How I Made it in Marketing

Don’t give clients whatever they ask for. The most fatal blind spot lies in audience knowledge.These are a few of the lessons from the stories Liz Harr, Partner, Hinge (https://hingemarketing.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #6 of the How I Made It in Marketing podcast.Some lessons from Harr that emerged in our discussion:Don’t give clients whatever they ask for: When a tech client wanted to name its conference CapCon, Harr’s team did some competitive research and discovered that it was the name of an annual convention for age players – also known as adults who dress up like toddlers and tykes.The most fatal blind spot lies in audience knowledge: Harr worked with a client whose website messaging centered on the fact that everyone on the team came from a Big Four accounting firm. While the messaging was designed to reassure prospects, Harr’s team interviewed executives from deals the firm lost and discovered this messaging communicated something else…A-team rates for basic administrative tasks.  Keep friends close and your enemies closer…because enemies can make great partners: When Harr owned a VAR (value added reseller), collaborating with and ultimately merging with a competitor ended up saving both companies during the financial collapse of 2008…and it all began by networking with one of their biggest competitors.Harr also shared lessons she learned from the people she collaborated with in her career: Junya Sugimoto of the Ministry of Education at Yao Shi Precinct in Osaka taught her to just be. Her first job right out of college was at the Japanese Ministry of Education. One day her boss sat her down for a heart-to-heart talk about how to make a bigger impact by bringing more of her real self to work – the part of her that enjoyed listening to people, making connections with them, and working as part of a team with the same goals. Shams Zaman, CFO, Technologist taught her the power that your own stories have to connect more effectively with others: Harr was asked to help run a side business, a car dealership. It didn’t work out, and she was fired. Her boss (Zaman) told her, “Sometimes, the worst moments in life are the launch pads for getting us to where we’re really meant to be.” She has used this story and moment of vulnerability to connect with people reporting to her throughout her career. Lee Frederiksen, Managing Partner, Hinge taught her that our peers play a key role in our development as leaders and experts in our field: Frederiksen coached and advised her through business and personal crises when she ran a startup, and Harr went on to work with him at Hinge.Articles (and a keynote video) mentioned in this episode:The Marketer’s Blind Spot: 3 ways to overcome the marketer’s greatest obstacle to effective messaging (https://meclabs.com/research/lecture/marketing-blindspots-flint-mcglaughlin)Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)Why You Should Thank Your Competitors (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/why-thaApply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

In Episode #5, Daniel Burstein, Senior Director of Content & Marketing, MarketingSherpa, interviewed  Jonathan Fashbaugh, President, Pro Impressions Marketing (https://www.proimpressionsgroup.com/).Some lessons from Fashbaugh that emerged in the discussion:Popular content isn't always the best content for the client. His team blogged on a dentist’s website about the vampire fang effect that was used in the TV show “True Blood.” The post explained how people could get porcelain veneers that looked like fangs…only problems was, the dentist did not offer that service. Well-written content put together by someone who understands the business can go a very long way toward the client's success. Fashbaugh went to seminars with a dentist, shared a hotel with him, and was his hands-on patient for the courses they attended together. He used this course as experience to help inform the website he was building for the dentist. Attention to detail in a niche pays dividends. Dentists have taught Fashbaugh to be very picky. There was a stock photo floating around that many design companies were using. But if you looked closely, the model was missing one of her teeth toward the back of her mouth. Fashbaugh also shared lessons he learned from the people he collaborated with in his career:Robin Schmachtenberger, Owner, idolum – Don't go around your supervisor, and you don't throw your weight around as the new person.  Bill Fukui, Senior Director of Business Development, MedShark Digital – Always get the client or prospect on the phone before you give up the goods.  Jeff Haddad, Owner and Dentist, Rochester Advanced Dentistry – Communicating with consumers in their language. Articles (and a course) mentioned in this episode:Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/)– free digital marketing course from MECLABS Institute, MarketingSherpa’s parent organizationBanner Blindness: Why your marketing messages are hiding in plain sight (https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-advertising/banner-blindness-messages-hiding)Ask MarketingSherpa: Copywriting for non-native English speakers (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/copywriting/non-native-english-speakers/)Quick Win Intensive (https://meclabs.com/QuickWinIntensive) – from MECLABSValue Proposition Workshop (https://meclabs.com/services/value-proposition) – from MECLABSMarketing 101: What is a Design Brief? (with 2 examples) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/design-2/marketing-101-what-is-a-design-brief-with-2-examples/)Customer Centricity: How to use transparency to generate customer trust (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/transparency-to-generate-customer-trust) – featured session from Michael Norton, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School500 Mangled, Stretchy RuApply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

