Transcript
WEBVTT
1
00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:10.589
Welcome to the Bob Growth Show.
I am your host, Carlos Hidalgo,
2
00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:15.109
for the human to humans segment,
and today I have with me one of
3
00:00:15.150 --> 00:00:20.350
my favorite CMOS, Megan Eisenberg.
Welcome to the show. Thank you for
4
00:00:20.429 --> 00:00:23.379
having me. So, Megan,
I've known you for quite a while.
5
00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:28.980
I actually referenced you in my book
driving demand as one of the CMOS that
6
00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:31.660
I admire the most. I don't
know if you ever knew that, but
7
00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:36.049
I really just having, I wouldn't
say a front row seat, I would
8
00:00:36.049 --> 00:00:40.369
say kind of a midtier set to
your career, what you've done. Always
9
00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:43.490
had mad respect for what you've done, and then a couple of years ago,
10
00:00:43.530 --> 00:00:46.969
I got to see you speak at
a merit direct conference. So,
11
00:00:47.250 --> 00:00:50.560
for those who may not know you, give us a little background on who
12
00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.399
you are and what you do.
Sure. So, I currently in the
13
00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:58.759
CMO trip actions, which is in
the this is travel management space for booking
14
00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:03.349
travel and getting travel agent support prior
and I've been at trafractions for a year.
15
00:01:03.670 --> 00:01:07.870
Prior to that, I was at
MONGODB for four years as their CMO.
16
00:01:07.629 --> 00:01:12.430
Took the company public and they're still
doing quite successful even in our wild
17
00:01:12.510 --> 00:01:18.150
markets. And before that I was
the VPA Demandin at Docu signed for three
18
00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:21.500
and a half years. Excellent.
Well, thanks for that background. And,
19
00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:25.379
as you just detailed, you have
been, you know, an executive
20
00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:30.219
roles, CMO, rolls for several
organizations and seems everywhere you've gone you've had
21
00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:34.849
great success, even going back to
to doc you sign. So, as
22
00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:38.010
you look back over your career,
what has been that key to success for
23
00:01:38.090 --> 00:01:42.930
you? You know, I think
a lot of it is continual learning and
24
00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:48.599
surrounding yourself with people who are,
I think, learning and pushing you.
25
00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.680
You know, when I look back, I think about I can even go
26
00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:57.000
look at my Amazon Book purchases and
see all the different books I've read around
27
00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:02.269
marketing, around growth, around leadership, around parenting as I had children.
28
00:02:02.709 --> 00:02:06.790
You know, I think a lot
of it is we have to continue to
29
00:02:06.950 --> 00:02:12.509
learn and grow and, you know, gather experiences and you start to overtime
30
00:02:12.590 --> 00:02:16.699
get pattern recognition and make decisions faster
and you can lead and you learn to
31
00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:20.900
be a better leader and you might
you know, I try to model people
32
00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:23.620
that I think are doing a great
job at leading and then learn from those
33
00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:27.139
that I think could do better.
And so I think that's contributed to it
34
00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:30.650
and then just, you know,
fostering a team culture and and having a
35
00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:36.729
team that just loves to go do
marketing really yeah, that is fun when
36
00:02:36.770 --> 00:02:40.289
you are I've had that experience,
especially when I was client side with people
37
00:02:40.330 --> 00:02:46.520
who really do love the marketing trade
in the marketing discipline, and it makes
38
00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:49.879
come into work so much better.
Yes, I think the other thing is
39
00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:53.800
I've always had a belief that sales
is your can't you know your partner and
40
00:02:53.879 --> 00:02:59.389
your internal customer? And so when
you're in B tob really focusing on what
41
00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:02.949
they need to be successful, matters
a ton. Yeah, absolutely, and
42
00:03:04.069 --> 00:03:07.750
I love the words you just use, the partner ship, and I do
43
00:03:07.909 --> 00:03:12.979
believe marketing and sales have to collaborate
in a real unified fashion. And so
44
00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:16.500
I would assume, which is always
dangerous, but I would assume that you're
45
00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:21.379
not a big fan of the whole
term throw it over the fence and definitely
46
00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:25.139
not. I hear so many marketers
still use that and I'm like, please
47
00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:30.370
stop using that. Well, thanks
for that background and I appreciate your kind
48
00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:35.330
of opening up and I love the
fact that you are talking about continual learning.
