How Looker is Enhancing Marketing Data Analytics Through Organization and Face-to-Face Communication

The sheer amount of data any company collects can quickly become overwhelming if it’s not managed efficiently. As a CMO you have to have control of the data and understand how it flows throughout your organization. That’s why companies like Looker exist – to help you make sense of the data and use it to your advantage.

In this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Looker’s CMO, Jen Grant, talks with Drew about why her unique background allows her to understand the art and science behind connecting everyone to your company’s brand message. She also shares why it’s important to simplify your company’s core message down to just a few phrases.

Not only does Jen explain why actual face-to-face interaction is even more critical in today’s B2B marketing environment, she also discusses how Looker is achieving just that. You also don’t want to miss her best advice for CMOs.

Jen conveys the heart of marketing in such an intriguing way in this episode – you don’t want to miss it. (Click here to listen now).

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Why data organization is so important and the art and science of connecting people to your company’s true message

Without a user-friendly and complete data analytics system, critical insights that could be derived from your company’s data go undiscovered. Companies such as Looker provide an easily understood way of compiling individual data silos into one platform that can be shared across multiple employee teams. Once your data is organized in an effective manner, you can then use this data to enhance your company’s ability to spread your brand message. Data that is easily accessed and understood becomes a tool for creative storytelling that elicits an emotional response from your target market – ultimately creating more success for your company.

How Looker is bringing actual human interaction into B2B marketing, and why your company should be doing the same

Jen explains to Drew in this episode that Looker really wants to push face-to-face marketing because of the human connections that come from that process. But she warns that these in-person events cannot just be a drawn-out sales pitch. It has to be about creating genuine connections with people in your industry and regions, which then opens the door for future sales. These events are also an incredible resource for first-person stories that can be shared with your team and customers. In our technology-driven world, actual human interaction events can set your company apart from the rest, and you’d be surprised at just how effective they can be. Be sure to listen to this episode so you don’t miss out on Jen’s engaging story behind Looker’s journey in face-to-face B2B marketing.

The top two “do’s” and one critical “don’t” in data analytics

Because of Jen’s long history in marketing, and her unique background in theatre and English, she has a unique set of advice for CMOs. She suggests that companies get all of their data centralized so that every team can see the whole picture – not just snippets of information. She also is a huge proponent of as many people as possible looking at your company’s data, because you never know where your next great campaign idea might come from. Finally, she doesn’t want CMOs to forget the innate nature of marketing. While technology, reports, and team meetings are all critical pieces of the data analytics process, she encourages CMOs to remember their gut intuition when it comes to taking a leap of marketing faith. Her insights are sure to be useful to your company in 2018, so be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

What You’ll Learn

  • [2:20] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, Jen Grant, CMO of Looker
  • [2:43] Jen shares her unique background story and how she got started in marketing
  • [4:25] The key lessons Jen learned while working with Google
  • [10:17] Looker’s purpose and story simplified into just a few words
  • [13:17] How Looker’s technology allows data to be seen and enacted upon for their customers
  • [17:16] What Looker’s data processing system looks like
  • [20:00] Where Looker falls within the “stack” of data systems
  • [22:21] Jen shares Looker success story case studies
  • [26:56] The marketing efforts Jen has completed to combat Looker’s awareness challenge, outside of the data industry
  • [34:31] Balancing tailored regional needs to overall company brand messages
  • [37:54] The toughest lesson Jen has learned in the marketing world
  • [39:30] Jen offers her “two do’s and a don’t” for data analytics

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Effective Verticalization Through the ‘Jive’ Way, and Why Engineers Make Great CMOs

The historically challenging industry of telecommunications is changing thanks in part to Jive Communications and their cloud-based phone services. Drew talks with co-founder and current CMO, Matt Peterson, about how he transitioned from his background in software engineering into the marketing realm.

Not only do they discuss Jive’s innovative marketing verticalization strategies, but they also focus on the company’s innate ability to tackle big problems and approach large customer opportunities with confidence and ease.

Hear the story behind Jive’s unconventional beginning and the heart of the company, as well as discover Matt’s favorite resources for marketing professionals by listening to this engaging episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

Matt and Drew’s conversation is sure to inspire and educate – you don’t want to miss it!

