Podcast appearances and mentions of tara robertson

In this episode of Blame It On Marketing, hosts Emma and Ruta explore the challenges of marketing attribution with Tara Robertson. They share their own experiences with attribution, unpack the complexities of measurement, and highlight the importance of collaboration between sales and marketing teams. The conversation tackles the messy reality of attribution, emphasizing the need to better understand how marketing influences customer journeys. Their takeaway? Embrace the imperfections—attribution is rarely straightforward.Key Takeaways:- Attribution is often oversimplified and can mislead marketing decisions.- The pressure to measure everything can stifle creativity in marketing.- Sales and marketing teams should work collaboratively towards common goals.- Understanding the customer journey is crucial for effective attribution.- Self-reported attribution can provide valuable insights into customer behavior.- Attribution tools can be helpful but should not be seen as a silver bullet.- The ideal attribution setup varies by company and should focus on key touchpoints.- Marketing should influence all types of opportunities, not just inbound leads.- Leadership expectations around attribution can be challenging to navigate.- Embracing the messiness of attribution can lead to better marketing strategies. Sponsors: No more 'shit marketing leads' with Leadfeeder by Dealfront! Extended free trial of their Lead Gen Platform for Blame it on Marketing listeners!

In this episode of the Small Business Big Insights Podcast, Eric welcomes Tara Robertson, a senior accountant at Zenbooks.  Tara shares valuable insights on business taxation, her journey in the industry, and even some tax horror stories. They discuss the critical role tax accountants play, share tips for small business owners, and address common myths about business taxes in Canada. 0:30 Introducing Tara Robertson: A Journey in Accounting 1:34 The Cyclical Nature of Tax Season 4:08 Tax Horror Stories and Lessons Learned 6:59 Saving Clients Money 10:43 Unexpected Deductions and Client Conversations 14:15 Advice for Small Business Owners 20:10 Managing Stress and Fostering Team Spirit 23:33 Future Tax Changes to Watch Out For 25:50 The Importance of Professional Help 27:10 Tara's Interests 28:31 Final Thoughts and Contact Information Tara Robertson  tara.Robertson@zenbooks.ca linkedin.com/in/tararobertsonaccountant 

Get ready to dive deep into the world of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with Tara Robertson on Generally Curious. In this no-fluff episode, Tara, a seasoned DEI consultant and strategic coach, breaks down the genuine impact of inclusive practices in today's corporate culture. Discover the under-the-hood mechanics of successful DEI initiatives and how they drive company performance. Tara will share her expert strategies for not just initiating, but actually sustaining diversity and inclusion in your workplace. Whether you're a startup founder looking to build an inclusive team from the ground up or a corporate leader aiming to revamp your company culture, Tara's insights will equip you with actionable steps and clear-cut strategies to create a more inclusive environment that benefits everyone. Tune in to transform your understanding of DEI and learn how to make it work effectively in your organization.

This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Dave hosts a marketing leadership panel with Peter Mahoney, CCO of GoTo, Tara Robertson, CMO at Bitly, and Amrita Mathur, Head of Marketing at Zapier. These marketing leaders open up about their experiences and share actionable advice to help you lead, manage, and set goals for your marketing team. Dave, Peter, Tara, and Amrita cover:Why business literacy is so important for marketing leadersHow to set goals for your marketing teamEach panelists biggest career risks — what worked, and what did notPractical frameworks for managing short-term demands while staying committed to long-term goalsTimestamps(00:00) - - Intro to Peter, Amrita, and Tara (07:04) - - One Piece of Advice for Marketing Leaders (14:32) - - How to Set Goals For Your Team (23:43) - - Framework for Short-Term vs Long-Term Pipeline Goals (26:17) - - Budgeting for Short-Term vs Long-Term Goals (28:47) - - How to Work with a Difficult Counterpart (31:10) - - Panelists' Biggest Career Risk That Worked (35:55) - - Panelists' Biggest Career Risk That Did NOT Work (38:31) - - How to Lead your Team When You're in a Leadership Rut (46:52) - - How to Navigate a New Leadership Role (50:16) - - Making Uncomfortable Decisions as a Leader (53:29) - - Does CEO = CMO? (55:12) - - When to Reconsider Your Strategy (58:37) - - Closing Remarks Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.comJoin the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***This episode of the Exit Five podcast is brought to you by our friends at Calendly. You've probably heard of Calendly. And you probably have used it to schedule meetings with people outside your company.But did you know you can also use Calendly on your website to increase conversion and create a better hand off experience with sales? Speed to lead is everything and that's why B2B marketing teams today use Calendly to convert leads the moment they're ready to talk to sales. Instead of doing the whole follow-up late dance, you can book meetings right within the forms on your website. And Calendly has the routing and integrations you need to make sure your prospects get booked with the right sales rep.Smith.ai increased their website bookings by 26% using Calendly. And Katalon, the all-in-one test automation platform, was able to increase their conversion rate 3X using Calendly.Join over 20 million users who count on Calendly to simplify meetings, save time and drive revenue revenue by removing the friction from your website. Visit calendly.com/exitfive to get started with a 14-day free trial.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

Today's guest is a thought leader with over a decade of marketing experience. They have a knack for all things including creating compelling marketing campaigns, and engaging content. Introducing Tara Robertson, the head of DemandGen at Chili Piper. They join Casey today to discuss how email lead nurturing is something companies are underutilizing. Tara also mentions LinkedIn's thought leader ads and how they can be personalized. AI isn't something people should fear, instead they should use it to save themselves time. Connect with Tara Robertson:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/ Website: https://www.chilipiper.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/taraarobertson Shoutouts:Alina (Chili Piper Co-Founder) https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinav/ Kaylee Edmundson (Previous Head of Chili Piper) https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylee-edmondson/ Ways to Tune In:Apple PodcastsAmazon Music/AudibleSpotifyStitcherGoogle PodcastsYouTubeHard Corps Marketing is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/ 

In this week's episode of Checked In, host Camille White-Stern sits down with Chili Piper's Head of Demand Generation Tara Robertson.In their conversation, they discuss:Collaborating with partners on eventsMetrics for measuring event successTools for creating invite lists and segmenting audiencesTara's number one tip for increasing attendanceTop challenges for incorporating events into demand gen strategies...and more.___________________________________________________________________If you enjoyed today's episode, let us know. Support our show by subscribing and leaving us a rating. If you want to get in touch with our team or be a guest on our show, email us at podcast@splashthat.com. We'd love to hear from you.Follow Splash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/splashthat-comLearn more about Chili Piper: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chilipiper/

Are CROs secretly just growth marketers? Maybe... but how do they work better with growth marketers? Shiva decided to understand this better by talking to marketing expert, and head of Demand Gen at Chili Piper, Tara "Ice Spice" Robertson. In this episode, we discuss some pretty tactical activities on what makes Growth Marketers tick, and what things they care about (or don't care about). In addition, we look at things that are important to them, and how CROs can work better to solve their problems and create lasting, and fruitful, relationships with demand gen marketers. Plus, Tara shares maybe the worst test idea Shiva's ever heard of. This was a banger episode. Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode 3:25 Tara's experience with CROs 11:06 Growth Marketer's perception of CROs 13:09 How to build trust with Growth Marketers 24:22 The worst test idea ever 28:33 Shit You Should Know: Emily Kramer Go follow Tara on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/) - she posts A+++ content! And go check out Emily Kramer's post: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Emily

In this episode of "Women in B2B Marketing," host Jane Serra sits down with Tara Robertson, Head of Demand Gen at Chili Piper, for a rich discussion on the intersection of brand and demand generation. Tara shares her marketing journey, emphasizing the importance of brand strength, sales alignment, and the power of collaboration for successful marketing initiatives. They explore the value of honest feedback, the role of influencers in content creation, and the challenges of traditional email nurturing. Tara also highlights Chili Piper's selective hiring process, the benefits of a global remote team, and their unique "ABM lite" strategy. Tara and Jane discuss:The importance of brand in demand generationAlignment and collaboration between marketing and sales teamsCollecting and encouraging honest feedback - even anecdotal Documenting feedback, especially for events and sponsorshipsThe shift in influencer collaboration from distribution to early involvement in content creation, with an example of successful collaborationLimitations of traditional email nurturing and the move towards retargeting on LinkedIn as a non-traditional approach'The need for diverse event locationsHiring and building a strong team at Chili PiperRemote work setup and its impact on team collaborationIntegration of account-based marketing (ABM) and demand generationEvolution of the B2B marketing landscapeAdvice for young marketers to start sharing their thoughts and ideasKey Links:Guest: Tara Robertson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/Host: Jane Serra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janeserra/

Tara Robertson's army career began at the age of 18, with the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC). Enjoying her tour of Germany and unit life, she was then posted to Northern Ireland. Aged just 22, Tara suffered a serious head and brain injury at the hands of an 800lb vehicle based IED on camp. Tara endured a difficult stint in hospital and rehabilitation process resulting in her being medically discharged due to the damage to her vision from the blast. Focusing her recovery around physical activity, Tara competed in the cycling events at the Invictus games, participated in Race Across America, and continues to inspire and help others as a Help For Heroes Ambassador. Follow This Podcast To Be Notified Of New Episodes, Visit Our Social Media Platforms & YouTube Channel For More Bonus Content, And Listen Live To Our Radio Station: Listen Live: ⁠https://www.forceradio.live/⁠ Visit Our YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@forceradiohq

On this episode of the Forget the Funnel podcast, Gia and Claire dive deep into Bitly's journey from a point-solution to a $100m ARR multi-product platform with CMO Tara Robertson. Tara shares how her team leverages customer research to supercharge the SaaS company's product-led growth.Discussed:Using Jobs-to-be-Done research at a SaaS that serves nearly limitless use-cases for customers ranging from B2C and micro-business to a Fortune 100 enterprise. The differences between your customer's “Jobs”, ICP (ideal customer profile), personas, and target audience - and how Bitly develops a nuanced view of its different customer journies to guide its strategy.Building internal alignment at a leadership level through active listening, communication, and setting shared goals. The story behind Tara's cross-functional collaboration with Product to get both teams aligned in their understanding of customers and speaking the same customer-centric language.Key Moments: [3:10] Bit.ly's growth story is evolving beyond the virality of link shortening into the world's leading connections platform, doing over 100 million in ARR.[5:00] Moving from a traditional sales model to building a product-led business and how Tara's marketing team works cross-functionally with Product, Sales, and Customer Success.[7:00] The CEO tells Tara it's time to rethink the way they do marketing. They needed a highly strategic team working in partnership with the Product team to create positioning and shared language, and that required a lot of research.[11:00] Marketing is using personas, Sales are leveraging ICPs, and the Product team is doing user research—how do you get everyone aligned to make the most significant impact across the organization, and what does it mean for the bottom line?[16:00] Finding alignment in the differences between Jobs-to-be-Done and ICP around goals for different teams.[19:26] You don't have to be pro-jobs and anti-persona or vice versa. Tara shares how the partnership between her and the Chief Product Officer was critical to ensuring the teams understood each other to avoid missing out on some “distinguished but niche audiences.[23:00] Tara shares an example of a small customer base that equates to significant revenue, how to find those niche use cases, and the need to create different journeys for different customer jobs.[25:46] The value of being a good communicator, collaborator, and listener as a CMO and how to do that work.[28:30] Tara talks about leveraging the language from the Jobs-to-be-Done research for use on their product pages (and the SEO value). —Check out Bit.lyConnect with Tara Robertson on LinkedIn Buy the book: Forget the Funnel book (Paperback, eBook, or audiobook) Visit the website: Forget the Funnel Connect with Claire Suellentrop on LinkedIn Connect with Georgiana Laudi on LinkedIn

