematized cadence turns your team's subject-matter expertise into machine-readable assets on a fixed schedule.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1363,"children":1364},{},[1365,1370],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1366,"children":1367},{},[1368],{"type":38,"value":1369},"Predictable Scaling:",{"type":38,"value":1371}," By isolating the exact variables that drive discovery—such as peer review frequency, schema deployment, or technical documentation clarity—you can scale your program based on operational data rather than guesswork or creative intuition.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1373,"children":1374},{},[1375],{"type":38,"value":1376},"This infrastructure turns your digital footprint into an automated sales engine. When an AI search engine crawls the web to construct a head-to-head comparison table for a prospective buyer, a systematized site provides unambiguous, verified criteria that force the model to rank your brand as a low-risk option. The competitor relying on creative, un-indexed copywriting is filtered out before a sales call is ever booked, giving your sales pipeline an unfair advantage.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1378,"children":1380},{"id":1379},"shifting-from-babysitting-to-strategic-calibration",[1381],{"type":38,"value":1382},"Shifting from Babysitting to Strategic Calibration",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1384,"children":1385},{},[1386],{"type":38,"value":1387},"Stepping out of the marketing black box doesn't mean giving up visibility into your growth metrics. Real operational control doesn't come from micromanaging tasks or personally reviewing every headline; it comes from having a single, reliable source of truth where progress is obvious, data is unfiltered, and accountability is built in.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1389,"children":1390},{},[1391],{"type":38,"value":1392},"Your job as an executive is to tune the engine, not to crank the gears yourself. Once you have an operating system that runs on its own, your relationship with marketing changes. Weekly status calls full of personal updates give way to focused working sessions aimed at clearing technical roadblocks, improving conversion performance, and removing friction for your execution team.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1394,"children":1395},{},[1396],{"type":38,"value":1397},"That level of clarity also reshapes how you invest in growth. You stop betting on scattered channel experiments and start funding specific data advantages. If your analytics show that buyers are discovering you through technical reviews cited in AI tools, you can allocate budget precisely to strengthening that part of your digital footprint. The guesswork disappears from your spending, and every dollar is tied to a clear, system-driven objective.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1399,"children":1400},{},[1401],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1402,"children":1404},{"alt":7,"src":1403},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/88f64901-fbdc-41f1-ae77-6a2cee60417f-mkg-blog-escaping-the-black-box-image-3.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1406,"children":1408},{"id":1407},"building-the-off-my-plate-reality",[1409],{"type":38,"value":1410},"Building the Off-My-Plate Reality",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1412,"children":1413},{},[1414],{"type":38,"value":1415},"For a growing company, marketing maturity means moving past a reliance on individual heroics or founder oversight. A business that depends on the founder's daily cognitive energy to execute its visibility strategy cannot scale its pipeline, build predictable equity, or achieve true operational freedom.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1417,"children":1418},{},[1419],{"type":38,"value":1420},"Establishing this maturity requires an intentional investment in your company's operational skeleton. It means rejecting vague performance summaries, dismantling uncoordinated team structures, and installing a unified system that operates systematically across every channel, platform, and automated interface.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1422,"children":1423},{},[1424],{"type":38,"value":1425},"We design and implement the technical architecture and operating rhythms that allow business leaders to confidently step away from daily campaign execution. By replacing the black box with radical visibility and a closed-loop sprint cycle, we ensure your growth engine compounds value every single week, building one that automatically captures modern demand.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1427,"children":1428},{},[1429],{"type":38,"value":1430},"Do not let your company's market visibility remain tethered to your personal schedule or individual oversight. Systematize your expertise, build a structured digital footprint, and install an operating system designed for the future of automated discovery.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1432,"children":1433},{"id":1123},[1434],{"type":38,"value":1129},{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1436,"children":1437},{},[1438],{"type":38,"value":1439},"Many B2B founders find themselves stuck babysitting their marketing because teams are fragmented and reporting is hard to trust. That level of dependency poses a serious risk as the market shifts into the Answer Economy, where more than half of software buyers now rely on AI chat tools rather than traditional search engines to build their vendor shortlists.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1441,"children":1442},{},[1443],{"type":38,"value":1444},"To get out of this bottleneck, you have to move beyond disconnected tactics and adopt a Systematized Growth model built on a disciplined Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) framework. By putting an operating system in place, one that runs on weekly sprints, full task transparency, and machine-readable technical architecture, lean teams can achieve true \"off-my-plate\" execution, capturing AI-driven demand without constant founder involvement.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":1446},[1447,1448,1449,1450,1451,1452],{"id":1205,"depth":836,"text":1208},{"id":1264,"depth":836,"text":1267},{"id":1325,"depth":836,"text":1328},{"id":1379,"depth":836,"text":1382},{"id":1407,"depth":836,"text":1410},{"id":1123,"depth":836,"text":1129},"content:blog:seo:escaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you.md","blog/seo/escaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you.md","blog/seo/escaping-the-black-box-installing-an-svo-operating-system-that-runs-without-you",{"_path":1457,"_dir":849,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":1458,"description":1459,"img":1460,"date":1461,"body":1462,"_type":840,"_id":1811,"_source":842,"_file":1812,"_stem":1813,"_extension":845,"category":849,"minutes":1814},"/blog/seo/the-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms","The Synthesized Buyer - Mastering the 2026 Brand Visibility Audit for LLMs","If you aren’t in the training data, you aren’t on the shortlist. Here is how to master Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO) for the AI-driven buyer.","https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/73b38499-1c0a-46c3-aaaf-a824ff083005-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-hero-image.webp","2026-05-06T15:28:34.835Z",{"type":25,"children":1463,"toc":1801},[1464,1469,1493,1498,1503,1513,1518,1523,1528,1533,1538,1544,1556,1568,1573,1583,1588,1593,1627,1632,1638,1650,1655,1660,1670,1675,1680,1713,1718,1724,1729,1734,1739,1745,1750,1768,1773,1777],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1465,"children":1466},{},[1467],{"type":38,"value":1468},"The B2B buying journey isn’t happening on search results pages anymore. For a long time, marketing success basically meant winning on Google: rank in the top organic spots, pick the right keywords, watch the clicks, and call more traffic “more authority.” But in 2026, something else is quietly running the show in procurement: large language models (LLMs).",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1470,"children":1471},{},[1472,1474,1484,1486,1491],{"type":38,"value":1473},"This isn’t a distant trend; it is the current reality of B2B procurement. New research from",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":1475,"children":1477},{"href":875,"rel":1476},[877],[1478,1480],{"type":38,"value":1479},"  ",{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":1481,"children":1482},{},[1483],{"type":38,"value":886},{"type":38,"value":1485}," shows that ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1487,"children":1488},{},[1489],{"type":38,"value":1490},"51% of B2B software buyers",{"type":38,"value":1492}," now begin their research in an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine. These buyers aren’t paging through search results. They are using single prompts to ask AI tools to compare enterprise platforms based on specific needs. In that moment, the AI synthesizes an answer from the data it has already processed, effectively \"one-shotting\" the shortlist before a vendor is ever contacted. ",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1494,"children":1495},{},[1496],{"type":38,"value":1497},"If your brand isn’t in that data, if you’re missing from high-authority industry conversations, technical communities, or archives of executive thought leadership, you’re effectively shut out of that synthesis. Buyers don’t see you, long before they even think about visiting your website. That means we need to rethink what brand authority actually looks like and how we measure it.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1499,"children":1500},{},[1501],{"type":38,"value":1502},"To stay in the game, traditional SEO alone isn’t enough. You need to focus on Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO). BVO isn’t about gaming an algorithm; it’s about becoming a stable, trustworthy source of information that automated systems consistently recognize and surface. In practice, that means ensuring your brand appears in the internet’s most trusted and widely referenced data sources.