Tag: CMO

Marketing for Non-profits: Telling the Story and Measuring Brand Awareness

Posted on by admin

Catherine Davis knows how marketing for non-profits differs from marketing in the for-profit sector — and she succeeds at both. From building her marketing foundation at Leo Burnett and Diageo to her current role as the CMO of Feeding America, Catherine has mastered the ability to distill powerful stories into tangible pieces that entire populations can connect with. Through strategic brand tracking strategies and working to solve an issue that she is passionate about, Catherine is proving that the role of a CMO as a storyteller has never been more important.  

As Renegade Thinkers Unite meets its 101st episode milestone, Catherine Davis and Drew sit down to discuss why a career in marketing does not have to be linear to be successful. Catherine also explains how to capture individual stories, overcome challenges in brand awareness, and manage a non-profit CEO’s expectations. In this episode, Catherine will walk you through what it takes to communicate what your organization stands for and how to break down big issues into personal stories.

You’ll be inspired to make your marketing matter — catch the full story now.

                 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts – Stitcher – or Podsearch

What You’ll Learn

Catherine works to capture individual stories – a skill she learned early on in her marketing career

Catherine picked up on 2 major lessons that have laid the foundation for her career in marketing for non-profits. The first is to identify and select a marketing strategy. Then, you have to break down that strategy into emotional and logical components that can be woven into stories, statistics, and campaigns.

She explains that people find it much harder to dismiss individual stories from real people struggling with hunger. By encouraging people to have conversations about the bigger issues in America, even if they aren’t necessarily “measurable,” Catherine can begin to see how the tides are turning for the hunger problem.

Measuring progress in marketing for non-profits – it doesn’t come down to quarterly reports

Both Drew and Catherine agree that you can’t begin to measure your non-profit’s success if you don’t use a brand tracking study. Even Feeding America, the 3rd largest non-profit in the United States, couldn’t measure their level of brand awareness without using a study – one that gave them valuable feedback into their brand and messaging. Catherine and her marketing team discovered that across a 2 year period, Feeding America’s level of brand awareness and passion for solving hunger went up from 24% to 51%.

Catherine explains that measuring the impact of a campaign often doesn’t occur after just a few months – solving an issue like hunger can take a decade or more for progress to be made. She outlines how to maintain support from your CEO and more on this episode.

Key pieces of advice for CMOs in non-profits

There are a few key takeaways from this episode that every CMO should hear. Catherine explains that in order for marketing for non-profits to be effective, CMOs need to be 100% clear on who the organization is and what it stands for. Then, you must execute in a way that people understand – avoid academia-type language that isn’t easily understood. Finally, you cannot assume that people believe in the same ideals as you do. By speaking with a single, focused, and passionate voice, you can find success in your marketing efforts.

If you visit the Feeding America website and donate now (tag Renegade Thinkers Unite,) the Renegade Team will match up to $250 in gifts from listeners. What a Renegade way to make a difference today in the lives of fellow Americans. #SharingIsCaring

Timeline

  • [0:30] Having a foundation in classical marketing strategies allows Catherine to flourish
  • [13:01] Feeding America and its place in the American non-profit industry
  • [17:55] Catherine works to capture individual stories – because people can’t ignore a person’s story of hunger
  • [20:47] Catherine’s proudest marketing moment at Feeding America
  • [24:45] The biggest differences being a CMO for a non-profit vs. for-profit organization
  • [32:38] Bridging the gap between brand awareness and unawareness
  • [35:43] 2 do’s and 1 don’t for CMOs of non-profit organizations

Connect With Catherine:

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Drew

The Role of a CMO in the Future of Marketing Leadership

Posted on by admin

Few professionals are as knowledgeable about marketing leadership and the CMO’s role as Greg Welch. A senior partner at Spencer Stuart, one of the world’s foremost leadership consulting firms, Greg helps to connect companies with the right fitting CMOs. He’s witnessed firsthand how, when leadership is done right, a CMO can be his or her team’s biggest cheerleader and source of inspiration.

Greg has worked with the leadership of dozens of large corporations, including Walmart, Facebook, and Dunkin’ Donuts. Greg believes that the intangibles of an extraordinary leader can transform a good CMO into a great one, but developing those skills takes work. On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew and Greg discuss what aspiring professionals need to know to be successful in marketing leadership, as well as concrete advice for CMOs striving for that CEO desk. Greg also shares why you should surround yourself with a group of supporters and mentors to develop your personal marketing leadership style.

    You’ll be inspired by Greg’s advice – be sure to listen here.

