Marketing Beyond with Alan B. Hart

Episode 31: Turning a marketing idea into a product: Insights from Sift's former Chief Marketing Officer Armen Najarian
Date: January 7, 2026
Guest: Armen Najarian, former CMO of Sift

Episode Overview

In this episode, Alan B. Hart sits down with Armen Najarian, former Chief Marketing Officer at Sift, to dive into how innovative marketing initiatives can evolve into core products. The conversation explores Armen’s unique journey from accounting to tech marketing, the pivotal role of customer advocacy in B2B SaaS, and the unique ways Sift connects community-driven marketing with product innovation. Armen also shares personal lessons learned from both entrepreneurial and corporate experiences, offering advice for marketers amid the rapid rise of AI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Career and the Path to Sift

• Armen began studying accounting but moved quickly into entrepreneurship, co-founding and later selling a gourmet coffee shop with family.
• Brand management (ConAgra Foods) provided a holistic business foundation, which translated into product marketing roles in tech (05:13).
• Transitioned into digital fraud prevention industry 10 years ago, inspired by a personal experience with financial crime—a Ponzi scheme that shaped his career purpose (08:02).
  • Quote: “It feels like to me a mission driven business where I wake up every day not just to sell another widget, but to help improve the lives of not just the brands that we sell to, but to the consumers behind those brands...” (08:02 – B)

Sift: Company Snapshot and Industry Context

• Sift: About 300 employees, nearly $100M in ARR, headquartered in San Francisco (05:22).
• Clients range from digital natives (DoorDash) to traditional enterprises with online operations (Hertz, Alaska Airlines).

Customer Referrals as a Strategic Advantage

• Customer advocacy (word of mouth, peer reviews) is a cornerstone of Sift's go-to-market strategy (10:14).
  • Investment in both a formal incentive-driven referral program (“Super Sifters”) and third-party peer review sites (G2) bolsters credibility and demand (10:43).
  • Super Sifters: Offers dual incentives to Sift team members and customer ‘champions’. Rewards include event travel, charitable donations, and unique gifts (12:45).
  • Quote: "Every customer that participates in a Super Sifter activity gets a Super Sifter bobblehead—and it’s a spitting image of them...It’s the gift that keeps on giving..." (13:02–B)
  • On G2, Sift is “number one in all three categories that touch our space,” with over 50% more reviews than the nearest competitor.

Blurring the Line Between Marketing and Product: The FIBER Story

• Most-requested customer question: "How do I compare against my peers?" (13:57)
• Marketing led the creation of “FIBER: Fraud Industry Benchmarking Resource” (15:00)
  • FIBER was originally a public benchmarking tool on sift.com/fiber, offering real-time industry fraud rates by segment.
  • Eventually, FIBER was integrated into Sift’s core product, giving customers context and value right inside their dashboard (16:30).
  • Quote: “This was a marketing driven initiative that has then transcended into the product organization and is now a core part of our product experience.” (16:45–B)
  • The internal debate: sharing proprietary data was risky, but the exposure and industry credibility far outweighed the downside (17:53).
  • FIBER is now the number one driver of demand for Sift.

Personal Lessons & Values in Marketing

• Armen attributes his holistic marketing approach to entrepreneurial roots—handling all facets of a business from branding to finances (18:45).
  • “Necessity being the mother of invention,” entrepreneurship taught him risk-taking, unconventional thinking, and a business-owner mindset (18:45–B).
• Advice to his younger self: Don’t sweat the small stuff; distinguish noise from what truly matters and maintain focus on the big picture (22:45).

Adapting to the Age of AI

• Embracing AI is both the greatest threat and opportunity for marketers.
  • Armen stresses experimentation over perfection—start small, leverage AI for efficiency, and free up creative time for high-impact initiatives (23:59).
  • Quote: “Don’t undersell the power of artificial intelligence to drive a more modern...marketing operation. Just start somewhere.” (24:08–B)
  • AI enables teams to “do more with the same,” allowing focus on strategy and innovation (26:05).
  • Quote: “The great equalizer can be the power of AI...every person can supercharge how they do what they do.” (26:05–B)

Personal Interests & Curiosity

• Armen reads classic philosophy (e.g., Sun Tzu’s Art of War) to hone strategic thinking in marketing (25:28).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On career motivation:
  “It feels like to me a mission driven business…I wake up every day not just to sell another widget, but to help improve the lives…” (08:02–B)

• On customer advocacy:
  “Incentives, whether we love them or not, do make the world go around.” (10:43–B)

• On integrating marketing into the product:
  “This is an example where we innovated in marketing…has then transcended into the product organization and is now a core part of our product experience.” (16:45–B)

• On data transparency:
  “Do we unleash the data?...the benefit far outweighed the possible risk…The benefit is massive and it will get us great industry credibility.” (17:53–B)

• On risk-taking roots:
  “As an entrepreneur with…nothing to lose and everything to lose, I am willing to take risks…I do look at my business holistically, not just the function of marketing.” (18:45–B)

• On AI's impact:
  “AI…is the biggest opportunity to take your foundation as a marketer, which no AI could ever co-opt, and harness the power of these tools…” (26:05–B)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Personal motivation for joining fraud prevention (Ponzi experience): 08:02
• Sift’s customer advocacy and referral programming: 10:14 – 13:35
• FIBER: Turning marketing insights into product: 13:57 – 17:53
• Entrepreneurship shaping marketing philosophy: 18:45
• Advice to younger self: 22:45
• AI’s role in modern marketing: 23:59, 26:00

Summary Takeaways

• Customer trust and advocacy are invaluable for B2B tech:
  • Incentivized programs (Super Sifters) and third-party validation drive competitive advantage.
• Innovation can (and should) blur organizational lines:
  • Marketing-led insights like FIBER can become product value, fueling both demand and differentiation.
• Personal experiences and adaptability drive impactful marketing:
  • Rooting your career in meaningful experiences and diverse business exposure leads to unique, strategic thinking.
• AI is the equalizer and catalyst for modern marketers:
  • Marketers should experiment with AI to drive efficiency, free creative bandwidth, and retain strategic control.

For marketers seeking inspiration, this episode is a blueprint for harnessing personal authenticity, bold thinking, and emerging tech to drive both business and human-centered innovation.