Perspectives from B2B marketing leaders: Nadine Gruschwitz

At Jibe! Group, we regularly speak with marketing leaders across the technology industry to find out what is shaping their work today. From AI-driven insights to evolving go-to-market strategies, the marketing of software and IT products continues to advance.

As part of our new series highlighting key marketing insights from our clients, we spoke to Nadine Gruschwitz from NetApp. Nadine is a global marketing strategy leader who specialises in turning ambitious business goals into experiences that truly resonate with audiences.

Nadine has built and scaled complex event ecosystems across EMEA and global markets, and has more than 15 years of experience in enterprise marketing and executive engagement. She connects strategy to flawless execution, balancing brand, budget, stakeholders and the occasional last-minute curveball.

Here are Nadine’s most important marketing takeaways from the past year.

1. Personalisation is more powerful than ever.
Personalisation has moved far beyond merely addressing customers by name. According to Nadine, campaigns tailored to specific customer segments and industries deliver significantly higher levels of engagement.AI enables personalisation at scale, allowing marketing teams to deliver far more relevant messaging.

Perhaps most surprising of all was the depth of insight that AI-driven analytics revealed. These tools have uncovered new opportunities within existing customer segments that would otherwise have been difficult to identify.

2. Content is still king, but distribution is queen
High-quality thought leadership content continues to perform well, particularly in complex B2B environments such as software and IT. However, Nadine emphasises that the distribution strategy ultimately determines the content's impact.
For NetApp, channels such as LinkedIn and webinars have proven especially effective in reaching the right audiences.

Interestingly, some of the strongest engagement came from smaller, more niche platforms and communities, which highlights the importance of exploring channels beyond the obvious.

3. Data-driven decision making is a game changer
Thanks to real-time analytics, Nadine's team was able to make rapid adjustments to their campaigns based on performance insights. This agility significantly improves marketing ROI.

Equally important was greater data transparency across teams, which strengthened collaboration between marketing and sales.
The speed with which teams can now adapt based on data has fundamentally altered the way campaigns are managed.

A strategic shift: fewer events, greater focus
One of the most impactful strategic changes this year was a shift away from a high volume of events toward fewer, more focused initiatives aligned with business priorities. These campaigns were designed around key accounts, with stronger collaboration between sales and marketing teams.

The result:
Faster pipeline velocity
Higher conversion rates
Improved customer satisfaction

Lessons learned: Why channel diversification matters. Not everything worked as expected.

At one point, the team relied too heavily on email marketing for lead generation. While still valuable, the results reinforced an important lesson: diversification is essential. A multi-channel strategy that includes social media, events, and partnerships proved far more effective in reaching different audiences.

How AI is changing marketing in software and IT.
Nadine sees that AI is already transforming marketing processes in several key areas. Some of the biggest value today comes from:

Customer insights through predictive analytics
Content creation, helping automate repetitive tasks
Campaign optimisation through real-time performance adjustments
AI-powered chatbots, for instance, have greatly enhanced lead qualification and customer support.

Beyond efficiency gains, AI is also reshaping the marketing role itself. Marketers are increasingly combining creative thinking with data and analytics skills.

Advice for marketing leaders
Nadine’s advice for fellow software and IT marketers is clear: Focus on agility. The pace of change in the industry requires teams and processes that can adapt quickly to new technologies, market dynamics, and customer expectations.

Looking ahead
Nadine's advice for other software and IT marketers is clear: focus on agility. Teams and processes in the industry need to be able to adapt quickly to new technologies, market dynamics and customer expectations, because the pace of change is so fast.

Looking ahead to the coming year, Nadine’s marketing strategy is to strengthen customer relationships by providing valuable content and experiences. She also plans to scale up account-based marketing initiatives and use AI to gain deeper insights and improve efficiency.

Her final thought?

Experimentation matters.

Some of the most successful campaigns are the result of taking calculated risks and creating a culture in which teams learn quickly from both successes and failures.

About Nadine Gruschwitz
Nadine Gruschwitz is a global marketing and events strategy leader who turns ambitious business goals into experiences people actually remember. With over 15 years of experience across enterprise marketing and executive engagement, she has built and scaled complex event ecosystems across EMEA and global markets.
Known for open-minded leadership and global thinking, Nadine quickly reads the room both culturally and commercially and finds pragmatic ways to move teams forward, even when priorities shift by the hour. Calm under pressure and relentlessly outcome-focused, she brings clarity, momentum, and measurable impact to every program she leads.