Tara Robertson is the Head of Demand Generation at Chili Piper, one of the most badass SaaS companies around. In this episode, she talks about how to use podcasts as your main content piece and how to tie it back to revenue. On this episode we talk about: - What to think about when creating your own podcast as a company - How to tie your podcasting efforts back to revenue (hint: it's possible)- Why thought leadership ads might be the most interesting ads format yet - Structure of the marketing team at Chili Piper and why it works so well

Summary: Skip the job title obsession and focus on work that matters to you. Learn from Tara's "The Sauce" model: pick the right channels and keep your promises for sustained engagement. Her social-first demand gen approach and simple yet creative hot sauce branding show how to resonate in today's martech scene. Use personal biases to create targeted campaigns and ignore buzzwords and rigid MQL definitions. Tara's strategy—act on active interest immediately—cuts through the noise and boosts efficiency. Whether it's career or marketing, it's all about authentic, effective action.About Tara: Tara got her start in a communications role at Polar Mobile and later transitioned to focusing on inbound marketing at ScribbleLive, a live-blogging platform based in Toronto Tara then made the move to martech joining the popular content experience platform Uberflip as Demand Gen Manager where she spent nearly 3 years and worked her way up to Director of Revenue Marketing She later transitioned to a Senior Manager of Demand Gen role at Top Hat, a higher ed learning platform For the last 2 years she's been at Chili Piper, a meeting automation platform for demand gen teams where she started as Demand Gen Manager and has recently been promoted to Head of Demand Gen At Chili Piper she's also the host of the acclaimed Demand Gen Chat podcast where she's interviewed prominent guests from companies like LinkedIn, 6sense, Refinelabs and more! The Overrated Chase for Job Titles and the Importance of Aligning Career GoalsWhen asked about the variation in job titles on her resume, Tara offers insight that runs counter to conventional career advice. Tara's journey from a director-level position at Uberflip to managerial roles at Top Hat and Chili Piper wasn't about regressing; it was about finding her fit. At Uberflip, Tara experienced rapid promotions, roughly every six months, which led her to believe in the importance of titles. However, she realized that the titles often didn't correlate with her day-to-day responsibilities. In her first role, although under the umbrella term of 'communications,' Tara juggled between answering phones, booking CEO's travels, and setting up the company's first Twitter account. Titles can be deceptive.Tara also points out the dangers of chasing managerial roles for the sake of it. At Top Hat, her role morphed into what she describes as a "middle manager." While this was somewhat fulfilling in person, the transition to remote work revealed cracks in the facade. She found herself swamped in one-on-one meetings, feeling unproductive and unmotivated. Her realization led her to seek something that resonated more authentically with what she wanted to do.So, what is Tara's advice to those hesitant to take a perceived step back in their careers due to job titles? She underscores the importance of prioritizing what you truly value in your career over a title. In all her roles, irrespective of what the title implied, she never had to take a pay cut. Her guiding lights have been the people she wants to work with and learn from, not the titles she could acquire.Key Takeaway: The fixation on job titles can be a mirage, leading professionals down paths that may not align with their true career goals or personal happiness. It's not the title, but the work and the people around you, that should guide your career decisions.People Manager or Individual Contributor: Choosing Your Marketing Career PathWhen asked about the viability of choosing to be an individual contributor over a people manager in marketing, Tara touches on a key decision point: personal motivation. If your prime motivator is financial gain, then pursuing a managerial role might offer the quickest route to that objective. However, if the allure of hands-on work, creativity, and constant learning excites you, Tara suggests thinking outside the conventional career ladder.Tara's current role, technically a people manager position, involves wearing multiple hats because her marketing team consists of just eight people. This underscores the variability of job titles and roles; what might be a managerial role in one setting could be a blend of individual contributions in another. Thus, titles can't be the sole determinant when choosing a career path.Tara emphasizes the need to introspect on what you truly enjoy doing day-to-day rather than obsessing over how your resume appears. She advises that those entering the field should experiment with both roles. Try out being an individual contributor and dabble in management, if possible, to get a real feel for where your interests and skills align.Key Takeaway: The choice between becoming a people manager or an individual contributor should hinge on your personal goals, be it financial or the type of work that genuinely engages you. Titles and job descriptions can be fluid, and what's crucial is aligning your career with what motivates you each day.Stepping Up to the Mic: How Tara Rejuvenated an Existing PodcastWhen questioned about her experience taking over as the host of the 'Demand Gen Chat' podcast, Tara gives an insider look into her decision-making process. She inherited the podcast from Kaylee, her then-manager, who had resuscitated it after a years-long hiatus. Under Kaylee and Nolan, the head of video and creative, the show saw significant improvements in production quality and gained momentum.Tara notes that when Kaylee left, the future of the podcast hung in the balance. Armed with firsthand data—Tara had been responsible for promoting the podcast and monitoring its performance—she saw a clear value in its continuation. Reception on platforms like LinkedIn was favorable, and the audience was growing. Given this, Tara felt it was crucial not only to keep the podcast alive but to continue its upward trajectory.Another aspect of Tara's decision was the composition of the Digital Team at that time, which consisted of just her. Despite discussions about other potential hosts, like co-founders, Tara felt it wouldn't be authentic to have someone not involved in day-to-day marketing activities take over the show. After all, the podcast was part of the demand generation strategy and it made the most sense for her to step into the role.Key Takeaway: Sometimes the best candidate for a job is already in the room, well-acquainted with the work's nuances and impact. Tara's decision to continue the podcast wasn't just a matter of filling a role; it was about recognizing the value the show brought and the audience it had built.Elevating a Podcast Game with Thoughtful Tweaks and AIWhen asked about how she managed to elevate the podcast, Tara offers insight into her cautious first steps and subsequent strides for improvement. Initially, Tara focused on not deviating too much from the existing format set by Kaylee, her predecessor. She recognized the value in the format that already had a solid fan following. Her primary concern was to keep the essence of what people loved about the podcast intact.The real game-changer came ahead of what they now call their fourth season. Tara and her team, including producer Nolan, took the opportunity to reassess and refine the podcast's elements. Rather than making sweeping changes, they concentrated on nuanced improvements like scripted outros and thoughtful intros. Tara takes the time post-recording to distill the essence of the episode, offering listeners upfront context, thus adding a layer of polish to the show.Another transformative factor was Nolan's use of AI tools, such as Opus, for post-production. Before the integration of AI, tasks like repurposing content for different platforms like TikTok were time-consuming and sometimes left undone due to workload. AI tools have now automated part of this process, allowing the team to create more content from each episode efficiently.Key Takeaway: Small, calculated refinements can significantly improve a product's quality and reception. Tara's cautious yet innovative approach—balancing tradition with polish and leveraging AI for efficiency—shows that you don't need to overhaul an entire system to achieve a noticeable impact.How The Sauce Newsletter Navigated Growth and RetentionWhen asked about the success of her company's newsletter "The Sauce," Tara peeled back the layers of its growth strategy. While she didn't coin the catchy name, she took the reins on scaling the subscriber base. Tara looked at multiple channels for growth, including paid placements in similar newsletters. Surprisingly, this not only yielded high-quality subscribers but also competed well with Facebook on cost-per-subscriber, compelling the team to pause Facebook lead forms due to inconsistent lead quality.Apart from focusing on sheer numbers, Tara emphasized the role of content. The newsletter serves as a retargeting audience to drive direct sales rather than just funneling leads. This approach helped maintain the content's quality, steering it clear of becoming another sales pitch masked as valuable content. This strategy allowed Tara to justify the newsletter's existence internally within her organization, establishing it as an asset rather than an overhead.However, the journey wasn't without its bumps. Eager to capitalize on high engagement rates, Tara experimented by sending the newsletter twice a month instead of once. The result? A loss in subscriber trust and numbers. The mistake was twofold: not only did it break the promise of a monthly email, but it also didn't consider testing on a smaller scale first.Key Takeaway: The story of "The Sauce" underscores the importance of aligned growth strategies and content quality. Tara's experience suggests that smart channel choices can lead to cost-effective growth, but engagement hinges on delivering what you promise to your subscribers. Always keep the value proposition front and center.Breaking the Mold in Demand GenWhen asked about the evolution of demand generation and how to strike a balance between innovation and results, Tara offered some compelling insights. The current environment, she believes, is saturated with cookie-cutter tactics, especially in B2B settings. Tara stresses the importance of venturing beyond the email nurture programs that many equate with demand gen. For her, conventional methods like these simply don't align with the way she sees technology being bought in the martech space.But innovation requires a supportive environment. Tara acknowledges her luck in working with co-founders open to experimentation. This freedom allows her team to move away from traditional methods and instead focus on engagement that resonates with today's buyers. One of the forthcoming strategies Tara revealed is a street art campaign around major trade shows. While it's a top-of-the-funnel activity not aimed at direct conversions, the primary goal is to create social buzz and brand awareness.This leads to another point Tara emphasizes: the necessity of boldness in B2B marketing. Instead of traditional trade booths, her team focuses on activities that people want to attend. From happy hours to parties, the strategy is designed to drive actual engagement, rather than forcing prospects into sterile sales meetings. In terms of content, this also allows them to gather real-time reactions and images, which can later be utilized for advertising campaigns.The upcoming experiment with what Tara calls a "less messy version of graffiti" is the epitome of the philosophy she brings to demand gen—be bold but be true to how people genuinely interact and make purchasing decisions in the martech ecosystem. It may be top-of-the-funnel, but the aim is to turn heads and initiate conversations that can eventually be steered toward meaningful engagement.Key Takeaway: The future of demand gen may lie in breaking away from traditional models that have long held sway. Tara's approach of social-first, bold, and engaging activities is more in line with how real-world purchasing decisions are made. Gone are the days when a series of emails could nurture a lead to conversion. Now, it's about creating a buzz so strong that people can't help but pay attention.The Unconventional Path to Brand ResonanceWhen the subject veered towards what some might label as "guerilla marketing," Tara admitted that while the term might be a bit played out, the concept is spot-on. Guerilla marketing or not, the goal is to create memorable, high-impact experiences that stick with your audience. And she's seen firsthand that even simple initiatives can pack a punch if executed creatively.For instance, Tara's team rolled out a branded hot sauce campaign. At first glance, sending out hot sauce might not seem groundbreaking, but it's the attention to detail that makes the difference. With engaging slogans and quality branding, they transformed an everyday item into a memorable brand touchpoint. The result? Persistent mentions and photo tags on LinkedIn, creating a low-cost but effective engagement mechanism.The challenge, Tara suggests, lies in coming up with ideas that are not just outside-the-box but also aligned with your brand's identity. In a landscape full of predictable tactics, even small surprises can make a lasting impact if they're thoughtfully tied back to your brand message or value proposition.In Tara's case, this could be as straightforward as a hot sauce bottle but executed in a way that it becomes not just a condiment but a conversation starter. It's not about being wildly different for the sake of it; it's about bringing a bit of surprise and delight into an otherwise staid B2B environment.Key Takeaway: Being unconventional doesn't necessarily mean being complex or expensive. Tara's example of branded hot sauce shows that simplicity, when paired with creative execution, can result in memorable brand interactions. In today's crowded martech scene, sometimes all it takes to stand out is a dash of unexpected creativity.Marketing to Your Own Tribe - Perks and PitfallsWhen asked about the uniqueness of marketing to a demographic that closely resembles her own profile, Tara drew a stark comparison between her current role and previous gigs. Marketing in the martech industry, for her, is like coming home; she shares common ground with her Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). This is markedly different from her past experience at Top Hat, where she was tasked with understanding a completely different mindset—professors who generally have job security for life.Tara acknowledges the potential bias in designing campaigns that mirror her own preferences but argues that a one-size-fits-all approach rarely thrills anyone. Instead, her focus is on sparking enthusiasm within segments of her ICP. The strategy? Triggering excitement in a few can generate the kind of social buzz that more generalized efforts may fail to achieve. Tara believes if you create something compelling enough for people to share socially, you're onto something that can gain traction.Regarding ideation, Tara emphasizes the importance of collaborative brainstorming sessions. In her team's case, they use tools like Figma to toss ideas into the ring. While remote brainstorming may lack the spontaneity of in-person interaction, Tara insists that a relaxed, non-judgmental atmosphere often yields the most innovative concepts. It was such brainstorming sessions that gave birth to out-of-the-box ideas like custom Pokemon cards for their Customer Advisory Board (CAB) members and the branded graffiti campaign.So how do you navigate the tightrope of being your own ICP? Tara's approach is twofold: be aware of personal biases and encourage team-wide brainstorming that allows for a multitude of perspectives.Key Takeaway: Tara's