Actionable Marketing Podcast

Consumer behavior is always changing. Even with COVID-19 affecting people's lives and how businesses operate, it will never be the same. How can businesses better serve customers by staying ahead of changes and trends? Data.

Today's guest is Jonathan Silver from Affinity Solutions, a data intelligence platform with access to consumer data. Jonathan talks about how businesses need to collect data, know how to interpret that data, and turn it into action to succeed.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Affinity Solutions: Access to unique data around people's purchasing habits
• Permission and Participation: Banks provide businesses with consumer data
• Business Benefits: Use data to build relationships and grow, retain market share
• Consumer Benefits: Use data to improve people's lives to get what they want
• Shifts: COVID changes behavior with price sensitivity, personalized experiences
• Trends: Parallel reality where physical environments change with technologies
• Predictions: Colder weather will spike COVID cases, continue habit to buy online
• Data Types: Understand and adapt to consumer behavior with purchasing info
• Regulatory and Privacy Trends: Personal data cloud and operating system
• Survive and Thrive: Expand to include external data to redefine competition
• Insight into Action: Distinguishes successful businesses and drives returns
• Data Platform: Artificial intelligence/machine learning make directed decisions
• Downward to Upward: Use data-driven tools, dashboards during difficult times

Links:

• Jonathan Silver on LinkedIn
• Affinity Solutions
• Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes by Jonathan Silver:

"We have a ton of unique data around people's purchasing habits."

"Businesses build deeper relationships with consumers, with their customers and prospects, so that they can grow and retain their market share."

"(Parallel reality and personalized experiences) where physical environments are changing with these different technologies is going to become a norm."

"The best predictor of future purchase behavior is what you've done in the past."

Two things are true about marketing—saturation across digital channels makes it difficult to be different and using direct mail is a unique option to reach customers at home where they are spending most of their time these days.

Today's guest is Nick Runyon from PFL. The software company makes tools that help marketers bridge the gap between digital and direct mail marketing using Tactile Marketing Automation (TMA). Go beyond the send!

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• PFL: Orchestrates digital difference between TMA and direct mail marketing
• Pandemic vs. Marketing Plans: Collectively, society remains pessimistic, fearful
• Consumption and Conversion: Cut through digital clutter for direct mail comfort
• CRM Mishaps: Direct mail data mashed together from multiple people, places
• TMA: Enables direct mail to be triggered to send based on digital intent signals
• Getting Started:
  • What's the overall experience that you want to deliver?
  • What business objectives do you want to move with that experience?
• Sales Process Sequence: Experience value proposition via opt-in engagement
• Bottom Line: Direct mail is popular right now but more expensive without TMA
• Advanced Tactics: Accelerate value with TMA software through PFL

Links:

• Nick Runyon on LinkedIn
• PFL
• AMP 205: Cutting Through the Noise By Integrating Direct Mail With Digital Marketing With Ryan Cote From Ballantine
• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes by Nick Runyon:

"When I think about direct mail and I think about Tactile Marketing Automation, the difference between those two is that we've taken direct mail into really the digital environment."

"Tactile Marketing Automation is really the orchestration of an overall multichannel customer journey."

"One of the challenges that marketers are facing now with this increase in digital consumption is really cutting through the clutter and making an impact and gaining a moment of attention from our customers and our prospects."

"Reasons why direct mail is overall resurging: It's comfortable, it's familiar, it also monopolizes my attention whenever direct mail is in my hand."

Marketers have access to more data than ever before that enables them to offer better customer experiences—if they make use of that data. Don't struggle to find and apply the right information.

