Businesses must constantly rethink their strategies to keep pace with the market.
That’s exactly what Megan Bowen, CEO of Refine Labs, has mastered. With over 20 years of experience building and scaling go-to-market teams at companies like ZocDoc, Grubhub, and ManagedbyQ, Megan now leads Refine Labs in transforming how B2B companies approach demand generation.
On the latest episode of The Unlock, Megan shares her insights into the future of B2B marketing and the critical shifts companies need to embrace if they want to unlock sustainable growth. Megan’s experience, both as a former operator and now a demand generation leader, positions her as one of the foremost experts on modern marketing strategies, especially for growth-stage businesses navigating the complexities of today’s market.
So, what’s next for B2B marketing? And how can you ensure your company is ready for the future? In this episode, Megan dives deep into all of this and so much more, including the rise of dark social, how to deal with attribution, and organic vs. paid media.
Here’s my conversation with Megan:
Megan: I like to break it down into three distinct eras. If you think back to the 1990s, we were in a pre-internet, analog era where traditional sales tactics dominated. Businesses relied on brand marketing through big conferences, splashy events, and out-of-home advertising. That’s how they acquired customers back then.
In the 2000s, the internet and HubSpot really changed things. We moved into what I call the website era. SEO became important, and your website became your digital storefront. Digital marketing strategies were born—Google search, paid ads, and content marketing became the new normal. At this point, people were realizing they could do a lot of their own research before ever talking to a salesperson.
Now, we’re in the dark social era, catalyzed by the pandemic and the rise of social media. Digital marketing strategies have become saturated, leading to skepticism and cynicism. Today, people want to talk to someone they trust before they make a decision, not a salesperson. And most of that happens in channels that can’t be tracked—private Slack groups, LinkedIn communities, or just word of mouth.
Megan: Dark social refers to peer-to-peer recommendations happening in spaces that aren't easily tracked—places like Slack, private LinkedIn groups, or even direct messaging. People trust these spaces more than they trust formal marketing or even platforms like G2, which some see as pay-to-play. So the key question for companies becomes: when someone is asking for a recommendation, how can I make sure my company is the one being talked about?
It goes back to the fundamentals of business: having an amazing product, a great customer experience, and delivering on your promises. As a marketer, your job is to create relevant, compelling content and distribute it where your audience already spends their time—often on social media.
Megan: I think every company needs both organic and paid strategies. For organic, it’s all about creating valuable, relevant content and distributing it where your audience already is. But the challenge with organic alone is that it takes time to build your audience. You could create the best content in the world, but if only 1% of your LinkedIn followers are in your target market, it’s not going to get the traction you want.
That’s where paid comes in. Paid ads guarantee distribution to your target audience while you’re still building your organic presence. So until you build up your organic audience, paid advertising can help accelerate your reach.
Megan: It’s crucial to recognize that your strategy must evolve with the market. A great example is a company we worked with called Clari. They went through a category reset and came up with a term called “revenue leak,” which they used to describe a common problem their platform solves.
We helped them own that term and communicate the problem effectively through their advertising. The goal was to position Clari as the expert on this issue, rather than just pushing their product. Companies that focus too much on themselves or their products in their ads are missing the point. The most successful companies market the problem and, by extension, the solution.
Megan: Attribution is a tricky topic. There's no perfect attribution model that will measure your marketing perfectly. At Refine Labs, we recommend a hybrid approach—use multiple data sources to make informed decisions, but don’t get too caught up in trying to track every little thing.
For instance, traditional software-based attribution still works well for channels like paid search. But for channels like podcasts or social media, we recommend self-reported attribution. Ask your customers how they heard about you. It won’t be perfect, but it will give you valuable insights into what’s working.
Ultimately, it’s about being smart with your overall strategy and using a mix of data, common sense, and multiple attribution models to make the best decisions for your business.
Megan: AI is great for improving efficiency, but it won’t replace humans anytime soon—especially when it comes to creating authentic, compelling content. AI can help with first drafts, prompts, and even post-production tasks like video editing, but the thoughts and unique points of view still need to come from humans.
At Refine Labs, we use AI to augment our content production process, but the core of what makes great content—authenticity and a strong POV—can’t be outsourced to a machine. AI is just a tool, and it’s best used to streamline tasks and make processes more efficient, not to replace the human element.
Megan: Two things are really interesting to me right now. First, connected TV or streaming services as a B2B channel. B2B companies are starting to experiment with high-quality video production and pushing it out like a commercial through streaming services. It's something we’ve been testing with a few clients, and it’s been very effective.
Second, we’re seeing companies go back to in-person marketing stunts and events. One example is ClickUp, which did a creative in-person protest at Dreamforce, mimicking Benioff's famous "no software" campaign but with "no Slack." It garnered a lot of attention. As the pandemic fades, I think we’ll see more B2B companies getting creative with in-person marketing, stunts, and events to stand out.
Megan Bowen's insights highlight the importance of staying agile in today's changing B2B marketing world. From understanding the impact of dark social to leveraging AI and balancing paid and organic strategies, Megan's approach is all about adapting to how people buy today.
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