insights spotlight the advantage and complexity of marketing to an audience similar to oneself. The trick lies not in avoiding personal biases but in leveraging them to create campaigns that resonate deeply with at least a segment of your ICP. It's not about pleasing everyone; it's about electrifying a few enough to get the buzz going.Scaling to High-Level Marketing StrategiesWhen asked about the necessary groundwork for executing high-level marketing strategies, Tara emphasized the importance of operations. Tara noted that, upon joining her new team, she was fortunate to have a reliable Revenue Operations Manager who ensured that the underlying mechanisms were sound. Imagine a grand campaign falling flat because your lead forms don't function as they should. Your audience reaches a dead-end, and your campaign's ROI drops to zero. Before dreaming about high-level, complex campaigns, fix the basics.Tara also opened up about the evolving nature of brand positioning. Even her own company hasn't "completely nailed it," she confessed. There are times when her brand is misinterpreted—some LinkedIn messages even inquire if they make hot sauce. But then there are also those who fully understand and evangelize the brand. In Tara's eyes, perfecting messaging is a journey, not a destination, particularly as the competitive landscape shifts.Adding another layer to the complexity, Tara spoke about how a brand new field evolves into table stakes. When her team first introduced B2B lead routing software, it was something novel, and the challenge was to educate the market. Fast forward to today, and it's considered essential for any marketing or sales team. Now, the fight isn't about explaining what they do but differentiating themselves from an expanding pool of competitors.Tara's advice for those with willing co-founders and investment but lacking groundwork? Focus on strong operations and be ready to adapt your positioning as you grow. According to her, the core ingredients for being able to execute high-impact campaigns include a reliable ops backbone and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving market dynamics.Key Takeaway: The foundation of any high-level marketing strategy is operational excellence and agile brand positioning. Without these, even the most brilliant campaigns can fall flat. Ensure you have the basics covered before reaching for the sky.The Myth and Reality of Dark SocialWhen asked about the buzzword-heavy concept of "dark social," Tara candidly disagreed with the notion that marketers should reorient their strategies around trending terms. She did acknowledge the historical relevance of word-of-mouth marketing but pushed back on the idea that every touchpoint in a B2B journey can be meticulously measured. While attribution software may claim comprehensive metrics, Tara's experience contradicts that assertion.What really got her attention was the often misguided focus on tracking every possible interaction, to the detriment of authentic engagement. For Tara, if a marketer succeeds in capturing attention and inciting a Google search that ends in a click on their ad, that doesn't necessarily mean their Search Engine Marketing is revolutionary. It just means they've effectively grabbed that individual's attention, nothing more.In Tara's view, the B2B marketing space has developed an obsession with quantitative measurement. This fixation led many marketing teams to neglect community engagement and influencer relationships, simply because these elements were "untrackable." Tara sees this as a significant oversight, particularly in a landscape that has grown increasingly digital and where communities can provide tremendous organic reach.Tara also pointed out that while she sees the value of trying to measure impact through things like UTM links, the effort often falls flat. Customers and influencers are less likely to share these links in authentic conversations, thereby making them ineffective. Instead, she advises marketers to focus on being present in the spaces where their customers are, whether that's in Slack communities or elsewhere, rather than obsessing over tracking every interaction.Key Takeaway: The fixation on tracking and metrics has led marketers astray, downplaying the importance of community engagement and genuine relationships. While dark social might be an intriguing concept, Tara suggests it's more effective to embrace the less quantifiable aspects of marketing, which are often where the real value lies.The MQL Debate: A Fresh PerspectiveWhen asked about the state of MQLs in 2023, the year of our Lord, Tara was candid about the nuances of defining a marketing qualified lead. She admits that the importance and impact of MQLs vary based on a company's size, target audience, and the structure of their marketing and sales organization. In Tara's experience, the focus on defining MQLs often led to internal debates that, in retrospect, could have been better spent on actual lead generation efforts.Instead of fixating on what makes a lead "qualified," Tara's current approach is refreshingly straightforward. If someone actively books a demo, that lead gets immediate attention and is routed to the appropriate sales rep. No excessive segmentation, no scoring parameters—just immediate action. This pragmatic approach avoids the pitfalls of endless debates about lead quality, job titles, and activity levels, which are common in more complex setups.Tara's perspective reveals a shift in the landscape. There's a growing recognition that the granular details of what constitutes an MQL might not be as universally important as once thought. Her team's simplified process not only streamlines internal operations but also improves the experience for potential clients. When leads are ready to make a move, they do. No need for convoluted nurturing sequences.Key Takeaway: The industry's obsession with meticulously defining MQLs might be outdated and even counterproductive. Tara champions a straightforward approach: Respond immediately to active interest and bypass the qualifiers that often mire teams in endless debates. This clear-cut strategy not only enhances operational efficiency but also improves the lead experience.The Nuanced Approach to Lead QualityWhen questioned about the intricacies of lead quality and the role of scoring mechanisms, Tara offered a shift in perspective: It's not just about leads, it's about accounts. Unlike many companies that go straight into scoring leads, her team starts higher up the funnel by assessing the quality of accounts. This strategic pivot has been fairly recent but it's proving effective. The marketing budget, particularly on social channels, is now allocated towards targeting these high-quality accounts, resulting in more efficient use of resources.The operational change goes beyond budget allocation. Even outbound marketing strategies are attuned to these quality accounts. So, instead of casting a wide net on LinkedIn and other platforms, they focus on accounts already validated by the sales team as worthy targets. In essence, they're not in the business of pursuing every marketer who clicks on an ad. When a click occurs, there's no mad rush to signal Sales. Instead, the focus is on providing these select accounts with valuable content that showcases customer stories and diverse use cases.Tara's approach disrupts the traditional model of isolating lead quality as the definitive measure. Instead of spiraling into metrics and scores, her team's attention is on aligning sales and marketing efforts cohesively. This alignment creates a streamlined path from initial interest to final conversion. The result? A more coordinated, effective strategy that puts the focus back on what really matters: creating meaningful customer engagement.Key Takeaway: Forget the obsession with lead scores. Tara's methodology is a wake-up call for marketers fixated on metrics at the expense of real business outcomes. By focusing on account quality over lead quality, she's not just saving time and budget, she's also fostering a more targeted and efficient marketing approach.The Case for Account-Level Automation over Lead ScoringWhen Tara was asked about her experience with automated lead scoring tools like ChiliPiper, Mixpanel, and MadKudu, she was clear: The focus has shifted from leads to accounts. Budget often acted as a constraint when considering such tools in the past, but her current strategy incorporates an account-level tool called Good Fit. This tool evaluates the characteristics shared by their best and most promising customers. Rather than applying an opaque algorithm to individual leads, it helps them identify high-potential accounts based on common factors.What makes this approach especially potent is its adaptability. The tool isn't just a plug-and-play mechanism; it allows the team to input their own data, such as their best customers and those with the most growth potential. This creates a system tailored to their unique business needs, enhancing its predictive accuracy for future accounts. It's not about deciphering what makes a 'hot lead' anymore. It's about understanding what attributes of an account indicate a high likelihood of fruitful engagement and then acting on it.While Tara's team has yet to fully dive into lead-level scoring, the shift to an account-based model is deliberate. Before spreading their resources thin over various scoring models and tools, they want to validate this account-centric approach. And given the initial signs, it seems like a wise strategy.Key Takeaway: The spotlight is moving from lead-level automated scoring to account-based evaluations. Tara's team isn't chasing metrics; they're strategically positioning themselves to focus on high-quality accounts, all while using tools that allow for customization and in-depth analysis. It's not just a reactive play; it's a calculated move towards a more effective marketing framework.Navigating the Marketing-Data Team CollaborationWhen asked about her approach to aligning the marketing and data teams at Chili Piper, Tara offered practical insights. She's well-acquainted with the pitfalls of in-house projects like lead scoring, describing them as "never-ending" and not worth the effort unless you have a dedicated, sizable team. For Tara, the collaboration with the data team is focused on one goal: producing dashboards that offer a unified view of key metrics. These dashboards, housed in Sigma, serve as the single source of truth, streamlining reporting for diverse presentations, from all-hands meetings to board decks.It may seem basic, but having a centralized repository for data saves enormous amounts of time. Tara recalled previous experiences juggling reports from disparate platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot. But aligning all reporting into one centralized dashboard has turned out to be a game-changer. No more toggling between platforms or reconciling conflicting data. Everything is right there, in one place, for everyone to see and use.But it's not all roses. Tara cautions that establishing this kind of data foundation takes longer than most teams anticipate. The data team's knack for scrutinizing logic and questioning inconsistencies makes initial conversations lengthy and, sometimes, complex. But these discussions are crucial for defining what each metric means and ensuring everyone is literally and figuratively on the same page.Key Takeaway: The collaboration between marketing and data teams is a marathon, not a sprint. The upfront investment in building a robust, centralized data framework may take time, but it pays dividends down the line. Tara's experience underscores the immense value of patience and clarity in this collaborative endeavor: It's not just about gathering data, it's about making it comprehensible, actionable, and aligned across teams.Mastering the Work-Life Equation with TaraWhen asked about finding a balance in her multifaceted life, Tara spoke candidly. One unexpected but crucial factor in her daily routine? Her dog. The four-legged friend has inadvertently become a time management tool, forcing Tara to carve out time for morning and evening walks. These daily rituals allow her a breather from the constant buzz of her fully distributed team at Chili Piper.Tara's approach to balancing work and life goes beyond canine companionship. She practices time blocking—a technique that sounds simple but makes a world of difference. Her calendar may look crammed, but each block serves a purpose, whether it's for her podcast, her team at Chili Piper, or just a few minutes to decompress and grab a coffee. For Tara, this methodical approach to scheduling keeps her centered, even in the chaos of startup life.The importance of having scheduled 'buffers' shouldn't be underestimated. These are small windows that give Tara the time to recharge and transition between tasks. It's not just about filling every minute but about assigning moments to step away, even if it's just for five minutes to clear her head.Managing a distributed team means Tara's Slack is bustling at all hours. But instead of succumbing to the reactive nature that such platforms can foster, she emphasizes the need to be proactive with her time. She plots out her day as far in advance as possible, sidestepping the urge to let real-time demands dictate her schedule.Key Takeaway: The secret to Tara's success and happiness in her multifaceted career is a blend of structured flexibility. From dog walks that enforce screen-free time to meticulously time-blocked schedules, her approach offers a roadmap for anyone juggling multiple roles and responsibilities. These aren't complex strategies; they're thoughtful habits that make a substantial difference.Episode RecapStarting with career choices, forget the allure of job titles. Zero in on the work you love and the colleagues who make it better. Your decision to take on a managerial role or remain an individual contributor should align with what drives you daily. Once you've dialed in your personal career path, you can take notes from successful strategies for brand growth, like Tara's experience with "The Sauce."Tara's venture underscores the importance of selecting the right channels and maintaining high content quality. She shows us that the secret sauce to lasting engagement is delivering on your promises. This ethos of alignment and authenticity extends to Tara's perspectives on the changing landscape of demand generation.No longer can traditional models of demand gen hold their ground. Tara's social-first approach aligns with the dynamics of real-world purchasing decisions today. It's not about endlessly nurturing leads through emails; it's about creating genuine buzz that converts interest into action.Being unconventional doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. Tara's branded hot sauce is a lesson in the power of creative simplicity, especially in a crowded martech arena. The key is resonating with your audience, and sometimes that means looking inward.When you're marketing to an audience similar to yourself, leverage your own biases to create campaigns that hit home with a segment of your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). It's about stirring enough excitement to make waves, without trying to be everything to everyone.Now, what about trending buzzwords like "dark social"? Tara suggests taking them with a grain of salt. While she acknowledges the power of word-of-mouth, she warns against relying on buzzwords or assuming every B2B touchpoint can be precisely measured.Finally, Tara challenges the obsession with defining Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs). She recommends cutting through the noise by responding to active interest immediately, circumventing endless debates over qualifiers. It's a straightforward strategy that boosts efficiency and enhances the lead experience.In essence, whether you're steering your career or your next marketing campaign, focus on what truly matters: genuine engagement and effective, simple strategies. Tara's multi-faceted experience offers valuable insights on how to achieve both.Links: Demand Gen Chats Podcast The Spice Newsletter LinkedIn Twitter

