As AI reshapes how companies engage buyers, many B2B marketers are doubling down on automation, personalization, and digital channels. But while technology continues to evolve, one challenge remains the same: building trust and meaningful connections with customers. For many organizations, that means rethinking the role of community and in-person experiences in their growth strategy.

In this episode, Gretchen Eischen, Chief Marketing Officer at Avetta, shares how her team transformed a traditional user conference into a community-driven experience that strengthened customer relationships, showcased product innovation, and created new opportunities for revenue growth. Gretchen explains how Avetta repositioned its brand around a simple, customer-centered message and then brought that vision to life through an event designed to serve the needs of both clients and suppliers.

Gretchen breaks down the strategy behind securing executive buy-in for a significantly larger event investment, why she removed the traditional parade of executive presentations from the agenda, and how creating space for customer interaction, networking, and real-time product feedback led to stronger engagement. She also shares her perspective on why human connection and community building are becoming even more valuable as AI becomes a bigger part of the marketing landscape.

Key Takeaways:

How to build a community-first event strategy that drives business growth
Why customer-led experiences create more value than executive-heavy agendas
How to position in-person events as revenue and relationship-building investments

Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:53) From procurement to B2B marketing (06:02) How Avetta connects clients and suppliers (09:05) Building the "Ready to Work" brand (13:30) Making the case to double budget (17:01) Replacing executive keynotes with customers (19:53) The Connection Center networking experience (24:45) Measuring pipeline, not attendance metrics (26:40) Why event partners matter more (27:59) Gretchen's curated CMO circles program

Check out the ebook " Trust Issues: How SaaS and AI-Native Brands Can Beat AI Credibility Fatigue" by PANBlast: https://www.panblastpr.com/resources/trust-issues-ai-credibility-ebook/