49
00:03:35.370 --> 00:03:38.930
I don't think we ever stopped.
No matter how long we've been doing
50
00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:42.759
this, we always have something to
learn and I think we one of the
51
00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.879
things I love about be to be
marketing and it is a pretty small community.
52
00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.120
That is there's so many great people
out there that we can continually learn
53
00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:53.159
them. So I appreciate you share
in that. You know, for those
54
00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:58.110
of you who are listening, we
are recording here on April the third,
55
00:03:58.349 --> 00:04:04.509
so we are in the height coronavirus, covid nineteen pandemic. So you know,
56
00:04:04.629 --> 00:04:09.389
Megan, I wrote a post yesterday
and Linkedin. That's that if you're
57
00:04:09.430 --> 00:04:14.979
using this as a way to sell
and market and manipulate, actually I use
58
00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:17.819
the word exploit, that you're actually
part of the problem. And that came
59
00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:24.100
directly on the heat bills of a
linkedin invite I got. That was very
60
00:04:24.139 --> 00:04:27.850
exploitative. So I was I got
my ire up a little bit. But
61
00:04:28.250 --> 00:04:30.649
you know, you and I were
just talking before we came on air kind
62
00:04:30.689 --> 00:04:33.730
of what you're doing at trip actions
and and some of the responsiveness you have
63
00:04:33.970 --> 00:04:40.360
had to take as an organization because
you are in the travel industry. WHAT
64
00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:45.240
SHOULD MARKETERS BE? How should they
approach this, because we just can't stop
65
00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.519
doing business. We have customers,
they have needs. So what would you
66
00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.589
say? And how do marketing and
sales people, how should they approach buyer
67
00:04:54.670 --> 00:04:58.870
right now? OR RATHER UNEASY?
Yeah, you know, I would start
68
00:04:59.430 --> 00:05:03.589
by saying sense of urgency matters a
lot. The market place and everything is
69
00:05:04.230 --> 00:05:09.180
has changed dramatically and probably will never
be the same. And about three weeks
70
00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:15.379
ago, as we started to realize
everything changing quickly, especially in our world
71
00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:17.899
where, you know, we had
to build new product for our travel managers
72
00:05:18.100 --> 00:05:21.569
and then, you know, we
started building that maybe Friday and then over
73
00:05:21.610 --> 00:05:25.810
the weekend, from marking standpoint,
we had to prepare to launch and arm
74
00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:30.089
are, you know, all our
communications around that Monday morning, starting with
75
00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:33.410
our customers making sure they were aware
of the new product features, around is
76
00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:39.680
this travel continuity, around blacklisting certain
locations, and then there was a quick
77
00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:46.439
realization that everything about our current messaging
was wrong. We to talk about trip
78
00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.310
actions, was the best experience and
business travel and, as you can imagine,
79
00:05:50.350 --> 00:05:53.310
and it was all about the user. Well, the users are not
80
00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:56.389
having a great experience. They were
either stuck in a country or trying to
81
00:05:56.430 --> 00:05:59.750
get home or they couldn't get you
know, they were, you know,
82
00:05:59.910 --> 00:06:03.540
dealing with this dramatic change and so
we had to go through an audit all
83
00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:06.939
of our content and I bet the
company about a year in our marketing team
84
00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:10.980
group from ten to fifty, and
a lot of the growth was in product
85
00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:14.860
marketing and content. And we had
all we had rewritten the entire website.
86
00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:17.689
We had rewritten all our messaging briefs, all our nurture you know, we
87
00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:21.689
built nurture programs, twelve different nurture
streams for the different personas. We'd localized
88
00:06:21.730 --> 00:06:25.810
it. We had all this content
for our scrs, th mdrs, for
89
00:06:25.930 --> 00:06:29.930
follow up and outreach, our sales
pitch and deck. Every single one of
90
00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:33.920
those things had to be rewritten.
