CNME Editor Mark Forker spoke to Narimane Kurdi, Director, Revenue Marketing Emerging Markets, at Nintex, to learn more about what the concept of revenue marketing really entails, the need to establish shared goals and language between marketing and sales teams – and the key importance of storytelling.
Narimane Kurdi has established herself as a tour-de-force when it comes to the marketing profession across the Emerging Markets.
Marketing, like so many other disciplines has evolved, and whilst many of the same principles stand the test of time, the delivery and execution of programs and initiatives have changed.
Kurdi has spent 20 years in marketing, and has witnessed those changes firs-thand, and her ability to adapt to the changing nature of her profession has helped her become marketing leader that is hugely respected by her colleagues and industry peers across the region.
Throughout her career, Kurdi has led marketing across a diverse portfolio of global brands—from luxury retail to enterprise SaaS—bringing together deep B2C and B2B expertise.
Throughout her many roles, she’s worked with Microsoft, Autodesk, Citrix, and Qlik to Kering Group, Armani Group, and Gucci Group—giving her a uniquely cross-industry perspective on growth, customer experience, and revenue impact.
In her current role as Director, Revenue Marketing Emerging Markets at Nintex, she has played a central role in driving significant qualified pipeline and measurable contribution to bookings across the region.
She sat down for a candid conversation with CNME, to discuss all things marketing, but particularly the concept of revenue marketing.
And that’s where we began the conversation.
What exactly is revenue marketing and what does it mean?
Kurdi explained that it’s all about measuring impact and demonstrating growth that is tangible.
“Revenue marketing is not just about generating leads. It’s about how you create measurable business impact. Typically, when you think about traditional marketing it has been about all creating awareness through advertising and press releases. Ultimately, I view marketing as an engine, and it undoubtedly serves as that bridge between the sales division, where every initiative that we do is tied to the pipeline, bookings, and customer value. It essentially aligns data, content, and customer insights to drive tangible growth,” said Kurdi.
Kurdi acknowledged that marketing has evolved significantly compared to when she first entered the field back in 2005, and in today’s fast-paced market environment the path of customer journeys is paved with many challenges
“I have been involved in marketing for 20 years, and naturally, there has been an evolution around the industry, and I think there is a realisation that marketing must be seen as a recognised growth engine, and it needs to deliver something that is tangible. Today, if marketing isn’t adding value to a seller, then you’re not doing your job properly. In the current climate customer journeys are much more complex and every single dollar that you spend is being scrutinised. The tight alignment between marketing and sales is no longer an option, it needs to be fundamental, because it’s about converting the intent into an opportunity, and the opportunity into revenue. It’s not about awareness or visibility; it must be about that single source of truth where marketing is contributing to the performance of the business,” said Kurdi.
Interestingly, Kurdi outlined that the fusion between marketing and sales and the strategic alignment really became more pronounced following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was a transition from traditional marketing into digital marketing, and now into revenue marketing. However, in terms of the shift in alignment between sales and marketing divisions across the board, that came about as a direct consequence of the COVID pandemic. The sheer scale of digital transformation was unprecedented, and it just accelerated at breakneck speeds, and to capitalise on the opportunities that were being created from that change then as an organisation you needed to be able to drive and generate revenue,” said Kurdi.
Kurdi added that the advent of new solutions also provided greater insights and visibility into market trends and data.
“I think another critical component that really propelled things forward was the different tools that suddenly became widely available. You were no longer just guessing how many impressions and clickthrough’s your campaign had, but instead you were analysing the data, and the data had evolved to a state where it was no longer just one point of attribution, but multi-touch attribution to better understand the buying cycles and so on,” said Kurdi.
Kurdi believes that her understanding of what is required in terms of sales is a key factor in the success that Nintex has enjoyed across the Emerging Markets in the last few years.
“I do feel that because I understand sales and buying cycles, and how different relationships with buyers defer from markets gives me a big advantage in terms of the way I approach my own job. For me, I believe that you need to be able to think like a seller. At the end of the day, what is the primary function of marketing? Ultimately, it’s trying to fuel the pipeline for the seller, and the seller’s job is to get a lead and close it. It is counter-productive for me to create a pipeline if I don’t understand what the seller is after, who their ideal customers are, and who are the accounts that they want to be tapping into? If you don’t know these answers, then how are you going to be able to drive this successfully? Revenue marketing only succeeds when sales, BDRs, partners and marketing operate as one team with shared goals and a shared language around the pipeline,” said Kurdi.
Kurdi stressed the importance of storytelling when it comes to executing successful marketing campaigns and strategies.
“Look, I think an effective revenue marketeer understand both sides of the coin. They understand the science and the data, but also the storytelling of how we are going to be able to narrate this, and we use the data because that is what is going to be give us credibility. This is how we justify our impact, but at the same time storytelling is what gives us momentum and is how we inspire our customers and our internal teams. I always say that metrics without meaning are just numbers. However, it’s my goal is to make the data actionable to show the why behind the what – and that’s how we build a culture of accountability and excitement around growth,” said Kurdi.
Kurdi highlighted the importance of education and taking people on that journey with you.
She reinforced the importance of demonstrating what the outcomes and end-goals are when activating a marketing campaign.
“There definitely is an education process involved, and you’re essentially trying to take them on a journey with you. What I try to do as much as possible is educate them on looking at the end-goal. So, if we are using marketing to create awareness and visibility then I need to demonstrate how this is going to lead to measurable success. I have seen this be very successful when it is explained, and this is what I do for any initiative that I embark upon. I always show them the outcomes and the end goal, and for every sort of kick-off call then it’s my job to tell how this is going to impact them, and what it means to them in terms of what customers we are targeting. This is how we transformed growth, and how we built trust with sales, and how we elevate marketing as being a strategic driver of success,” said Kurdi.
The conversation then pivoted towards the topic of AI, and how many businesses have been guilty of adopting the technology for the sake of it.
However, as Kurdi pointed out, in the current climate every penny you spend or invest is being placed under the microscope.
“Since the introduction of AI, many businesses are undergoing transformation and we’re seeing a lot of growth, but on the flipside of that there is also a lot of restructuring in a lot of organisations. I think every organisation is being scrutinised in terms of are we utilising our team members sufficiently, or do we need an AI tool to do it? Are we getting an ROI on every dollar that we are spending? It doesn’t matter whether you’re in marketing, HR or journalism, you need to justify that everything that you’re doing to some extent is tied to the business growth, and again, having that accountability. I think you need to have data points to really reflect what it is you’re doing,” said Kurdi.
Kurdi concluded a brilliantly candid and fascinating insight into the world of marketing, by drawing on the importance of relationships.
Despite all the new technologies and tools that might be in play, relationships will always be in vogue.
“Sometimes I do think there might not be an ROI on a certain activity. You need to strike that balance and you need be able to have the ability to build, develop and foster relationships, because not everything can be dollar-driven. However, it still does need to justify to some extent as to how that will impact growth in the future. I believe that building relationships with your customers is gold. They might not buy anymore from you, because they are happy with what they have, but you still need to nurture that relationship. Relationships are so important, because at the end of the day, people buy from people. You can have an amazing brand that could help transform a business, but if you don’t have that relationship with that seller, then it’s not going to work,” said Kurdi.
