Customer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (episode #32)

“Marketing is no longer a creative (-only) job,” our latest guest says.

I have lived this lesson as well. I started my career as an advertising copywriter, writing print ads that appeared in newspapers like The Wall Street Journal. Yes, we got overall results, like how many times we made the phone ring.

But fast-forward to today. When I watch our free course about creating and optimizing high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/), I am struck out how granular the data about creativity is now. Which headline worked best. Which CTA. And on and on.

When I asked our guest how he used data to inform the creative process, he said he always looks to three sources:

• His team’s talent – what the marketer’s gut tells them will work best
• His customers’ opinions – from focus groups, surveys, etc.
• His customers’ behavior – while the first two inform creative directions, the ultimate data comes from A/B testing on real-world behavior

This is just one of the lessons you’ll learn from our latest guest – Julien Rio, Assistant Vice President, International Marketing, RingCentral (https://www.ringcentral.com/). Rio manages a team of 40 and a several-million-dollar budget. RingCentral is a publicly traded company with $2 billion in revenue.

Some lessons from Rio that emerged in our discussion:

• Marketing is no longer a creative (-only) job.
• Having startup experience is incredibly valuable.
• Don't set yourself strict career goals – learn how to uncover and seize opportunities.
• Take risks, fail early and learn fast.
• Share your knowledge to elevate your people.
• Marketers aren't so different from actors.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Careers: Why marketers and media professionals must never lose their wild spark (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing-careers/media-professionals-wild-spark/)

Marketing Research Chart: Does a good customer experience really affect business success? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/how-customer-experience-affects-business)

Healthcare Marketing Leadership: Build communities...not a customer list, walk your own path, take care of yourself (podcast episode #30) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare-marketing-leadership)

Advertising and Brands: Details matter, know when to quit, ...be nice (podcast episode #27) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/advertising-and-brands)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.
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