This is a Tuesday Tips episode where you will hear host Drew Neisser, CMOs, and other B2B experts share their hard-earned wisdom and fresh marketing insights in a bitesize format. Featuring: Adriel Sanchez, Marca Armstrong, Susan Ganeshan, Ellie Ahmadi, Kevin Ruane, Grant Johnson, Heidi Bullock, Julia Goebel, Tara Robertson, and Melanie Marcus. To see the video versions, follow Drew Neisser on LinkedIn or visit our YouTube channel—The Renegade Marketing Hub! And if you're a B2B CMO, check out our thriving community: https://cmohuddles.com/

This is a Tuesday Tips episode where you will hear host Drew Neisser, CMOs, and other B2B experts share their hard-earned wisdom and fresh marketing insights in a bitesize format. Featuring: Grant Johnson of Billtrust, Jean Sabbagh of Equisoft, Peeyush Dubey of TheMathCompany, Alex Diamond of Carbon Mapper, Marshall Poindexter of OpenEye Scientific, Tara Robertson of Bitly, Amy Messano of Altair, and Katrina Klier To see the video versions, follow Drew Neisser on LinkedIn or visit our YouTube channel—The Renegade Marketing Hub! And if you're a B2B CMO, check out our thriving community: https://cmohuddles.com/

Tara Robertson is a leadership coach and a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant. As a leadership coach, she helps underrepresented leaders in corporate careers go from underestimated and overworked to unapologetic and wildly successful. She is a Certified Professional Coactive Coach and an Associate Certified Coach. She is an intersectional feminist who uses data and research to advocate for equality and inclusion. She brings nearly 15 years experience leading change in open source technology communities and corporate spaces, including 3 years leading Diversity and Inclusion at Mozilla. As a consultant she partners with corporate leaders to help drive systemic change. I'm grateful to Tara for lovingly coaching me during this episode as I asked a common question that white women ask, "What can I do?" - this is a common theme and the reality is that you already know what to do - trust yourself!Website: http://tararobertson.ca/Coaching testimonials: https://tararobertson.ca/women-of-color/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tararobertson/ICF Conference petition: https://www.change.org/p/boycott-the-international-coaching-federation-s-conference-in-floridaSign up for the Un-Conference: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSed4XCSVMIq5_CBCXtdlhHzJQ0GQfZn6gavyMRaDJke-0eefA/viewform

In this episode of The SaaS Sprints Podcast, Tara Robertson, the head of demand generation at Chili Piper shares an inside scoop of what makes their demand generation model effective, their social media strategy, and why their sales team takes a no discount policy stand. She discusses what makes the different channels of Chili Piper tick, sometimes even with on zero budget. If you want to learn how to do demand generation the right away, the role of content in demand generation, and the mistakes to avoid when building your demand generation program, this episode is for you. We hope you're able to apply the tips from this episode to generate demand across your channels, attract the right audience, and grow your business. 

How easy is it for a marketing company to effectively produce a video? The answer is a lot simpler than you think — of course, the effectiveness comes down to proper orchestration and thoughtful planning, but even companies equipped with nothing but a smartphone have the opportunity to put out something great. In this episode of the Master Marketer Show, we sit down with Tara Robertson, the Head of Demand Generation at Chili Piper, for a discussion on effective Let's get started!MINDSETS: “Can this be a video?” - Even six years ago, video didn't have the impact it does now. Especially with TiKTok's strength and prominence, when you're at work, ask yourself whether or not what you're doing is video worthy. Embracing Scrappiness - Do videos have to be polished? NO! At least at the start, video production is a learning journey, and your audience will stick with it for as long as you do. Expert content developers may seek something “polished,” but consumers are always seeking something “real.” Organic-Looking Assets - Why spend more money to reach the same audience? Review your data and question whether spending more money on video production will actually get you the results you need. SKILLSETS: Embrace Kickoff Meetings - When a new project is starting up, don't limit ideas to the marketing team. Creativity extends to everyone, and being open to ideas is a leadership skill that can't be discounted.   Master the Process - Chili Piper often is able to produce 5 videos a week. That comes from a streamlined process that includes focus on storytelling, recognizing audience channels (TikTok v. LinkedIn), and testing EVERYTHING along the way. If you stick to the process, it not only becomes easier over time — the consistency will also be noticed by your audience. Understanding Your Audience - Video is certainly a skill, but content is an undeniable necessity no matter the venue. Understand, first, what your audience is even seeking. If you're spending resources on video for an audience that's best served by blogging, you're wasting your time.  Storytelling - Before beginning video production, ask yourself: do you have something interesting to say? And if the answer is “no,” are you able to pivot? Being able to self-edit plays a large role in the success of content creation. Get to the Point - Algorithms reward retention. Knowing when to cut a video short plays an important role in viewership completion and, in effect, how the algorithm of any given media venue treats your content.  TOOLSETS: Podcasting Video Production & Storytelling Demand Gen Softwares Paid & Organic Social Media Riverside  Gong Spreadsheets Chili Piper Calendar Booking Links Logitech Webcam Shure Microphones Lighting Equipment RESULTS:How has a focus on video production played out for Tara & the team at Chili Piper? Recently, their efforts have amassed them over 1,000 subscribers on YouTube — that's no easy feat! They've also expanded their following to over 50,000 followers on LinkedIn, and 50,000 total podcast streams (and counting!). Video has become a crucial touchpoint for everything from blogging to customer support, and the team is roughly able to attribute nearly $3 million in the Chili Piper pipeline to video production. A bit more about Tara:Tara Robertson is the Head of Demand Generation at Chili Piper, the only complete Meeting Lifecycle Automation platform built for teams. With a career in marketing dating back to 2009, Tara has expertly adapted to the business environment and curated the leadership skills that many of us dream of. As a B2B marketer with over 10 years experience in various marketing roles. Tara also works to connect with B2B marketers by writing newsletters and hosting the official Chili Piper podcast Demand Gen Chat.Connect with Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson https://www.chilipiper.com/resources/podcast https://www.youtube.com/@Chili_Piper Connect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing: Mike's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/ Gaby's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/ LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llc Proofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTube Proofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

