PODCAST · business
The Accidental Marketer Podcast
by Impact Planning Group
I am Tom Spitale, a Partner at Impact Planning Group - welcome to our Podcast! Along with my colleagues and Partners Mary Abbazia and Sean Welham, we are the authors of "The Accidental Marketer" published by Wiley. Through our book and our consulting practice, we help (mostly B2B) Accidental Marketers create unique and compelling strategies that differentiate their products and services from the competition. Our podcast addresses important B2B strategic marketing issues and is designed to help listeners maximize profits in their area of responsibility by creating, communicating and capturing (via pricing strategies) more value for customers than competitors do.
Episodes
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We Think We Know How Apple Will Position Its New Foldable iPhone
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...
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Stop Trying to Differentiate Your Product
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...
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Being Good Isn’t the Same as Being Good Enough to Win
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,...
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Why Companies Chase the Wrong Opportunities
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...
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Why B2B Companies Keep Serving "Lukewarm Tea"
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....
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Why B2B Technology Companies Talk About the Wrong Things
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...
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Spirit Airlines, Scenario Planning, and the Difference Between Luck and Preparation
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...
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Before You Price Your Next Innovation, Ask These Three Words
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...
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When Competitors Become Partners: Rethinking How Markets Are Won
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...
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Why Paramount Beat Netflix: The Strategic Power of Playing the Game Forward
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...
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Growth Starts with Subtraction: Rationalizing Your Portfolio to Win
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…
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What B2B Technical Leaders Can Learn from Ring’s Super Bowl Misstep
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...
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How AI is Rewriting the B2B Growth Funnel
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...
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Why Generational Labels Fail — and What Segmentation Gets Right
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,...
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Looking Ahead to 2026: The Trends That Will Shape B2B Strategy
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...
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The Year in Review: What 2025 Revealed About Strategy and Readiness
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...
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Why Quibi Failed — And What It Teaches Us About Strategic Blind Spots
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.
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Why Great Companies Lose Their Way
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.
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What to Do When You Have a Budget Surplus
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.
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Why Your Best Storytelling Should Not Mention Your Product
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.
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Storytelling Tools That Win
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.
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Why Storytelling Makes or Breaks Strategy
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.
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AI-Powered Pricing: More Precision, Less Guesswork
How do you price with confidence when markets shift, competitors undercut, and customers demand more for less? In this episode, the team explores how AI—combined with the right strategic tools—is making pricing smarter, more precise, and more aligned to real customer value.
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Why Your Sales Team Isn’t Using Your Strategy
Sales and strategy often operate in silos. But with AI-enhanced playbooks, the handoff becomes a continuous loop—where strategy shapes execution, and sales sharpens strategy.
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Using AI to Strengthen (and Streamline) Your Value Proposition
Many B2B firms stop short of customizing their value props—even after strong segmentation. This episode explores how AI, used with the right strategic tools, can transform value props from generic to segment-specific—and prove ROI before you launch.
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Want Better Stories? Start With Better Positioning
Positioning is where strategy turns into story. In this episode, the team explains how AI helps sharpen your message, pressure-test its uniqueness, and connect it to execution across teams and channels. Want better stories? Start here.
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Using AI to Spark and Strengthen Differentiation Strategy
The team shares how AI accelerates the development of differentiation strategies by generating ideas, offering analogies, and simulating impact on market share. It’s not just about brainstorming better—it’s about building and testing better strategies, faster.
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The Fog of AI: Lessons from the Last Digital Disruption
In this episode, the team explores the “fog of AI war”—the disorienting rush toward new technologies without clear strategic purpose. Drawing on lessons from the early days of the internet and CRM systems, they reveal how companies often repeat the same missteps: chasing hype instead of focusing…
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How AI is Reinventing the “Ability to Win” Analysis
SWOT is out. Seeing yourself through the customer’s eyes is in. This episode breaks down how AI supercharges the Ability to Win framework, helping you prioritize more effectively, invest smarter, and compete with clarity.
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How AI Supercharges the Attractiveness Criteria
AI takes the Attractiveness Criteria tool to the next level—removing bias, speeding analysis, and helping teams make smarter decisions. This episode explores how AI can uncover overlooked opportunities, align cross-functional teams, and bring strategic clarity to the table.
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Segmentation That Works: How AI Is Transforming the Hardest Part of Strategy
In this episode, the team explores how AI is transforming segmentation from a strategic theory into a practical, scalable reality. Learn how AI makes the hard parts of segmentation—like identifying, bucketing, and acting on customer needs—faster, smarter, and finally actionable.
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Scenario Planning in Uncertain Times: Using AI and Tools to Stay Ahead
In this episode, the team breaks down how to prepare for strategic uncertainty using AI, proven planning tools, and a wide lens on possible futures. Learn how scenario planning helps you move from reacting to leading when disruption hits.
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How to Raise Prices After a Tariff—Without Losing Your Customers
This episode explores how B2B companies can raise prices due to tariffs—without losing customer trust. The team shares a clear approach using segmentation, transparency, and strategic messaging to manage one of the toughest pricing challenges businesses face.
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AI and the Benefits Ladder: Getting to What Customers Really Want
In this episode, the team discusses how AI strengthens one of the most powerful strategy tools: the Benefits Ladder. Learn how it helps uncover meaningful customer needs, anticipate future shifts, and align your strategy with what truly drives B2B buying behavior.
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AI for Stakeholder Mapping: Spot Power Shifts Before Your Competitors Do
In this episode, the team discusses how AI-powered stakeholder mapping helps businesses track decision-making shifts, uncover hidden influencers, and engage the right stakeholders with precision. AI turns static stakeholder maps into dynamic, real-time strategy tools that give companies a...