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1504,"children":1506},{"id":1505},"the-transition-of-the-procurement-funnel",[1507,1511],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1508,"children":1510},{"alt":7,"src":1509},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/accd88f6-f3c6-4b91-bb0e-bb9642914996-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-image-1.png",[],{"type":38,"value":1512},"The Transition of the Procurement Funnel",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1514,"children":1515},{},[1516],{"type":38,"value":1517},"For years, traditional marketing treated visibility like a straight line: push out enough content and ads, and sooner or later, buyers would notice you. But that’s not how people actually buy today.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1519,"children":1520},{},[1521],{"type":38,"value":1522},"Modern buyers lean on what’s often called \"dark social\"—recommendations, peer reviews, and technical back-and-forth that live in private Slack channels, Discord servers, group DMs, and niche community forums. None of this shows up in your typical analytics, but it heavily shapes who makes the shortlist.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1524,"children":1525},{},[1526],{"type":38,"value":1527},"AI models are being trained on this messy, decentralized ecosystem. When they generate a recommendation, they’re effectively scanning for patterns: where is there consensus, and which brands keep getting mentioned in these communities?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1529,"children":1530},{},[1531],{"type":38,"value":1532},"That creates a real risk for lean B2B teams: cranking out large volumes of generic content that adds nothing new. If what you publish reads like a generic brochure, the model will treat it as background noise rather than a signal.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1534,"children":1535},{},[1536],{"type":38,"value":1537},"To be surfaced and cited by an AI, your brand needs to contribute something specific and useful—unique, field-tested insight that helps the model justify its answer. In other words, you have to publish the kind of information the model relies on to feel confident that it’s right.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1539,"children":1541},{"id":1540},"establishing-the-pattern-the-consistency-cadence",[1542],{"type":38,"value":1543},"Establishing the Pattern: The Consistency Cadence",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1545,"children":1546},{},[1547,1549,1554],{"type":38,"value":1548},"At the core of Brand Visibility Optimization is the concept of ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1550,"children":1551},{},[1552],{"type":38,"value":1553},"Consistency",{"type":38,"value":1555},". This is the factor that separates a single campaign from a reliable growth system. For a model to recognize your brand as an authority, it needs to see a persistent, high-quality pattern of information over time.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1557,"children":1558},{},[1559,1561,1566],{"type":38,"value":1560},"Executive thought leadership is a critical technical asset in this process. Models prioritize data linked to verifiable experts and recurring themes. When your leadership team maintains a consistent cadence and regularly contributes technical insights to industry forums and reputable publications, you establish your brand as a primary source in the ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1562,"children":1563},{},[1564],{"type":38,"value":1565},"LLM Training Data for Brands",{"type":38,"value":1567},".",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1569,"children":1570},{},[1571],{"type":38,"value":1572},"A short-term approach does not work here. You cannot establish authority in a training set with a single project. You must show up regularly and deliver a steady stream of professional insights. This approach ensures that when models are updated, your brand is a core component of the system's understanding of your category.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1574,"children":1576},{"id":1575},"the-brand-visibility-audit-where-do-you-exist",[1577,1581],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1578,"children":1580},{"alt":7,"src":1579},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/9639ded1-86f0-4500-bb1a-c2ad511e205b-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-image-2.png",[],{"type":38,"value":1582},"The Brand Visibility Audit: Where Do You Exist?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1584,"children":1585},{},[1586],{"type":38,"value":1587},"Mastering BVO begins with a technical audit of your brand's digital footprint. You must ask: if an automated agent were vetting this company, what evidence would it find?",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1589,"children":1590},{},[1591],{"type":38,"value":1592},"The audit should focus on three primary areas:",{"type":28,"tag":1594,"props":1595,"children":1596},"ol",{},[1597,1607,1617],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1598,"children":1599},{},[1600,1605],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1601,"children":1602},{},[1603],{"type":38,"value":1604},"Community Mentions:",{"type":38,"value":1606}," AI models place a heavy weight on community-driven platforms like Reddit and technical forums. Are practitioners discussing your product or solving problems using your documentation? Without community discussion, the model is unlikely to recommend you.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1608,"children":1609},{},[1610,1615],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1611,"children":1612},{},[1613],{"type":38,"value":1614},"Expert Proximity:",{"type":38,"value":1616}," Is your brand associated with recognized experts in your field? When your team is cited in third-party research or technical interviews, it creates a link that models use to determine authority.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1618,"children":1619},{},[1620,1625],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1621,"children":1622},{},[1623],{"type":38,"value":1624},"Technical Transparency:",{"type":38,"value":1626}," Models require structured, accurate data. If your technical specifications, API documentation, and pricing structures are inconsistent or difficult to access, the system cannot build an accurate profile of your business.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1628,"children":1629},{},[1630],{"type":38,"value":1631},"Many brands are currently failing this audit because they are invisible in the places where information is synthesized. To fix this, stop treating social media as just a distribution channel and start treating it as a space to establish your brand’s technical authority.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1633,"children":1635},{"id":1634},"navigating-dark-social-attribution",[1636],{"type":38,"value":1637},"Navigating Dark Social Attribution",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1639,"children":1640},{},[1641,1643,1648],{"type":38,"value":1642},"A significant challenge of the BVO era is that the most valuable interactions are difficult to track. ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1644,"children":1645},{},[1646],{"type":38,"value":1647},"Dark Social Attribution",{"type":38,"value":1649}," is often invisible to those who rely only on dashboards. A lead might appear as a direct search, but the reality is that the buyer spent months seeing your name in private communities and reading summaries of your executive's insights.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1651,"children":1652},{},[1653],{"type":38,"value":1654},"Because you cannot track every touchpoint, you must optimize the environment where the buyer spends time. This means providing human, relatable, and technical content that people want to share in private channels.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1656,"children":1657},{},[1658],{"type":38,"value":1659},"When your content is shared in a private group, it eventually reaches the public web through summaries and community archives. This is the long-term goal of BVO. You are establishing authority in private spaces that eventually informs the data models used in public searches.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1661,"children":1663},{"id":1662},"systematizing-authority-moving-from-reactive-to-rhythmic",[1664,1668],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":1665,"children":1667},{"alt":7,"src":1666},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/fdbe942b-e9d7-4a74-8829-9e9587fdd7b6-mkg-blog-the-synthesized-buyer-image-3.png",[],{"type":38,"value":1669},"Systematizing Authority: Moving from Reactive to Rhythmic",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1671,"children":1672},{},[1673],{"type":38,"value":1674},"The transition to a BVO-focused strategy requires moving from reactive marketing to a systematic operation. A \"launch and leave\" mentality is no longer effective. You need a system that ensures your brand's data is constantly updated and reinforced.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1676,"children":1677},{},[1678],{"type":38,"value":1679},"This involves:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1681,"children":1682},{},[1683,1693,1703],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1684,"children":1685},{},[1686,1691],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1687,"children":1688},{},[1689],{"type":38,"value":1690},"Executive Cadence:",{"type":38,"value":1692}," A strict schedule for your leadership team to contribute to external platforms.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1694,"children":1695},{},[1696,1701],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1697,"children":1698},{},[1699],{"type":38,"value":1700},"Structured Knowledge:",{"type":38,"value":1702}," A website that acts as a hub of structured data that is easy for agents to crawl and understand.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1704,"children":1705},{},[1706,1711],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1707,"children":1708},{},[1709],{"type":38,"value":1710},"Community Engagement:",{"type":38,"value":1712}," Participating in the spaces where your buyers live and providing value without expecting an immediate click.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1714,"children":1715},{},[1716],{"type":38,"value":1717},"When these elements are connected, marketing moves from disconnected tactics to a reliable system. You stop spending budget on ads that are ignored and start building brand authority that models are required to cite.