What It Means to Be an Everywhere Brand with Jeff Rohrs

"Consumers deserve perfect info about businesses everywhere. We can all agree on that." Going out of the gate, Jeff Rohrs reminded us of what's at stake with all of the information about businesses online. As Chief Marketing Officer at Yext, Rohrs is on the leading edge as brands work to manage all of the digital knowledge that's available today. Chances are, what you've thought about already is just the tip of the iceberg. We discussed what data, voice, AI, and AR mean for "everywhere brands" this week on the On Brand podcast.

About Jeff Rohrs

Jeff Rohrs serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Yext, the Digital Knowledge Management platform that gives companies control over their customer-critical facts across today’s ever-expanding universe of intelligent services. Jeff co-authored The Everywhere Brand (Yext 2017), and his first book, AUDIENCE: Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, Fans & Followers (Wiley 2014), has been lauded by marketers and executives alike as a must-read. Prior to joining Yext, Jeff served as Vice President of Marketing Insights for Salesforce and ExactTarget.

Episode Highlights

So what is Yext? "Brand's need to be in control of their information." Yext provides a digital knowledge management platform to do just that. "We work on the rest of the iceberg under the surface. Most are just looking at the tip — website and search. The lion's share includes places like Alexa, Siri, and Uber."

Brands today have to be everywhere. In an ebook co-authored with Jay Baer, Jeff outlines the concept of brands being everywhere today. He shared the basic tenants of what this means including being customer centric, granular, and committed to actively managing.

How can brands be ready for a voice-first environment? "First, you have to separate voice commands from voice search and discovery. You can't optimize. That's been debunked. You need to think about the facts first. That's how you future proof your brand."

What brand has made Jeff smile recently? Jeff provided not one, not two, but three brands that have made him smile. First, Nike with their "gutsy" Colin Kaepernick ads. He's also a big fan of how DonorsChoose closes the loop by sharing updates from funded projects with donors via email. And finally, we recorded this after a big win for the Cleveland Browns, which brought a smile to Jeff's face as well.

To learn more, follow Jeff on Twitter and check out the Yext website including their upcoming event Onward 2018.

As We Wrap …

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On Brand is sponsored by my new book Brand Now. Discover the seven dynamics to help your brand stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Order now and get special digital extras. Learn more.

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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

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