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AI for Execution: How Marketers Can Finally Escape the Execution Trap
In this episode, the team explores how AI is reshaping the execution phase of strategy, making execution faster, more precise, and more scalable. They discuss how AI helps automate workflows, optimize sales plans, and align execution with strategy—all while ensuring that marketers stay focused on...
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The Strategy Shortcut You’re Probably Overlooking
In this episode, the team discusses how AI can uncover game-changing strategic analogies from outside your industry—but only if it’s first trained on your specific market landscape. They explore why AI isn’t a replacement for strategic thinking, but rather a tool that helps companies see...
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AI in Strategic Analysis: Combining Technology with Expertise
In this episode, Mary, Sean, and Tom discuss how AI is transforming the analysis phase of strategic planning. The team emphasizes the importance of using AI as a tool to enhance decision-making—not replace it—while sharing real-world examples of how AI has helped clients uncover surprising…
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How AI Supercharges Wargaming for Strategic Planning
In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean dive into the transformative impact of AI on wargaming, a critical tool for strategic planning. The team explores how AI enhances preparation, realism, and scenario-building to help companies anticipate customer decisions and competitor reactions with...
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Lessons from the Rise and Fall of Giants: Intel, GE, and Beyond
The team reflects on the lessons learned from industry giants like Intel, GE, and Apple. Mary expresses her personal connection and frustration, noting the company’s past focus on trend anticipation and end-user insights. The conversation explores how giants lose their edge, the importance of...
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Trends and Technologies Shaping 2024 and Beyond
The close of the year is the perfect time to reflect on the major trends and events that have shaped 2024—and what they mean for marketers in the coming year.In this podcast, the team explores some of the year’s standout stories
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AI and the Coke Holiday Ad: Revolutionizing Marketing or Losing Authenticity?
Coca-Cola used AI to create 110 personalized versions of its iconic holiday ad in just three days. The discussion highlights how AI can revolutionize marketing efforts, but it also stresses the importance of maintaining authenticity and focusing on customer-centric strategies. Whether you're in…
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Lessons from Nike’s Challenges: What B2B Marketers Can Learn About Revitalizing Mature Products
Nike’s recent challenges underscore a truth all brands face: staying relevant in a competitive market isn’t easy. As B2B marketers, there’s a lot we can learn from the steps—and missteps—of a company like Nike, particularly when it comes to maintaining distribution partnerships, staying tuned to...
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Breaking Free from the Annual Planning Cycle
In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean discuss the inefficiencies of traditional finance-driven planning cycles and explore a more flexible, customer-centric approach to strategic planning. They emphasize how trends and customer needs should drive strategy rather than rigid annual reviews.
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Leveraging AI to Transform Strategic Planning
In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean discuss the growing role of AI in strategic marketing and how it is transforming the way companies approach the planning process. As businesses face the challenge of lengthy planning cycles, AI offers a way to streamline market analysis and speed up strategy...
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Market Shaping: Strategies for Redefining Your Competitive Landscape
In this episode, we explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in strategic marketing, focusing on how AI can enhance the effectiveness and innovation of marketing teams. Our discussion covers the ways AI can assist in generating ideas, understanding market trends, and...
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What B2B Leaders Can Learn from Southwest Airlines’ Mistakes: Staying Ahead of Customer Needs
In this episode, we analyze Southwest Airlines’ recent policy shift from open seating to assigned seating, exploring how even the most successful companies can falter when they fail to adapt to changing customer needs. We translate this B2C lesson into actionable insights for B2B leaders, with...
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How Archetypes Dramatically Increase Regional Buy-In to Your Global Strategies
In this episode, we delve into the strategic importance of using archetypes to simplify and enhance global marketing and learning and development (L&D) strategies. Our conversation highlights how categorizing countries into archetypes can streamline program development, improve regional buy-in…
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Leveraging AI in Strategic Marketing: Insights and Innovations
In this episode, we explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in strategic marketing, focusing on how AI can enhance the effectiveness and innovation of marketing teams. Our discussion covers the ways AI can assist in generating ideas, understanding market trends, and...
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Boost Your Business Strategy with the Magic of Predictive Tools
In this second episode of our two-part series on trend prediction, we delve deeper into the importance of identifying and understanding market trends and their implications. Our discussion revolves around notable predictions we've made using our analytical tools, emphasizing both successes and...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
I am Tom Spitale, a Partner at Impact Planning Group - welcome to our Podcast! Along with my colleagues and Partners Mary Abbazia and Sean Welham, we are the authors of "The Accidental Marketer" published by Wiley. Through our book and our consulting practice, we help (mostly B2B) Accidental Marketers create unique and compelling strategies that differentiate their products and services from the competition. Our podcast addresses important B2B strategic marketing issues and is designed to help listeners maximize profits in their area of responsibility by creating, communicating and capturing (via pricing strategies) more value for customers than competitors do.
HOSTED BY
Impact Planning Group
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Accidental Marketer Podcast have?
The Accidental Marketer Podcast currently has 161 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Accidental Marketer Podcast about?
I am Tom Spitale, a Partner at Impact Planning Group - welcome to our Podcast! Along with my colleagues and Partners Mary Abbazia and Sean Welham, we are the authors of "The Accidental Marketer" published by Wiley. Through our book and our consulting practice, we help (mostly B2B) Accidental...
How often does The Accidental Marketer Podcast release new episodes?
The Accidental Marketer Podcast publishes regularly with 161 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Accidental Marketer Podcast?
You can listen to The Accidental Marketer Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Accidental Marketer Podcast?
The Accidental Marketer Podcast is created and hosted by Impact Planning Group.
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