So we went on a three or four
91
00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:40.199
day you know, fifteen hours a
day rewriting, auditing and rewriting our content
92
00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:45.040
and changing our messaging to be more
in line with what was out there.
93
00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.189
Otherwise you come across as tone depth. We had to Redo all our social
94
00:06:47.269 --> 00:06:50.430
handles. Everything was the best experience
in business travel. We had launched a
95
00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:55.910
new product the week before called trap
actions liquid, which is a corporate card
96
00:06:56.029 --> 00:06:59.430
for travel, and it was all
about business travels never been the smooth.
97
00:06:59.829 --> 00:07:01.699
Well, business travel is not smooth
right now. So all of a sudden
98
00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:05.939
it was actually you need to deal
with business travel and spend with diligence,
99
00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:12.500
because everything is changed to cost control, cash preservation, being safe with your
100
00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:15.329
travelers, and we have all of
that as part of our product and we
101
00:07:15.449 --> 00:07:18.810
deliver that. But that wasn't what
we had led with before because the environment
102
00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:23.689
was so different. So for every
marker out there you need to figure out,
103
00:07:23.810 --> 00:07:27.730
first of all, does your product
have product market fit anymore? If
104
00:07:27.850 --> 00:07:30.519
not, work with the product team
to quickly pivot to what your customers need.
105
00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.480
Now then you need to change your
all your core messaging and then wherever
106
00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:39.800
you syndicate that or wherever you enable
your sales seemed also our CSMS. We
107
00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:43.800
had enable all of that. All
the onboarding language for new customers and travelers
108
00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.750
all had to be changed. You
need to quickly change that and your social
109
00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:49.350
media. So I would say that
was kind of the first phase that we
110
00:07:49.470 --> 00:07:54.949
went through and then we started to
realize people had so many questions around coronavirus.
111
00:07:55.509 --> 00:07:59.259
What countries were open? What did
shelter and place mean? What are
112
00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:01.540
the best policies out there? How
do I wear a mask? Do I
113
00:08:01.620 --> 00:08:03.620
not wear a mask and we thought, you know, we need to stand
114
00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:07.740
up a community because we've never had
one, and so we quickly evaluated the
115
00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:13.089
technology out there. What could we
buy an implement and then create content and
116
00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:16.209
bring the community together on within twenty
four hours? And so the team quickly
117
00:08:16.290 --> 00:08:20.769
looked at tools. We landed on
Vanilla forums. We had to go through
118
00:08:20.769 --> 00:08:22.170
procurement and legal, get it all
signed off on, then we had to
119
00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:26.250
go implement it. You have to
design the framework, then you have to
120
00:08:26.290 --> 00:08:28.319
have a content counter, then you
have to pay all your influencers and your
121
00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:33.279
customers and then start contributing content.
was very impressive. Within three or four
122
00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:37.480
days we had a thriving community of
people asking questions, even our partners and
123
00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.629
suppliers, like if you imagine airline, and people had questions around mileage and
124
00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:46.149
how that was going to happen that
no one was traveling, or hotel points,
125
00:08:46.230 --> 00:08:48.190
where am I going to lose status
and so, or how do I
126
00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:50.830
cancel or how do I get a
rebate? And there's waivers out there,
127
00:08:52.309 --> 00:08:54.549
and so all these questions were coming
up. It was very impressive to see
128
00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:58.419
the team stand up a community within
three to four days, something that I
129
00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:03.379
would probably have taken one to two
months to really think through, strategize,
130
00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:07.340
have a content plan and really be
more, you know, less urgent,
131
00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:13.370
but I think that really mattered to
bring community together. Content. You know,
132
00:09:13.450 --> 00:09:16.009
we pivoted the type of content.
But you know, our budgets are
133
00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:20.169
all getting slashed, so you're you
know, you'd like to think, okay,
134
00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:22.370
well, the world's change. We're
not doing events, so you know
135
00:09:22.409 --> 00:09:26.600
that gets cut right away, and
field marketing dinners. You can't do those,
136
00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.519
so that gets cut right away.
You can't really do direct mail.
