The Accidental Marketer Podcast

AI is surprisingly good at strategy—but does generating lots of good ideas actually produce a good strategy? Mary and Tom compare an unaided AI with Scout, their AI strategic marketing system, and uncover an important distinction: AI can generate possibilities and even prioritize them, but humans still need to determine the right criteria, make strategic tradeoffs and build alignment at key points...

Companies often approach value propositions and pricing from the inside out: What do we make? What does it cost? What are competitors charging? In this final episode of the Opportunities Hidden in Plain Sight series, Tom and Mary explore what happens when companies instead focus on what customers actually value—from a conference provider that increased prices 33% to GE Healthcare's reimagined MRI...

Companies often assume good positioning starts by deciding what they want customers to believe about them. In this episode, Tom and Mary explore why positioning actually starts in the customer's mind—not in a conference room or creative brief. Learn why a positioning claim can be completely true and still fail, and how understanding customers, competitors, and existing perceptions can uncover posi...

Apple has revealed its new foldable iPhone—but what position will it ultimately try to own in customers’ minds? Mary and Tom explore three possibilities: turn the technology into one powerful functional benefit, leverage the emotional value of the Apple brand, or turn Apple's late arrival into an advantage. Along the way, they show how B2B marketers can use the same principles to develop stronger...

Companies often assume differentiation requires inventing something new, but some of the best competitive advantages are already hiding inside the products and capabilities they have. In this episode of the Hidden in Plain Sight series, Tom and Mary explore examples ranging from J&J's new Ottava surgical robot to a late-to-market pharmaceutical product to show how looking at different customers, s...

In this episode of the Hidden in Plain Sight series, Tom and Mary explore how the Ability to Win scorecard exposes competitive blind spots that seem obvious only after they’ve been revealed. From an overlooked “cold turkey” competitor in smoking cessation to Intel, Nvidia, Salesforce, and Siebel, they show how looking through the customer’s eyes can reveal the competitors, capabilities, and custom...

Many organizations spend enormous amounts of time evaluating markets, customer segments, and growth initiatives, yet surprisingly few first agree on what makes an opportunity attractive. In this episode, Tom and Mary explain why defining success before evaluating options leads to better strategic decisions, stronger organizational alignment, and fewer debates driven by opinion. Learn how one simpl...

In this episode we explore one of the most common mistakes companies make when trying to grow: assuming every customer values the same things. Tom and Mary explain the "Lukewarm Tea Syndrome"—the tendency to average customer needs into one generic value proposition that resonates with no one. Through examples from airlines, pharmaceuticals, and B2B medical equipment, they demonstrate how needs-bas...

Why do technically superior products so often struggle to gain traction in the marketplace? In this episode, Tom and Mary explore one of the most common traps facing B2B technology companies: becoming so immersed in their own engineering expertise that they unintentionally communicate in ways customers don't value. Find out how to quickly gain better the customer insight that helps companies uncov...

When Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down, competing airlines were forced to respond almost immediately. In this episode, Tom and Mary examine how carriers such as United, Southwest, Delta, and JetBlue reacted in ways that were remarkably consistent with their positioning and target customers. The discussion explores what those responses reveal about strategy, competitive preparedness, and the value...

A $7 bag of Doritos sparked a broader discussion about one of the most common pricing mistakes in business. In this episode, Mary and Tom explore why customers often define competitors and alternatives differently than companies do, and how that gap can lead to pricing and commercialization challenges. The conversation highlights a simple question that can improve strategic decision-making across...

In this episode, the team explores how companies like Nvidia are redefining competition by partnering with competitors to build full ecosystem solutions. Rather than fighting for share within existing categories, they are expanding the market itself by helping customers succeed end-to-end. The discussion highlights how B2B companies can identify when co-opetition makes sense and how to apply it st...

In this episode, the team breaks down the surprising outcome of the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war and why Netflix—despite a strong strategic position—didn’t win. What began as a logical, best-fit decision quickly shifted as Paramount reframed the deal around certainty and risk. The conversation explores how strategy evolves through competitor moves, stakeholder priorities, and external pressu...

In this episode, the team explores why growth in B2B doesn’t always come from adding more products, brands, or acquisitions — it often comes from trimming. From product lines to brand names, organizations tend to hold onto legacy assets long after their strategic value fades. The group unpacks how to think more objectively about what to double down on, what to maintain, and what to let go — and wh...

In this episode, Mary and Tom unpack the backlash surrounding Ring’s Super Bowl ad for its new “Search Party” feature — a tool designed to help locate lost dogs through Ring cameras. On the surface, the idea felt like a winner: people love dogs, and technology that helps reunite pets with owners sounds inherently positive. But the reaction exposed deeper issues around privacy, positioning, and cul...

Search, as most B2B marketers learned it, is no longer the center of gravity. In this episode, the team explores how AI-driven answer engines are changing the way buyers discover, evaluate, and narrow options — often before a salesperson or website ever enters the picture. What starts as a conversation about SEO quickly becomes a strategic discussion about needs-based segmentation, decision logic,...

In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean are joined by special guest Ginny Ertl, a change management and leadership development expert, to explore why generational labels fall short as a way to understand how people actually behave at work. What starts as a discussion about Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers quickly moves past age-based assumptions and into a more useful lens: segmentation. Drawin...

In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean look ahead to 2026 by exploring how digital health, AI-driven micro-segmentation, and workforce shifts are beginning to intersect. Rather than focusing on a single dominant trend, they discuss why understanding second-order effects — and viewing change through the eyes of customers and stakeholders — will be critical for effective strategy in the years ahead.

In this year-end discussion, the team unpacks what 2025 really highlighted about organizational strategy. They examine how high-performing teams used AI to widen the range of strategic choices, why uneven economic shifts made scenario planning a necessity, and how Nike’s distribution reset underscored the importance of understanding influence systems. The episode emphasizes that the organizations...

This episode breaks down the rise and fall of Quibi — and the strategic lessons behind its rapid collapse. You’ll learn how trend shifts, assumptions, and lack of customer testing can undermine even the strongest ideas.

This episode explores why great companies fall behind — and how to avoid the same mistakes. The team breaks down the forces that cause once-dominant brands to lose their way and the practices that keep customer-aware companies on top.

This episode tackles the year-end dilemma: use it or lose it. Learn how to turn your budget surplus into strategic advantage with smart investments in insight, innovation, and team capability.

This episode explores why your best storytelling might not mention your product at all. Learn how to craft stories that build credibility, spark curiosity, and make audiences want to hear more.

This episode explores the storytelling tools that transform strategy into narratives customers believe in. From trends and personas to competitor analysis and AI, the team shows how to craft stories that resonate, persuade, and stick.

Too many B2B “stories” are just fact dumps. In this episode, we explore why real storytelling matters in strategy — and how to make your customer the hero, build around tension, and use emotion to make your message stick.