Ask a CMO: Kristin Russel of symplr

We had the pleasure of speaking with Kristin Russel, CMO of symplr, for the latest edition of our Ask a CMO series.

How did you get your start in marketing?

I had a very nontraditional start in marketing. I started as a speechwriter for Jean Chrétien, the former Prime Minister of Canada: a terrific role! I initially wanted to be a bureaucrat, but quickly realized it was not the path for me.

Since I was interested in international policy and business development, I spent a year in France pursuing an MBA in international finance, ultimately landing in finance/technology consulting.

In the late 90s/early 2000’s, I started my own company, Anachron, an online billing and invoicing platform based in Amsterdam. It was an exciting period in my career. We very quickly expanded into 60 countries and ultimately sold the business. I actually sold the company twice. I kept a small share when I first sold it to ING Bank, and then just recently, I sold the balance to Bill Pay.

Fast forward – I’ve had two kids and moved to Kansas City from Amsterdam to be closer to family. I joined a healthcare company, fell in love with the sector, and I’ve been with healthcare ever since. From Cerner to Omnicell, Humana and Quest Analytics, I’ve been able to learn about the importance of organizing teams, the importance of brand, and how to articulate value, the strategy of bringing new products to market and expanding a market. I’ve now been at symplr for three years, and it’s been a fantastic ride.

Tell us a little bit about symplr. What market gap does your software address?

symplr exists with the sole purpose of making healthcare easier. We believe if we do our job well, caregivers have more time to give care. We operate in a space we call healthcare operations. symplr is the leader in enterprise healthcare operations software and services. For more than 30 years and with deployments in 9 of 10 U.S. hospitals, symplr has been committed to improving healthcare operations through its cloud-based solutions, driving better operations for better outcomes. Our provider data management; workforce management; compliance, quality, and safety; and contract, supplier, and spend management solutions improve the efficiency and efficacy of healthcare operations, enabling caregivers to quickly handle administrative tasks so they have more time to do what they do best: provide high-quality patient care.

Your GTM strategy effectively created a new category. What was required to establish symplr’s claim to this category?

That’s right – we created a category called “Healthcare Operations”. And we think about healthcare operations as a hospital system’s backend operations. Now prior to symplr, there was no name for this – hospitals would have up to anywhere from 50-2000 software systems that they would use to manage their administrative needs. In fact, hospital Chief Information Officers (CIOs) referred to these solutions as “the other budget line item”. It was a classic marketing challenge – how do you get the market to recognize and understand a new category? I believe there are three main things that allow you to say you’ve established a new category. First, you need to get industry analysts talking about your space. Second, people start to incorporate the name of your category into job titles. The third is when you see your competitors start to reference the category as being the sector in which they operate.

You describe your marketing team’s responsibilities as “brandquisition”. How do you define that?

My guidance to any CMO is not to be measured on MQLs because I think that’s the fastest path to getting fired. This is part of the reason I think there is so much turnover with marketing leaders. Rather, I would argue that you want to ask your board to measure you on the revenue and bookings your programs generate. Share with them how much it costs to bring revenue to the table (aka your return on investment). When you do that well, the board will recognize why investing in brand is so important. I tell my leadership team, first and foremost, people can’t buy from a brand they don’t know. They can’t search for a brand they don’t know. They can’t do research on a brand they don’t know. There is a standard marketing rule that 95% of your audience isn’t buying right now, and the other 5% is. That’s why I believe demand gen, product marketing, and brand marketing are integrally linked, what I call “brandquisition.”

Switching gears to hiring marketing talent, what’s your one go-to question when interviewing a candidate?

I keep a document of my hiring questions. I’ve always asked my standard interview questions such as “why are you here?” or “why us right now?” My challenge question is, “what is your current employer doing better than we are?” The candidate’s answer gives me insight into how they think and what they like about their work. It also helps me understand if they spent time researching our company or if they came in cold. And even if I don’t hire the person, I can learn a lot.

You set a new personal goal every New Year’s Eve. What’s your 2024 goal? Why is it important to you to do this each year?

About 15 years ago, I was sitting around the table with my family, talking about New Year’s resolutions. I threw out that I might become a spin instructor, and I then forgot about it. About three months later, my daughters told me time was ticking. So, I took a training class, and now I teach a 6AM spin class two times a week.

As a spin instructor, I wear a microphone. I have to keep 40 people engaged and moving along with me while I keep up with the beat. It’s been a great way to hone my public speaking skills since I’m keeping a whole group engaged for an hour while they’re working out. Each year since, I’ve set a goal and always been surprised by the different things I learn along the way.

This year, my goal is to become a photographer. I initially thought I would go to a local camera shop and take a class, but I’ve decided to take a course at Stanford where I’m going to learn about fine arts and the history of photography. Who knows what else I’ll learn, but I believe it will help me broaden my perspective.

If you weren’t a marketing leader, what would be your dream job?

Years ago, I led people on canoe trips, and I loved it. We have a cottage in northern Ontario. I head out there once a year, jump in the canoe, and take whoever comes with me. So, I think I would be a canoe trip leader or even better, maybe run an outdoor adventure company… for marketing wonks?

If you need assistance filling any HR or Marketing gaps, contact our team today to begin finding the perfect talent to fit your needs.