Today's guest is Michael Loban, Chief Growth Officer at InfoTrust. Also, Michael is the co-author of Crawl, Walk, Run, a new book on advancing marketing analytics maturity. He describes how to level up your analytics progress with consistent practice.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Crawl, Walk, Run: How organizations progress through digital analytics maturity
• Target Audience: Every marketer with every level of analytics experience
• Three Industries: Direct-to-consumer, consumer packaged goods, news/media
• Marketers, Pay Attention: Change is inevitable, but progress is optional
• Missing Skills: Being data driven makes some marketers fail to be successful
• Google Marketing Platform: Helps marketing teams keep pace with changes
• Google Optimize: Test hypothesis by reviewing analytics to improve experience
• Data-driven Daily Practices: Marketers need to change or adapt to be effective
• Metrics: Maximize data to generate greatest ROI/revenue for business

Links:

• InfoTrust
• Crawl, Walk, Run by Michael Loban
• Michael Loban on LinkedIn
• Google Marketing Platform
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes by Michael Loban:

"The idea of Crawl, Walk, Run is to demonstrate how organizations tend to progress through certain subject matter."

"Just like with data, if you know what you are looking for, you will find some help in this book."

"Change is inevitable, but progress is optional."

Research shows that 73% of consumers expect brands to personalize and tailor online experiences to meet their needs. It feels weird when websites don't give people what they want and expect. Personalization matters for your business, even in difficult times.

Today's guest is Amey Shivapurkar, an experienced optimization SME at Avionos. Amey helps clients create data-driven experiences that deliver business outcomes. He talks about how personalization isn't always easy, but worth considering for marketers to maximize CRO, create meaningful results, and drive user experiences.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Personalization: Relevant products, services, content based on previous visits
• Key Investment Benefits: Improves customer loyalty, engagement, vanity metrics
• Steps to Start: Crawl, walk, and run to get to end product
  • Define measurement framework that tracks customer's journey
  • Identify best opportunities/skills for personalization to improve bottom line
  • Experiment and iterate personalization to build and grow business
• Best Practices: Excel personalization by solidifying available data to automate
• Complex Learning Curve: How can personalization increase conversion rates?
• Personalization Pitfalls: Know purpose/intention and provide time to run results

Links:

• Amey Shivapurkar on LinkedIn
• Avionos
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes by Amey Shivapurkar:

"Customers are really looking for brands to give an experience based off of previous interactions that they've done."

"It's really about providing the most relevant content at the right time."

"Bad experiences will lead to bad personalization."

"Personalization is one of those things where a lot of people...they think it's a nice-to-have. Personally, I think it's kind of a must."

Former professional boxer Mike Tyson wisely stated, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Unexpected blows, such as a global pandemic and recession, have marketers evaluating their strategies to learn how to change, respond, and adapt during times of crisis.

Today's guest is Tony Guarnaccia, a brand consultant, founder, and author. He knows how to turn businesses around and out of tailspins. If you don't know what you don't know about how to grow a business, you and your business will fail.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Bakery 2.0: Bounce back by studying marketing, business, and entrepreneurship
• 10-Year Journey: If you don't know, follow those that do to grow a business
• Resources, Strategies, Tools: Learn what you don't know; teach what you learn
• Right or wrong decision? Reduce marketing budget when revenue drops
• Rules to Follow:
  • Make business sustainable and maintain profitability
  • Maintain advertising spend in marketing; make cuts elsewhere
  • Expand market share due to less competition and lower acquisition costs
• Red Flags: Results that can or can't be controlled to drive growth
• Results Loop Framework:
  • What markets are you serving? Be in the right niche
  • What are your offerings? Identify products/services that create traction
  • How do you grow revenue? Create trust, value, and loyalty
• Pain Points: Problems clients experience are opportunities to sell, provide value
• Supply and Demand: Trigger events and money are available, but shift and pivot

Links:

• Tony Guarnaccia's Website
• Tony Guarnaccia on LinkedIn
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes by Tony Guarnaccia:

"You want to make sure you are sustainable.If you don't have a sustainable business and it's not profitable, then you don't have a business. You're going to go out."

"Now is the greatest time to expand your market share."

"The problems that your customers or clients are experiencing are the opportunities for you to sell."