137
00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:31.600
Everyone's at home, so that gets
cut. What are people doing? Well,
138
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:37.320
they're reading. There there on social
more than ever before because they feel
139
00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.110
isolated and they're trying to figure out
real time what's happening in the world.
140
00:09:39.110 --> 00:09:43.350
So I've there's more people on twitter, there's more people on facebook trying to
141
00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:46.269
make connections. So that we thought
about that a lot. Content. You
142
00:09:46.350 --> 00:09:50.230
know, there's definitely a week or
two where people are adjusting and working from
143
00:09:50.230 --> 00:09:52.549
home. So they're not. You
know, I think most people have seen
144
00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:56.220
their website traffic decline because probably people
are adjusting. There's a lot of layoffs
145
00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:01.419
going on, so all of that
is impacting what's going on there and what
146
00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:05.820
really matters and how they prioritize what
they need to do and their daytoday to
147
00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:09.690
adjust to the new reality. So
we thought a lot about content, with
148
00:10:09.250 --> 00:10:13.090
a lot about social as well,
and where we were, you know,
149
00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:18.169
where it made sense to spend money
and not, and we obviously had a
150
00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:22.240
lot less of it. Yeah,
and you know, if I could boil
151
00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:24.960
it down, and you use the
word a couple of times, community,
152
00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:28.440
it sounds like you guys responded and
said, what is the best way we
153
00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:33.519
can be human in our communication?
Yes, our customer. And what do?
154
00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:37.710
What do people need? Another thing
we stood up that has gotten pretty
155
00:10:37.710 --> 00:10:41.710
good tractions. We realize we were
feeling disconnected. We had, you know,
156
00:10:43.149 --> 00:10:46.190
team, our team was separated.
We're separating from families. My father
157
00:10:46.509 --> 00:10:50.379
can't go out. He's, you
know, in his s and need someone
158
00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:52.340
shot for him. But he's a
very social person that was used to go,
159
00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:56.100
you know, very mobile and social, and now he's, you know,
160
00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:58.899
at home, worried, an uncertain. It's like, how do we
161
00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:01.500
connect and we and how do we
also stay true to who we are?
162
00:11:01.779 --> 00:11:05.210
And we came up with this thing
called past the plane and we created a
163
00:11:05.289 --> 00:11:09.409
group on facebook and we started started
within the company first, where we created
164
00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:13.529
airplane vert you know, and we
recorded on our phones and we threw it
165
00:11:13.649 --> 00:11:16.730
to someone and then we tag them
in it and then they threw it and
166
00:11:16.769 --> 00:11:22.039
then we started to put the videos
together and on Sunday I Ping my dad
167
00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:24.919
and I said, Hey, create
a paper airplane for me and record it
168
00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.559
and then send it, and he
totally got into it and then he tagged
169
00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:31.240
my nephew and Albuquerque and my nephew
did a video and it was just it
170
00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.070
was this moment of connect acting while
we're apart, and this moment like even
171
00:11:35.110 --> 00:11:39.470
my kids have three kids. They
had so much fun for over an hour
172
00:11:39.629 --> 00:11:43.429
they were making airplanes and throwing them
around the yard, and so it was
173
00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:46.350
just like this relief. Like these
horrible thing you're happening in the world,
174
00:11:46.389 --> 00:11:50.019
but on some level almost everyone has
paper or bill that they're not going to
175
00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:54.700
pay right so fold that up and
decorate it and throw it, and so
176
00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:58.899
that's kind of been uplifting for us
a little bit to be connected some way,
177
00:11:58.940 --> 00:12:03.490
even in this tragedy of what's happening
in travel right now. So I
178
00:12:03.529 --> 00:12:05.610
don't know if you can find some
way that something that matters to your company
179
00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:11.169
and then matters to your your customers. I think now's the time to do
180
00:12:11.330 --> 00:12:16.080
those kind of things, to to
have a brand that cares and is empathetic
181
00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:22.519
and is not tone death. Right. Hey, everybody logan with sweet fish
182
00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:26.720
here. You probably already know that
we think you should start a podcast if
183
00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.269
you haven't already. But what if
you have and you're asking these kinds of
184
00:12:30.309 --> 00:12:35.309
questions? How much has our podcast
impacted revenue this year? How's our sales
185
00:12:35.389 --> 00:12:39.269
team actually leveraging the PODCAST content?
