Most B2B founders obsess over performance marketing and pipeline. Brand? That can “wait”.

In this episode of Decoding B2B Marketing, host Rajesh Kumar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeshkjindal/) – marketer, Fractional CMO, Board Advisor and author of the upcoming book Decoding B2B Marketing – sits down again with Praval Singh (https://www.linkedin.com/in/praval/) of Zoho, to unpack what B2B branding really means — beyond logos, colors and taglines.

Praval has been with Zoho for over 14 years and is currently the VP of Marketing and Customer Experience. He and his team drive all brand-led initiatives at Zoho, across brand marketing, PR, event experiences, etc.

They explore how Zoho, a product-led, engineering-heavy company, has evolved its brand over the last decade while building 50+ products and serving millions of users worldwide.

In this conversation, Rajesh & Praval dive into:

• Why brand matters deeply in B2B — especially when products look similar
• How Zoho thinks about company brand vs product brands
• When startups should start thinking about brand strategy
• Brand as a monetizable asset: trust, talent, referrals & recall
• Internal narratives like Humans of Zoho, The Long Game & Zoho Schools of Learning
• How to operationalize brand: guidelines, voice, campaigns, consistency
• The role of founder brand and “inside-out” storytelling
• Practical advice for B2B startups building from India for the world

If you’re a founder, CMO or marketer trying to build a B2B brand that actually means something — not just looks good — this one is packed with real, lived experience.

Listen here:

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/38pe8ccb

Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/htve26md

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/2j4zybrx

JioSaavn: https://tinyurl.com/4pv9jpxb

Gaana: https://tinyurl.com/39d6cfe5

00:00 – Introduction

02:20 – Why Brand Matters in B2B

07:44 – How To Go About Building a B2B Brand?

11:52 – B2B Company as a Brand vs Product Branding

16:20 – Brand Works For All Stakeholders

19:33 – Process of Brand Creation

24:25 – Managing Brand Consistency at Scale

27:11 – Global B2B Brands That Stand Out

31:53 – A True Brand Promise has to be LIved

33:24 – Advice, Tips & Hacks

UntitledThere’s a reason the world’s most prestigious brands bet big on sports, music, and celebrities even in B2B.

In this episode of Decoding B2B Marketing, host Rajesh Kumar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeshkjindal/) – marketer, Fractional CMO, Board Advisor and author of the upcoming book Decoding B2B Marketing – sits down with Sujatha V Kumar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujatha-v-kumar-8319585/), CMO, Ex Visa, Coca-Cola and P&G, to unpack how sponsorships, celebrity endorsements and influencers can work powerfully for B2B brands.

Sujatha brings a rare mix of B2C and B2B experience — from Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and RBS, to leading marketing for Visa in India & South Asia. She has worked with iconic global properties like FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, and with stars like P.V. Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra among others.

Together, they explore how to:

• Make high-cost sponsorships pay back in B2B context
• Turn sports & music partnerships into a lever for business-building
• Choose celebrities and influencers that truly fit your brand
• Use sponsorships across the full lifecycle — from brand to demand
• Think beyond spray-and-pray to sharp, measurable, strategic marketing

Along the way, Sujatha also shares her journey from from being an earnest psychology student to leading some of India’s most loved brands

• How she navigated the shift from B2C → B2B/B2B2C
• Her passion for music, bands and theatre
• How she mentors young women to grow in their career, as a champion for women in leadership

If you’re a B2B marketer, founder or leader wondering whether sponsorships, celebrities or influencers are “worth it” — this episode gives you a practical, no-fluff playbook on how to use them smartly.

00:00 – Introduction

02:15 – Journey into B2B Marketing

07:02 – For the Love of Music

08:59 – On Women in Leadership

11:08 – Transition from B2C to B2B

16:08 – Unpacking Sponsorship for B2B Brands

20:18 – Integrating Brand with Sponsorship

26:24 – Delivering Experiences Money Can't Buy

28:19 – Using Influencer Marketing in B2B

30:33 – Choosing the Right Celebrity/Influencer

32:07 – Making a Business Case

33:46 – Warm Human Side of Celebrities, Paying It Forward

39:10 – Advice, Tips & Hacks

#DecodingB2BMarketing #B2BMarketing #B2BBranding #Sponsorships #CelebrityEndorsement #InfluencerMarketing #VisaIndia #WomenInLeadership #MarketingLeadership #BrandBuilding #SportsMarketing #ExperientialMarketing #MarketingPodcast #RajeshKumar #SujataVKumar

What if your biggest deals aren’t won by marketing to many—but by marketing to ONE?

In this episode of Decoding B2B Marketing, host Rajesh Kumar (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeshkjindal/) sits down with Sanjay Chaudhary, Head of Enterprise Marketing at SAP India (linkedin.com/in/sanjay-k-chaudhary) , to unpack the art and science of Account Based Marketing (ABM)—one of the most powerful, less understood, and underutilized strategies in B2B.

Sanjay brings two decades of B2B experience across ABM, Enterprise & industry marketing, Sales Strategy & Operations, Communications & PR, . He breaks down how ABM can drive outsized impact when targeting a focused set of high-value accounts, when it works, when it doesn’t, and how to actually implement it end-to-end.

From account selection and deep analytics to personalization, AI-powered scaling, sales alignment, executive engagement, and customer advocacy—this episode is a masterclass for any B2B marketer, founder or sales leader looking to win big with the right accounts.

Along the way, Sanjay shares powerful real-world stories—from building challenger reports to land entry meetings, to co-creating strategic plans with clients, to running advocacy programs that turn customers into long-term partners.

If you want to understand ABM—not the buzzword, but the practice—this conversation is your blueprint.

• What ABM really is (and isn’t)
• When ABM works—and when it doesn’t
• How to select the right accounts
• How to build deep buyer and industry insights
• Why sales and executive alignment is a non-negotiable
• Using AI to scale personalization and intent intelligence
• Measuring ABM success with execution, engagement & impact metrics
• How customer advocacy becomes your long-term moat
• The mindset needed to run marathon-like ABM programs

00:00 – Introduction

02:14 – Journey into B2B Marketing

08:08 – What is Account Based Marketing (ABM)?

09:21 – When is ABM the Right Strategy ?

12:19 – Identifying Accounts for ABM

14:05 – Can SaaS Companies Benefit from ABM?

15:30 – AI in ABM

20:04 – Measuring Success

23:26 – Making Business Case & Assembling the Team

25:41 – Sharing Real-life Examples

30:00 – Does ABM Work across Industries ?

34:11 – Advice, Tips & Hacks

36:08 – ABM for Legacy Businesses

37:04 – Making ABM Work