                   Subscribe on Apple Podcasts – Stitcher – or Podsearch

What You’ll Learn

Greg is seeing a new breed of CMOs emerge, and they have these qualities

Throughout his 20 years of executive search experience, Greg has discovered that the best marketing leaders possess a few main qualities, including:

  • The ability to understand both the brand and data sides of a business
  • An intense sense of curiosity
  • An ambition to be a great listener
  • Capable of building and maintaining support with others

CMOs need to be smart, aggressive individuals. Greg believes they need to have the ability to know the basics behind building quality, sustainable brands, as well as motivate and inspire others.

Marketing leadership is all about building and maintaining relationships

Greg says, “You can’t manage your marketing team with the door closed.” Meaning, a person in marketing leadership can’t exist as a silo – every leader should rely on their team in order to achieve the greatest amount of success. That’s why stellar leaders intensely focus on building and maintaining strong relationships with others. Mentors, peers, subordinates, and even your competition are all invaluable connections a great CMO needs to invest in. Being authentic, transparent, and honest will go a long way towards fostering strong relationships with those who will help you in life and work.

The role of the CMO is always shifting – here’s how to continually succeed

Drew and Greg both believe that the role of the CMO in business is never stagnant. The best CMOs are seeking to learn and understand more about the business they’re in – even if they have no desire to end up in the CEO spot. Greg explains that the top priority should be keeping your team satisfied and engaged, no matter what else you may be focusing on in your marketing leadership role. Looking towards the future, Greg predicts that a focus on eCommerce strategies will help you stay on the cutting edge of a career as a CMO.

Timeline

  • [0:29] Greg’s Renegade Rapid Fire segment
  • [6:50] It’s a new day in marketing and marketing leadership
  • [12:40] You can’t manage the marketing team with the door closed
  • [23:39] The ever-expanding role of the CMO
  • [33:10] Greg’s take on the ultimate CMO of the future

Connect With Greg:

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Drew

Using Review Websites as Your New Lead Generation Strategy

Posted on by admin

As a CMO, sometimes nothing seems worse than your business receiving scrutiny on a review site. But don’t review site pages with only stellar, positive reviews also seem suspicious? The reality is that even negative reviews serve an absolutely vital role in how authentic and genuine your business comes across to potential customers. Not only can they create a well-rounded story around your brand, but review sites can even be a  major lead generation source. Now that sounds like a strategy that every marketer should take into account!

From her experience as GM of Capterra, a leading online review platform, Claire Alexander shares her expertise in everything from lead generation to turning a bad review into a marketing win. Claire drives everything she does at Capterra with the motto, “Do the right thing and the right results will follow.” Throughout this episode, you’ll learn Claire’s advice on how you can best engage with your audience on review sites and optimize every dollar of your marketing budget to get the best results.

Listen here to catch the full story about this new form of word of mouth marketing.

                               Subscribe on Apple Podcasts – Stitcher – or Podsearch

What You’ll Learn

Why are review websites so important to your business?

Everyone knows that word of mouth marketing is the best form of marketing. For modern businesses, this type of marketing can be found digitally through review sites. Buyers are starting their purchase journeys online, and resources such as Capterra allow them to evaluate their needs and compare software programs. Buyers take online reviews very seriously, and the way your company responds to reviews describes a lot about your company’s leadership, culture, customer care, and products.

Using review websites as a lead generation strategy can work wonders for your business

One avenue for success that many CMOs aren’t aware of is the ability to combine a lead generation strategy with review sites. For example, if a buyer can find a highly-searched for review site on Google, then find your business on the review site, you can use that site’s organic traffic to drive leads to your site. Potential buyers that click through a review site onto your web pages can be captured as buyers with a higher level of interest than those who simply stumbled upon your site by accident.

Claire’s best advice for handling reviews left on your business, products, and services

Review sites can not only serve as a great lead generation strategy, but they can also be a new avenue for connecting with your audience. Drew explains that there are 2 facts in modern marketing: reviews will be given and therefore, you must seek to provide the best customer experience you can. Claire outlines a few key steps to follow when monitoring reviews:

  1. Decide which review sites matter to you (consider the ones with the highest volume of traffic)
  2. Monitor review (just as you would comments on social platforms)
  3. Invite people into the conversation
  4. Incorporate review collection into your closing/follow up process
  5. Graciously embrace the negative reviews (but closely monitor for incorrect or bot-driven reviews)

Claire’s #1 key to success for using review sites as a lead generation tool is to allow and encourage both positive and negative reviews. Having a mix increases your buyer’s trust with your company, and results in higher conversion rates for your products/services. Interacting with customer reviews isn’t always simple and easy, but it is 100% worth it.