How easy is it for a marketing company to effectively produce a video? The answer is a lot simpler than you think — of course, the effectiveness comes down to proper orchestration and thoughtful planning, but even companies equipped with nothing but a smartphone have the opportunity to put out something great. In this episode of the Master Marketer Show, we sit down with Tara Robertson, the Head of Demand Generation at Chili Piper, for a discussion on effective Let's get started!MINDSETS: “Can this be a video?” - Even six years ago, video didn't have the impact it does now. Especially with TiKTok's strength and prominence, when you're at work, ask yourself whether or not what you're doing is video worthy. Embracing Scrappiness - Do videos have to be polished? NO! At least at the start, video production is a learning journey, and your audience will stick with it for as long as you do. Expert content developers may seek something “polished,” but consumers are always seeking something “real.” Organic-Looking Assets - Why spend more money to reach the same audience? Review your data and question whether spending more money on video production will actually get you the results you need. SKILLSETS: Embrace Kickoff Meetings - When a new project is starting up, don't limit ideas to the marketing team. Creativity extends to everyone, and being open to ideas is a leadership skill that can't be discounted.   Master the Process - Chili Piper often is able to produce 5 videos a week. That comes from a streamlined process that includes focus on storytelling, recognizing audience channels (TikTok v. LinkedIn), and testing EVERYTHING along the way. If you stick to the process, it not only becomes easier over time — the consistency will also be noticed by your audience. Understanding Your Audience - Video is certainly a skill, but content is an undeniable necessity no matter the venue. Understand, first, what your audience is even seeking. If you're spending resources on video for an audience that's best served by blogging, you're wasting your time.  Storytelling - Before beginning video production, ask yourself: do you have something interesting to say? And if the answer is “no,” are you able to pivot? Being able to self-edit plays a large role in the success of content creation. Get to the Point - Algorithms reward retention. Knowing when to cut a video short plays an important role in viewership completion and, in effect, how the algorithm of any given media venue treats your content.  TOOLSETS: Podcasting Video Production & Storytelling Demand Gen Softwares Paid & Organic Social Media Riverside  Gong Spreadsheets Chili Piper Calendar Booking Links Logitech Webcam Shure Microphones Lighting Equipment RESULTS:How has a focus on video production played out for Tara & the team at Chili Piper? Recently, their efforts have amassed them over 1,000 subscribers on YouTube — that's no easy feat! They've also expanded their following to over 50,000 followers on LinkedIn, and 50,000 total podcast streams (and counting!). Video has become a crucial touchpoint for everything from blogging to customer support, and the team is roughly able to attribute nearly $3 million in the Chili Piper pipeline to video production. A bit more about Tara:Tara Robertson is the Head of Demand Generation at Chili Piper, the only complete Meeting Lifecycle Automation platform built for teams. With a career in marketing dating back to 2009, Tara has expertly adapted to the business environment and curated the leadership skills that many of us dream of. As a B2B marketer with over 10 years experience in various marketing roles. Tara also works to connect with B2B marketers by writing newsletters and hosting the official Chili Piper podcast Demand Gen Chat.Connect with Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson https://www.chilipiper.com/resources/podcast https://www.youtube.com/@Chili_Piper Connect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing: Mike's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/ Gaby's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/ LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llc Proofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTube Proofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

Click here to try Databox free, or learn more.In this episode, we explore how a B2B company can grow its newsletter subscribers, and tackle issues like send frequency, list maintenance, what content you write about, and more.Links Mailchimp Benchmark data The Sauce newsletter Follow Tara If you liked the episode, let us know on LinkedIn!

Growing and scaling your customer base requires robust systems, teams, and playbooks that work in lockstep with one another. One of the most impactful teams, yet often least invested in, is customer marketing. From determining the ideal org structure to understanding clear KPIs, the playbook for customer marketing is still being written and is often misunderstood. In this session, we'll discuss key strategies that can be leveraged to build and scale a high-performing customer marketing team. You'll walk away with actionable insights and a clear understanding of how you can improve net dollar retention and unlock growth, regardless of your stage or size.   Full video: https://youtu.be/8zgkk0DFQs8   ***** Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   What if you could prospect in a single click? And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com.   SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com. *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

This week's fireside chat is with Tara Robertson, head of the Demand Gen department at the meeting lifestyle automation platform, Chili Piper. Hear about the best advice she has for fellow marketers, her favorite marketing tactic at the moment, and more in this quick-fire question-and-answer session. Follow Tara: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/ Keep up to date with the latest news from The Marketing Millennials:. Follow Daniel on Twitter: twitter.com/Dmurr68LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up to The Marketing Millennials newsletter: workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. Find out more, visit: www.workweek.com

How can you use organic social to fuel your paid advertising? Tara Robertson, head of the Demand Gen department at Chili Piper, a B2B company dedicated to inbound lead conversion, sits down to chat with us about how advertising and sales have a symbiotic relationship with each other and how one can serve to benefit the other when they're both working in harmony. She and Daniel dive in-depth into how organic advertising fuels paid advertising, why you should be worried about converting leads instead of simply capturing them, and how budgeting can drive better marketing engagement and efficiency. Plus, Tara discusses why you shouldn't dismiss frontline sales experience as a viable path to marketing success. Follow Tara:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/Follow Daniel on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up for The Marketing Millennials newsletter: www.workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennials Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit:www.workweek.com

Nadia and Rob check in after a run of news lowlights, a company pays out $1M for racist employee behavior, and guest Tara Robertson shares her expertise in sponsorship and mentorship and why she coaches white leaders to not (ahem) shit their pants. Learn more about Tara Robertson Consulting: : https://tararobertson.ca Hosted by Nadia Butt and Rob Hadley. Produced by Rifelion Media. Contact us: inclusivecollective@rifelion.com For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com    Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/InclusiveCollective If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/InclusiveCollective Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Check out the detailed field guide hereTopics discussed in this episode:01:59 - Connecting emotion and value to drive results07:18 - What to look for when building a marketing team16:26 - Prioritizing efforts on areas of biggest influence21:35 - Setting up a team of highly skilled marketers34:09 - Which partnerships are essential within your organizationThis is a Paddle production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

“We don't look deep enough; so, we don't think deep enough,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Website Wireframes: 8 psychological elements that impact marketing conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/website-wireframes/).When I brought up this lesson with our latest guest, and the complex thinking that needs to go into our marketing, she said, “I love how you mentioned psychology because I think that is such a critical part of it…” and went on to share the deep thinking that must focus business strategy and prioritize the tasks necessary to achieve that strategy.You can hear that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Tara Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer, Bitly (https://bitly.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.Robertson has managed teams of 50 people in her career and is currently in charge of a team of 20 people (and growing).Bitly has 10 million monthly website visitors. In 2017, Bitly raised $63 million in additional funding from Spectrum Equity, which gave the growth equity firm a majority stake in Bitly.Listen to my conversation with Robertson using this embedded player or click through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSome lessons from Robertson that emerged in our discussion:You don't know what you don't know.Focus and prioritization are critical to your success.Marketing shouldn't be about driving demand; it's about driving value.Never be afraid to ask for help.Form a shine crew.Understand bias.Related content mentioned in this episodeMarketingSherpa (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/) – marketing case study articlesHow I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)About this podcastThis 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.Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

Authenticity is something that comes naturally to some people more than others. However, it is necessary when you want to create meaningful conversations either as a host or as a guest on a podcast.In this episode of the Salescast Podcast, our host Edward Purmalis continues the conversation with Tara Robertson, Senior Manager of Demand Generation at Chili Piper and host of the Demand Gen Chat Podcast. Tara talks about what the Demand Gen Chat podcast tackles with each episode, her journey in taking over the show, and even her dream podcast guest! HIGHLIGHTSThe focus of Demand Gen Chat as a showAuthenticity and learning to take the riskOn the time Tara became the host of the showEmpowering your sales teams to use your podcast content QUOTESTara on being authentic when it comes to discussions: "If we're all doing the same thing as everybody else, we're not going to hit our numbers and we're not going to do well and you might be in a crappy position next quarter. So even though it feels unsafe sometimes to do something outside the box, it's almost like you have to now."Tara on finding the balance to have a natural conversation: "I think the host role I find more natural because I'm asking people questions and just listening to what they want to say. So I find that more natural than kind of trying to drive the conversation. What I'm really trying to work on is I have questions that I want to ask them that often get derailed by where the conversation is naturally going." You can connect with Tara and her work in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/Twitter: https://twitter.com/taraarobertsonDemand Gen Chat Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demand-gen-chat/id1437677652 If you're listening to the Salescast Podcast, please subscribe, share, and send us your feedback.

More and more people are realizing that other channels such as YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram can be great platforms for promoting podcasting content. While podcast episodes are understood to be audio content, your audience is also starting to look for a more personal connection through video!In this episode of the Salescast Podcast, our host Edward Purmalis talks to Tara Robertson, Senior Manager of Demand Generation at Chili Piper and host of the Demand Gen Chat Podcast. Tara talks about how the podcast started out for Chili Piper and shares her insights on when and how to direct your focus on creating content across channels. HIGHLIGHTSHow more people explored podcasting as a strategy over the pandemicPodcasting as a content channel for Chili PiperThe growth of the show based on consistency and established brandingUtilizing other platforms like YouTube and Instagram for additional content QUOTESTara on building a level of trust to become part of someone's content cycle: "One thing you could do is actually invite your ideal customer onto the podcast and get them even creating that content with you. Obviously not every big customer or prospect is going to say yes but that's who I would start with reaching out."Tara on using other platforms to promote podcast content: "One thing that surprised me too is, I love listening to podcasts but I'm definitely more of an I-just-listen-while-I-do-other-things kind of listener. So I'll be doing the dishes or working with a podcast on. But we actually get a lot of views on our YouTube channel as well which don't even count towards the numbers I just mentioned." You can connect with Tara and her work in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/Twitter: https://twitter.com/taraarobertsonDemand Gen Chat Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demand-gen-chat/id1437677652 If you're listening to the Salescast Podcast, please subscribe, share, and send us your feedback.