If you can't answer these questions, you're
186
00:12:39.269 --> 00:12:43.700
actually not alone. This is why
I cast it created the very first content
187
00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:50.700
marketing platform made specifically for be Tobe
podcasting. Now you can more easily search
188
00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:56.580
and share your audio content while getting
greater visibility into the impact of your podcast.
189
00:12:56.019 --> 00:13:01.850
The marketing teams at drift terminus and
here at sweet fish have started using
190
00:13:01.970 --> 00:13:05.250
casted to get more value out of
our podcasts, and you probably can to.
191
00:13:05.889 --> 00:13:11.450
You can check out the product in
action and casted dot US growth.
192
00:13:11.850 --> 00:13:18.399
That's sea St Ed dot US growth. All right, let's get back to
193
00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:24.879
the show. You know. So
it gets me thinking, because you know
194
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:30.149
you and I've been done this probably
longer than we care to admit in terms
195
00:13:30.149 --> 00:13:33.629
of of B Tob Marketing, and
you know, you see so much content
196
00:13:33.750 --> 00:13:39.269
being created year over year. You
just I appreciate you going into the detail
197
00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:41.779
you did because the first of all, I don't know if you or your
198
00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:45.740
team have slept in the last two
weeks, but I hope you get caught
199
00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:50.419
up on that. But you guys
really just mobilized to create and pivot on
200
00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:56.129
a dime with your content. But
I continue to just seek content from B
201
00:13:56.250 --> 00:14:03.529
tob brands that is sterile, it's
not interesting, it is void, devoid
202
00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:07.409
of any kind of human element.
But you just described how, in a
203
00:14:07.450 --> 00:14:11.639
very short period of time and response
to Covid that you actually did make it
204
00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:16.440
humans. So where's the disconnect with
these brands and with marketers who are just
205
00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:22.279
producing really just horrible content, because
even in B tob we're selling to people,
206
00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:28.029
we're selling to human beings. So
you know, I as you've kind
207
00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.269
of gone through, what's that missing
element and why are more doing it?
208
00:14:31.669 --> 00:14:33.509
Yeah, I think it's a couple
thing. One, I think it's shut
209
00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:37.750
some are in shock and some are
in denial and some are in automation.
210
00:14:37.309 --> 00:14:41.019
So if people have stuff automated and
they don't realize it and they haven't gone
211
00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:43.740
through and audited the content that's going
out, they're going to be in trouble.
212
00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:48.700
The ones that are in denial are
you know, they probably are.
213
00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:52.779
You know, probably won't have much
of a business left or won't have you
214
00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:54.450
know, they may be laid off
soon, I don't know. You know,
215
00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:58.850
we went into wartime mode immediately.
You know, we certainly are fortunate
216
00:14:58.889 --> 00:15:03.049
with our leadership team and our board. They've gone through recessions and downturns.
217
00:15:03.169 --> 00:15:07.679
You know, there's a really good
book, the hard thing about hard things,
218
00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:09.399
by Ben Horowitz, and I read
it about a year ago and it
219
00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:15.039
talks about being a wartime CEO and
what they went through to survive. And
220
00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.320
I think right now every company needs
to get in that mode. Even if
221
00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:24.110
you saw a spike because you have
a certain technology that's useful for remote work
222
00:15:24.149 --> 00:15:28.990
or, you know, digital transformation, if more and more businesses go out
223
00:15:28.110 --> 00:15:31.309
of business because they run out of
cash, you know, when we've seen
224
00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:35.779
recessions and downturns, you'll see eighty
percent of startups will go bankrupt. And
225
00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:41.659
so if your leadership team is not
doing cash preservation and doing what they need
226
00:15:41.659 --> 00:15:46.100
to protect the core, it'll end
up everyone losing their jobs because the entire
227
00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:48.779
company will go out of business.