Timeline

  • [0:30] Claire shares how she became involved at Capterra
  • [9:09] Claire’s biggest challenges as she transitioned from marketing to GM
  • [13:22] Your biggest outcomes come from having great processes
  • [19:54] Why are review sites so important?
  • [26:39] Claire’s best advice for approaching reviews left on your services and products
  • [32:30] Using review sites as a lead generation tool
  • [35:53] The best way to optimize your marketing dollars spent on review sites
  • [47:25] 2 do’s and 1 don’t for review site marketing strategies

Connect With Claire:

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Drew

Advice for CMOs in Their First 100 Days

Posted on by admin

Joining a company as the new chief marketing officer can be an intimidating affair. There are new team members to meet, historical strategies to digest, and an overwhelming pressure to make an impact early in your tenure. With the rest of the C-Suite reminding you of the needs to generate demand and to calculate ROI on every expenditure, it is easy to find yourself being pulled in multiple directions and forced into “ready, fire, aim” mode. Luckily, Paige O’Neill is here to help on this special episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite.

As the new CMO of Sitecore, an integrated CMS, and e-commerce solution, Paige is an expert at handling new roles in marketing departments, having been through the process on multiple occasions. Dubbing herself as the chief marketing “synthesizer,” Paige has a knack for synthesizing all the information that is thrown her way and gaining a quick understanding of the company’s goals and priorities. Having worked as a CMO for large companies as well as start-ups she continues to add to her extensive toolkit, taking away something new from each experience. Listen carefully as Paige details the critical steps every new CMO should take to ensure they too get off to a successful start.

Click here to listen and learn how to navigate your first 100 days.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts – Stitcher – or Podsearch

What You’ll Learn

Don’t be afraid to ask big questions during your first 30 days

When Paige stepped into her new role as CMO, she understood the importance of asking the right questions within the first 30 days. Recognizing the key stakeholders within the company is one of the biggest objectives you should have as a new chief marketing officer.

You also have to “become a synthesizer” of all of the information being thrown your way. Understanding the company’s current priorities, current team roles, and workflow processes are all important to understand soon after joining the company. The sooner you ask these big questions and understand the answers, the faster you’ll be able to start actually marketing and leading your team.

Here’s how to approach your new marketing team

Being hired as a new CMO means being paired with a brand new team of marketing employees. Or, you’ll be tasked with hiring your own new team. Paige outlines a few key questions that can help you navigate this complex process:

  • What are the strategic goals of the company?
  • How is the marketing team going to contribute to that growth?
  • What’s holding the company back from the current objectives?
  • What vacancies and gaps are there in the current team?

She encourages new CMOs to “be your own best case scenario” and to not let distractions get in the way of securing a great team. If you take the time to build solid relationships with your coworkers early on, the rest of your first 100 days will go much smoother.

Consider Paige’s best advice for your first 100 days as a new Chief Marketing Officer

During your first 100 days as a new CMO, Paige explains that you will have to embrace and lean into the difficult conversations. On this episode, she shares a list of things that are important to work on during the first 3 months in a new role:

  • Build key relationships
  • Learn the business
  • Shore up the team and prioritize hiring
  • Figure out the quick wins that buy you time for longer-term projects
  • Prioritization goal alignment
  • Articulate a vision
  • Be mindful of how you’re spending your time – don’t be afraid to say no

By keeping these areas in mind as you work in a new company, your first 100 days as a new chief marketing officer are sure to be successful.

Timeline

  • [0:28] Paige is here to help CMOs understand steps to take in their first 100 days
  • [2:54] Paige’s Renegade Rapid Fire segment
  • [13:33] Don’t be afraid to ask big questions in your first 30 days
  • [17:55] How do you ensure your observations are true?
  • [19:40] How long should you take to make your first sets of decisions?
  • [25:37] Here’s how Paige approaches a new marketing team
  • [34:09] This advice is key for the first 100 days in a new CMO role

Connect With Paige:

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Drew

Build a Better Brand Narrative and Create Apps People Actually Want to Use

Posted on by admin

Becoming a great B2B company starts with one thing: creating a better brand narrative. The story you tell about your brand is the driving force behind every action your team takes. An influential brand narrative inspires quality product design and links every team member to your common values and goals.