In the latest episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Latané Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense. Latané has a fresh perspective as a marketing leader thanks to her sales background. We chat about hiring and building a marketing team, and how to keep a team engaged and motivated even through tough times. Latané also shares how her team works with sales and approaches ABX to engage the 10+ contacts they need to win an opportunity today. She also shares a sneak peek of the second edition of her book No Forms. No Spam. No Cold Calls. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertsonFollow Latané: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latane-conant/ Check out Matt Heinz's content: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattheinz/ Check out the Empowered CMO Network Board Book: https://empoweredcmo.com/board-book/ About Demand Gen Chat Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

In this new episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Colin White, Head of Demand Generation at Clearbit. Colin's career started in software development and he pivoted into marketing, where he's focused on driving revenue growth. If you're a marketer focused on driving top-of-funnel leads and looking to have an impact further down the funnel you won't want to miss this episode. We chat about how Colin approaches setting KPIs for individuals on his team (including Marketing Ops), and how to prioritize program ideas for the highest impact. Colin also shares how his team at Clearbit balances the science and ‘gut feel' of marketing to set and achieve their goals. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson Follow Colin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maybecolin/ Check out Nick Bennett's content: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickbennett1/ About Demand Gen ChatDemand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

How are you working towards connecting people in your organization as a leader? Do you have a working strategy in place on diversity, equity, and inclusion? For DEI to work in any organization, leaders must commit to a strategy aimed at connecting people and having them work together. In this episode of the Inspirational Leadership podcast, I speak with Tara Robertson, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant and leadership coach. She analyzes qualitative and quantitative HR data to diagnose what companies' biggest diversity and inclusion issues are and works with internal stakeholders to co-design interventions based on research best practices and experience about what actually moves the needle. Listen in to learn the importance of having an organizational strategy on diversity, equity, and inclusion. You will also learn how to be mindful and fully present in the way you show up as a leader to yourself and others. Key Takeaways: The uncomfortable conversations we need to have to establish a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. How to engage your body, heart, and spirit to help you notice when things are not working out. How to achieve mindfulness and be fully present for yourself and others around you. Learn and take action to disrupt discriminatory behavior in yourself and others. What You Will Learn in This Episode: [1:15] Tara's career background before she became a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant. [4:07] The importance of having a diversity, equity, and inclusion organizational strategy. [9:40] How Tara's struggles with belonging inspired her to get involved with DEI work. [16:22] The lessons we can learn from the disabled community about connecting and working together. [22:26] How to get clear on your values and purpose so you can better listen to your body and spirit. [29:07] The ways to let go of your conditioning and show up fully as a leader. [38:11] She describes inspirational leadership as the courage to show up as yourself and as a leader. [39:48] Tara's final thoughts and where to find her. Standout Quotes: “We need to collectively dream the future that we want.”- Tara [19:28] “We need to engage our hearts, spirits, and bodies; our bodies give us messages when things are not okay.”- Tara [23:22] ⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/PodcastTaraRobertson

Join us as we explore what we as DEI consultants can do to ensure that DEI efforts are not checkbox exercises! We're drawing on the experience, expertise, and hard-earned wisdom of two of DiVerity's advisors, Cornell Verdeja-Woodson (He/Him) and Tara Robertson. Cornell Verdeja-Woodson is Founder & CEO of Brave Trainings LLC (http://bravetrainings.com/), whose mission it is to provide a starting point for organizations to unpack sensitive diversity topics through authentic dialogue and consistent action. Tara Robertson brings nearly 15 years experience leading change in open source technology communities and corporate spaces, including 3 years leading Diversity and Inclusion at Mozilla. Tara now partners as a consultant with technology, engineering and media leaders to help drive systemic change. Her work has been included in Harvard Business Review, Forbes and other publications. Head to Tara Robertson Consulting Inc. or https://tararobertson.ca/ to learn more! So, how can we move beyond “going through the motions” in our DEI efforts to really get some traction on creating positive social change, not only in the workplace, but beyond it? For the answer to that question and more, stay tuned! We'll be talking about moving beyond the performative/virtue-signaling that so often happens with organizational DEI efforts, but also about accountability—not only for our clients, but for us as DEI professionals as well!

► Why shouldn't you discount? Tara Robertson is senior manager for Demand Generation @ Chili Piper

This is a Tuesday Tips episode where you will hear host Drew Neisser, CMOs, and other B2B experts share their hard-earned wisdom and fresh marketing insights in a bitesize format. Featuring: Patti Newcomer of FieldRoutes, Jim (JD) Dillon of Tigo Energy, Dave Bornmann of Association Analytics, Tara Robertson of Bitly, and Cary Bainbridge of ABM Industries To see the video versions, follow Drew Neisser on LinkedIn or visit our YouTube channel—The Renegade Marketing Hub! And if you're a B2B CMO, check out our thriving community: https://cmohuddles.com/​​

In this episode of DEI After 5, Tara and I discuss the differences between #coaching and #consulting (because they aren't the same!) and the future of #dei. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deiafter5/support

In this new episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Tim Davidson, Senior Director of Digital Marketing at Directive. Tim started his time at Directive working with clients at software companies looking to source more pipeline and revenue from their paid channels, his focus now is growing Directive's own marketing. You won't want to miss this episode if you're a marketer who's looking to grow your own following or if you're trying to start posting more creative content on your company's LinkedIn page. We chat about how to approach figuring out the right mix of demand creation and demand capture programs for your business. Tim also shares common areas B2B marketers are wasting spend and how to identify and cut these programs immediately. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertsonFollow Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41/ Check out Gaetano Nino DiNardi's content: https://www.linkedin.com/in/officialg/ About Demand Gen ChatDemand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

If you think you absolutely have to be a CEO or an executive to be a thought leader, this episode might just explode your brain. In this third episode of The Notorious Thought Leader podcast, Tara Robertson, Senior Manager of Demand Generation at Chili Piper, joins Erin Balsa to chat about peer-to-peer thought leadership and Chili Piper's passion for building in public.

Tara Robertson is Sr. Demand Gen Manager @ Chili Piper, a Marketing software company for demo request qualification, routing, and scheduling. She is the host of the show “Demand Gen Chat". She and CP help companies achieve MLG via proper, modern, non-spam marketing. Tara dons B2B buyers' flip flops to share buying preferences for Marketing + Sales: ✅aware of vendors via peers/network/referrals/WOM/influencers via content/social/communities (tks to Marketing + Marketing's influence on peers) ✅learn about/try/buy vendors via peers and website (tks to Marketing) w/OPTION for Sales ❌Turn off + tune out: telemarketing, email spam, LinkedIn spam, bribery via gift cards (Sales Development)

In the newest episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Ashley Wilson, co-founder and COO at Momentum. Ashley's career started in marketing and she has since co-founded Momentum, a sales automation platform for revenue teams. If you're a marketer looking for guidance on the best way to update your leadership team on how marketing is going, you won't want to miss this episode. We also chat about how Ashley approached making her first marketing hire, how marketers should spend their first 30 days in a role to have the biggest impact, and how getting your messaging right can help position your product as a must-have vs nice to have when budgets are tight. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertsonFollow Ashley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awilson820/ Check out the Inside Olivine newsletter: https://olivinemarketing.substack.com/ About Demand Gen ChatDemand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

Episode Description In this new episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Darrell Alfonso, Global Marketing Operations at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and author of The Martech Handbook. Darrell has been at AWS for over three years, and his team empowers thousands of marketers around the world to do their best work. We spoke about marketing ops don'ts and the most common mistake Darrell sees when B2B marketers run A/B tests. Darrell also shared how ops can set KPIs to work towards things they'll be proud of, versus spending all year putting out fires and fixing issues in other marketers' campaigns. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertsonFollow Darrell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellalfonso/ Check out Amanda Natividad's content: https://twitter.com/amandanat About Demand Gen ChatDemand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

In this week's episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Corrina Owens, Senior ABM Manager, Enterprise at Gong. If you're in B2B, you probably know Gong and see their marketing content everywhere so I was excited to meet Corrina and learn about what goes on behind the scenes and how they measure success. Listen to this episode to hear Corrina's take on why true personalization is always better than customization, how us marketers could be better at working with sales on ABM, and how the marketing team at Gong is structured. We also swap hot takes on what we'd love to see change on our LinkedIn feeds. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson Follow Corrina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corrina-owens/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@featuring_Corrina Check out Liam Moroney's content: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liammoroney/ About DGC Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

Episode Description In the newest episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Katie Meeker, the Director of Customer Marketing at iCIMS. Katie has been at iCIMS for over 13 years, originally joining the marketing team as an events coordinator, and now leading customer marketing. Customer marketing is a relatively new function that is growing quickly so I was very excited to learn from Katie. Listen to this episode to hear why customer marketers should report into marketing, the martech stack iCIMS uses to power their customer marketing programs, and Katie's predictions for the future of the role. Show Notes Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertsonFollow Katie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiemeeker/ Check out the Customer Marketing Certification by Product Marketing Alliance: https://certified.productmarketingalliance.com/p/customer-marketing-certified About Demand Gen Chat Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

► So, what is gated content and does it still work today? Tara Robertson is Sr Demand Gen Manager @ Chili Piper and Podcast Host of 'Demand Gen Chat'.

Leaders, how are you currently supporting your transgender employees? On today's episode of the improve it! Pod, we've got a guest who will help you create a safe space within your team so all feel seen, heard and valued. Please welcome the incredible - Tara Robertson, to the show! In today's episode you'll hear:  Why your mental health and boundary setting is imperative as a people leader How to create policies within your organization to help create a more inclusive environment for transgender employees  Three things that you can START doing as a people leader to support trans employees, and what you can STOP doing as a people leader to ensure a safe space for all About Tara Robertson: Tara Robertson is an intersectional feminist who uses data and research to advocate for equality and inclusion. She brings nearly 15 years experience leading change in open source technology communities and corporate spaces, including 3 years leading Diversity and Inclusion at Mozilla. She now partners as a consultant with technology, engineering and media leaders to help drive systemic change. Her work has been included in Harvard Business Review, Forbes and other publications. Hit play on this amazing episode and drop us a line at info@learntoimproveit.com to tell us what you think! Show Links: Human Right's Campaign's Trans Toolkit for Employers Rubber chicken Amazing handmade soap Want to get your team Hybrid Hyped? Check out this free download Send us a voice message here! Did today's episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com   “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!”  If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won't miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Fam :)

In this episode of Demand Gen Chat, I chatted with Hillary Carpio, Director of ABM at Snowflake. Hillary leads an ABM team of 18 marketers that support 100s of sales reps across North America and Latin America. We talked about how her team works cross-functionally to drive success with their ABM programs, how they measure ABM at Snowflake, and why ABM is no longer just display ads and direct mail.   Show Notes  Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson Follow Hillary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillarycarpio/ https://thehillarycarpio.com/  About Demand Gen Chat Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

In the newest episode of Demand Gen Chat, I caught up with Amrita Mathur, VP Marketing at Superside. Superside has gone through amazing growth since Amrita joined as the first marketer in May 2019. We cover a wide-range of topics from the history of Superside's marketing team, to how demand gen marketers can work better with design teams, to what ‘COMO' is and how marketers can take advantage of it to stay ahead of the crowd in SaaS.  Show Notes: Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson https://twitter.com/taraarobertson Follow Amrita: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amritamathur/ https://twitter.com/amritamathur Check out Katelyn Bourgoin's newsletter: https://customercamp.co/whywebuy/  About Demand Gen Chat Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

Must Contain is back with season 2! Join Kristin and Kristin who are back and better than ever. This first episode covers some hot takes on MQL with Tara Robertson, Senior Manager of Demand Generation at Chili Piper. Is it M-Q-L or Mequel? Twitter says MQLs are dead, is it true? Why should sales care about MQLs? Why should marketing? Get answers to these questions and more. Short on time? Skip ahead to 17:22 to hear the three things you need to know about MQL in 2022. 

