StrategyCast

“Yes, you have the data. But you have to be able to decipher it; is there a compelling story there?”

Michelle Howard is a senior product marketing manager at Xactly. She is responsible for the go-to-market strategy for numerous products, including Xactly Insights, Xactly SimplyComp, and Xactly Objectives. She has a strong background in product marketing for software companies in the events, telecom, internet marketing, and insurance industries. Michelle is a keen observer of trends in data application, most specifically in how it can solve complex needs and identify key problems. She is an expert on the benefit of using real-time data insights to proactively identify important areas of focus, understanding the intersection of pay and performance across sales teams, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to predict sales rep attrition, and in using benchmarking data elements like tenure and pay mix to identify when your team will hit optimal sales performance.

Listen & Learn:

• How COVID has impacted the buyer mindset.
• How sales reps can control their sales cycles, spikes in performance, and avoid “the hockey stick.”
• How to use data analytics to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.
• How brands can look at their sales funnel and help their sales reps leverage AI to predict attrition.

“If you say you’re innovative and then force everyone to call your 1-800 number, then you’re not doing what you say you can do.”

Maddy Martin is the head of growth and education at Smith.ai, which provides integrated phone and web chat services for solo and small businesses, including their virtual receptionist and intake service, live website chat, and Keypad cloud phone system. She has spent the last decade growing tech startups from New York to California and has expertise in digital marketing, small business communications, lead conversion, email marketing, SEO, and event marketing.

Listen & Learn:

• How to boost your ROI with proactive follow-through.
• What customers expect from a brand’s responsiveness.
• The pros and cons of chat, text, and emails.
• How to get your marketing automation, texting, chatting, Facebook messenger, and opt-in game dialed in to effectively respond to your customers.
• How to develop a system of responsiveness.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SMITH.AI, CLICK HERE.

“Brand is in the mind of the consumer.”

Magda Houalla is the director of marketing strategy at AspireIQ, the leading influencer marketing platform empowering businesses to generate branded creative at scale. Magda plays a pivotal role in ensuring all existing and new brands using the AspireIQ platform are set up for success by aligning their needs with best practices and world-class strategy. Her guidance has helped brands such as Zevia, Freshly, Bed Bath & Beyond, L.L. Bean, and Walmart both expand their Influencer programs and increase campaign ROI.

Listen & Learn:

• What brands should consider when reaching out to macro-, micro-, and nano-influencers.
• Taking a community-first mindset.
• The worst mistake a marketer can make when dealing with an influencer.
• How to measure the results of your influencer program.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ASPIREIQ, CLICK HERE.

Aleric Heck started out on YouTube 10 years ago by building the largest app review channel on the platform, AppFind, with over 400k subscribers. He discovered the power of YouTube ads five years ago and since that time has run highly profitable campaigns for dozens of companies all over the world. Now, he helps entrepreneurs and marketers harness the power of YouTube ads to grow and scale their businesses through AdOutreach. The company has helped hundreds of clients skyrocket their leads and sales growth and to generate a collective eight figures in revenue.

Listen & Learn:

• How to target B2B decision-makers on YouTube.
• The power and profitability of YouTube.
• The hook, educate, and call-to-action: The three most important elements of a creative video and YouTube strategy to connect with your most important audiences.
• How to take a 3D approach to YouTube advertising.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ADOUTREACH, CLICK HERE.

“Feedback is a gift.”

Driven by a determination to make the world a better place, Chris Yoko is focused on helping people, and the organizations they belong to, pave the road to a more utopian world. As president and CEO of Yoko Co, he helps like-minded organizations build and champion themselves using their most powerful asset, their web presence. Throughout his career, he has worked with some of the planet’s largest brands, like Ritz Carlton, Pampers, and Living Social. Chris excels at aligning strategy and execution with goals and objectives, solving unusual problems, and helping to create a remarkable experience. His background encompasses a well-rounded mix of media, sales, marketing, and entrepreneurial experience. When Chris isn’t fearlessly leading, you’ll likely find him on the ice playing hockey, with his nose buried in a book, or playing and exploring with his incredible wife and two daughters.