Throughout this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, Drew and Barry discuss why marketers need to go out and be the face of the company through making sales and speaking with customers. Barry also shares his best tips for creating apps people ACTUALLY want to use. You can learn from his clear insights that break down app design into a few easy ideas.

Click here to learn how to create the brand narrative you’ve always wanted.

What You’ll Learn

Professionals should do these 3 things in the B2B marketing industry

B2B marketers do more than create content to be shared. The best professionals break out of the marketing mold regularly and become salespersons for the day. By going out and talking to prospects, understanding their problems, and making sales they are better equipped to create campaigns that target the heart of a prospect.

Barry explains that marketing professionals should also do these 3 main tasks in order to best serve the company:

  1. Develop the “why change” and “why change now” stories
  2. Express and condense the brand narrative into 2-3 sentences that can be repeated by every team member
  3. Create authentic content that backs up the brand narrative

Here’s how to build a better brand narrative for your company

Drafting a better brand narrative goes beyond restating the company’s mission. A truly great narrative paints a picture to the customer that resonates deeply with their problems and need for solutions. Writing a better brand narrative becomes a process of deconstructing and reconstructing your company’s mission, values, core principles, and positioning. Barry explains this process in full detail on this episode. It’s not an easy road, but it’s one that 100% worth it.

Your app shouldn’t be just a mobile website – give it a job to do and problem to solve

Barry explains the 3 main types of apps: those used to waste time, those used to connect people together, and those used to save time. The entire idea behind productivity-based apps is to minimize the amount of time a user spends on the app itself. If you understand the fundamental reason behind WHY people need your app, you can use those insights to design a better, more efficient user experience. And remember, not everything should be about marketing within your app!

To hear more about why user-first app design is so important, and even more details behind authentic brand narratives, be sure to give this episode your full attention.

Timeline

  • [1:20] Barry’s Renegade Rapid Fire segment, and why marketers need to become salespeople
  • [15:20] Could machines take over a creative marketer’s job?
  • [18:35] Constructing a great narrative for your company
  • [25:57] Professionals do these 3 things in the B2B marketing industry
  • [32:40] Barry’s best advice for creating apps that people ACTUALLY want to use
  • [38:42] Barry’s #1 tip for designing great apps

Connect With Barry:

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Drew

Race Cars on a Cruise Ship? Surprises Abound in Travel Marketing

Posted on by admin

Norwegian Cruise Line is a leader in the travel industry and an expert in product launch marketing. Their CMO and Senior VP, Meg Lee, is Drew’s guest for this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite. Tune in as Meg and Drew talk marketing over a glass of champagne aboard Norwegian’s Bliss ship in NYC.

On this episode, Meg shares her tips on how to handle product launch marketing and the benefits of having diverse channels of marketing. She touches on how she sells fun, whether it’s through the authentic, smoked Texas BBQ (prepared off-ship!), or the electric race car track available to guests on the ship. Overall, she talks through how she completes her main job: filling 16 huge ships with excited travelers. 

Click here to listen to this entertaining and educational episode.

What You’ll Learn

Use a variety of marketing strategies when launching a product

Meg and her team at Norwegian Cruise Line recognize the importance of using many different marketing channels when preparing to launch a new ship. Using social, video, print, and word of mouth platforms allow the Norwegian brand to reach as many people as possible. It’s always important to curate and organize the content you’re developing so that the right message can be shared at the right time.

Relationships can be your best marketing strategies

In the travel industry, the best resource available for product launch marketing is travel agencies. The relationships Meg has built with travel agents are invaluable and offer an unparalleled level of expertise and knowledge to potential customers. Forming relationships in your own industry like these should be a top priority.

The benefits of using creative product launch marketing strategies

By using creative marketing for your B2B or B2C business, you can stand out from the competition. Creative ideas make your brand memorable and allow you to go deeper into storytelling mode. Without creative storytelling, you’re just sharing data and facts. Meg also urges marketers to never let fear be a driver of their decisions.

Timeline

  • [1:04] Meg’s Renegade Rapid Fire segment
  • [6:35] The customer journey for Norwegian Cruise Lines
  • [9:52] Why differentiation matters for Norwegian Cruise Line
  • [12:47] How the Norwegian brand leverages word of mouth marketing
  • [14:15] The challenges of marketing and selling a brand new cruise ship
  • [22:17] The role of B2B marketing in the travel industry
  • [27:55] How Norwegian Cruise Line utilizes video marketing strategies
  • [31:09] Meg’s “two do’s and a don’t” for marketers

Connect With Meg:

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Drew