In this episode, we speak with Tara Robertson, a diversity and inclusion consultant about some of the ways the tech industry has continued to fail when it comes to DEI, which is a topic spurred by a recent piece in the New York Times titled, At Wells Fargo, a Quest to Increase Diversity Leads to Fake Job Interviews. Then we speak with Stefan Marr, researcher and Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent's School of Computing about Shopify's investment into Ruby at Scale, and the research he will be doing for them. And finally we speak with Fabio Pliger, Principal Software Architect at Anaconda, Inc. and creator of PyScript about, you guessed it, PyScript! Which was unveiled at PyCon US 2022. Show Notes DevDiscuss (sponsor) CodeNewbie (sponsor) Avalanche (sponsor) At Wells Fargo, a Quest to Increase Diversity Leads to Fake Job Interviews The Price of Wells Fargo's Fake Account Scandal Grows by $3 Billion How to Talk to Your Boss About Race Shopify Invests in Research for Ruby at Scale PyScript: Python in the Browser

In the latest episode of Demand Gen Chat, I spoke with Sidney Waterfall, VP of Demand at Refine Labs. The agency works with growth-stage B2B SaaS companies and puts out a ton of content sharing their learnings. We cover some topics that have been all over LinkedIn feeds lately; dark social and how to use it to drive demand, and how marketers can actually use all the data you collect from self-reported attribution to make business decisions.  Show Notes: Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson Follow Sidney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidneywaterfall (ask her if she's started making TikToks yet!) Follow Nick Bennett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickbennett1/ Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

In this episode, I sat down with a fellow Torontonian, Dev Basu, CEO of Powered by Search. The agency has been helping B2B companies grow since 2009 and Dev has seen some major shifts in the way B2B companies go-to-market. We cover some spicy topics including why Dev doesn't believe MQLs are dead, and how to create competitor comparison pages that your prospects will actually want to read.  Show Notes: Follow Tara: https://twitter.com/taraarobertson Follow Dev: https://twitter.com/devbasu Playbook: Competitor Comparison Landing Pages https://www.poweredbysearch.com/blog/competitor-comparison-landing-pages-for-saas/ Check out 42 Agency's blog and newsletter: https://www.fourtytwo.agency/blog Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

Episode Description Demand Gen Chat is back for a new season! In our first episode of Season 3, we introduce you to our new host and catch up with Kaylee on what she's been up to since joining the marketing team at BrightWheel. We also chat about a few of her favorite episodes from last season of the podcast, and the tactics she'll be bringing with her as she builds out the demand gen function in her new role. Show Notes Listen to Ben's episode to heart how he approaches MQLs: https://www.chilipiper.com/resources/demand-gen-chat/s2e14 Listen to Jason & Mark's episode to learn more about how they got their CAB's help to test out their messaging: https://www.chilipiper.com/resources/demand-gen-chat/s2e7 Listen to Julia's episode to hear more about Toast's Growth team: https://www.chilipiper.com/resources/demand-gen-chat/s2e18 Follow Tara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/ Follow Kaylee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylee-edmondson/ About Demand Gen Chat Demand Gen Chat is a Chili Piper podcast hosted by Tara Robertson. Join us as we sit down with B2B marketing leaders to hear about the latest tactics and campaigns that are driving pipeline and revenue. If you're looking for tactical ways to improve your marketing, this podcast is for you!

► Why so many B2B websites fail at generating a steady flow of sales leads Tara is a B2B marketer in Toronto. With 10 years of SaaS marketing Experience - She runs Demand Generation for Chili Piper.

In the episode, we chat with Tara Robertson, Demand Generation Manager at Chili Piper, about attribution and how complex it has become. We also discuss how jumping into the new marketing trends and getting over the gated content accessible via email is crucial for companies today. Attribution - and how tracking everything may not be possible (and why that is not necessarily bad). How to qualify leads (and why lead scoring is not always the right way to go). What to do with all of the leads that interact with your product but are not ready to buy. Why does talking to people who do not have high intent make sense for demand generation? Should SDRs be part of the sales of the marketing team? Market saturation and branding vs. building up the funnel? The marketing bubble and why marketers need to go outside the bubble to focus on their product. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/42-agency/message

Jackye and Katee had more fun with Tara Robertson and she brought a friend! Alexandra Samuel and Tara recently published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled "Don't Let Hybrid Work Set Back Your DEI Efforts". They share some of their findings in this episode and so much more! Tune in to hear all about it! Here is a link to the article: https://hbr.org/2021/10/dont-let-hybrid-work-set-back-your-dei-efforts If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF 

Jackye and Katee had more fun with Tara Robertson and she brought a friend! Alexandra Samuel and Tara recently published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled "Don't Let Hybrid Work Set Back Your DEI Efforts". They share some of their findings in this episode and so much more! Tune in to hear all about it! Here is a link to the article: https://hbr.org/2021/10/dont-let-hybrid-work-set-back-your-dei-efforts

Jackye and Katee had more fun with Tara Robertson and she brought a friend! Alexandra Samuel and Tara recently published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled "Don't Let Hybrid Work Set Back Your DEI Efforts". They share some of their findings in this episode and so much more! Tune in to hear all about it! Here is a link to the article: https://hbr.org/2021/10/dont-let-hybrid-work-set-back-your-dei-efforts

This is our very first Spotlight Session, where we bring on the owner of dog daycare business to discuss their journey in building their business. In this episode you'll meet Tara Robertson from Pup Stars Pet Care in Chicago, Illinois. Tara shares how she went from an in-home business to renting a small facility to owning a larger one where she provides daycare, boarding, grooming, walking, training and more. Tara goes into what has made her successful, as well as some mistakes she made along the way. You'll learn how important systems are, how to treat your staff and how to roll with the obstacles that  will inevitability cross your path. 

In this episode I had the pleasure of talking to Tara Robertson, the founder of PupStars Pet Care in Chicago. Tara first started her business walking dogs on her own back in 2006. With increased demand from her customers for boarding and grooming, she hired help and moved her operation to a brick and mortar facility in 2014. Right before the pandemic hit, she upgraded to a larger space where she can offer almost anything her doggy clients need. From daycare to transportation, and grooming to first aid classes. Hearing about her business and services, the number one priority for Tara is safety. She and her team work closely with pets and their people to do temperament tests, offer training advice and sometimes, recommend daily walks instead of day care.

We should probably just call this part 1 of the Tara Robertson episode because we did not give enough time to talk about everything we wanted to discuss! We talk about data- all the data- and where DEI teams should sit in organizations, and, and, and . . . enjoy it! We absolutely loved this conversation and cannot wait for our next one with Tara!   If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF

We should probably just call this part 1 of the Tara Robertson episode because we did not give enough time to talk about everything we wanted to discuss! We talk about data- all the data- and where DEI teams should sit in organizations, and, and, and . . . enjoy it! We absolutely loved this conversation and cannot wait for our next one with Tara!   If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF

Tara joined Teamwork in February 2021 as Chief Marketing Officer and has over 20 years of global experience leading award-winning marketing and sales teams. With a passion for growth and results-driven marketing, Tara is experienced in managing full-funnel marketing strategies that drive both customer acquisition and retention. Before Teamwork, Tara was the Head of Customer Marketing at Sprout Social and helped bring the company public in 2019.

Offering good customer experiences across the company certainly is important. One way to do that is by building teams that work well together and make customer-centricity a priority. We want to talk about building teams that work and that can help us understand our customers and create great experiences for them. To discuss the topic, Jennifer Vogel is joined by Tara Robertson. Tara has built and continues to build high-performing teams. She's the CMO at Teamwork and formerly at Sprout Social. Of course we want to hear how building teams that work can help us with customer experience. Read our related article on building teams: https://site.voxpopme.com/building-teams/ Try video surveys to hear from your customers here: https://bit.ly/3usNn3d --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/customer-insights-show/message

Tara Robertson (@taraerobertson) is CMO at Teamwork.

The marriage between acquisition and retention is a component of B2B tech marketing that drives business success. The ability to generate leads and form strong relationships with customers are of equal importance in a B2B marketing strategy.Marino Fresch is VP of Acquisition Marketing at Sprout Social. Tara Robertson is CMO at Teamwork, and was Head of Customer Marketing at Sprout Social at the time of recording. . This FINITE Podcast episode is about how acquisition and retention marketing work side by side while Sprout continues to grow globally as a world leader in social media management solutions. ---The FINITE Podcast is made possible by 93x, the leading digital marketing agency for B2B technology, software & SaaS businesses delivering SEO & PPC strategy that drives leads, pipeline & revenue growth.---To apply to join the FINITE community, head to finite.community.Support the show (https://finite.community/)

Zach sits down with Tara Robertson, a data-driven diversity, equity and inclusion leader and culture builder, to talk about her journey as a DEI professional and the role of data in the equity and inclusion space. Check the links in the show notes to connect with Tara! You can connect with Tara on LinkedIn and Twitter. Click here to check out her personal website.

Marketing can sometimes feel like climbing a mountain - we are always pushing and finding new ways to scale our business. To get to the top of the mountain, however, we have to be ruthless in our process while always learning and testing. In this episode, Tara Robertson, the Head of Customer Marketing at Sprout Social, shares five customer marketing strategies guaranteed to grow your business. Get the free growth cheat sheet with all actionable tips and notes from this episode in a one-page PDF at https://growthtoday.fm/102.

In episode #5, Tara Robertson (Head of Customer Marketing at SproutSocial) talks about the power of focusing on your team’s strengths. She also shares some great insights on how to overcome imposter syndrome, find great mentors, and deal with the challenges of managing a remote team. Prior to joining SproutSocial, Tara was the VP of Marketing at Hotjar. Tune in to hear all about Tara’s journey as a marketing and sales leader, and the lessons learned along the way! Enjoyed this episode? Be sure to leave a review and share the podcast with your colleagues.