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1719,"children":1721},{"id":1720},"the-future-of-b2b-visibility",[1722],{"type":38,"value":1723},"The Future of B2B Visibility",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1725,"children":1726},{},[1727],{"type":38,"value":1728},"The rise of the modern buyer is not a threat to brands that prioritize accuracy and consistency. It is a threat to brands that rely on generic, high-volume content. If your content sounds like a brochure, the AI will summarize the basic points and move on. But if your content contains specific tactics and operational honesty, you add value that the system recognizes.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1730,"children":1731},{},[1732],{"type":38,"value":1733},"We show personality through accuracy and tone, not through forced branding. In the world of generative search, being clear and authoritative is what gets your brand cited. It is about being professional and direct.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1735,"children":1736},{},[1737],{"type":38,"value":1738},"Recalibrating for 2026 is about returning to the fundamentals of building a brand that matters to both people and the systems they use. It is about moving away from short-term shortcuts and focusing on lasting authority.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1740,"children":1742},{"id":1741},"final-thoughts-the-path-to-synthesis",[1743],{"type":38,"value":1744},"Final Thoughts: The Path to Synthesis",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1746,"children":1747},{},[1748],{"type":38,"value":1749},"The B2B measurement gap is widening, and the ways we prove marketing value are changing. However, the goal remains the same: to be the most trusted and visible option for the buyer.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1751,"children":1752},{},[1753,1755,1760,1762,1766],{"type":38,"value":1754},"In 2026, that buyer is assisted by an LLM. By mastering ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1756,"children":1757},{},[1758],{"type":38,"value":1759},"Brand Visibility Optimization",{"type":38,"value":1761},", addressing the ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1763,"children":1764},{},[1765],{"type":38,"value":1647},{"type":38,"value":1767}," gap, and maintaining a consistent output of expertise, you ensure that your brand is recognized.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1769,"children":1770},{},[1771],{"type":38,"value":1772},"Do not be the brand that is missing from the synthesis. Build the authority that makes your presence clear. The success of your growth depends on this systematic approach.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1774,"children":1775},{"id":1123},[1776],{"type":38,"value":1129},{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1778,"children":1779},{},[1780,1782,1787,1789,1793,1795,1799],{"type":38,"value":1781},"The 2026 B2B buyer journey has changed: 35% use AI tools for vendor selection. To remain visible, brands must adopt ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1783,"children":1784},{},[1785],{"type":38,"value":1786},"Brand Visibility Optimization (BVO)",{"type":38,"value":1788}," to ensure they are present in ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1790,"children":1791},{},[1792],{"type":38,"value":1565},{"type":38,"value":1794},". Success requires navigating ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1796,"children":1797},{},[1798],{"type":38,"value":1647},{"type":38,"value":1800},", the private channels where peer consensus is formed. By implementing a consistent cadence for executive thought leadership and treating the digital footprint as a data pattern for AI recognition, B2B teams can overcome inefficiencies and build authority in an AI-driven marketplace.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":1802},[1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810],{"id":1505,"depth":836,"text":1512},{"id":1540,"depth":836,"text":1543},{"id":1575,"depth":836,"text":1582},{"id":1634,"depth":836,"text":1637},{"id":1662,"depth":836,"text":1669},{"id":1720,"depth":836,"text":1723},{"id":1741,"depth":836,"text":1744},{"id":1123,"depth":836,"text":1129},"content:blog:seo:the-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms.md","blog/seo/the-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms.md","blog/seo/the-synthesized-buyer-mastering-the-2026-brand-visibility-audit-for-llms",7,{"_path":1816,"_dir":849,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":1817,"description":1818,"_schema":1819,"authors":1820,"date":1821,"img":1822,"imgAlt":1823,"body":1824,"_type":840,"_id":2239,"_source":842,"_file":2240,"_stem":2241,"_extension":845,"category":849,"minutes":2242},"/blog/seo/monthly-search-industry-report-april-2026","Monthly Search Industry Report - April 2026","Stay updated with the April 2026 search landscape: core update impacts, back button crackdown, task-driven search, and the rise of agent-powered visibility.","default",[],"2026-05-05T16:25:00Z","/images/blog/mkg-blog-search-industry-overview-april.webp","Monthly Search Industry Report",{"type":25,"children":1825,"toc":2232},[1826,1835,1878,1887,1892,1976,1985,1990,2056,2065,2075,2088,2097,2131,2140,2150,2159,2164,2169,2202,2210,2228],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1827,"children":1829},{"id":1828},"executive-summary-the-tldr",[1830],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1831,"children":1832},{},[1833],{"type":38,"value":1834},"Executive Summary (The TL;DR)",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1836,"children":1837},{},[1838,1848,1858,1868],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1839,"children":1840},{},[1841,1846],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1842,"children":1843},{},[1844],{"type":38,"value":1845},"March Core Update Completion:",{"type":38,"value":1847}," The major ranking update that began in March finished on April 8. It shifted traffic toward specialist sites and away from general content aggregators.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1849,"children":1850},{},[1851,1856],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1852,"children":1853},{},[1854],{"type":38,"value":1855},"The \"Back Button\" Ban:",{"type":38,"value":1857}," Google officially labeled \"back button hijacking\" as spam. Sites that trap users by blocking their ability to return to search results will face penalties starting June 15.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1859,"children":1860},{},[1861,1866],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1862,"children":1863},{},[1864],{"type":38,"value":1865},"Search as a \"Task Engine\":",{"type":38,"value":1867}," Google is adding agentic features, like AI that can call stores to check inventory or build travel itineraries, shifting the focus from clicks to completed actions.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1869,"children":1870},{},[1871,1876],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1872,"children":1873},{},[1874],{"type":38,"value":1875},"GPT-5.5 Launch:",{"type":38,"value":1877}," OpenAI released its most capable agentic model yet, designed to perform multi-step work independently, further changing how users find professional information.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1879,"children":1881},{"id":1880},"algorithm-technical-seo-updates",[1882],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1883,"children":1884},{},[1885],{"type":38,"value":1886},"Algorithm & Technical SEO Updates",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1888,"children":1889},{},[1890],{"type":38,"value":1891},"The focus this month shifted from ranking keywords to punishing deceptive user experiences and rewarding technical efficiency.",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1893,"children":1894},{},[1895,1914,1936,1957],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1896,"children":1897},{},[1898,1903,1905,1912],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1899,"children":1900},{},[1901],{"type":38,"value":1902},"March Core Update Wraps:",{"type":38,"value":1904}," Google confirmed the March 2026 Core Update ended on April 8. Analysis from ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":1906,"children":1909},{"href":1907,"rel":1908},"https://searchengineland.com/march-2026-google-core-update-what-changed-474397",[877],[1910],{"type":38,"value":1911},"Search Engine Land",{"type":38,"value":1913}," indicates that niche, authoritative brands saw the most growth, while broad comparison sites lost ground.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1915,"children":1916},{},[1917,1922,1924,1934],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1918,"children":1919},{},[1920],{"type":38,"value":1921},"Back Button Hijacking Policy:",{"type":38,"value":1923}," On April 13, Google introduced a ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":1925,"children":1928},{"href":1926,"rel":1927},"https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/04/back-button-hijacking?authuser=2",[877],[1929],{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":1930,"children":1931},{},[1932],{"type":38,"value":1933},"new spam policy",{"type":38,"value":1935}," targeting sites that interfere with browser navigation. If your site uses scripts to trap users or redirect them when they try to leave, you face automated demotions.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1937,"children":1938},{},[1939,1944,1945,1955],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1940,"children":1941},{},[1942],{"type":38,"value":1943},"The 2MB Fetch Limit:",{"type":38,"value":880},{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":1946,"children":1949},{"href":1947,"rel":1948},"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/technical-seo-audit-new-layer/571583/",[877],[1950],{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":1951,"children":1952},{},[1953],{"type":38,"value":1954},"Search Engine Journal",{"type":38,"value":1956}," highlighted a critical technical threshold: Googlebot generally stops reading a page after the first 2MB. For tech companies with heavy code or long documentation, this makes code efficiency a direct ranking factor.