Content marketing

17 Quotes to Inspire Fearless Marketing

How can we be fearless in all of our professional pursuits? And what would we do differently if we knew we couldn’t fail?

These are the questions on my mind after wrapping Marketo’s #MKTGnation Summit in San Francisco. Bringing together more than 6,000 marketing practitioners from across the globe, this year’s Summit challenged attendees to push the envelope to better meet the needs of customers, who expect more now than ever from brands and marketers alike.

Our team was on the ground snapping photos, taking names and diving deep into sessions to keep our marketing minds fresh. And to keep your minds inspired and engaged, we brought the best quotes home with us.

Read on for advice on marketing innovation, customer advocacy and more.

On Brand-Building and Fostering Trust...

“Yesterday’s playbook is no longer enough to get you to tomorrow’s success. You need to be constantly throwing out the old rules and creating your own.”  - Jonathan Mildenhall, Former CMO, Airbnb

“Trust is the ultimate human currency. It's earned in drops, lost in buckets.” - Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP

“We live in a hyperconnected world where our brands aren’t controlled by us anymore. They’re controlled by our customers. The brand is being defined by the buyer.” - Steve Lucas, CEO, Marketo

"Trust is on the decline and is more important now than ever.” - Nick Martin, Social Media Lead, Hootsuite

On Creating Great Content...

“Avoid producing random acts of content. Your content should be intentional and map back to business objectives.” - Alex Rynne, Content Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

“Organic content isn't dead. You can't build a community and maintain relationships in a paid way.” - Jaime Schember, Product Marketing Manager - Social Media, Google

“Invest in great writing. If you don’t have great writing you can’t have great content.” - Carla Johnson, CEO, Type A Communications

“Your employees are one of your best routes to telling your brand story in a more authentic way.” - Steve Kearns, Social Media Lead, LinkedIn

“The size of the idea is so much more important than the size of the budget.” - Jonathan Mildenhall, Former CMO, Airbnb

“A/B tests can help you determine what works and what doesn't work in your advertising. A true A/B test only has one experimental variable, so be sure to keep other components constant for the best results.” - Gaurav Nihalani, Digital Marketing Manager, LinkedIn

On the Expanded Responsibilities of Marketing...

“Recently the marketing function has taken on so much more responsibility. They’re so much more than just top of the funnel now.” - Jill Rowley, Chief Growth Officer, Marketo

"Companies like Netflix and Amazon have changed our expectations in terms of personalization and relevance. We have to do better." - Steve Kearns, Social Media Lead, LinkedIn

On Being Customer-Centric...

“We’re in a new age. We call it the age of the customer.”  Laura Ramos, Vice President - Principal Analyst, Forrester Research

“It’s time to rethink the role of marketing. Engage your audience with stories that have real meaning for them.” - Michael Brenner, CEO, Marketing Insider Group

“Always speak to your customer as if they’re standing right in front of you.” - Lisa Marcyes, Head of Social Media, Marketo

“Only companies that create exceptional customer experiences will survive in the digital age.” - Laura Ramos, Vice President - Principal Analyst, Forrester Research

On Being Fearless...

“Being fearless is not about how you feel; it’s about how you act.” - Michael Brenner, CEO, Marketing Insider Group

For more tips on how to be fearless in your marketing and in your career, subscribe to the LinkedIn Marketing blog.