// PODCAST

International B2B Marketing Playbook: Go-to-Market Across Regions | Urvi Mehta, Cognizant

Urvi Mehta, who heads life sciences marketing at Cognizant, explains how to build B2B marketing, tailor go-to-market by region and use AI without adding noise.
Urvi Mehta, Cognizant on The Builders Club Startup Founders Podcast
Advertisement

B2B marketing is not a box of colour pencils. It is research, strategy, communications and pipeline working together toward a revenue goal.

Urvi Mehta, who heads life sciences marketing at Cognizant, joins The Builders Club Startup Founders Podcast to share her B2B marketing playbook and how it changes from India to China to the US.

What is the foundation of B2B marketing? Urvi Mehta’s core thesis

Urvi says B2B marketing is driven by credibility and thought leadership more than by direct conversion. Marketing is responsible for pipeline and for moving a lead to a meeting, while sales owns conversion.

She adds that the playbook must flex by geography, because trust, price sensitivity and regulation differ by market.

  • Build the full engine. Research, strategy, creative, PR, analyst relations and campaigns all feed pipeline.
  • Lead with outcomes. Say what results you deliver, not just a list of services.
  • Pick few spokespeople. Two or three trusted voices beat twenty.
  • Localise go-to-market. Partners matter in China, cost matters in India, and innovation counts in the US.

How is B2B marketing different from B2C marketing?

Urvi says B2C marketing generates revenue directly and demands daily numbers, while B2B marketing is more credibility-driven. In B2B, marketing facilitates, builds pipeline and positions the brand, and sales handles conversion.

B2B timelines are also more forgiving, though the discipline is the same.

What teams and pillars does a B2B marketing function need?

She walks through how a goal such as entering three new markets turns into work for several teams. Together they take a lead through awareness, interest, desire and action.

  • Research for primary and secondary market intelligence.
  • Strategy to turn that into a go-to-market plan.
  • Communications including assets and thought leadership.
  • PR and analyst relations to shape perception.
  • Creative and campaign management, with inside sales converting qualified leads into meetings.

How do you get PR coverage and use content well?

Urvi says organic coverage needs a differentiator: you must be solving a bigger problem, not one a hundred others solve. A press release is for a major announcement and helps credibility and search visibility, but it is not the same as a paid advertorial.

On websites and content, she says tell prospects what outcomes you deliver, and back claims with case studies and thought leadership.

Who should be the voice of the company?

Even with AI producing endless content, she recommends choosing a small number of spokespeople, often the CEO or business head, and giving them media training.

Content should change how someone thinks or help them decide, and short formats of 15 to 30 seconds work better than long video.

How does regional go-to-market differ?

Urvi has worked on markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the US. She sees clear patterns in how buyers decide.

  • China: trust is hard to earn, so local partners are essential, and channels such as WeChat replace LinkedIn.
  • Japan: partners play a big role.
  • India: a cost-driven market where value for money is scrutinised.
  • Middle East and Africa: government relationships matter.
  • Europe: regulation rules.
  • UK: traditional and cautious.
  • US: innovation first, then credibility.

How should B2B marketers use AI and which tools help?

She says AI helps with sentiment analysis, metrics, campaign automation, dashboards and personalised messaging. The risks are content overload that dilutes brands, and data privacy concerns.

Her point is that strategy must still come from experienced people.

  • 6sense for account-based insights.
  • ZoomInfo or Wiza to build contact lists.
  • AI app-building tools to create small personal agents tailored to your own needs.
  • Sora and Suno for video and jingles during her agency work.

Further reading and sources

Frequently asked questions

What are the main pillars of B2B marketing?

Urvi Mehta points to research, strategy, communications, PR and analyst relations, creative and campaign management. Inside sales then turns qualified leads into meetings. Together they move a buyer from awareness to action.

Should B2B companies use Instagram or LinkedIn?

Urvi says larger organisations are LinkedIn first, supported by PR and publications. Instagram can be an additional voice or help with employee engagement, but she does not see it as a differentiator for most B2B brands.

How do I market to businesses in different countries?

Adapt to local buying behaviour. Urvi cites partners as essential in China, cost sensitivity in India, government ties in the Middle East and Africa, regulation in Europe, caution in the UK and innovation in the US.