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1958,"children":1959},{},[1960,1965,1967,1974],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1961,"children":1962},{},[1963],{"type":38,"value":1964},"\"Read More\" Optimization:",{"type":38,"value":1966}," There’s now ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":1968,"children":1971},{"href":1969,"rel":1970},"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-read-more-links-best-practices-474807",[877],[1972],{"type":38,"value":1973},"new guidance",{"type":38,"value":1975}," for content hidden behind \"Read More\" buttons. Google now recommends keeping key information visible on page load to ensure it is indexed for AI answers.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":1977,"children":1979},{"id":1978},"the-geoaeo-frontier",[1980],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1981,"children":1982},{},[1983],{"type":38,"value":1984},"The GEO/AEO Frontier",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":1986,"children":1987},{},[1988],{"type":38,"value":1989},"Search Visibility Optimization (SVO) is moving into the \"Agentic Era,\" where AI doesn't just find information, it performs tasks.",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":1991,"children":1992},{},[1993,2015,2037],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":1994,"children":1995},{},[1996,2001,2003,2013],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":1997,"children":1998},{},[1999],{"type":38,"value":2000},"Google's \"Task Assistant\":",{"type":38,"value":2002}," Google launched new features that allow ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":2004,"children":2007},{"href":2005,"rel":2006},"https://www.lumar.io/blog/industry-news/seo-ai-search-industry-news-april-2026/",[877],[2008],{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":2009,"children":2010},{},[2011],{"type":38,"value":2012},"AI to call stores",{"type":38,"value":2014}," to check product availability and manage complex travel bookings directly in the SERP. This prioritizes structured data (Schema) over traditional blog content.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2016,"children":2017},{},[2018,2023,2025,2035],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2019,"children":2020},{},[2021],{"type":38,"value":2022},"GPT-5.5 Agentic Workflows:",{"type":38,"value":2024}," Released on April 23, ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":2026,"children":2029},{"href":2027,"rel":2028},"https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/news/gpt-5-5-is-openais-most-capable-agentic-ai-model-yet-at-twice-the-api-price/",[877],[2030],{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":2031,"children":2032},{},[2033],{"type":38,"value":2034},"GPT-5.5",{"type":38,"value":2036}," is built to handle real work, such as planning and tool coordination. This model is more likely to cite sources that provide clear, executable data rather than long-form prose.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2038,"children":2039},{},[2040,2045,2047,2054],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2041,"children":2042},{},[2043],{"type":38,"value":2044},"Chrome's AI Mode Integration:",{"type":38,"value":2046}," Google is rolling out an ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":2048,"children":2051},{"href":2049,"rel":2050},"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-tests-enter-ai-mode-button-37145.html",[877],[2052],{"type":38,"value":2053},"\"Enter AI Mode\"",{"type":38,"value":2055}," button in the Chrome address bar. This allows the browser to answer questions by reading the user's open tabs, making on-page context more valuable than ever for brand visibility.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2057,"children":2059},{"id":2058},"strategic-implications-for-leaders",[2060],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2061,"children":2062},{},[2063],{"type":38,"value":2064},"Strategic Implications for Leaders",{"type":28,"tag":2066,"props":2067,"children":2069},"h4",{"id":2068},"what-to-ignore",[2070],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2071,"children":2072},{},[2073],{"type":38,"value":2074},"What to ignore:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":2076,"children":2077},{},[2078],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2079,"children":2080},{},[2081,2086],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2082,"children":2083},{},[2084],{"type":38,"value":2085},"Vanity Link Building:",{"type":38,"value":2087}," With Google's new focus on \"Experience\" and \"Task Completion,\" old-school guest posting for links is yielding diminishing returns. Focus on being the answer-first resource, ** ** the domain AI chooses to complete a user's task.",{"type":28,"tag":2066,"props":2089,"children":2091},{"id":2090},"where-to-pivot",[2092],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2093,"children":2094},{},[2095],{"type":38,"value":2096},"Where to pivot:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":2098,"children":2099},{},[2100,2121],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2101,"children":2102},{},[2103,2108,2110,2119],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2104,"children":2105},{},[2106],{"type":38,"value":2107},"Audit for \"History Hijacking\":",{"type":38,"value":2109}," Ensure your marketing or ad scripts aren't accidentally violating the new ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":2111,"children":2113},{"href":1926,"rel":2112},[877],[2114],{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":2115,"children":2116},{},[2117],{"type":38,"value":2118},"Back Button policy",{"type":38,"value":2120},". Even vignette ads can sometimes trigger these penalties.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2122,"children":2123},{},[2124,2129],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2125,"children":2126},{},[2127],{"type":38,"value":2128},"Structure for Agents:",{"type":38,"value":2130}," To be hired by a Google or OpenAI agent, your business data (pricing, features, availability) must be in a machine-readable format, such as JSON-LD. If an agent can’t \"read\" your inventory, it will recommend a competitor with better-structured data.",{"type":28,"tag":2066,"props":2132,"children":2134},{"id":2133},"looking-ahead",[2135],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2136,"children":2137},{},[2138],{"type":38,"value":2139},"Looking Ahead:",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2141,"children":2142},{},[2143,2148],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2144,"children":2145},{},[2146],{"type":38,"value":2147},"The \"Side-Panel\" Habit:",{"type":38,"value":2149}," Watch how Google's new side-by-side view in Chrome changes click behavior. Users are now staying on your site while chatting with an AI on the side. In May, we expect to see \"Time on Page\" metrics rise, but \"Internal Clicks\" fall as the AI does the navigating for them.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2151,"children":2153},{"id":2152},"call-to-action-optimize-for-the-future",[2154],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2155,"children":2156},{},[2157],{"type":38,"value":2158},"Call to Action: Optimize for the Future",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2160,"children":2161},{},[2162],{"type":38,"value":2163},"The April updates signal a shift from a \"web of pages\" to a \"web of actions.\" For B2B and SaaS leaders, being found is no longer enough; your site must be optimized to help AI agents complete their work.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2165,"children":2166},{},[2167],{"type":38,"value":2168},"MKG helps VC-backed companies dominate this new landscape via:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":2170,"children":2171},{},[2172,2182,2192],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2173,"children":2174},{},[2175,2180],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2176,"children":2177},{},[2178],{"type":38,"value":2179},"GEO/AEO Gap Analysis:",{"type":38,"value":2181}," Identifying where AI agents are failing to \"see\" your core product data.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2183,"children":2184},{},[2185,2190],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2186,"children":2187},{},[2188],{"type":38,"value":2189},"SVO Focus:",{"type":38,"value":2191}," Incorporating all areas of search into one, holistic and coherent strategy.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2193,"children":2194},{},[2195,2200],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2196,"children":2197},{},[2198],{"type":38,"value":2199},"Full-Funnel Attribution:",{"type":38,"value":2201}," Measuring how AI Mode interactions contribute to your bottom line, even without a traditional click.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2203,"children":2204},{},[2205],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2206,"children":2207},{},[2208],{"type":38,"value":2209},"Don't get trapped by the old playbook.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2211,"children":2212},{},[2213,2226],{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":2214,"children":2217},{"href":2215,"rel":2216},"https://mkgmarketinginc.com/book-a-call/",[877],[2218],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2219,"children":2220},{},[2221],{"type":28,"tag":882,"props":2222,"children":2223},{},[2224],{"type":38,"value":2225},"Book a Discovery Call",{"type":38,"value":2227}," to secure your visibility in the agentic search era.",{"type":28,"tag":2229,"props":2230,"children":2231},"br",{},[],{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":2233},[2234,2235,2236,2237,2238],{"id":1828,"depth":836,"text":1834},{"id":1880,"depth":836,"text":1886},{"id":1978,"depth":836,"text":1984},{"id":2058,"depth":836,"text":2064},{"id":2152,"depth":836,"text":2158},"content:blog:seo:monthly-search-industry-report-april-2026.md","blog/seo/monthly-search-industry-report-april-2026.md","blog/seo/monthly-search-industry-report-april-2026",4,{"_path":2244,"_dir":849,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":2245,"description":2246,"img":2247,"date":2248,"imgAlt":2249,"_schema":1819,"authors":2250,"body":2251,"_type":840,"_id":2583,"_source":842,"_file":2584,"_stem":2585,"_extension":845,"category":849,"minutes":1147},"/blog/seo/agentic-procurement-is-your-website-machine-readable-or-just-human-centric","Agentic Procurement - Is Your Website Machine-Readable or Just Human-Centric?","Procurement is moving to AI agents. If your site isn't optimized for agent readiness, you are invisible to the new buyer.","/images/blog/mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-hero-image.webp","2026-04-29T17:59:00Z","Agentic Procurement",[],{"type":25,"children":2252,"toc":2573},[2253,2258,2263,2268,2273,2280,2289,2294,2299,2304,2309,2318,2323,2328,2333,2338,2345,2354,2359,2364,2369,2402,2407,2412,2421,2426,2431,2464,2469,2476,2485,2490,2495,2500,2505,2514,2519,2524,2529,2534,2543,2548,2553,2558,2565,2570],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2254,"children":2255},{},[2256],{"type":38,"value":2257},"B2B procurement is undergoing a fundamental restructuring. For the past twenty years, the B2B buying process has been defined by human-to-human interaction. Marketing teams built websites to persuade, inform, and nurture human prospects. Companies focused on mobile design, conversion paths, and lead forms.