It’s easy for B2B marketing to sound interchangeable.

That’s why Steve Jobs and Conrad Hilton are such compelling leaders to learn from. Behind Apple and Hilton is a disciplined approach to customer experience, brand consistency, and raising expectations instead of reacting to them. In this episode, we unpack the B2B marketing lessons behind two of the world’s most iconic brands with the help of our special guest Sharon Oddy, VP of Marketing & Communications at TNS.

Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from anchoring their positioning in customer experience, building trust through consistency, and delivering value buyers didn’t even realize they were missing.

About our guest, Sharon Oddy

Sharon Oddy is the VP of Marketing & Communications at TNS. She’s a marketing professional who understands the power of storytelling, the importance of a consistent narrative and the art of using it to inspire action. Sharon is an effective and talented communicator who makes the extraordinarily complex, comprehensible. She’s a versatile and decisive leader skilled at building high-performing teams and activating cross-functional collaboration to drive strategic growth, customer retention and acquisition globally.

• Customer obsession is the only real differentiator. Jobs and Hilton didn’t win because they had better marketing. They won because they cared more about the customer experience than anyone else. Sharon nails the mindset: “They listened and they observed in a way that put them in the shoe of the customer.” Jobs makes it the rule: “You've gotta start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.” The B2B takeaway is clear: if your marketing starts with what you want to sell instead of what your customer needs to feel, you’re already behind. The brands that win build from the buyer backward.
• Trust is built in the details. Hilton’s last words weren’t about expansion or revenue. They were: “Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub.” Jobs obsessed over design even when customers would never see it. Why? Because as Sharon puts it: “It's always about putting the customer first.” In B2B, this means your credibility lives in execution; consistent messaging, polished touchpoints, and an experience that feels dependable. Don’t let the small things create big doubt. 
• The best marketers redefine demand. Customers can’t always tell you what they want, but great companies can see what they struggle with. Sharon explains, “Jobs was really good at looking at people and saying, what are they struggling with and how do I make that experience better? Because when I do and they taste it, they're never going back.” That’s the B2B lesson: don’t just market what exists, create the expectation for something better. The strongest marketing doesn’t follow the category. It changes what the category believes is possible.

“  If you keep looking backwards and trying to copy instead of lead. That's [an] area of demise. You can't look back and be like, “What does everybody else do? What does everybody else think?” You just have to have confidence that you understand your audience. You understand where the puck is moving, and you're going to keep going forward.”

Links

Connect with Sharon on LinkedIn

Learn more about TNS

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. 

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. 

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.