"Your customer is the hero not your product. The most effective marketing tells their story, not yours. When you lead with empathy and deeply understand their challenges, desires, and identities, you create content that makes them feel seen. That’s what earns attention, trust, and loyalty especially in a world flooded with generic messaging. Great marketing reflects the people it’s for.” - Melissa Moody, Founder of Wednesday Women How do you build a brand that truly resonates in today’s market? One that feels human, inclusive, and authentic? In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, Marketing That Resonates: How Empathy and Representation Build Stronger Brands, I sit down with Melissa Moody, founder of Wednesday Women and former Google exec, to explore how empathy and representation create real business impact. We dig into: How customer-centric storytelling earns attention and trust Why diversity and inclusion are revenue strategies, not just values How to build visibility for underrepresented voices (including your own) Ways to shift from promoting product features to elevating your audience’s identity and success Melissa also shares how she’s helping female executives move from operating quietly to showing up powerfully and why that visibility benefits not just the individual, but the brand. If you're ready to make your brand more relevant, more human, and more effective—this one’s for you.
"Your customer is the hero not your product. The most effective marketing tells their story, not yours. When you lead with empathy and deeply understand their challenges, desires, and identities, you create content that makes them feel seen. That’s what earns attention, trust, and loyalty especially in a world flooded with generic messaging. Great marketing reflects the people it’s for.” - Melissa Moody, Founder of Wednesday Women
How do you build a brand that truly resonates in today’s market? One that feels human, inclusive, and authentic?
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, Marketing That Resonates: How Empathy and Representation Build Stronger Brands, I sit down with Melissa Moody, founder of Wednesday Women and former Google exec, to explore how empathy and representation create real business impact.
We dig into:
How customer-centric storytelling earns attention and trust
Why diversity and inclusion are revenue strategies, not just values
How to build visibility for underrepresented voices (including your own)
Ways to shift from promoting product features to elevating your audience’s identity and success
Melissa also shares how she’s helping female executives move from operating quietly to showing up powerfully and why that visibility benefits not just the individual, but the brand.
If you're ready to make your brand more relevant, more human, and more effective—this one’s for you.
Marketing That Resonates: How Empathy and Representation Build Stronger Brands
Your customer’s the hero, not your product. The most effective marketing tells their story, not yours. That’s a quote from Melissa Moody and a sneak peek at today’s episode. Hi there, I’m Kerry Curran, B2B Revenue Growth Executive Advisor, industry analyst, and host of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast.
Each week I sit down with top experts to bring you actionable strategies that drive real results. So if you’re serious about business growth, hit subscribe and stay ahead of the competition.
In Marketing That Resonates: How Empathy and Representation Build Stronger Brands, I sit down with Melissa Moody. She’s a former Google leader and founder of Wednesday Women, a community helping female executives increase visibility, credibility, and influence. Melissa and I dive into why empathy, representation, and inclusive leadership aren’t just buzzwords—they’re the foundation of modern marketing that actually connects.
Be sure to stay tuned to the end, where Melissa shares actionable advice for becoming a visible brand voice—whether it’s for your company or your career. Let’s go!
So welcome, Melissa. Please introduce yourself and share your background and expertise.
Melissa Moody (00:07.822)
Hi everyone, I’m Melissa Moody. I’m currently founder of Wednesday Women, a group designed to amplify extraordinary executive women around the world. That started as a side hustle because for the past five years I’ve been a repeat offender in the startup world. I’ve been a CMO, co-founder, and CEO at different startups. Before that, I spent almost 14 years at Google.
So I think of myself as a 20+ year marketer, though someone recently told me, “Melissa, you’re not a 20-year marketer—you’re a serial entrepreneur who’s been stuck in marketing for 20 years.” That’s probably accurate. Really pleased to be here, Kerry. Thanks for having me.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (01:06.114)
Thanks, Melissa. I’m excited for our conversation today. We’ve both been marketers for a long time, starting back in the early SEO days—you at Google and me selling Google services. The channels, platforms, and strategies have evolved a lot, but one thing hasn’t changed: the need to focus on the customer, the end user, the target audience, and how we can help them.
So from your experience, how can we do a better job for our customers?
Melissa Moody (02:14.882)
At Google we had a phrase: focus on the user and all else will follow. That became a guiding principle for me. Marketing isn’t about hitting a target—it’s about deeply understanding the person who could become your user. Why would they use your product? What’s happening in their life that shapes that decision?
A big challenge today is marketers being too far removed from product. The best marketers understand not just the user but also the journey into the product: why they want it, how they use it, what moments delight them, and where frustrations happen. Those moments—good and bad—are marketing.