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2259,"children":2260},{},[2261],{"type":38,"value":2262},"That era of human-centric commerce is ending. By 2026, a massive portion of B2B spend will be mediated by AI agents. This is a shift in the fundamental infrastructure of the global economy.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2264,"children":2265},{},[2266],{"type":38,"value":2267},"In this environment, a website is no longer just a digital brochure for a human audience. It is a data source for an automated vetting process. When an AI agent is tasked with finding a vendor that meets specific security, price, and capability criteria, it does not analyze copy in a traditional sense. It does not assess branding or testimonials. It evaluates the site as machine-readable data. If a digital presence cannot be parsed, validated, and structured by an agent, the company does not exist in the procurement funnel.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2269,"children":2270},{},[2271],{"type":38,"value":2272},"This transition is the emergence of Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO). The winners in 2026 are the companies that stop treating their websites as destinations for humans and start treating them as dynamic, structured knowledge bases that AI agents can use to provide direct answers and make procurement decisions.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2274,"children":2275},{},[2276],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":2277,"children":2279},{"alt":7,"src":2278},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/f48096ed-38dd-417b-a905-819c2602bc6e-mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-image-1.jpg",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2281,"children":2283},{"id":2282},"the-reality-of-agentic-procurement",[2284],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2285,"children":2286},{},[2287],{"type":38,"value":2288},"The Reality of Agentic Procurement",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2290,"children":2291},{},[2292],{"type":38,"value":2293},"Agentic procurement is the process of delegating the vendor selection and vetting phase to an AI agent. Instead of a procurement manager spending weeks issuing requests for proposals and scanning websites, they provide an AI agent with a set of constraints and objectives. The agent scans the web, analyzes the technical capabilities of potential vendors, assesses compliance, compares pricing, and shortlists candidates.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2295,"children":2296},{},[2297],{"type":38,"value":2298},"This process is objective and data-driven. It removes the friction of subjective marketing claims and replaces them with an audit of the technical layer of a web presence. When an AI agent visits a site, it looks for specific, unambiguous data points to synthesize an answer. It needs to know API capabilities, pricing, uptime guarantees, and security certifications.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2300,"children":2301},{},[2302],{"type":38,"value":2303},"If this information is trapped inside an image file, buried in a document, or obscured by marketing copy designed for humans, the agent ignores it. It does not include instructions for inferring meaning from general articles. It needs structured, machine-readable data to provide a direct answer.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2305,"children":2306},{},[2307],{"type":38,"value":2308},"Many B2B companies have a disconnect. They have invested in high-end design, video, and storytelling. While these elements have value for human stakeholders, they are often invisible or confusing to an AI agent. The technical architecture of most corporate websites is designed for visual display, not for programmatic extraction. To succeed in the era of AI-mediated spend, companies must implement a strategy that prioritizes machine-readability.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2310,"children":2312},{"id":2311},"moving-beyond-seo-to-agent-readiness-optimization-aro",[2313],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2314,"children":2315},{},[2316],{"type":38,"value":2317},"Moving Beyond SEO to Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO)",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2319,"children":2320},{},[2321],{"type":38,"value":2322},"For years, SEO was the primary discipline for increasing visibility. Teams focused on keywords, search intent, and ranking in search results. Agent Readiness Optimization (ARO) is a different discipline. ARO is not about ranking for a search term; it is about providing the definitive, structured data that an AI agent requires to vet a vendor and provide a direct answer.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2324,"children":2325},{},[2326],{"type":38,"value":2327},"ARO requires a shift in how digital assets are structured. It requires implementing a technical semantic layer. A semantic layer acts as a translator between raw data and the AI agents that need to consume it. It ensures that when an agent asks, \"What are the core technical capabilities of this platform?\", it receives a direct, unambiguous answer, not a marketing description.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2329,"children":2330},{},[2331],{"type":38,"value":2332},"This involves several components. First, it requires using standardized schemas, such as Schema.org, to define the entities on a page. By marking up content, a company tells the AI exactly what each piece of information represents. Second, it requires that data be accessible and consistent across the entire web presence.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2334,"children":2335},{},[2336],{"type":38,"value":2337},"When a company treats its website as a knowledge graph, it maps the relationships between products, technical specifications, and organizational data. It creates a clear, interconnected structure that an AI agent can navigate to build its response. It moves from unstructured content to structured knowledge. This allows an AI agent to build a profile of a company without needing human intervention.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2339,"children":2340},{},[2341],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":2342,"children":2344},{"alt":7,"src":2343},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/d42946f6-7f69-4eed-853f-c8f845347ce1-mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-image-2.png",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2346,"children":2348},{"id":2347},"the-systematic-approach-treating-your-site-as-a-knowledge-graph",[2349],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2350,"children":2351},{},[2352],{"type":38,"value":2353},"The Systematic Approach: Treating Your Site as a Knowledge Graph",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2355,"children":2356},{},[2357],{"type":38,"value":2358},"The approach to this challenge is to move beyond the page-by-page content strategy and view the website as a comprehensive data system. It is necessary to focus on integrating services and technical architecture to create a resilient knowledge graph.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2360,"children":2361},{},[2362],{"type":38,"value":2363},"Superficial fixes are not effective. Instead, a technical audit of a site’s ability to communicate with AI agents is required. A company must analyze its ability to output structured data and ensure that technical documentation, pricing structures, and capability matrices are fully indexable.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2365,"children":2366},{},[2367],{"type":38,"value":2368},"This involves specific operational steps:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":2370,"children":2371},{},[2372,2382,2392],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2373,"children":2374},{},[2375,2380],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2376,"children":2377},{},[2378],{"type":38,"value":2379},"Intent-Based Categorization:",{"type":38,"value":2381}," Structure your content based on how an agent classifies information, rather than how a human visitor navigates a menu.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2383,"children":2384},{},[2385,2390],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2386,"children":2387},{},[2388],{"type":38,"value":2389},"Data Prominence:",{"type":38,"value":2391}," Surface your most critical technical and commercial specifications within your structured data to ensure they are instantly discoverable during an automated audit.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2393,"children":2394},{},[2395,2400],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2396,"children":2397},{},[2398],{"type":38,"value":2399},"Machine-Ready Compliance:",{"type":38,"value":2401}," Format your compliance documentation—including security protocols, certifications, and uptime logs—for machine-learning ingestion, so automated systems can verify your credentials without human intervention.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2403,"children":2404},{},[2405],{"type":38,"value":2406},"This approach requires collaboration between your technical and marketing teams. The marketing team provides the strategic narrative, while the technical team ensures it is translated into a language agents understand. By combining these perspectives, a brand ensures its authority is reflected in its machine-readable data.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2408,"children":2409},{},[2410],{"type":38,"value":2411},"When a company treats its site as a knowledge graph, it prepares the business for the future. It moves from a model in which it hopes marketing materials influence the buyer to one in which it actively supplies the data the agent uses to confirm fitness as a vendor.