#770: Constant Contact CEO Frank Vella on how B2B marketers and SMBs can partner for success

The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

The Agile Brand

Business, Marketing

5 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is the increasing investment in marketing by SMBs a sign of growth and optimism, or is it masking a deeper struggle with confidence and effectiveness? Agility requires not only adapting to the rapid pace of technological change but also understanding the core challenges faced by your customers, like SMBs struggling to measure marketing ROI. It also demands a willingness to simplify complex tools and processes, empowering businesses to achieve more with less. Today, we're going to talk about the evolving landscape of marketing for small and medium-sized businesses, the challenges they face, and how B2B marketers can become essential partners in their success. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Frank Vella, CEO at Constant Contact. About Frank Vella I am the CEO of Constant Contact, a comprehensive digital and ecommerce marketing platform that makes it simple and effective for a business to market or sell their idea in today’s complex online marketing world. We strive to anticipate our customers’ needs and provide them with the tools and support they need to improve their businesses. Because when they succeed, we succeed.Prior to joining Constant Contact, I built best-in-class operations at various sized tech firms across the globe, including top-tier companies like Microsoft, GE Capital, HP Enterprise and Xerox. I have led companies through growth, transformation and successful exits while remaining focused on building a terrific culture and keeping a company's product and presence ahead of the crowd. I’m a proud Canadian expat now living in New York City, and in my free time I enjoy traveling with my family. Frank Vella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-vella/ Resources Constant Contact: https://www.constantcontact.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Agile brand.
0:02.0	Welcome to Season 7 of the Agile brand, where we discuss the trends and topics marketing leaders need to know.
0:15.0	Stay curious, stay agile, and join the top enterprise brands and MARTEC platforms as we explore marketing technology, AI, e-commerce, and join the top enterprise brands and Martec platforms as we explore marketing technology,
0:23.1	AI, e-commerce, and whatever's next for the Omnichannel customer experience.
0:27.9	Together we'll discover what it takes to create an agile brand, built for today and tomorrow,
0:32.1	and built for customers, employees, and continued business growth. I'm your host, Greg Kilstrom, advising Fortune 1000 brands on Martec, AI, and marketing operations.
0:43.3	The Agile Brand Podcast is brought to you by Tech Systems, an industry leader in full-stack technology services,
0:49.3	talent services, and real-world application. For more information, go to T-E-K to teK systems.com. To make sure you
0:56.9	always get the latest episodes, please hit subscribe on the app you listen to podcasts on, and leave
1:01.7	us a rating so others can find us as well. And now on to the show. Is the increasing investment
1:09.9	in marketing by SMBs a sign of growth and optimism, or is it masking a deeper struggle with confidence and effectiveness?
1:16.6	Agility requires both adapting to the rapid pace of technological change while also understanding the core challenges faced by your customers, like SMBs struggling to measure marketing ROI. It also demands a
1:29.2	willingness to simplify complex tools and processes, empowering businesses to achieve more with less.
1:35.4	Today we're going to talk about the evolving landscape of marketing for small and medium-sized
1:39.9	businesses, the challenges they face, and how B2B marketers can become essential partners in their
1:46.0	success. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Frank Vela, CEO at Constant Contact.
1:52.1	Frank, welcome on the show. Greg, thank you. Thanks for having them. Pleased to be here.
1:56.9	Yeah, really looking forward to this conversation. Before we dive in, though, why don't you
2:01.1	give a little background on yourself and your role at Constant Contact? Sure. I'm proud to be the
2:05.7	CEO of Constant Contact. We are a digital marketing platform built to make it simple for small
2:11.6	businesses to grow their business in whatever context that means for them, whether it's
2:16.6	connecting with their customers, building their brand, or selling their wares, whether that's a service or a product.
	...

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