"I'm a believer that money is always there, it just shifts."

Do you spend too much time and money creating content from scratch every time you need to publish a piece, launch a video, or ship a campaign? Create a year's worth of content in one day for a specific channel through the power of repurposing.

Today's guest is Shaina Weisinger from Repurpose House. Shaina talks about how to make the most of your time and resources, while using less effort to make your ROI go through the roof.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Purpose of Repurpose House: Help those struggling with repurposing content
• Savvy Digital Marketing Strategy: Video production at same time in same place
• Pain Points and Pieces: Changes to content takes too much time and effort
• Repurposing Content vs. Creating New Assets: Cost- and time-saving benefits
• Chasing Content: Creating content that's impossible to keep up with every day
• Content Map: Be in better place before making content and measurable results
• Where to start? Go through content that crushed it to start finding small snippets
• Cutting Corners: Avoid sacrificing quality for speed when repurposing content
• Headlines: Make them catchy and include a number whenever possible
• Data: Go with your gut, trends, and results from studies to spread the word

Links:

• Shaina Weisinger on LinkedIn
• Repurpose House
• Headliner
• HubSpot
• Infusionsoft
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes by Shaina Weisinger:

"If you can map all of that out before you sit down and make content just to make content, I think that you're in a much better place."

"You want to know what your strategy looks like and why the content you're putting up there matters."

"It's absolutely doable. If you take the time to sit down and really create the strategy, it's a no brainer. You can supplement your social media calendar with other things."

"if you have a library of content...that's how you're going to fill your calendar and you don't even have to create new content."

Email inboxes, social media feeds, and internet experiences are filled with marketing messages. However, what's old is new again in marketing. Direct mail can be an effective way to cut through the noise and grab people's attention.

Today's guest is Ryan Cote, Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine. Ryan talks about how to make the most out of direct mail by integrating it with digital strategies and tactics.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Two Things: Ballantine's transition has combined direct mail and digital marketing
• High Demand: Direct mail isn't dead, but has changed print marketing
• Mail vs. Email: Printed mail is less competitive than congested inboxes
• Print and Digital Tactics: Complement and work together for integrated campaign
• Informed Delivery. Find out from USPS what's in your physical mailbox
• Direct or Digital? Determine which makes more sense for your brand
• Direct mail is expensive, so start with something simple and cheaper
• Mailing List: Stay specific and targeted to add value and get/keep clients
• Partners: Find broker/production company to help with printing plan
• Measure ROI Impact:
  • Put trackable phone number on mail
  • Set up special landing page
  • Some mail can't be tracked
• Two Data Types: In-house and rented to create mailing lists, fix discrepancies

Links:

• Ryan Cote on LinkedIn
• Ballantine
• USPS Informed Delivery
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes:

"Print is definitely not dead. It's just changing like anything, like SEO, like any digital channel. It just changes. We've had to change with the times."

"It's usually less competitive in a mailbox. If you think about your inbox—how much email you get. Email is still very important, but it's just very congested."

"They're basically just using direct mail and digital to fully blanket their customer because you don't know where you're going to get them to respond."

"If you have the budget to do both print and digital, that's always the best-case scenario because you're getting multiple touchpoints."

Does your business rely on revenue from selling tickets for live events? To stay in business due to COVID-19, you may need to turn to other options for profits.

Today's guest is Jim McCarthy, CEO and co-founder of Goldstar. With more live shows, concerts, and other events going digital, Goldstar quickly created Stellar. Within just a few months, the new streaming and ticket platform launched to help organizations continue to make money.