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What You’ll Learn

  • [0:31] Drew introduces his guest for this episode, Matt Peterson, co-founder and CMO of Jive Communications
  • [3:44] Matt explains how he became the CMO of Jive
  • [6:34] How Matt’s background in software engineering influences his current work in marketing
  • [10:20] Drew asks Matt about his biggest learning curve when entering the marketing realm of Jive
  • [13:35] What is at the heart of the Jive brand?
  • [16:43] The top examples of Jive’s marketing campaigns that point to the core of Jive
  • [21:25] Drew asks Matt about one of Jive’s most creative marketing projects
  • [23:59] Another example of a Jive program that points to their core values
  • [27:00] Brands and strategies from other companies that Matt admires
  • [29:48] How to keep your  marketing mind sharp and Matt’s top resources for CMOs
  • [34:04] Matt explains some of the strategies Jive is implementing for better organizational success
  • [36:00] Challenges Matt is tackling in 2018

The heart behind Jive Communications and how Matt’s background helps him in his position as CMO

Drew and Matt discuss at length the heart of Jive Communications, and Matt attributes much of the company’s success to their “scrappy, blue-collar, bootstrap” approach. He understands that while their competitors may be larger and have more resources, Jive is able to tackle the industry and “punch above their weight class” with ease. Matt explains that by using his background in software engineering he is able to approach problems with an analytical mind that quickly links together the human intangibles found in marketing with what the data illuminates. Your company could benefit from hearing the story behind Jive’s foundation and current success, so be sure to listen.

Tackling marketing verticalization the Jive way

In order to effectively go after specific customers within their chosen target market, Matt needed to help Jive Communications find its optimal verticalization strategy. One of the best examples he explains to Drew involves the K-12 education system – a customer base that was notoriously hard to enter and change. By following Jive’s “scrappy” mindset Matt and his team were able to solve multiple problems for their education customers and ended up with dozens of new sales contracts. You don’t want to miss the full story of how Jive is shaking up the telecom industry, or the other fascinating examples of prime verticalization, so give this episode your full attention.

How to keep your marketing mind sharp and Matt’s top two challenges for 2018

Matt explains to Drew that staying current in the marketing industry through continuing education is key to greater success. By attending conferences, reading voraciously, and having an incredible appetite for knowledge your marketing professionals are sure to stay at the top of their game. In this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Matt discusses his top two challenges for 2018: communicating Jive’s differentiation points in better ways and nailing their outbound approaches. Be sure to listen to the full episode to catch the whole conversation.

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Going Beyond Marketing Through Social Media and Listening to Customer Voice

As the CMO of Hootsuite, Penny Wilson has some fantastic insights into the social media listening industry and why identifying the customer voice of your company is essential. Not only is customer voice important for executing exceptional customer service but it can also be used as a tool to effectively communicate with executive boards and chief financial officers.

Drew Neisser asks Penny about her journey towards Hootsuite and the top questions on why listening to your customers is critical. The idea of going “beyond marketing” is explored and Penny’s understanding of this concept is unparalleled.

You can’t afford to miss their discussion on upcoming social media trends that could help your company grow by leaps and bounds. The top challenges faced by CMOs are also discussed in this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

It’s sure to be an educational and inspirational episode that you don’t want to miss.

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What You’ll Learn

  • [1:07] Drew introduces the guest for this episode, CMO of Hootsuite, Penny Wilson
  • [4:40] How social media is helping companies go “beyond marketing”
  • [5:57] Penny’s part in a new leadership team at Hootsuite
  • [7:53] Unpacking the voice of the customer
  • [13:02] Finding insights for your company through listening to the customer voice
  • [19:43] Hootsuite’s challenge of breaking out of their original market
  • [23:32] Drew asks Penny about the main challenges for CMOs
  • [24:25] How can CMOs provide CFOs with the tools they need to understand the importance of marketing?
  • [27:00] Social media opportunities that are often overlooked by companies
  • [29:33] How AI can revolutionize the social media tools companies are using