And at from a marketing standpoint, if
228
00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:52.649
you have not figured out how to
drive revenue and your cost center, you
229
00:15:52.929 --> 00:15:56.809
are gone. Right. You can't
afford to be a cost center. You
230
00:15:56.889 --> 00:16:00.409
need to figure out how you're enabling
your sales team and your CSM team to
231
00:16:00.490 --> 00:16:03.759
keep customers right now so that you
have revenue coming in, that you have
232
00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:07.360
a future business, that you can
get back to business and your CFO and
233
00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:11.559
your finance team are working on how
you preserve cash and modeling out your runway
234
00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:17.360
on that. And so I you
know, marketers need to quickly adapt or
235
00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.710
they're going to die. Right.
It's just I think of it and I
236
00:16:19.870 --> 00:16:23.350
think you know business travel got hit
first, but text getting hit next.
237
00:16:23.669 --> 00:16:27.149
You know, there's tons of tech
companies right now that are laying off because
238
00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:30.669
right now all the CFOs are ranking
all the cont you know, all their
239
00:16:32.629 --> 00:16:34.620
all the technology and software they have, and they're saying, do we need
240
00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:37.460
this? Do we need that?
Do we need this? Why do you
241
00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:41.179
have this? Is this matter anymore? And you're going to start to see
242
00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:44.860
that impact your renewals and maybe they'll
be a delay and SASS because of the
243
00:16:44.940 --> 00:16:48.570
model and how it works. But
if we can't figure out how to pull
244
00:16:48.730 --> 00:16:52.289
ourselves out of the you know,
we have a health crisis and a financial
245
00:16:52.409 --> 00:16:56.210
crisis, you will see this effect
across the board that were I think we're
246
00:16:56.210 --> 00:17:00.570
already starting to see. You know, you look at unemployment, was like
247
00:17:00.690 --> 00:17:03.559
ten million people in a week or
something, yea, or rooted ten million
248
00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:07.240
right like this. So yeah,
I would say for marketers and be tob
249
00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.960
marketers like focus on sales, enablement, CSM enablement and pipeline, with less
250
00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.279
money, fee, creative, find
ways to not spend money to get what
251
00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.750
get what you need. Yeah,
and you know what? I hear you
252
00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:22.549
say that I can help, but
think and again, I'm not. I
253
00:17:22.670 --> 00:17:26.150
want to be careful how I say
this because I don't want to come across
254
00:17:26.190 --> 00:17:29.069
as as an I told you so. But I know there's been a lot
255
00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:30.460
of us out there that have been
saying, Hey, guys, marketing is
256
00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:33.900
a growth engine, marketing is a
revenue engine, and we've been saying this
257
00:17:34.059 --> 00:17:40.819
for years and I think now marketers
are going, Oh, this is what
258
00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:45.849
that means. Yes, and it's
highly unfortunate, and that's putting it mildly,
259
00:17:45.970 --> 00:17:48.130
that it took this to get marketers
to kind of wake up and go
260
00:17:48.329 --> 00:17:52.890
okay, but I think you're absolutely
right, like you've got a pivot now,
261
00:17:53.690 --> 00:17:57.130
figure this stuff out now, and
what I really hope, if anything
262
00:17:57.170 --> 00:18:00.200
good can come out of this from
a business perspective, is that we do
263
00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:04.720
come out of this with marketing having
a true fresh lend and truly understanding what
264
00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.079
our goal and our mission is for
an organization. Yeah, and I think
265
00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:12.990
even more important on the driving revenue
is how you navigate your brand through this
266
00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:18.349
right and marketing own grand side and
if you're doing tone deaf stuff. And
267
00:18:18.789 --> 00:18:22.549
you know, we haven't been perfect. We've been learning this new world as
268
00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:25.309
well. But you know, as
the CMO, I have to think a
269
00:18:25.349 --> 00:18:29.859
lot about how we connect with our
customers and prospects, how we carry ourselves
270
00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:33.099
on as a brand, how we
show empathy and we provide knowledge, because
271
00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:37.859
right now people have a lot of
questions and are learning what they need to
272
00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:41.849
do. MMM. So what does
that look like internally from a cultural aspect,
273
00:18:42.130 --> 00:18:47.049
like what kind of culture? You
talked about your marketing team, which
274
00:18:47.089 --> 00:18:49.890
moves in a matter of days.
