Relationships and connecting with people on a human level has always been important in business and B2B marketing. Social technologies and platforms promise to enable those connections and they often do. Whether one to one, one to many or many to many, relationships drive business and at scale, it is communities based on relationships that are at the center of what people working in B2B marketing are increasingly hungry for.
That’s why my next guest on the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast is so timely and relevant to our community of B2B Marketers (watch or listen)
For this latest episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Kathleen Booth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion. If you’re not familiar, Pavilion is a community of over 10,000 GTM (go to market) professionals and Kathleen is an important face of the company championing the community and all that it stands for.
Our conversation covered Kathleen’s journey to Pavilion, the unique structure of the Pavilion community, and the specific needs of go-to-market leaders that it serves. We also talked about the importance of community in career development, the role of in-person events, and the challenges of building successful communities. In the current business environment, we’d be remiss not to share insights on leveraging AI in marketing, creating value on LinkedIn, and the lessons Kathleen has learned from both business and personal experiences. We wrapped up with learning about where Kathleen’s finds inspiration in her career which is something I think you’ll want to hear.
Chapters from this interview:
00:00 Introduction to Pavilion and Kathleen Booth
02:44 Understanding Pavilion’s Community Structure
06:00 The Role of Community in B2B Marketing
09:02 Moments That Matter in Career Development
11:44 Building a Brand Community
15:05 Choosing the Right Community Model
17:50 Opportunism vs. Intentionality in Community Building
20:55 Challenges in Community Growth
23:52 The Importance of Events in Community Engagement
27:35 The Importance of Community in the Age of AI
29:06 Building Meaningful Connections in B2B Marketing
30:56 The Long Game: Community Over Sales
32:10 Exploring Non-Traditional Advertising Channels
36:18 Creating Value on LinkedIn
41:48 AI in Marketing: Opportunities and Pitfalls
45:51 Lessons from Life: Communication and Leadership
48:47 Finding Inspiration and Motivation in Work
Listen to the full interview with Kathleen here:
Watch our full conversation here:
Be sure to connect with Kathleen on LinkedIn and check out the Pavilion community here.
If you’d prefer a text summary of our discussion about building community in the B2B world, we have you covered:
In the most recent episode of the Beyond B2B Marketing Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kathleen Booth, a true “marketer’s marketer” and the current SVP of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion. Our conversation was a deep dive into the power of community, a topic more relevant than ever in today’s digital-first world. Kathleen, who was a member of Pavilion before joining its leadership, shared how the 10,000+ member “community of practice” supports go-to-market leaders not just in mastering their specific discipline, but in developing the executive-level skills-from understanding unit economics to fostering empathy for their C-suite counterparts-necessary for long-term success in high-pressure roles.
When it comes to brands building their own communities, Kathleen stressed that it’s a long-term, strategic play, not a shortcut to immediate pipeline growth. Success requires a deep commitment from the top down and a willingness to invest in the member experience over the long haul. She cautioned that many brand-led communities fail because the focus is entirely on member acquisition, without a clear plan for engagement and value creation once people are inside.
“For a lot of brands where this (community building) all falls apart is they’re so focused on building the community and getting people in and then they don’t really have a good plan for what happens once you get there. And that’s really where the magic happens.”
We also explored the practicalities of what makes a community thrive. Kathleen pointed out that the most vibrant communities are built on a foundation of commonality, shared language, and rituals. As they grow, the challenge is to maintain a sense of intimacy and trust, often by creating smaller, focused groups within the larger network. To truly solidify the bonds formed online, however, nothing replaces face-to-face interaction.
“I’ve always said that you can build an amazing community, but the emotional glue or the cement that holds it together is not ever really set until people begin to meet in person.”
Finally, our conversation touched on her personal approach to building a brand and fostering connection on platforms like LinkedIn. Kathleen’s philosophy is one of authentic, consistent value-sharing. She doesn’t only post from position of business or marketing expertise, but from a place of shared learning and curiosity, a mindset that invites engagement and builds its own form of community. This is what I find really valuable from following Kathleen on LinkedIn.
“If you approach LinkedIn thinking you have to be the world’s foremost expert in your topic in order to post, you’re never going to post anything because there’s always going to be someone that’s better than you… you have to have that attitude of like, I’m a lifelong student and other people are as well.”
Kathleen’s journey and insights, from her strategic experimentation with new channels to her people-first approach to marketing, provide an insightful roadmap for any B2B marketer looking to build meaningful connections and drive growth in an increasingly complex landscape. When it comes to building community in the B2B world from marketing to revenue leadership, what Kathleen is doing at Pavilion is definitely worth paying attention to. Community is a great differentiator and when done well, a powerful resource that creates value for everyone involved – something B2B brands could be inspired by as they work to strengthen relationships with their own customers, future customers and audience.
Be sure to subscribe to the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts. You won’t want to miss our next conversation with a B2B marketing leader. And remember, there’s no better time than now to break free of boring B2B!
About the author
Lee Odden has been recognized as a top B2B Marketing professional by Forbes, The Economist and the Wall Street Journal. For over 20 years he’s worked with his team at TopRank Marketing to help elevate the B2B marketing industry through creative marketing programs that deliver more authentic, experiential and inclusive content for brands like LinkedIn, Dell and Adobe. Lee is the author of Optimize and has published over 1.4 million words on his agency’s B2B marketing blog. As a trusted marketing thought leader, he has given nearly 300 presentations in 20 different countries on B2B content, search and influencer marketing. When not marketing, Lee is probably running, cooking or traveling.