Conclusion

Urvi Mehta’s playbook is to build the full marketing engine, lead with outcomes, keep your voice focused and localise your approach. AI helps, but strategy still has to come from people who know the market.

Start by choosing your two or three spokespeople and the one region where local partners will matter most.

Want more conversations like this? Join The Builders Club, our community of 35,000+ founders and CXOs, and explore more episodes of the Startup Founders Podcast.

Never miss an episode

Join 35,000+ founders and CXOs in The Builders Club community.

Join the Community
Advertisement
Advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Picture of The Builders Club

The Builders Club

Keep reading

Silicon Valley VPs vs. Indian Family Business Promoters

The Executive Sponsor Trap: Selling to Silicon Valley VPs vs. Securing Commitments from Indian Family Business Promoters

November 5, 2026 No Comments

A Silicon Valley VP can usually sign inside a budget they own. An Indian family business promoter often holds the final say but delegates the evaluation, and that gap is where deals stall. Treating a friendly mid-level sponsor as the decision-maker is the most common mistake in cross-border enterprise sales. Here is how the two models differ and how to secure a commitment that survives promoter review. What is the executive sponsor trap? It is the assumption that the person championing your product has the authority to buy it. In US enterprise sales, a VP or director often does hold budget. In many Indian family-run groups, authority sits with the promoter or family council, while managers and professional CEOs run evaluations. How do US VPs make buying decisions? Delegated authority. A VP typically owns a departmental budget with a defined spending limit. Process-led approval. Procurement and legal run a standard path once a business case is approved. Rep-free research. Buyers do much of their research independently, as shown in Gartner’s 2026 sales survey, so your first call is rarely the start of their evaluation. How do Indian family business promoters make buying decisions? Final say at the top. The promoter or a small family circle may approve significant spend, even when a professional CEO handles daily operations. For context, see Business Today on professional CEOs in Indian business families. Trust over process. A recommendation from a known peer, advisor or existing vendor carries heavy weight. Group thinking. Decisions consider the whole group, not only one business unit, which can slow or accelerate a deal sharply. Tech caution. Research on Indian family businesses by Inc42 describes growth-driven but technology-cautious attitudes, which means proof and references matter. Academic work such as the Indian School of Business research on family business groups offers background on how these groups are structured. Sponsor authority compared: Silicon Valley vs family-run Indian groups Factor Silicon Valley VP Indian family business promoter Budget ownership Often in the VP’s own budget Often approved at group or promoter level Who evaluates The VP’s team Managers, CIO or professional CEO What builds trust Data, ROI case, peer reviews Personal credibility, references, introductions Typical blocker Competing priorities and budget timing No access to the final decision-maker Commitment signal Signed order form Promoter or senior leadership endorsement, then paperwork How do you secure a real commitment from a promoter-led company? Ask the authority question early. “Who gives the final nod on a decision of this size?” is polite and effective. Arrange a senior-to-senior meeting. Your founder or most senior leader meets the decision-maker with the sponsor’s backing. Use a trusted introducer. A mutual contact, existing client or advisor opens doors more reliably than outreach. Give the sponsor a promoter-ready summary. One page covering outcome, risk, cost, and references in plain language. Confirm the paperwork route. Once approval is verbal, ask who triggers legal, security and procurement. What if you cannot reach the promoter? Work through the professional CEO or CIO, and ask them to describe what the promoter will want to see. Prepare that material in advance. FAQ Who makes the final software buying decision in an Indian family-owned business? It varies, but for significant spend the final approval often rests with the promoter or a small family group, while managers and a professional CEO run the evaluation. Ask early who gives the final nod. How is selling to a US VP different from selling to an Indian business promoter? US VPs typically own a budget and follow a defined buying process. Promoters weigh trust, references and group-level considerations, so you need senior access and credible introductions. How do I get a meeting with a promoter or business owner? Use warm introductions from mutual contacts, existing customers, advisors or community events. Ask your internal sponsor to request the meeting and prepare a short, outcome-focused briefing. Conclusion Do not mistake enthusiasm for authority. In the US, test whether your VP owns the budget. In Indian family groups, find the person who gives the final nod, and get there through trusted introductions and a promoter-ready summary. Need warm introductions to promoter-led enterprises? Join The Builders Club. References and further reading Gartner Sales Survey: 67% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free experience (2026) Gartner: The B2B buying journey and how to optimise it Business Today: Why Indian business families are hiring professional CEOs Inc42: Indian family businesses are growth-driven but tech-cautious Indian School of Business: Family business groups in India About the author: Sohail Khan is Founder and Director of The Builders Club, a professional community of 35,000+ founders and CXOs across India, UAE, Singapore and the US.