Customer voice is a tool that reaches beyond just marketing

By taking the time to understand your company’s customers and the preferences and expectations they have, you can capture their collective voice. While this voice has obvious benefits in product/service development it can also allow you to examine their entire journey with your company. Listening to the voice of your customers allows you to build a culture that encourages the customer to direct the company and lets the customer lead. Devoted listening creates loyal customers which leads to valuable insights. The listening process should be built into every level of your company, with employees being empowered to become representatives of your company. For more information on how identifying your customer voice can be an asset to your company don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

The greatest challenge faced by CMOs and how Hootsuite has conquered it

Penny’s career in marketing has allowed her to understand some of the greatest challenges faced by CMOs today. One of the most prevalent issues is the constant need for CMOs to get approval from top-level company leaders for their social listening and marketing campaigns. This challenge requires CMOs to tie marketing to a tangible outcome – a challenge that can be solved by using hypothesis-driven tools and metrics. Dive into this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite to discover how Penny and her team at Hootsuite are enabling companies to create more effective marketing campaigns by offering information on the returns on investment for marketing campaigns.

The most overlooked opportunities that exist through social media listening

Penny explains to Drew that the best marketers should be paying attention to the fact that not every customer or employee is 100% comfortable with social media yet. Educational training components can be built into the company culture or customer interface to allow those with less experience to catch up with the current trends and techniques. She also explains that while artificial intelligence is definitely making an appearance in the social listening spheres, it’s not going to overpower the human element of marketing and customer interaction. No matter how your company goes about social listening to uncover the voice of your customers, keep in mind Penny’s best acronym for marketing – SCALE – social, customer-centered, authentic, listen and learn, and engage. You and your company will benefit from listening to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, so be sure to listen.

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How to Reach Your Zone of Focus and the Top Marketing Trends for 2018

For the 60th episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew Neisser interviews Peter Shankman – author, serial entrepreneur, and a world-renowned speaker on social economics. He is a top-tier expert on customer service, social media, public relations, and advertising – all while spreading the idea that incredible things can happen when creativity, determination, and ADHD meet.

Drew asks him about best advice for entrepreneurs and how to work in your zone of focus on this engaging and entertaining episode. You’ll discover Peter’s ritual suggestions and what’s on the horizon for marketers in 2018.

You don’t want to miss Peter’s insights into the top marketing mistakes to avoid. He also uncovers why social media relates so strongly to marketing and the foundational beliefs behind storytelling and public relations.

Drew and Peter’s conversation will leave you wanting more, so be sure to listen (click here to listen now).

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What You’ll Learn

  • [0:50] Drew introduces the guest for the 60th Renegade Thinkers Unite episode, Peter Shankman
  • [4:00] How Peter was able to write a book in 31 hours after finding his zone of focus
  • [6:24] Ritual suggestions for marketers in 2018
  • [12:00] New ideas on the horizon for marketers
  • [13:00] The importance of public relations in B2B marketing
  • [15:14] Public relations and marketing mistakes to avoid in the new year
  • [19:00] How do we measure public relations?
  • [22:28] Social media and how it relates to marketing
  • [25:18] Why Twitter is becoming less valuable in a B2B marketing situation
  • [28:35] Best use of social media as a brand within the marketing mix
  • [30:14] Rapid fire questions with Peter Shankman

Why finding and working in your zone of focus is critical for ultimate success

When Peter had two weeks to finish (and start) a book he had committed to writing, he did what works best for his brain. He booked a roundtrip flight to Tokyo and wrote all ten chapters of the book over 31 hours. While this type of work schedule may not be ideal for everyone, Drew and Peter discuss the importance of finding what works for you and focusing solely on tactics within that zone. As conversations about resolutions become increasingly more abundant, Peter counters that line of thinking by explaining that “resolutions fail, but rituals succeed.” To learn more about Peter’s story and to learn from his successes don’t miss this stellar episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

The top marketing trends to look for in 2018

2018 is sure to be a cornerstone year for individuals and businesses alike. Peter talks with Drew about why listening is of utmost importance in the marketing realm, but why it has to go beyond listening for a break in conversation so you can share your thoughts. They also discuss why conversations across the world are moving away from distrust and into an age of wanting to believe in the truth again. Understanding hot topic ideas such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, and why Twitter’s heyday may be ending are all covered on this episode, so be sure to take the time to listen.

