Welcome back to our Marketers as Leaders series with our second guest,Jim Kruger, CMO of Veeam. Jim leads a 430+ member global marketing team focused on driving software and secure data adoption. A veteran technology marketing leader with over 20 years of B2B and B2C marketing experience, Jim has a big heartand a passion for connecting with people. 

 That passion is reflected in Jim's belief that customer advocacy plays a key role for Veeam.They've built an incredible community where customers can exchange ideas and provide feedback directly to the product teams responsible for the technology. The product teams spent time listening and interacting with customers to get direction on what to prioritize and what to add for enhancements. 

Veeam's customer advocacy and community approach enable customers to understand why Veeam does what they do as a technology company-something that's become even moresignificantnow, Jim believes. There's a finebalance as they continue to help customers navigate in a post-pandemic worldwhile continuing to drive demand.Above all, having a cohesive strategy and getting alignment across the organization is key to success.  

Here are the3key takeaways from our chat, and I invite you to listen to Jim take a deeper dive into these concepts. 

Jim's leadership style:Mystery coffee. Get creative in connecting with cross-functional teams within your company. Bring your teams together to stay connected. 

  Learn more about Jim's Mystery coffee and recipes to keep your team highly engaged. 

Jim onknowing your customers: Deep segmentation is key. Know your customers better than your competitors.Don't underestimate the importance of community. 

  Watch Jim deep dive intowhat Veeam's doing to help build their community. 

Jim's lessons learned from COVID-19: Be agile. Differentiate yourselves and execute highly engaging virtual events (cue Puppy cam!). Invest live event budgets into digital marketing. 

  Hear directly from Jim on the marketing disruptions he faced due to COVID-19, and how he solved for them.   

Want more? Access the entire interview here or click through
to learn more about Cisco and Veeam's strategic partnership.

Next up in our Marketing as Leaders series will be Renata Randi, Chief Marketing and Alliances Officer, Logicalis. Stay tuned!