How Can First-Party Research Turn B2B Content Into a Scalable Growth Engine?

What if your best-performing content didn’t start with a blog post—but with a question no one else thought to ask?In this episode of Content Amplified, Benjamin Ard sits down with Donna Parent, CMO at Dynamo Software, to unpack how quarterly first-party research became the backbone of their content strategy—and a serious competitive edge.Donna doesn’t treat research like a one-off campaign. She runs it like a product: structured, repeatable, defensible, and built for distribution. With a lean team of fewer than 10 marketers, she has led the creation of 14 in-depth industry research reports—each designed to spark conversation, earn media coverage, and fuel an entire ecosystem of content.The result? Authoritative insights that drive press, power webinars, support sales conversations, and strengthen visibility across AI-powered search.This isn’t about volume. It’s about credibility at scale.What you'll learn in this episode:How to build a quarterly first-party research program—even with a small marketing teamWhy consistency (not frequency) unlocks meaningful comparative insightsHow to design surveys that balance foundational benchmarks with fresh industry trendsA practical framework for collaborating across marketing, product, sales, and PRHow to turn one research report into press coverage, webinars, social campaigns, and executive thought leadershipThe right—and wrong—ways to use AI when analyzing primary dataWhy third-party credibility matters more than ever for AI-driven search and discoverabilityHow to protect data integrity while moving fast enough to meet market demandAbout Donna ParentDonna Parent is the Chief Marketing Officer at Dynamo Software, a leading provider of software solutions for the private investment community.With more than 25 years of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, Donna has built revenue-generating teams across enterprise software companies ranging from 50-person startups to global organizations with thousands of employees. Her sweet spot lies in entrepreneurial environments where agility, experimentation, and disciplined execution drive results.At Dynamo, Donna spearheaded a quarterly first-party research initiative serving general partners, limited partners, hedge funds, and fund accountants. She personally oversees survey design, data validation, and report development—ensuring every published insight is accurate, defensible, and actionable.Her work has fueled media placements, executive editorials in outlets like Forbes Tech Council, and a scalable content engine built on credibility.Connect with Donna:Donna's LinkedIn ProfileDynamo Software's websiteLatest Research ReportText us what you think about this episode!