Customer-Centric ABM: Nancy Harlan on Brand Messaging, Metrics, and Market Growth

Nancy Harlan, a marketing leader with deep expertise in ABM and customer-centric strategies, shares her journey from sales to leading high-impact marketing programs. She discusses the power of cross-functional collaboration, AI’s role in ABM execution, and how brands can craft compelling messages that drive engagement, retention, and long-term customer value. Could you tell us about yourself and your journey as a marketer? I began my career in sales and sales management at IBM before transitioning to Siemens Telecommunications in the Marketing Department. At Siemens, I gained experience in almost every aspect of marketing, including product marketing, customer marketing, event management, field marketing, sales enablement, and building a demand generation organization. After 10+ years, I left Siemens and joined Qlik (Data Analytics), where I was tasked with solving a business challenge. Qlik was landing in Fortune 1000 accounts but struggling to expand and drive “share of wallet” spend, so I created a strategic account program to address this. While we didn’t call it Account-Based Marketing (ABM), it was essentially ABM in action. Since then, I built and led the global ABM Team at UiPath (Robotic Process Automation). My focus has always been on customer-centric marketing strategies that align short-term sales goals with long-term customer value. As a former salesperson who turned into a marketer, I strive to build programs that foster deep, meaningful relationships between marketing, sales, customer success, and, most importantly, customers.