You know, what kind of culture do
275
00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:56.000
you look to to bring into develop
that kind of team? You know,
276
00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:00.759
it's interesting. It's a balance of
motivation, North Star, giving a Northstar,
277
00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:06.720
motivating and tough love, because you
you've really got to get your team.
278
00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:11.230
You can't freeze and you can't afford
not to. You've got to raise
279
00:19:11.470 --> 00:19:15.710
productivity with the team. You've got
to act fast. You know it's it
280
00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:18.029
could be exhausting, but you have
to. You have to. I think
281
00:19:18.029 --> 00:19:22.430
it's a true a true leader has
to figure out the delicate balance of driving
282
00:19:22.470 --> 00:19:26.099
and motivating your team but being very
frank and realistic with them. They need
283
00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:30.259
to understand what's at risk and you're
not fear bongering. It's like some people
284
00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:34.539
say, there's a balance for leaders
between fear and love, and it does
285
00:19:34.579 --> 00:19:37.970
a delicate balance of and when I
say fear, it's more like this is
286
00:19:38.009 --> 00:19:44.529
the realities. If we don't drive
revenue, we won't exist. And then
287
00:19:44.690 --> 00:19:48.289
this like, you know, how
can you move faster? We've been we've
288
00:19:48.329 --> 00:19:52.799
been talking a little bit about the
mindset of if there's no wind row and
289
00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:56.319
we have to row. There's no
wind out that right now. So what
290
00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.799
are we doing to row? We're
pivoting our product, we're pivoting our message,
291
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.160
we're enabling the field. were,
you know, trying to do better
292
00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:06.480
on different types of content, like
we've got a row really hard right now.
293
00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:08.069
Yeah, no, I would.
I would agree with that. I
294
00:20:08.470 --> 00:20:12.829
love that analogy. So you you
used a word that I think is really
295
00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:15.589
important and it seems to be all
the rage right now with marketers, and
296
00:20:15.630 --> 00:20:19.750
that's empathy. I know that Michael
Brenner and Brian Carroll have done a lot
297
00:20:19.789 --> 00:20:23.420
of work around that, but especially
in this day and age, we're hearing
298
00:20:23.500 --> 00:20:29.180
that word. What I'm seeing right
now is it's still a it's a really
299
00:20:29.259 --> 00:20:33.859
cool thing to talk about, but
very few brands are know how to do
300
00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:37.650
it. You've been thrust into it. Whether you're doing it before is neither
301
00:20:37.730 --> 00:20:40.289
here nor there. You've actually been
thrust into the middle of that. So
302
00:20:40.849 --> 00:20:44.329
can you tell everybody a little bit
about like how did you tap into that?
303
00:20:44.890 --> 00:20:47.690
You know, how are you putting
that in motion? And then do
304
00:20:47.809 --> 00:20:49.720
you know if any other brands that
are really doing it? Well, yeah,
305
00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:53.599
you know, I think core to
our values and even our mission,
306
00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:59.279
as we've always focused on the traveler
and the user and most of the things
307
00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:03.240
we've built in the product around you
as a traveler. What do you need?
308
00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:07.710
Travels hard enough as it is,
and so that was, in many
309
00:21:07.750 --> 00:21:10.190
ways, our north stars. What
are the what does the traveler need,
310
00:21:10.230 --> 00:21:14.750
and hence the travel manager to support
them? And and what do our customers
311
00:21:14.829 --> 00:21:18.029
need? So I think part of
empathy is really understanding your end user and
312
00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:22.660
your customers and what they really need
in that current time. And so that's,
313
00:21:22.740 --> 00:21:26.259
I think, one way we've done
it. and to just I mean
314
00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:30.539
whenever we do a program we think
about like put myself in their shoes,
315
00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:33.210
like how would I respond if I
read this? How would I respond if
316
00:21:33.250 --> 00:21:37.250
I saw this when I first saw
did it make me? Did it make
317
00:21:37.289 --> 00:21:38.450
me laugh? Did it make me
smile? Did it get my attention,
318
00:21:38.529 --> 00:21:42.289
or was there something in my that
said something's not right about this? And
319
00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:45.529
so I think part of empathy is
putting yourself in the shoes of WHO's going
320
00:21:45.529 --> 00:21:48.559
to be looking at it and reading
at it or reading it, and then
321
00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:52.000
if you have a weird gut feeling
about it, there's probably something there.