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2413,"children":2415},{"id":2414},"why-machine-readable-content-wins",[2416],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2417,"children":2418},{},[2419],{"type":38,"value":2420},"Why Machine-Readable Content Wins",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2422,"children":2423},{},[2424],{"type":38,"value":2425},"The primary advantage of having a machine-readable website is the velocity of the procurement process. An AI agent is not slowed by human schedules or traditional sales bottlenecks. When a site provides the answers a company needs immediately, that site becomes the direct, verifiable option.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2427,"children":2428},{},[2429],{"type":38,"value":2430},"Key advantages of machine-readability include:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":2432,"children":2433},{},[2434,2444,2454],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2435,"children":2436},{},[2437,2442],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2438,"children":2439},{},[2440],{"type":38,"value":2441},"Always-On Availability:",{"type":38,"value":2443}," Unlike human sales teams, AI agents operate 24/7. Your site is being vetted for procurement regardless of time zone or office hours.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2445,"children":2446},{},[2447,2452],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2448,"children":2449},{},[2450],{"type":38,"value":2451},"Removal of Friction:",{"type":38,"value":2453}," AI agents do not wait for sales representatives to respond to emails or demo requests. They require immediate, self-service access to technical data to complete their vetting process.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":2455,"children":2456},{},[2457,2462],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2458,"children":2459},{},[2460],{"type":38,"value":2461},"Instant Verification:",{"type":38,"value":2463}," By surfacing specs, security protocols, and pricing in a machine-readable format, you allow an agent to confirm requirements in seconds, positioning your company as the most efficient and low-risk choice.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2465,"children":2466},{},[2467],{"type":38,"value":2468},"Contrast this with a competitor whose site is visually polished but lacks the technical structure required for indexing. That competitor is filtered out by the agent before a human ever sees their brand. This is an automated process of elimination. A company may not even know it was considered for a procurement mandate, nor why it was passed over.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2470,"children":2471},{},[2472],{"type":28,"tag":898,"props":2473,"children":2475},{"alt":7,"src":2474},"https://assets.mkgmarketinginc.com/4840c7d2-ba0e-4ce6-a9f7-3eb021a8fb44-mkg-blog-agentic-procurement-image-3.jpg",[],{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2477,"children":2479},{"id":2478},"the-competitive-advantage-of-structured-data",[2480],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2481,"children":2482},{},[2483],{"type":38,"value":2484},"The Competitive Advantage of Structured Data",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2486,"children":2487},{},[2488],{"type":38,"value":2489},"The transition to ARO is a competitive advantage. Companies that understand how to present data in a structured, semantic format will have an advantage in the automated B2B marketplace.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2491,"children":2492},{},[2493],{"type":38,"value":2494},"Consider the difference in how two companies present service levels. One company uses an infographic with text that an agent cannot parse. The agent cannot process the information, which creates a high level of risk. The company is filtered out. The second company uses a structured data table that clearly maps service levels to technical specifications, accompanied by schema markup that validates those claims. The agent ingests this data instantly, verifies it against the procurement requirements, and flags the company as a candidate with high confidence.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2496,"children":2497},{},[2498],{"type":38,"value":2499},"This second company wins because it made the task easier for the agent. It demonstrated operational maturity. In the era of AI-mediated spend, technical documentation is sales collateral. API references are landing pages. Compliance data is the brand story.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2501,"children":2502},{},[2503],{"type":38,"value":2504},"Organizations must build this infrastructure. They must move from a focus on brochures to a data-driven model. A website should act as a sales engineer, providing the data agents need to select a company as their preferred partner.",{"type":28,"tag":29,"props":2506,"children":2508},{"id":2507},"recalibrating-your-digital-strategy",[2509],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":2510,"children":2511},{},[2512],{"type":38,"value":2513},"Recalibrating Your Digital Strategy",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2515,"children":2516},{},[2517],{"type":38,"value":2518},"If a digital strategy is currently too human-centric, now is the time to recalibrate. This is not about sacrificing brand voice or the experience provided to human visitors. It is about adding a layer of technical rigor that makes the site work for both the human buyer and the procurement agent.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2520,"children":2521},{},[2522],{"type":38,"value":2523},"A structured approach to ARO involves a technical audit of the existing infrastructure. Companies must analyze where data is hidden, where structures are brittle, and where opportunities are lost because information is not parsable. They then implement a structured data strategy that enables knowledge to flow into the systems that drive the majority of B2B procurement decisions.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":2525,"children":2526},{},[2527],{"type":38,"value":2528},"This is not a project that can be delegated to a generic agency. It requires a combination of technical capability, strategic oversight, and an understanding of how AI models consume information. 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In addition to gaining a deep understanding of paid media and analytics, this peaked his interest in cybersecurity and tech in general. He then transitioned to agency life where he specialized in SaaS marketing.\n",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3498,"children":3499},{},[3500],{"type":38,"value":3501},"Over the years, Avery has touched a variety of verticals including health and beauty, eCommerce, medical/pharma, education, and more. He is drawn to agency life because of the variety of clients he is able to work with and, in turn, learn from.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3503,"children":3504},{},[3505],{"type":38,"value":3506},"Although he’s touched several areas of digital marketing, Avery feels most at home when doing Account/ Project Management as well as Copywriting.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3508,"children":3509},{},[3510],{"type":38,"value":3511},"As is the theme with many of our staff, Avery was drawn to MKG because of our culture. In Avery’s words “MKG shares the same values as I do in both my professional and my personal life. When I saw that we meshed so well, this was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse!”",{"type":28,"tag":3373,"props":3513,"children":3514},{"id":3375},[3515],{"type":38,"value":3378},{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":3517,"children":3518},{},[3519,3524,3529],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3520,"children":3521},{},[3522],{"type":38,"value":3523},"Avery is an avid racquetball player. Having first gotten into the sport in college, he’s had lots of fun playing over the years. He tries to get to the court at least once a week.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3525,"children":3526},{},[3527],{"type":38,"value":3528},"Avery is a hobby bartender and enjoys making, tasting, and learning about different drinks. He’s mainly a Kentucky bourbon guy but also loves Japanese whisky!",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3530,"children":3531},{},[3532],{"type":38,"value":3533},"Avery is a black belt in Pasaryu. This is a Korean mixed martial art which includes karate, kung fu, and Taekwondo. He has also trained and competed with weapons: nunchucks and samurai sword just to name a couple!",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3535},[3536],{"id":3375,"depth":3346,"text":3378},"content:team:avery-davis.md","team/avery-davis.md","team/avery-davis",{"_path":3541,"_dir":3335,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":3542,"description":3543,"name":3542,"ref":3544,"jobTitle":3545,"team":3546,"images":3547,"linkedIn":3549,"quote":3550,"quoteCite":3551,"sequence":3552,"body":3553,"_type":840,"_id":3600,"_source":842,"_file":3601,"_stem":3602,"_extension":845,"category":3335,"minutes":836},"/team/jared-gerling","Jared Gerling","Meet Jared Gerling, one of MKG Marketing’s thoughtful SEO Experts, bringing 10+ years of experience, intentionality, and creativity to the team.","jared-gerling","SEO Expert","SEO Experts",{"landscape":3548},"jared-gerling.webp","jaredgerling","The truth is, most of us discover where we are heading when we arrive.","Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)",55,{"type":25,"children":3554,"toc":3598},[3555,3560,3565,3570,3575,3580],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3556,"children":3557},{},[3558],{"type":38,"value":3559},"Jared's journey into digital marketing started with answering a classified ad for a company looking for people with writing backgrounds for a position in SEO. As a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Creative Writing, this sounded like the perfect opportunity.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3561,"children":3562},{},[3563],{"type":38,"value":3564},"This small agency taught him SEO from the ground up, and, after taking a break from digital marketing to receive his MA from DePaul University, Jared jumped back into the field at a medium-sized agency out of Chicago as an SEO analyst.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3566,"children":3567},{},[3568],{"type":38,"value":3569},"Since then, Jared has worked for large and small marketing agencies for over a decade, providing expert SEO services in almost every industry that has a website on the internet. And with his background in writing, Jared feels most at home in the content and customer facing side of SEO and digital marketing.