In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Kaitlyn Chiu, Head of Marketing at Partful. Partful creates digital parts catalog and work instruction software for OEMs—a highly specialized B2B SaaS product in a niche manufacturing space. Coming from a fashion marketing background, Kaitlyn brings an unconventional perspective to technical B2B marketing, emphasizing the emotional dimension that's often overlooked when targeting enterprise decision-makers. Eight months into her role, she's transformed Partful's marketing from brand-focused PR into a balanced demand generation engine, leveraging behavioral email marketing, trade publication targeting, and AI-powered personalization to build pipeline in a category disruption play.
Topics Discussed:
- Applying B2C emotional marketing principles to niche B2B SaaS products
- Rebalancing marketing strategy from brand awareness to demand generation
- Building behavioral email marketing programs using HubSpot's native capabilities
- Leveraging AI for hyper-personalized prospecting at scale
- Targeting trade publications over tech media for direct ICP reach
- Staying current in marketing's rapidly evolving AI landscape
Lessons for B2B SaaS Marketers:
- Don't Abandon Emotional Marketing in B2B: While ROI and commercial value matter, B2B buyers are humans with KPIs, stress levels, and sleep patterns affected by their purchase decisions. Fashion marketing's emphasis on emotional connection and brand meaning translates directly to B2B—decision-makers consume the same high-quality content outside of work and expect that caliber during work hours. Messaging should address both the rational business case and the emotional relief of problem resolution.
- Behavioral Email Marketing Delivers More Signal Than Brand Channels: Email marketing isn't archaic—it's data-rich. Unlike paid media, email provides granular behavioral signals: which pages someone visited, how long they engaged with interactive demos, how many steps they completed, and whether sales has made contact. Use this behavioral data to trigger hyper-targeted campaigns based on actual intent signals rather than demographic attributes. Being "brave with words"—borrowing B2C's FOMO tactics and harder-hitting copy—can break through B2B's typically conservative messaging.
- Reorient PR Toward Trade Publications Where Your ICP Actually Reads: Generic tech press and regional business magazines build brand awareness but rarely drive pipeline. Shift PR efforts toward the specific trade publications your ICP consumes daily. For Partful, this meant deprioritizing Northern UK tech magazines in favor of manufacturing and OEM industry publications. This surgical approach to media relations delivers both brand credibility and demand generation simultaneously.
- Scale Personalization with AI Prospecting Agents, But Mind the Tonality: HubSpot's Prospecting Agent functionality (and similar CRM tools) enables sending 700+ hyper-personalized emails daily by automating research and customization. The key is calibrating tonality to show genuine care rather than "Big Brother" surveillance—reference what the prospect's business does in ways that demonstrate research, not creepiness. This approach removes manual work while maintaining the personalized touch that drives response rates.
- Balance Quick Wins with Long-Term Platform Experimentation: When entering a role, identify underutilized owned channels that can deliver immediate results—like email marketing on an existing HubSpot instance. This creates "free" marketing capacity while you experiment with emerging platforms. Test AI operational tools (segment building, workflow automation) even if manual execution is currently faster; the learning compounds as the tools improve.
- Stay Curious About Adjacent Consumer Marketing Tactics: B2B marketers should actively study B2C newsletters and campaigns, particularly in email marketing where consumer brands push creative boundaries. Chase Dimond's newsletter exemplifies B2C email innovation that can be adapted to B2B contexts. The discipline of translating consumer tactics into specialized B2B applications keeps marketing fresh and prevents the creative stagnation common in technical verticals.
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Sponsors:
Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io
The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co
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