That mindset shaped how I worked in startups. Early-stage marketing is really about selling the idea of the product, and the fun is in making it human-centered.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (04:54.454)
Exactly—it’s the human and the solution. I’ve always said the best marketing plants the idea in your audience’s mind that they need you before they realize it themselves. To do that, you have to know them better than they know themselves. That requires empathy. How can brands get there?
Melissa Moody (05:41.23)
Here’s my hack: you don’t have to put yourself in their shoes—just talk about how awesome they are. Make the user the superhero. It’s not “look at our product,” it’s “look how amazing you are with this product.”
That framing changes everything: content, paid campaigns, even market strategy. When you focus on elevating your user, you position your product as the enabler of their success.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (07:11.66)
That’s so true. Consumer brands—especially in beauty—have mastered messaging that makes people feel something. B2B marketers need to do a better job of that too.
Melissa Moody (07:51.082)
Exactly. In B2B, everyone thinks their SaaS baby is the prettiest. It’s not. What distinguishes you is how customers feel. Do they feel empowered? More effective? Proud of their work? That emotional connection is the differentiator—just like lipstick on a shelf.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (08:58.304)
Yes. And many misses happen because brands don’t bring diverse perspectives into strategy and planning. Without those voices, campaigns can alienate or offend. What have you seen about the importance of diversity in the room?
Melissa Moody (10:24.184)
There are two sides. First, your target market is never monolithic. They don’t all look the same or think the same. But second, you can’t please everyone. Good marketing means drawing a line and knowing who you’re serving.
Within your target, though, you’d better not ignore big segments—whether women, different cultures, or diverse perspectives. Otherwise, you’re leaving business on the table.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (13:06.39)
Exactly. I’ve been at events where panels were all men—even when women were clearly in the audience and industry. That lack of diversity not only alienates, it makes the content bland.
Melissa Moody (15:24.298)
Right. We call those “mantels”—all-male panels. The issue isn’t the men themselves, but the lack of intentionality. It shows organizers didn’t consider their whole audience. That’s why we created the Wednesday Women directory—free, searchable by role and location—so there are no excuses.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (19:24.372)
Exactly. And this goes beyond panels—it applies to executive teams and boards. McKinsey and others show companies with diverse leadership teams outperform those without. Talk about how Wednesday Women is helping.
Melissa Moody (20:42.802)
We focus on two business principles:
With Wednesday Women, we spotlight executive women weekly—“look at how much she’s kicking ass.” We run content series highlighting women in AI, product, security, and more—areas where women aren’t visible despite doing the work.
It’s about giving examples of leadership, pouring positivity into feeds, and making it easy for event organizers, companies, and media to find women leaders.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (25:34.94)
Yes. And part of this is creating belonging—helping people feel confident to use their voice. That confidence ties directly back to marketing, leadership, and even customer understanding.
Melissa Moody (26:31.564)
Exactly. Public presence of executives is now a key growth driver. But visibility requires confidence. Sometimes leaders—especially women—just need that nudge of being seen by someone else first. That validation can push them into speaking, writing, or building a brand presence.
Visibility looks different by industry—white papers, LinkedIn, keynote speaking, even book writing—but it’s universally important for business and career growth.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (29:54.06)
I love that. Sometimes people just need that first nudge to feel seen so they can share their voice. So for listeners who want to feel seen—or help someone else feel seen—what can they do today?
Melissa Moody (31:21.014)
Start by amplifying someone else. Post about a colleague, celebrate their work, shine a light. It’s the easiest way to create visibility.
If you’re a woman leader, check out Wednesday Women at WednesdayWomen.org. We just launched executive memberships for deeper support. But for everyone, following Wednesday Women means more examples of diverse leadership in your feed.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (32:40.152)
Love that. Thank you, Melissa. How can people get in touch with you?
Melissa Moody (32:49.804)
Everything is at WednesdayWomen.org. You can email me at melissa@wednesdaywomen.org or connect with me on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to talk strategy or share ideas.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (33:16.928)
Perfect. I really enjoyed our conversation today. Thank you.
Melissa Moody (33:31.82)
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Thank you for joining me on this powerful episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast. If Melissa’s message resonated, take a moment to reflect: Are you telling your story—or your customers’? Are you helping your audience feel seen? If not, you’re missing the key to building trust, relevance, and long-term loyalty.
For more insights like this, subscribe and share with a colleague. Visit revenuebasedmarketing.com for resources, and follow me, Kerry Curran, on LinkedIn.
Until next time, keep building brands that make people feel something—and drive revenue that lasts. We’ll see you soon.