Public relations in B2B marketing and why having an audience is a privilege – not a right

As B2B marketers it’s key to understand how public relations relates to your company. Public relations helps people to believe the information they’re consuming, which is key for audience engagement. The audience your company targets deserves high-quality content delivered on a timely basis, and Peter explains that companies should never take their audiences for granted. Connecting what you have to what the industry needs, and conveying it in a thoughtful, concise manner, is a key PR strategy in B2B marketing. You can’t afford to miss the rest of Peter’s insights that will help you start off 2018 with a burst of productivity, so don’t miss this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

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Incorporating Listening into Social Marketing for Increased Customer Connections

On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew Neisser asks CMO of NetBase Solutions, Paige Leidig, the top questions surrounding social listening and analytics. With over 80% of tweets mentioning brands and the social media analytics industry being a $2.7 billion operation, it’s critical to know how listening can increase your customer connections.

Drew and Paige dive into social listening to give you and your business the best chance to hone your target market and utilize the best marketing channels possible. You’ll also discover how artificial intelligence in the form of Natural Language Processing can revolutionize your metadata processing.

The toughest challenges and biggest surprises encountered in social marketing are covered in this episode. You also don’t want to miss Paige’s top tips for CMOs in 2018.

This conversation is sure to provide critical social listening insights, so be sure to listen (click here to listen now).

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What You’ll Learn

  • [1:40] Drew introduces this episode’s guest – Paige Leidig, CMO of NetBase Solutions
  • [3:00] What is social listening and social analytics?
  • [8:15] Paige shares a great example of social listening information used in revolutionary ways
  • [10:12] The main three marketing channels most brands utilize
  • [12:13] What is the state of the art technique for social listening?
  • [15:36] How can you differentiate your competitive advantage via social listening?
  • [16:59] Natural language processing (NLP) – Artificial intelligence to moderate meta social media data
  • [20:52] Top areas marketers miss while listening to customers
  • [23:49] Paige shares additional example stories on why social listening is critical
  • [28:19] How changing your message for your target market can increase sales and customer engagement
  • [33:35] Why customer stories are of utmost importance in B2B marketing
  • [36:33] Paige’s tips for CMOs moving forward into 2018
  • [38:00] Common surprises encountered when entering into social listening

The practical benefits of incorporating listening into your social marketing strategies

The premise behind social listening is aggregating all public data that’s published on millions of social media platforms and analyzing it to provide key insights into your industry. There are multitudes of practical benefits to social listening, including having the availability to quickly change marketing techniques if the listening offers new feedback on how the market is reacting to a campaign. It enables your company to create content that adds value to the market and encourages high-level digital connections with your customers. Microsoft and Apple are only two examples of top-tier companies utilizing social listening in their marketing strategies and their successes are demonstrated across the board. To hear their full stories be sure to give this episode a listen.

The top three channels used in marketing and how new technology can improve the data analysis process

Paige walks Drew through the main three channels that brands utilize on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. The company’s own channel is the most obvious, followed by partnered content channels. But the most valuable channel is through earned content – where people are talking about your brand/content and the signature characteristics that they find interesting and applicable. The best insights come from this channel alone. In order to analyze all of the data that comes through the earned channel, companies should utilize a new form of artificial intelligence called Natural Language Processing or NLP. It automatically sifts through millions of posts, images, and videos to determine the main themes and sentiments of the messages. This data is analyzed across dozens of languages in real time and offers critically important insights into your social marketing strategies. You don’t want to miss this conversation, so be sure to listen to the full audio.

Top social listening tips for CMOs and how to avoid the biggest mistake in marketing analysis

If social listening is done correctly, your company has the opportunity to see huge progress made in your marketing campaigns. As 2018 approaches, Paige encourages other CMOs to be spending 80% of the marketing budget on digital marketing and to move beyond demographic marketing into psychographic marketing. He shares with Drew the biggest mistake to avoid in social listening, which is using false metrics derived from your own channel to drive marketing campaigns. There’s a whole world of opportunity that exists in your earned channel, you just have to be infinitely curious about your customers. You can’t afford to miss these applicable lessons from Drew and Paige so be sure to listen to this engaging episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

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Brand Building For Company Differentiation and Workplace Fulfillment

Drew’s guest on this episode, Juliette Rizkallah, has an MBA from Harvard University and over 20 years of marketing and cybersecurity experience. As the CMO for SailPoint, she has linked the idea of identity management to cybersecurity and built a brand that is synonymous with excellence.