Listen & Learn:

• What you can learn from negative reviews.
• Setting up systems to enable your team to ask for customer reviews.
• The social listening tools Chris recommends to monitor your brand’s online reputation.
• How a well-deployed reputation management approach can build brand ambassadors.
• Recommendations for creating a reputation management approach.
• Why reputation management starts with listening.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOKO CO, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND CHRIS YOKO ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

“Start with your existing customers – keep your contracts, see how you can be of service, see the problem areas that you can solve – and you will see organic growth.”

As founder and CEO of Industrial Strength Marketing, one of North America’s top B2B marketing agencies, James Soto brings 17+ years of experience and perspective working with iconic industrial brands, media, and trade organizations helping them address the challenges they face in this new era of disruptive business models, generational change, digital marketing transformation, and Industry 4.0. James is a three-time Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company leader, keynote speaker, and recognized contributor to Fabtech, HubSpot, Modern Machine Shop, Mashable, and LinkedIn events. He is also a prolific visionary, responsible for branding and co-producing Manufacturing Day, the largest industrial sector promotion in US history; and he is co-founder of Nashville Made, a community focused on making way for makers and manufacturers to thrive in Nashville’s urban core. He is, as he puts it, “Born industrial. Raised digital.”

Listen & Learn:

• The importance of understanding patterns in customer behavior.
• How marketers should take a “trial and learning” approach.
• How the past can inform how we approach the future.
• How to connect and empathize with the fears customers might be having during COVID.
• How marketing leaders can be of service to their teams and to their customers during times of crisis.

“It’s surprising what a machine can do just as well if not better than us.”

Neil Sahota is an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations A.I. subject matter expert, professor at UC Irvine, and globally recognized speaker and author. Neil is a founding member of the UN’s Artificial Intelligence for Social Good Committee, and author of the book, Own the A.I. Revolution, a best-seller that provides a future-forward look at A.I. Neil’s work experience spans multiple industries including healthcare, retail, travel and transportation, energy and utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media/communication, and government. Prior to his current role, he was a thought leader, consultant, and practice leader in IBM Global Business Services, where he led the sales and delivery of consulting engagements in business strategy, new product development, revenue optimization, process improvement, and business/system integration.

Listen & Learn:

• How A.I. can boost profitability and grow your business.
• Using A.I. to understand buyer behavior.
• When A.I should be deployed and when it shouldn’t.
• Using artificial intelligence can transform the customer experience.
• The key components marketers should be considering when deploying A.I. strategies.
• What agencies and big brand marketers are doing to integrate customized A.I. programs into their strategies.

“By allowing the consumer to initiate that communication, that outreach, it is so powerful because when they’ve chosen to engage, they are already interested.”

Karen Kelly is a former JWT advertising executive whose award-winning brand campaigns span from Domino’s Pizza to Rolex. In 2010, Karen launched one of Boston's most profitable photography studios from scratch, crafting the original “For Life” industry brand. She has been honored to headline national media conferences and to have co-created three sold-out Boston workshops on Sales, Branding, and The Client Experience in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Today, Karen is the CMO of Tapple, a mobile-first technology platform used to engage audiences, gather first-party data, and drive conversions at live and virtual events.

Listen & Learn:

• How to segment your audience in real-time.
• Creating conversions all along the funnel.
• How to present consumers something fun, quick, and personalized to drive an incentive.
• Why personalization is key to digital marketing.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TAPPLE, CLICK HERE.

“Targeted AI is like a laser-guided nuclear bomb.”

Casey Carroll is the founder of Action Advertising Agency, a Washington state-based firm that works with small- to medium-size businesses nationwide to double (or even triple) profits through both innovative and exclusive advertising campaigns. His passion is for conversion and sales, and he proudly goes against the norm by focusing on just two things: cost per acquisition and return on ad spend. Casey has helped dozens of clients double their monthly collections (some much more) and to turn their ineffective acquisition strategies into profit powerhouses. He is a sought out speaker and has been on numerous interviews as he helps audiences scale their business.

Listen & Learn:

• Targeted AI’s impact on revenue and profitability.
• The importance of LinkedIn in the B2B environment.
• Why it’s more important to test for avatars and the messaging-offer than for red versus green.
• The steps a brand should take to determine their correct social marketing mix.
• Attracting buyers at the right stage of the conversion funnel.
• The myths surrounding where you should be finding your audience.