Daniel Burstein spoke to Dr. Michael Solomon, Professor of Marketing, Saint Joseph’s University (https://www.sju.edu/) in Episode #4.Some lessons that emerged in the discussion: Don’t overlook unconventional sources of data. When Dr. Solomon worked with Levi Strauss on the psychology of blue jeans, he learned a lot by poring through letters customers had written to the company over 150 years.  Interact as much as possible with real consumers when you’re developing a new product. Dr. Solomon’s team observed how users struggled with a popular cleaning product from Black & Decker. By making a simple design change that didn’t occur to the engineers, this brand became the market leader in its category. Get frequent reality checks from customers. As an author of several marketing textbooks, Dr. Solomon discovered that his frame of reference is not the same as his readers (typically college students). For example, when he discussed cultural events like 9/11, he had to remind himself that his readers were infants when this occurred.Dr. Solomon also shared lessons he gained from the people he collaborated with in his career: John Greco, Chair and CEO, Marketing IMPACT Council taught him about the strength of weak ties. Networking with associates of a colleague can be very effective. John reinforced the value of maintaining strong networks and partnerships where members possess complementary skills.Dr. Malaika Brengman, Associate Professor of Marketing, Vrije Universiteit Brussel taught him about finding collaborators with complementary skillsets. Collaborating on research about robotic service providers, he has seen how valuable it can be to team up with a colleague who has a different frame of reference and background.Jacqueline Lew, Executive Director / Global Head of Consumer & Brand Health Practice, CI Product Leadership, NielsenIQ taught him to always be vigilant about updating assumptions. Jacqueline’s frame of reference is global (she is based in Malaysia) and her perspective has been useful to him as he checks his assumptions about consumer behavior in other parts of the world.Dr. Solomon’s parting words of advice: “Always start at least with the assumption that your frame of reference is not the same as your customers”Articles (and a book) mentioned in this episode:The New Chameleons: How to Connect with Consumers Who Defy Categorization (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-new-chameleons-the-new-chameleons-michael-r-solomon/1136940991) – his bookMobile Marketing: 4 takeaways on how to improve your mobile shopping experience beyond just responsive design (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/mobile-marketing-four-takeaways-on-how-to-improve-your-mobile-shopping-experience-beyond-just-responsive-design)– eBags used customer anthropology to discover how customers shop for handbags onlineCustomer Theory: How to leverage empathy in your marketing (with free tool) (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/customer-theory-leverage-empathy-free-tool)Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

Trust your gut – always, especially in regard to hiring and retention decisions. Negotiate – and know your worth.These are a few of the lessons Michelle Burrows, CMO, Splashtop (https://www.splashtop.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #3 of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.We discussed:Make sure you have the right partner for what you want to do: Why a test direct marketing campaign of 500 dimensional mailers went awryTrust your gut always…especially regarding hiring and retention decisions: The chief marketing officer shares what she learned from leading teams ranging in size from three to 130, including the hiring decision that she realized was a mistake after only three weeks. “What you’ll tolerate speaks volumes to the rest of the organization,” she said.Negotiate, and know your worth: A tactic she overlooked for the first 10 years of her careerBurrows also shared lessons she gained from the people she collaborated with in her career:Dick Schulte, Executive Coach, Services, Optiv Security: how to work in a different country, when a move to Europe that was supposed to last six weeks to three months (max) turned into a five-year stayDenise Persson, CMO, Snowflake: humility from a leader who went on to help launch one of the most successful IPOs everMariann McDonagh, CMO, WorkFusion: heart-centered leadershipArticles (and a webinar replay) mentioned in this episode:B2B Social Media Marketing: DocuSign's targeted LinkedIn InMail strategy creates 3 large pipeline opportunities (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/webinar/successful-b2b-linkedin-inmail-strategy) – interview with Meagen EisenbergWhat are the most valuable marketing skills? (with free resources to improve those skills) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/career-climber/the-5-essential-marketing-skills-you-need-to-be-successful) – includes advice on an interview question to discover how well the candidate understood customers in their previous role14 Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Marketing Professionals (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-hiring) – discusses some ways to attract employees beyond salary, such as sabbaticals, four-day workweeks, extra paid time off, and moreThe De-Branding Campaign: When customers make fun of your new product launch (Episode #2) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/debranding) – Everyone in the organization has an opinion on marketingTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newslettersThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher free digital marketing course –  https://meclabs.com/course/Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