In this conversation, she and Drew offer your company the best tactics for brand building, how to differentiate your company from competitors, and why branding is important for employee buy-in and workplace fulfillment. Juliette believes that going beyond “FUD – fear, uncertainty, and doubt factor” marketing leads to customer empowerment and a solid foundation for your company to stand on for many years to come.

On this insightful episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew and Juliette tackle some of the biggest challenges for new CMOs and discuss how to handle one of the biggest obstacles in any workplace – ensuring top executives buy into a marketing initiative.

Juliette has some exciting ideas to share with you, so be sure to listen (click here to listen now).

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What You’ll Learn

  • [1:22] Drew introduces the guest for this episode, Juliette Rizkallah, CMO of Sailpoint
  • [2:30] How marketing influenced SailPoint’s recent growth in sales
  • [5:26] The human element of data breaches
  • [6:47] Juliette discusses the mission and strategy of SailPoint
  • [8:05] How do customers emotionally buy into SailPoint?
  • [11:46] What is branding?
  • [13:20] How Juliette is helping SailPoint cut through the competition through branding
  • [18:23] One great effort that Juliette did with SailPoint to differentiate the company
  • [20:54] How to handle a competitor copying your branding efforts, and what that means for your company
  • [27:02] Slow branding is better than fast branding = builds a better foundation
  • [30:00] The biggest challenge as a new CMO who is building a new program
  • [33:00] Advice for fellow marketing professionals
  • [35:33] Drew’s summary of the episode  

How SailPoint built a brand that ultimately increased sales and moved away from FUD tactics

When Juliette joined SailPoint two years ago, their existing branding efforts were not linking the impact of identity management to cybersecurity. She led the efforts that brought SailPoint back to their mission and core values, which “gives enterprises the power to grow, expand and innovate, securely and confidently via innovation, integrity, impact, and individuals.” SailPoint moved away from relying on FUD techniques to incite fear in their customers and demonstrated to them the “power of identity.” Juliette explains that by empowering your IT team and taking away the minutia of cybersecurity work, they are better equipped to focus on company growth – which leads to great fulfillment. These combined efforts led to an exponential growth in sales, increased customer satisfaction, and improved company culture and morale. You can learn how to make these benefits come to fruition at your company if you listen to Juliette’s full story on this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

So a competitor copies your branding efforts? What’s next?

After the intense branding process, SailPoint was faced with a large competitor copying their efforts – unfortunately, a common problem in B2B environments. Drew and Juliette discuss the emotional discovery and how SailPoint turned a potential conflict into a reflective exercise. She explains that while the competitor copied SailPoint’s tagline, they could not capture what made SailPoint an exceptional and unique company. Simply changing color schemes and logos does not bring about real change, and clinging to that mindset got Juliette’s team and SailPoint through the challenge. She encourages other CMOs to accept the issue, move past it, and know that those who go through the long process of building a brand will ultimately find more success than those who simply copy the work of others.

Slow branding is better than fast branding, and why a firm foundation is critical to company success and workplace fulfillment

Throughout this episode, a common theme of Drew and Juliette’s conversation is that “slow branding is better than fast branding.” When she began the process of building a brand at SailPoint it was ten months later before real internal and external change was recognized. “We decided to do it well rather than fast,” Juliette explains, and she recognizes that this mindset can be challenging with sales teams, marketing qualified leads, and executive boards looming. This process can excite employees and refresh the ideas behind why the company exists and why employees have dedicated time to its efforts. You can implement her same problem-solving techniques at your company and build a branding platform that you can use for many years to come. Be sure to listen to this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite to take advantage of Juliette and Drew’s CMO experience and learn why effective branding can differentiate your unique company from the rest.

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