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3571,"children":3572},{},[3573],{"type":38,"value":3574},"It was first and foremost the people that drew Jared to MKG. Everyone at MKG has been so in tune with his values and his personality, and they've made his time at MKG easily the best experience of his career.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3576,"children":3577},{},[3578],{"type":38,"value":3579},"Fun Facts:",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":3581,"children":3582},{},[3583,3588,3593],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3584,"children":3585},{},[3586],{"type":38,"value":3587},"I love to travel with my wife. We've been to many incredible places over the years, and are always on the lookout for our next destination.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3589,"children":3590},{},[3591],{"type":38,"value":3592},"I was a college rower in my younger days. I rowed mostly eights as a port, and competed against some of the best schools in the nation...and lost to most of them.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3594,"children":3595},{},[3596],{"type":38,"value":3597},"I love a really good French Martini.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3599},[],"content:team:jared-gerling.md","team/jared-gerling.md","team/jared-gerling",{"_path":3604,"_dir":3335,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":3605,"description":3606,"name":3607,"jobTitle":3608,"images":3609,"ref":3611,"sequence":3612,"imageDescription":3613,"body":3614,"_type":840,"_id":3666,"_source":842,"_file":3667,"_stem":3668,"_extension":845,"category":3335,"minutes":836},"/team/kathy-obrien","Kathy Obrien","Meet Kathy O’Brien, MKG Marketing’s amazing executive assistant who consistently supports all of MKG across the many needs of the company.","Kathy O'Brien","Executive Assistant",{"landscape":3610},"kathy-obrien.webp","kathy-obrien",80,"Kathy O’Brien, MKG Marketing’s Executive Assistant, in front of a gray background | MKG Marketing",{"type":25,"children":3615,"toc":3663},[3616,3622,3627,3636,3641,3645],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3617,"children":3619},{"className":3618},[3353],[3620],{"type":38,"value":3621},"\nKathy loves details and has managed the finer details of business her entire career.  She started her career in Center City, Philadelphia working for several law firms.  After she was married and had her first son, she left the bustling city to work closer to home at an international publishing company.  In 1994, Kathy and her husband Bill moved with their two sons to Charlotte, North Carolina.  They eventually completed their family with two more boys born in Charlotte.\n",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3623,"children":3624},{},[3625],{"type":38,"value":3626},"In 2000 they relocated to Chester County, a suburb of Philadelphia. After a hiatus and four sons, Kathy returned to work in Chester County. This time, she gave retail a whirl so that she could be home when her school age boys were home. She quickly found out Ann Taylor was employing one of their best customers. Kathy then spent the following 10+ years in the Non-Profit arena where she did whatever needed to be done to further the mission. No job was too big, small, or unimportant to tackle.",{"type":28,"tag":3628,"props":3629,"children":3630},"blockquote",{},[3631],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3632,"children":3633},{},[3634],{"type":38,"value":3635},"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.\nMother Teresa",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3637,"children":3638},{},[3639],{"type":38,"value":3640},"By February 2020, Kathy was eager to build something for herself and her family. She set off on a new adventure of starting her own business when she was connected with Kerry, Mike, and MKG. Having commuted and worked outside of the home for 10+ years, she was ready to work from home and have a better life balance. She followed the rainbow and found MKG in her pot of gold. MKG is like no other firm or organization for which Kathy has worked. Their standard of people first is evident in every team member, every decision, every meeting, every interaction. They live their standard.",{"type":28,"tag":3373,"props":3642,"children":3643},{"id":3375},[3644],{"type":38,"value":3378},{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":3646,"children":3647},{},[3648,3653,3658],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3649,"children":3650},{},[3651],{"type":38,"value":3652},"Kathy’s dislikes: fruit & chocolate together and Tuesday.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3654,"children":3655},{},[3656],{"type":38,"value":3657},"Family: Kathy met her husband Bill in Wildwood, New Jersey after their high school graduations during “Senior Week”. They have 4 sons and 2 grandsons. There hasn’t been a girl born in the O’Brien family in 32 years! You will often hear Kathy saying her boys are the best 4 gifts she’s ever been given.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3659,"children":3660},{},[3661],{"type":38,"value":3662},"Special talent: Baking. Her boys’ (Bill included) favorites are Spritz Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. There is a running family debate as to whether Ricotta Cookies are cookies or biscuits. At Christmas time, Kathy has been known to hide cookies to save some for guests.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3664},[3665],{"id":3375,"depth":3346,"text":3378},"content:team:kathy-obrien.md","team/kathy-obrien.md","team/kathy-obrien",{"_path":3670,"_dir":3335,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":18,"description":3671,"ref":3672,"name":18,"team":3340,"quote":3673,"images":3674,"twitter":3676,"isLeader":3344,"jobTitle":3677,"linkedIn":3676,"sequence":3477,"quoteCite":3678,"imageDescription":3679,"body":3680,"_type":840,"_id":3728,"_source":842,"_file":3729,"_stem":3730,"_extension":845,"category":3335,"minutes":3477},"/team/kerry-guard","Meet Kerry Guard, one of MKG Marketing’s founders. She currently fills the role of CEO of MKG as well as hosting the podcast, Back on T-R-A-C-K.","kerry-guard","I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness — it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.",{"landscape":3675},"kerry-guard.webp","kerryguard","Founder & CEO","Brené Brown","Kerry Guard, MKG Marketing’s Owner/CEO, stands on a street in Guernsey with the Town Church behind her | MKG Marketing",{"type":25,"children":3681,"toc":3725},[3682,3688,3700,3713,3717],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3683,"children":3685},{"className":3684},[3353],[3686],{"type":38,"value":3687},"Kerry Guard (she/her) is a mom of twins - boy and a girl. She understands what work life balance really looks like and is on a mission to build a company that honors parents having a career and a life. She’s out to prove you really can have both with policies like ensuring 20 days of vacation each year, no client emails after 6PM or weekends, unlimited sick days, and everyday flexibility.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3689,"children":3690},{},[3691,3693,3698],{"type":38,"value":3692},"She also hosts our podcast, ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":3694,"children":3696},{"href":3695},"/podcasts/marketing-leaders/",[3697],{"type":38,"value":16},{"type":38,"value":3699},", which brings eight digital marketing experts to your ears every quarter.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3701,"children":3702},{},[3703,3705,3711],{"type":38,"value":3704},"Kerry is responsible for HR. If you’d like to join MKG where people are first and your expertise matter, Kerry will be with you through the entire interview process ensuring each candidate meets the necessary requirements and gets a fair shot. Want to join MKG and Kerry’s mission of bringing People First to as many people as possible? Check out our ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":3706,"children":3708},{"href":3707},"/about/jobs/",[3709],{"type":38,"value":3710},"Jobs page",{"type":38,"value":3712}," and see if we have a position right for you!",{"type":28,"tag":3373,"props":3714,"children":3715},{"id":3375},[3716],{"type":38,"value":3378},{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":3718,"children":3719},{},[3720],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3721,"children":3722},{},[3723],{"type":38,"value":3724},"Kerry now lives in Guernsey — a tiny nook in the world between England and France. Come visit for a spot of tea any time!",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3726},[3727],{"id":3375,"depth":3346,"text":3378},"content:team:kerry-guard.md","team/kerry-guard.md","team/kerry-guard",{"_path":3732,"_dir":3335,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":3733,"description":3734,"name":3733,"ref":3735,"jobTitle":3736,"team":3408,"images":3737,"linkedIn":3739,"sequence":3740,"body":3741,"_type":840,"_id":3792,"_source":842,"_file":3793,"_stem":3794,"_extension":845,"category":3335,"minutes":836},"/team/leigh-snyder","Leigh Snyder","Meet Leigh Snyder, one of MKG Marketing’s amazing digital advertising experts, bringing 15 plus years of experience to the team","leigh-snyder","Digital Advertising Expert",{"landscape":3738},"leigh-snyder.webp","leighasnyder",50,{"type":25,"children":3742,"toc":3789},[3743,3749,3754,3759,3764,3769,3774,3779,3784],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3744,"children":3746},{"className":3745},[3353],[3747],{"type":38,"value":3748},"\nLeigh has over 15 years of experience of managing Paid Search campaigns. She started her career at Solid Cactus, a full service eCommerce agency in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania. Having no experience in Paid Search, she learned as she went, starting out in the earlier days of Google Adwords, when Adwords Editor wasn't even being used yet.\n",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3750,"children":3751},{},[3752],{"type":38,"value":3753},"Leigh loves to create accounts and watch them grow, even more she loves to take a poorly performing account and turn it around. Watching the KPIs increase from changes she has made or new ideas she implements, keeps her career exciting.