Marketer + Machine

Key Takeaways:

1. Email is not dead! Despite what you’ve heard, it email is very much alive and well. In fact, it’s at the center of most - if not all - of today’s successful omnichannel strategies. It has been and continues to be the channel that delivers the highest ROI of them all. So, as a marketer, don’t kill off your email efforts. Beyond that, don’t even settle for email status quo. It’s time for brands to lean in and invest more. Just think - if email is delivering the highest ROI of all channels and - compared to other newer and arguably sexier channels - we aren’t investing in it much, I wonder how much MORE email could do for your business if you invested in it even more?
2. And two, When you do lean into email, don’t stop there. No channel should stand alone. Email is the center of a successful omnichannel strategy. As Kath said, “Email is the backbone of the customer journey.” but you can’t deliver a truly personalized omnichannel experience on a single channel. Kath’s company is called holistic email marketing - and while they look at Email as the backbone, they look at a range of channels to reach customers in many ways throughout the journey. It’s working for her and all of her clients. How’s it working for you?
3. Are you too caught up in business as usual to take advantage of the tools and technologies available to you? The resources are all around us. We need to slow down, focus on what matters most - engaging with our customers - and work to orchestrate the strategies that will do help us create meaningful, relevant, effective experiences… and leverage the amazing technology that is out there to help us make it happen! As Kath would recommend - and I think I would agree - start with email. Learn from it and apply your learnings across other channels.

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/email-personalized-marketing-kath-pay

Key Takeaways:

1. It wasn't long ago that there was debate over IF and HOW e-commerce transactions should be secure! And now, GDPR and other initiatives and regulations have been enacted to deliver greater protection to consumers and their privacy.
2. The strategic purpose of marketing hasn't changed much: to deliver the right message at the right time and in the right place. But the methods and techniques we use to do that are changing lightning quick. Iterate, adapt and don't be afraid of change.
3. Location data is huge. It tells us so much about our customers -- where they are, possibly why they're there, and even what they intend to do next.

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/ecommerce-marketing-past-present-future-phillip-jackson

Key Takeaways:

1. AI is here today, and here to stay. It still has a long way to go, but you interact with AI every time you log in to Netflix, shop on Amazon, search on Google, or interact with friends on Facebook
2. If you’re looking to adopt AI, don’t broadly look to “bring AI into your marketing efforts.” Look at your strategy, identify areas where AI could be impactful, then look for solutions to help.
3. Don’t be intimidated of AI, and look at it as an opportunity. Humans retain control.

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/get-started-artificial-intelligence-marketing-paul-roetzer

Key Takeaways:

1. Use technology to help be better, faster, and scale. It’s not intended to replace us and it certainly shouldn’t. Only humans can deliver the empathy and relationships.
2. Marketing tactics sometimes get a bad rap — retargeting, email personalization, spam, digital advertising, and more. When the customer feels valued, these tactics work. When used incorrectly, they can be destructive.
3. You own (part of) the CX. Poor experiences can happen anywhere throughout the buyer journey. How can you improve the touch points you can control?

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/retail-relevancy-changing-digital-landscape-ted-rubin

Key Takeaways:

1. We are no longer held to the standards of our verticals, industries, or business sizes. We are all on the same scale and the bar is set by the best brands in the world.
2. Don’t sell. Help. As Jay says, “If you sell something, you make a customer today. If you help someone, you create a customer for life.”
3. Big data without understanding is useless. As Jay said, it’s not about big data or even big technology. It’s about a big understanding.

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/smart-marketing-about-help-not-hype-jay-baer

• Jay’s new book (pre-sale), Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth on creating a winning word-of-mouth strategy
• Jay’s firm, Convince & Convert
• Jay’s podcast, Social Pros
  

Key Takeaways:

1. Use qualitative data from your website search bar and chat log to glean insights, pick topics, and create content.
2. Use thank you or confirmation pages to continue the customer journey.
3. The unexpected moments of inspiration and risk-taking experiences will always be made by you and not the machine/data -- continue being human!

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/human-element-marketing-andy-crestodina

• Andy’s book, Content Chemistry

Key Takeaways:

Culture, empathy, storytelling will have a huge impact on our marketing teams and the extent to which we’re able to effectively connect with customers. Always ask:

1. What’s in it for the customers?
2. What’s in it for your colleagues?
3. What’s in it for the company?

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/the-future-of-marketing-is-culture-empathy-and-storytelling-michael-brenner-podcast

Resources and links discussed:

• Visit Michael’s blog on Marketing Insider Group.
• Learn more about Michael’s book, The Content Formula.
• Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Key Takeaways:

1. As you look to incorporate AI and automation, look for the aspects of your role that require the most time or repetition. The machine can likely take on these tasks at a faster rate and more effective clip. This will allow you to focus on other elements the machine can’t.
2. Manage the machine or it will manage you. While you may not be jumping to learn Python or go toe-to-toe on data analytics with Christopher, understand the technical capabilities available, as well as new opportunities that will emerge.
3. Even though there’s pressure for more marketers to think and work like data scientists, this isn’t realistic or necessary. Manage machines for effectiveness and accuracy, but there’s no need to comprehend the technical details of how they work or what they do underneath.

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/ai-marketing-and-predictive-analytics-christopher-penn-podcast

Resources and links discussed:

• Check out BrainTrust Insights
• Visit Christopher’s personal site and his podcast Coffee Over Marketing

Key Takeaways:

1. Is your team leveraging technology to bring your creative ideas, strategies, and content to life? Or are you looking first to your technology and what it’s capable of -- and then building strategies, campaigns, and tactics around them?
2. What secrets might you be keeping from your CIO or IT team? What’s in your tech stack that would come as a surprise to your IT team?
3. When was the last time you really took a good look at email and asked if you’re using the channel to its full potential?

Full Shownotes:

• https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/podcasts/how-technology-enables-art-of-marketing-raj-choudhury

Resources and links discussed:

• Check out Raj’s conference, EiQ: The Intelligent Email Gathering, here.
• See Raj’s personal blog, here.

On Marketer + Machine, you will get an in-depth look at the creative, strategic, and innovative ways marketing leaders from around the world are not only acquiring but also retaining customers in today’s uber-competitive marketplace.

Each weekly episode features an interview with a marketing leader, as well as their actionable insights, innovative perspectives, and predictions for the future of marketing. We’ll learn how they are bridging the gap between the marketer and the machine to deliver more personalized, meaningful, and relevant customer experiences with a focus on the human elements of marketing, not on the technology. Key themes we’ll explore include AI marketing, personalization, omnichannel, marketing automation, marketing best practices, marketing technology, customer experience, e-commerce and retail marketing, and the future of marketing.