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• New Normal? Pandemic shutdown forced switch from live to online events
• Stellar Solution: Learning curve to what does/doesn't work with digital events
• Live vs. Digital Events: Either, neither, all, or nothing, which will people prefer?
• Goldmine for Goldstar? Make, film, stream new forms of online entertainment
• Pros and Cons: More people and money, different expectations and experiences
• Getting Started, Going Digital:
  • Commit to quality not money to build/market product or service
  • Make thoughtful and aggressive use of assets (i.e., mailing lists)
  • Utilize existing audiences/fans plus geo target platforms
  • Promote partnerships and other distribution channels

Links:

• Jim McCarthy on LinkedIn
• Goldstar
• Stellar Tickets
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Quotes:

"This toolset, some other knowledge, and some marketing skills can really enable them to use online events to their great advantage."

"We just want everybody to be able to survive the crisis and thrive by learning how to make online events that are great."

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get out a little bit more and go have some fun."

"For every one person you successfully get in the door to enjoy the show or the event, there's 99 or maybe even 999 people who would be there if they could, if they knew about it, or if it was available to them. This is just a huge marketing opportunity."

Do you have something to say and share with others? Start a podcast, but don't sell yourself short when trying to get your dream guests on the show. It takes connections.

Today's guest is Stephanie Cox, vice president of sales and marketing at Lumavate. She hosts the company's Real Marketers Podcast and has talked to guests from the world's biggest companies. What did she do to make it happen, and how can you do the same with your own podcast?

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Lumavate: Platform enables marketers to build mobile apps without code
• Real Marketers: Authentic conversations that ask forgiveness, not permission
• Strategic Networking: Who and what you know, and who and what they know
• Podcast Launch: First few episodes feature big names to build credibility
• Timeline: Four weeks post-launch of podcast to regularly land high-profile guests
• Dream 'Guest' List: Goals to get ultimate brands/names (Google's Alex Russell)
• What's the worst that could happen? All you have to do is ask and outreach
• Missing Pieces: What stories do you want to tell and best people to tell them?
• Success Rate: Love what you do and be a passionate thought leader

Links:

• Stephanie Cox on LinkedIn
• Lumavate
• Real Marketers Podcast
• Progressive Web Apps: The Future of Mobile Web, Episode 11 with Alex Russell, Senior Staff Engineer at Google
• Progressive Web Apps: The Future of Mobile Web (Part Two), Episode 12 with Alex Russell, Senior Staff Software Engineer at Google
• Calendly
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule

Are your emails failing to reach and resonate with readers? Maybe, you're asking for too much information without offering enough value. Every time someone opens their inbox, they're flooded with people asking them to do something. What do they get in return?

Today's guest is Brendan Hufford from SEO for the Rest of Us. Brendan emailed thousands of subscribers to ask: What frustrates them the most about SEO? As promised, Brendan followed up by sending every person who replied a custom video response. Was all his hard work worth the thoughtful effort?

Some of the highlights of the show include:

• Stay in School: Transition from being a teacher to helping clients learn SEO
• Bright Idea: Utilize unique video content on what people care about
• Incentive: How to get people to reply to emails and build relationships
• Numbers Game: Subscribers in traffic are costs; make money on sales
• Timeline: About 50 videos made, each taking 10 minutes equals 500 minutes
• Replies and Responses: Quantify what it's worth by understanding content
• Primary Pain Points:
  • People are struggling, whether they're in-house or with clients
  • Begging for backlinks, whether you're on the giving or receiving end
  • Creating solid content strategy, not repurpose copycat content
• Free Time/Money: Resources are free, and there are no secrets to SEO writing
• SEO Framework: Intent, Asset, and Medium (IAM)
• SEO Roadmap: Build foundation and structure
• Value Proposition: Suffering from email fatigue, due to lack of human contact?
• Results: Immediate engagement and affinity with people on your email list

Links:

• Brendan Hufford
• SEO for the Rest of Us
• Flipped Lifestyle with Shane and Jocelyn Sams
• Miles Beckler
• Ahrefs
• Loom
• CloudApp
• SEMrush
• Podia
• Joel Klettke (Copywriter)
• Ben Sailer on LinkedIn
• CoSchedule