In Episode #2, Daniel Burstein talks to Natalie Marcotullio, Head of Growth and Operations, Navattic (https://www.navattic.com/).Natalie shares key lessons from what she’s made (and in her case, unmade) – ranging from a de-branding campaign to a redesigned website – in her career where she often was the sole marketer in the company. We discussed:A de-branding campaign and the importance of being agile when things go so wrongBuilding, writing, and designing three ad campaigns per month as a solo marketer – why that is too much, quality must trump quantity, and how a marketing calendar helped “Unless you’re doing research, you’re not going to do effective marketing” – she gets up from her desk, goes for a walk, and listens in to sales calls to learn from customer reactionsRedesigning the website based on a shift in the ideal customer profile. In the redesign, she put prospects experience above all else. The results – 40% conversion rates from any lead who fills out a form on the website to booking a meeting with the sales team. They also have a nearly 50% win rate, showing the quality of the leads.Natalie also shares lessons she gained from influential mentors and managers in her career: Matthew Sniff, Chief Product Officer, Map My Customers – blocking off learning time  Andrea Kayal, CMO, Electric – sticking up for brand strategy in leadership sessions Chris Walker, CEO, Refine Labs – putting your buyer above what may be best for your bottom lineArticles (plus a book and a course) mentioned in this episode:Product Development Chart: A “minimum viable product” is not enough to satisfy customers (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/minimum-viable-vs-minimum-awesome)The Marketer as Philosopher: 40 Brief Reflections on the Power of Your Value Proposition book by Flint McGlaughlin, CEO, MarketingSherpa & MECLABS (https://meclabs.com/course/the-marketer-as-philosopher/)Scaling to a $15 million company in 18 months by transparently serving an ideal customer (and saying “no” to other business) – Podcast Episode #1 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/scaling-podcast)The Content Marketing Tipping Point: Marcus Sheridan’s magic number is 30, what is yours? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/content-marketing-magic-number/)MarketingSherpa Library (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/library) – 8,768 case studies, articles, and videosBecome a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) (free digital marketing course)Customer-First Marketing Chart: How to get customers to give your company a second chance (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/how-customers-give-second-chance)2022 Growth Trends Interview Series, Episode 5: Community building with Chris Walker (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6887062373966848000/)Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

In the debut episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast, Daniel Burstein talks to Whitney Hill, Co-Founder and Head of Business Operations & Development, Snap ADU (https://snapadu.com/).Whitney shares key lessons from what she’s made – ranging from Excel data tools to a transparent website to a memorable brand name – in a career that has spanned Yale, an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, Seamless.com, Bain & Company, and more. We discussed:Winning on execution: using real-time data to intrinsically motivate a warehouse fulfillment team (and reduce headcount by 20 percent)Scaling to a $15 million company in 18 months with the help of Excel tools, pricing transparency, focusing on the ideal customer, and morePromoting transparency to gain trust: being an information source for an industry (whether or not people buy from you) – including clear, upfront pricing – to help attract 75% of the company’s business through organic searchBeing memorable and pithy: rebranding from a traditional construction company name (Moore Construction) to a name that better communicates the value proposition and helps with SEO (Snap ADU)She also shares lessons she gained from influential mentors and managers in her career:Wiley Cierlli, CEO and Founder, Good Uncle – honing an elevator pitchAndrew Benoit, Founder & CEO, ZoneJump – building a legacy Paul Cichocki, EVP & Chief Commercial Officer, BJ's Wholesale Club – managing a data teamMike Moore, Co-Founder & Head of Production, SnapADU – nurturing business relationshipsArticles mentioned in this episode:Sales Funnel: 3 case studies with tips on how to say “no” to customers and improve marketing results – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/sales-funnel-3-case-studies-with-tips-on-how-to-say-no-to-customers-and-improve-marketing-results  (Quick Case Study #1 in this article shows how Whitney helped improve proposal close rate by 55 percent)14 Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Marketing Professionals – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-hiring  How to Win Friends and Influence People (book by Dale Carnegie) – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-dale-carnegie/1100370318  Hospitals Hide Prices on Web, Undermining Disclosure Rule. – https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-hide-pricing-data-from-search-results-11616405402  Is Your Company Embracing ‘Fear-Based’ or ‘Fear-Less’ Marketing in 2012 and Beyond? – https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/fear-less-marketing/ (Marcus Sheridan shares how transparent pricing information on River Pools & Spas website helped generate 124,000 page views over two years)To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newslettersThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration fromApply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application