Read More »

Why the Self-Serve PLG Playbook Fails with Indian Enterprise CXOs (And the High-Touch Assisted Model That Actually Wins)

November 2, 2026 No Comments

Self-serve PLG works when the user is also the buyer. In Indian enterprises, they almost never are. A product-led funnel can get your tool into a team’s hands, but it rarely gets a CXO to sign. The model that wins is a high-touch, assisted motion that uses product usage as proof, not as the whole sales strategy. Here is why the standard playbook stalls in India’s large organisations, and what to run instead. Why does the self-serve PLG playbook fail with Indian enterprise CXOs? Product-led growth, as described by pioneers such as OpenView, assumes that users discover, try and adopt the product themselves, and that revenue follows usage. That assumption holds for tools with low risk, low price and individual buyers. Enterprise buying in India breaks all three conditions at once. The user is not the buyer. An analyst may love your tool. The budget sits with a CIO, CFO or business head who has never opened it. Risk is organisational. A CXO signs against security, vendor-continuity and reputational risk, none of which a free trial answers. Trust is personal. Decisions often move on credibility, references and conversations with someone they respect, not on a sign-up flow. Does a free trial or freemium plan ever work in Indian enterprises? It can work for teams, departments and SMB-sized units, where one manager has a card or small discretionary budget. It rarely scales to the top accounts without a human who turns usage into a business case. What does the high-touch assisted model actually look like? Assisted does not mean old-fashioned. It means every stage of the product experience is paired with a person who removes a specific obstacle. Stage Pure self-serve PLG Assisted model for Indian enterprises Discovery Organic search, product trial Warm introduction, peer room, referral Evaluation Self-guided trial Guided pilot with named success criteria Decision User upgrades with a card Business case built for the CXO and the committee Contracting Click-through terms Negotiated MSA, security review, procurement Expansion In-app prompts Account lead plans rollout across divisions How do you turn product usage into a signed enterprise contract? Use the product as the evidence, and a person as the translator. A practical sequence: Find your champion. Identify the user who gets the most value and ask them to explain the problem in their own words. Quantify the result. Convert usage into time saved, errors avoided or revenue influenced, in a one-page summary the CXO can read in two minutes. Map the buying committee. Ask your champion who else must say yes: IT, security, finance, legal, and the business owner. Run an executive conversation. A founder or senior lead speaks to the CXO about outcomes and risk, not features. Offer a scoped commitment. A defined pilot or first-division rollout with clear exit and expansion terms reduces perceived risk. When should you still invest in self-serve? Do not abandon it. Use self-serve as the top of the funnel and as a signal engine. Track which accounts have several active users, which teams invite colleagues, and which admins explore security settings. Those are the accounts your sales team should call first. Think of it as product-qualified leads feeding a human-led close. Many global companies now run exactly this hybrid, and it fits Indian enterprise buying better than a pure self-serve approach. FAQ Is PLG dead for B2B SaaS in India? No. PLG is useful for building awareness, usage data and champions inside accounts. It fails as the only motion for large enterprises, where committees, security reviews and relationships decide the contract. A hybrid model works better. What is a product-qualified lead (PQL)? A PQL is an account or user whose in-product behaviour suggests buying intent, such as multiple active teammates or admin-level exploration. Sales teams use PQLs to prioritise who to approach with a human conversation. How many people does an assisted enterprise sale need? It depends on deal size, but you typically need one senior owner for the relationship, one technical resource for security and integration questions, and a customer success lead after signing. Founders often cover the first two roles in early deals. Conclusion PLG gets you into the room, but it does not get a CXO to sign. In Indian enterprises, winning sales pair product evidence with human trust: a champion, a business case, a guided pilot and a senior conversation. Building an assisted enterprise motion? Meet founders and CXOs who have done it at The Builders Club, and bring your toughest sales question to our next roundtable. Join The Builders Club. About the author: Sohail Khan is Founder and Director of The Builders Club, a professional community of 35,000+ founders and CXOs across India, UAE, Singapore and the US.

Read More »