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3755,"children":3756},{},[3757],{"type":38,"value":3758},"Managing a wide variety of accounts that include local car dealerships, worldwide clothing stores, online supplement shops to plastic surgeons and much much more, Leigh brings a vast knowledge of creative ways in managing accounts.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3760,"children":3761},{},[3762],{"type":38,"value":3763},"While working the majority of her career in local offices, the options for expanding her career were becoming less and less. She decided to apply for a remote job (before it was the norm) and was able to get experience that wasn't as prevalent in the smaller area in which she resides.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3765,"children":3766},{},[3767],{"type":38,"value":3768},"After working from home for the past 6 years the opportunities kept coming and when MKG reached out to her, she knew that there was something special about them and decided to take the leap. The people first environment is not just talked about here, but it is practiced everyday. MKG Marketing is unlike anywhere she has ever worked.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3770,"children":3771},{},[3772],{"type":38,"value":3773},"Outside of work, Leigh enjoys spending time with her husband Dustin, their blended family (Emma, Casey, Jake & Brayden) and their dog Millie.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3775,"children":3776},{},[3777],{"type":38,"value":3778},"The kitchen is where you will always find her, she loves to cook and bake all things Gluten Free and no one ever knows. When they are not at a swim meet or a baseball game they love swimming in their pool, long walks on the local trails, renovating their house and binging shows.",{"type":28,"tag":3373,"props":3780,"children":3781},{"id":3375},[3782],{"type":38,"value":3783},"Fun Facts",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3785,"children":3786},{},[3787],{"type":38,"value":3788},"Although it was just was a short time, at age 19 Leigh drove cross country from a small town in PA and moved to Hollywood Hills, CA. Her view from her kitchen window was the Hollywood sign. Not a bad first apartment.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3790},[3791],{"id":3375,"depth":3346,"text":3783},"content:team:leigh-snyder.md","team/leigh-snyder.md","team/leigh-snyder",{"_path":3796,"_dir":3797,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":3798,"description":3799,"name":3798,"imageDescription":3800,"ref":3801,"jobTitle":3802,"images":3803,"linkedIn":3801,"quote":3805,"quoteCite":3798,"sequence":1814,"body":3806,"_type":840,"_id":3880,"_source":842,"_file":3881,"_stem":3882,"_extension":845,"category":3797,"minutes":3477},"/team/marketing-leadership/celeste-jacroux","marketing-leadership","Celeste Jacroux","Meet Celeste Jacroux, a strategic GTM partner to MKG and Founder of Sweel Marketing Advisors. She leads Go-to-Market strategy for high-growth companies.","Celeste Jacroux, Founder of Swell Marketing Advisors and MKG Partner","celeste-jacroux","Fractional GTM Leader | Founder, Swell Marketing Advisors",{"landscape":3804},"celeste-jacroux.webp","A great product doesn't win on its own. It wins when the story, the strategy, and the sales motion all pull in the exact same direction.",{"type":25,"children":3807,"toc":3877},[3808,3821,3826,3838,3844],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3809,"children":3811},{"className":3810},[3353],[3812,3814,3819],{"type":38,"value":3813},"\nCeleste Jacroux is a Go-to-Market architect for companies ready to graduate from \"random acts of marketing\" to a predictable revenue engine. As the Founder of ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3815,"children":3816},{},[3817],{"type":38,"value":3818},"Swell Marketing Advisors",{"type":38,"value":3820}," and a strategic partner to MKG, she brings deep expertise in aligning product, sales, and marketing into a cohesive GTM strategy.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3822,"children":3823},{},[3824],{"type":38,"value":3825},"Celeste understands that for founders, the hardest phase is often bridging the gap between a great product and the market that needs it. She specializes in clarifying positioning, defining ideal customer profiles (ICPs), and building the strategic roadmap that turns vision into traction.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3827,"children":3828},{},[3829,3831,3836],{"type":38,"value":3830},"At MKG, Celeste steps in as a Marketing Leader for our ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3832,"children":3833},{},[3834],{"type":38,"value":3835},"Marketing Leadership + Activation",{"type":38,"value":3837}," clients. She provides the senior-level direction and GTM rigor, working hand-in-hand with MKG’s activation teams to ensure that strategy doesn't just sit in a deck—it gets executed, measured, and optimized for growth.",{"type":28,"tag":3373,"props":3839,"children":3841},{"id":3840},"expertise",[3842],{"type":38,"value":3843},"Expertise",{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":3845,"children":3846},{},[3847,3857,3867],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3848,"children":3849},{},[3850,3855],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3851,"children":3852},{},[3853],{"type":38,"value":3854},"Go-to-Market Strategy:",{"type":38,"value":3856}," Launching new products and entering new markets with precision.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3858,"children":3859},{},[3860,3865],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3861,"children":3862},{},[3863],{"type":38,"value":3864},"Positioning & Messaging:",{"type":38,"value":3866}," Translating complex tech into clear customer value.",{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3868,"children":3869},{},[3870,3875],{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3871,"children":3872},{},[3873],{"type":38,"value":3874},"Sales & Marketing Alignment:",{"type":38,"value":3876}," Ensuring the revenue team is fighting the same battle.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3878},[3879],{"id":3840,"depth":3346,"text":3843},"content:team:marketing-leadership:celeste-jacroux.md","team/marketing-leadership/celeste-jacroux.md","team/marketing-leadership/celeste-jacroux",{"_path":3884,"_dir":3797,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":18,"description":3885,"name":18,"imageDescription":3679,"ref":3672,"jobTitle":3886,"images":3887,"twitter":3676,"linkedIn":3676,"quote":3673,"quoteCite":3678,"sequence":3888,"body":3889,"_type":840,"_id":3967,"_source":842,"_file":3968,"_stem":3969,"_extension":845,"category":3797,"minutes":836},"/team/marketing-leadership/kerry-guard","Meet Kerry Guard, MKG Marketing’s CEO and Principal Strategist. She works directly with founders to build scalable marketing engines while hosting the podcast, Back on T-R-A-C-K.","Fractional Marketing Leaders",{"landscape":3675},5,{"type":25,"children":3890,"toc":3964},[3891,3897,3937,3948,3953,3957],{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3892,"children":3894},{"className":3893},[3353],[3895],{"type":38,"value":3896},"\nKerry Guard (she/her) is the strategist founders call when they are tired of guessing. As the CEO of MKG Marketing, she doesn’t just run the agency; she steps into the trenches with clients as a Fractional Marketing Leader. She specializes in helping founders navigate the \"Growth Valley\"—building the systems, strategy, and teams required to scale from traction to expansion.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3898,"children":3899},{},[3900,3902,3907,3909,3914,3916,3921,3923,3928,3930,3935],{"type":38,"value":3901},"Her recent work focuses on bringing enterprise-level rigor to growing businesses. She serves as the strategic marketing engine for a diverse portfolio, including ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3903,"children":3904},{},[3905],{"type":38,"value":3906},"Rutkowski Law Firm",{"type":38,"value":3908},", ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3910,"children":3911},{},[3912],{"type":38,"value":3913},"Fulcrum Enterprise Group",{"type":38,"value":3915},", and ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3917,"children":3918},{},[3919],{"type":38,"value":3920},"Premier Office Movers",{"type":38,"value":3922},", where she aligns revenue goals with marketing execution. Whether she is translating complex tech into a go-to-market narrative for ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3924,"children":3925},{},[3926],{"type":38,"value":3927},"Avalanche Fusion",{"type":38,"value":3929},", or helping ",{"type":28,"tag":34,"props":3931,"children":3932},{},[3933],{"type":38,"value":3934},"Extraordinary Advisors",{"type":38,"value":3936}," amplify their message, Kerry brings clarity and momentum to every leadership team she joins.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3938,"children":3939},{},[3940,3942,3946],{"type":38,"value":3941},"She is also the host of ",{"type":28,"tag":873,"props":3943,"children":3944},{"href":3695},[3945],{"type":38,"value":16},{"type":38,"value":3947},", where she interviews CMOs and Founders to uncover the human stories behind high-growth companies.",{"type":28,"tag":41,"props":3949,"children":3950},{},[3951],{"type":38,"value":3952},"Kerry proves that high performance doesn't require burnout. As a mom of twins, she built MKG on a \"People First\" methodology—championing policies like 20 vacation days and zero after-hours emails—because she knows that rested, respected experts drive the best ROI.",{"type":28,"tag":3373,"props":3954,"children":3955},{"id":3375},[3956],{"type":38,"value":3378},{"type":28,"tag":951,"props":3958,"children":3959},{},[3960],{"type":28,"tag":955,"props":3961,"children":3962},{},[3963],{"type":38,"value":3724},{"title":7,"searchDepth":836,"depth":836,"links":3965},[3966],{"id":3375,"depth":3346,"text":3378},"content:team:marketing-leadership:kerry-guard.md","team/marketing-leadership/kerry-guard.md","team/marketing-leadership/kerry-guard",{"_path":3971,"_dir":3797,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"title":3972,"description":3973,"name":3974,"imageDescription":3975,"ref":3976,"jobTitle":3977,"images":3978,"linkedIn":3976,"quote":3980,"quoteCite":3974,"sequence":3981,"body":3982,"_type":840,"_id":4065,"_source":842,"_file":4066,"_stem":4067,"_extension":845,"category":3797,"minutes":3477},"/team/marketing-leadership/laura-mcaliley","Laura Mcaliley","Meet Laura McAliley, a strategic partner to MKG and Founder of Pebble Marketing. 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