322
00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:56.920
And you know, having multiple people
look at something, everyone interprets things so
323
00:21:57.160 --> 00:22:00.990
differently they'll be one thing that I
think is amazing and great and someone will
324
00:22:00.990 --> 00:22:04.430
see it so differently and so making, you know, kind of understanding.
325
00:22:04.910 --> 00:22:08.869
It's not designed by committee, because
that doesn't work either, but it's,
326
00:22:10.109 --> 00:22:12.910
you know, testing, trying out
things in the market. Oh that didn't
327
00:22:12.950 --> 00:22:15.019
really work, pull back, pull
back, or Oh, that looks like
328
00:22:15.099 --> 00:22:18.259
it's working, double down on it. So if we're going to do that,
329
00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:23.180
then and get people to and I
agree it's not a design by committee,
330
00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:26.700
but it sounds like we also have
to check our ego at the door.
331
00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:30.569
Yes, for sure, because I
mean, I've come up yeah,
332
00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:34.690
I have an idea a minute and
probably about ninety percent of them end up
333
00:22:34.730 --> 00:22:40.049
on the cutting room floor as they
say yes, yes, I understand that.
334
00:22:41.130 --> 00:22:44.359
Well, Megan, I know you
are up against it. I truly,
335
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:45.599
from the bottom of my heart,
thank you for taking the time.
336
00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:51.000
You could have easily rescheduled, but
I really have. I've respected you for
337
00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:55.240
a very long time. I think
the first time we met you were back
338
00:22:55.279 --> 00:23:00.069
at Docu sign and I'm just always
respected of how you've approached marketing, how
339
00:23:00.190 --> 00:23:04.390
you've led teams. So it's been
fun to watch a really, really really
340
00:23:04.509 --> 00:23:07.869
just thank you for taking the time. For those who are listening who want
341
00:23:07.869 --> 00:23:12.019
to follow you or kind of clean
some of your wisdom, where can they
342
00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:17.339
find you? Yeah, on twitter
I'm at M Eisenberg, so first initial,
343
00:23:17.380 --> 00:23:21.859
last name, and then on Linkedin
same Megan Eisenberg. My name is
344
00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:23.940
spelled a little funny. I think
it's hard for people to find it at
345
00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:30.849
me Agen and then I'm also on
on facebook for those that like that channel.
346
00:23:30.890 --> 00:23:33.490
Awesome, and those will all be
in the show notes as well.
347
00:23:34.009 --> 00:23:38.970
Megan, thanks again so much.
Appreciate what you guys are doing to advance
348
00:23:40.089 --> 00:23:42.599
the cause of marketing. I wish
you all the safety and wellness in the
349
00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:47.519
world for you and your husband and
your children, and for the folks out
350
00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:49.880
there. I hope you've learned something. If you haven't, you probably need
351
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:53.240
to go back and listen to this
again. Thank you, everybody. This
352
00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:57.309
is a rap on the BB growth
show human to human segment. Thanks for
353
00:23:57.549 --> 00:24:04.990
tuning. I hate it when podcasts
incessantly ask their listeners for reviews, but
354
00:24:06.029 --> 00:24:08.750
I get why they do it,
because reviews are enormously helpful when you're trying
355
00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:12.180
to grow podcast audience. So here's
what we decided to do. If you
356
00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:15.579
leave a review, for me to
be growth in apple podcasts and email me
357
00:24:15.660 --> 00:24:19.900
a screenshot of the review to James
at Sweet Fish Mediacom. I'll send you
358
00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:23.690
a signed copy of my new book. Content based networking. How to instantly
359
00:24:23.769 --> 00:24:27.049
connect with anyone you want to know. We get a review, you get
360
00:24:27.089 --> 00:24:29.529
a free book. We both win.