In this episode, join me and our resident astrologer, Tara Robertson of She the Shaman, as we share moon wisdom for this Full Moon in Libra and how yogic traditions and practices can support us. Plus, you'll learn how understanding your planetary placements and more are relevant to what you're experiencing and feeling right now. Tara gives us insights and examples based on Alyssa's placements and her own.  Links mentioned in this episode: Join the COVID-19 Immune Boosting Health Program Join the Wild Wisdom Facebook Group She, the Shaman Learn more about Qoya

My guest today, Tara Robertson of She, the Shaman, bears her soul in this episode. I am certain some of you will relate to her story of defining her identity through her career. I certainly can. But the Universe had other plans for Tara and I'm thrilled that she can share her wisdom because in sharing our stories we connect and realize that we are not alone in our experiences.  She also dives into the world of astrology, a bit of numerology, but especially shares how your rising sign, ascendant and moon sign can reveal a lot about your true nature. And guess what? You get some insight into my inner world because she uses my signs as an example of how you can learn more about yourself...and yes, the shadow and the light. In this episode, you’ll learn: Tara’s story of how her identify in her corporate career was lost and led her down a path of self-exploration Why astrology can be insightful for you More about the significance of the sun, ascendant and moon signs.  How natal charts can be a way to reveal much about your purpose in this world Subscribe & Review So, I want to hear from you! What did you think of today’s topic? DM me on Instagram or Facebook...or better yet, join the Wild Wisdom Collective, my FREE Facebook group and chime in on the discussion! I look forward to hearing your thoughts and insight! And if you love what you’re hearing, please take a moment to click the button on your smartphone to subscribe. Better yet, write a review and tell me why you love tuning in…and maybe you’ll be featured in our listener spotlight on a future episode! Links mentioned in this episode: Join the Wild Wisdom Collective – FREE Facebook Group She, the Shaman on Facebook She, the Shaman on Instagram

Tara Robertson, Diversity & Inclusion Lead for Mozilla, is a diversity champion. In this episode, you'll learn about her passion for an open internet, and why jobs in tech are "awesome." Tara candidly admits she still has a lot to learn, but also talks about her proudest moments and accomplishments. You're going to hear about a lot of things an organization is doing right when it comes to diversifying their workplace and supporting their people. Plus, you'll find out how she lifts heavy things - both for fun and for work. Tara Robertson is an intersectional feminist who uses data and research to advocate for equality and inclusion. Currently working as the Diversity & Inclusion Lead for Mozilla, she has more than 10 years experience making open source and tech communities more diverse and welcoming. Relevant Links: Aubrey Blanche Berkeley Lab - Diversity & Inclusion Firefox Firefox Monitor Highland Games "How to Support Your Transgender Employees," Forbes, April 28, 2019 Lizzo Mozilla Pocket (by Mozilla) Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: “Positive and Fun” by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

CW for discussions of transphobia and violence. In this, the final episode of 2018, I got to talk to weightlifting pal and femme genius Tara Robertson about her work on diversity and inclusion at Mozilla — and like a million other things, including why we want an open Internet, whether libraries are neutral (hint: they’re not), … Continue reading Episode 3.12 Not Nice, Not White, and Not a Lady with Tara Robertson

How does one of the world's top email conversion strategists help clients improve conversion rates and reduce churn? This week on The Inbound Success Podcast, email conversion expert Val Geisler shares how she approaches working with clients to revamp their email workflows and reduce customer churn through email.  From the discovery process she uses to craft email strategies, to how she determines who the sender should be and how to format emails, Val digs into the details that enable her to deliver impactful results for the clients she works with. Listen to the podcast to learn more about Val's approach to email conversion strategy and how you can apply it to your business. Transcript Kathleen Booth (Host): Welcome back to the Inbound Success Podcast. My name is Kathleen Booth, and I'm your host. This week my guest is Val Geisler, who is an email conversion strategist. Val came to the podcast because one of our previous guests mentioned her as someone who was doing inbound marketing really well. So I'm very excited to have you here Val! Val Geisler (Guest): I'm excited to be here, thank you so much. Val and Kathleen recording this episode Kathleen: I ask my guests every week in the podcast, "Company or individual, who do you think is doing inbound marketing really well?" Because I'm always curious to see best practice examples and also to discover new people to follow and new companies to watch. And when your name came up, it immediately piqued my interest and I thought "ooh, I really need to interview her." I've been looking forward to it. Val: That's awesome, I love having these conversations, so it's my favorite part of my day. Actually, I just realized I have my space heater on, I'm gonna turn it off. Kathleen: Go for it, yeah. And while you're doing that, it's funny, Val and I were talking before we started the podcast about how I really like to do these interviews in a very organic way. So sometimes the dog barks and sometimes the space heater needs to get turned off. And today, I can guarantee you that I will be coughing throughout this podcast because I'm on the tail end of a late fall head cold. So for everyone who's listening, bear with me as I cough in your ear for the next hour. Val: Yeah, for the people who are listening like to old recordings next summer, they'll be like "head colds and space heaters, what's going on?" Kathleen: Right, it's the week before Thanksgiving, November 2018, and it's definitely fall turning into winter. Val: No kidding, yeah we have snow today. Kathleen: Ugggh. Yeah, we had nasty freezing, sleeting, grossness yesterday. So I'm glad the sun is out! Well before we dig into our topic for today, I wonder if you could tell my listeners a little bit about yourself because I think you have an interesting story and you focus on such a fascinating niche. Meet Val Geisler Val: Oh, sure. Like you said, I'm an email conversion strategist. And what that means is that I work mostly with software companies and eCommerce companies on their lifecycle emails. So that is the onboarding emails, ongoing retention emails, anything that's campaign-driven. You know, I'm just wrapping up a few Black Friday / Cyber Monday campaigns. Those kind of things where you can really see a start, a middle, and an end. Not the ongoing email marketing that brands do. But when it's really about that overall customer journey. And they always like to say that it's like a Trojan Horse really, because what you come to me for and what you get is emails, but what you really get is a better idea of who your customers are and what they need and the kind of journey they want to go on with your brand and what's gonna keep them around long term. Kathleen: That makes a ton of sense. I've worked with all range of different types of businesses. I was an agency owner for 11 years before I joined IMPACT. So I've worked with B2B, B2C, small, medium, enterprise. And one of the things that I find fascinating is how much the sales process really changes so fundamentally based on industry and company size, particularly in software and SaaS. I've always found it interesting, in some respects, for a lot of those companies, that your email marketing is your sales. A lot of those companies, especially the lower priced SaaS solutions, you're not getting on the phone with a salesperson to go through a long and considered sales process, so if you're email marketing strategy is not tight, you're essentially gonna lose the sale. That's always how I've looked at it. It plays such a fundamental role and so I'm fascinated by what you do because so much is riding on it. Val: Yeah, the software example is an interesting one because in most cases, you're coming up against a free trial. So the industry standard is to have some kind of free trial, or a you know, first month, 30 day money back guarantee, kind of something like that. Which is essentially a free trial, right? You're going to refund them if they ask for it that time frame. So you're doing everything that you can to go from, they're no longer at the top of your funnel. They're much more mid funnel or they haven't quite yet made the decision to absolutely become a customer of yours. You're still on tenuous grounds, as it were. But you know you do have this opportunity where you are still selling to them and you want to treat them as though they already are a customer. And I think that is what's the most magical thing about email is that you have this really personal way to connect with somebody. If you think about it, our inboxes are like our virtual living rooms. Kathleen: Yeah. Val: You don't let just anybody in your inbox these days. So how do you treat your customers like they gave you that free pass to their living room that you can come by anytime? How are you going to respect that and then also treat them like the customers they already are and help them see themselves as a customer of yours? Kathleen: That's so funny. I love your analogy about the living room. All I can think of in my head as I hear you say that is that my living room has a lot of people in it that have overstayed their welcome, because my inbox is so full! Val: Oh yeah. Mine is not a good example because I actually collect emails for my blog on a regular basis. I write onboarding tear downs and retention tear downs and so I collect a lot of emails in my inbox. So mine is not a great example either. Developing Email Conversion Strategies Kathleen: Now if a company is coming to you for help with this, walk me through your first conversations. Where do you start when someone says "I want you to help me with my email strategy". Val: The first place I start in every instance is the customers. And this is a non-negotiable really of working with me is that we need to interview your customers. We need to talk to them, find our more about them, about them and not abut the product, right? So the typical conversation with potential clients of mine goes something like "hey, so the first thing we're gonna do is talk. I'm gonna talk to your customers" and they say "we already do that, we talk to our customers every single day". I say "yeah, I hear you and I know you talk to your customers about product and maybe there's a little bit of conversation about them or their business in those conversations. But the conversations are by and large about the product. What I'm gonna talk to your customers about is them. What they need. Why they came to you in the first place. How they're growing their business or what they're using your product for. How they make decisions. Who influences them? All of those things go into the buying process. To know that is pure gold. I have taken those customer interviews in the past and copied and pasted real sentences customers have said from the transcripts I get straight into onboarding emails that have an incredible conversion rate because of those exact words the customer's were using. And there's not way that we could get those from, you know help tickets or conversations that really are about the product. Kathleen: Yeah, I also think, I was having this conversation with somebody recently about buyer persona research in general. And I also, in my experience, found that your customers are never gonna be as honest with you as they will be with somebody from outside of your organization. Val: Yes. Kathleen: So even if you're diligently doing customer research and really working on those buyer personas, you're still never gonna quite get the same story as someone who's considered to be impartial or third party will get. Val: 100 percent. The answers that I get from the customers. Most of the conversations, my clients will introduce me to their customers as someone they're bringing in to do these interviews and this is the why behind the project. Then I get on the calls and the customers talk to me like "well you know, you guys do this, and I found you" they always say "you guys" you know like I'm part of the brand. In almost every single interview I've done I remind them that I'm actually not part of the company, I'm an outside perspective. Sometimes they joke and they say "well in that case, let me give you some feedback" Kathleen: Right, "Here's the straight scoop." Val: No, they do. They tell you what they're often afraid to tell somebody who works at the company. Kind of like, you don't want to tell the waitress something about your order in case the kitchen might spit in your food. I think of that as a very similar feeling in software and especially for smaller software companies. A lot of times the founder, CEO, is the original product builder as well. Customers don't want to offend you by saying something that, even if it's not directly about the product, that could hurt your feelings about how your marketing or who you're talking to. Kathleen: Right, it's like telling you "you have an ugly baby" Val: Exactly, so they'll tell me. There's an inherent promise that I make to all of the customers that I'll get testimonials. Sorry, not testimonials, I'll get transcripts which we can turn into testimonials with their permission. So I get transcripts of all the conversations, so I have their exact words. But my clients never know who said those words unless the customer gives me explicit permission for that. Kathleen: You know, it's so fascinating to hear you talk about this because you're touching on something that came up in another interview I did a couple of months back with a woman named Kristin Zhivago, who's written a book on buyer persona research and she talked about how, even if you're doing this research in-house, like as a marketer, if you're doing it in part to try and convince the C-suite of a change that needs to be made or a particular strategy that needs to be followed. What she talks about is how important it is to pull actual quotes from the research so that it's not you as the marketer saying "well here's what I see as the takeaway from the research". It's literally like "We asked five people this question" and here are quotes from five of them coming right from their mouth, what they said. It's really hard to argue with that. I think it's fascinating because not only is it hard to argue with that, when you go back to a software company or a client or your boss. But it's also interesting that the buyer themselves, you know you described a process where you put a quote in an email, and I think it's like the buyer themself is reading that and thinking "wow, it's like they read my mind". Val: When in fact we interviewed you, you know? The quotes come in handy not just in that onboarding process, but I used them a lot in long term retention sequences. So, after I work with a client on onboarding and we have that really nailed, then we dive into long term retention. So what kind of communication are your customers getting beyond that first like 30 days and is it regular newsletters, cadence, and that's it. They only hear about product announcements and new blog posts on your blog? Or are they getting other targeted communications about their use of the account, about things that will matter to them as they grow their business. Those comments that they make, those quotes that we have from the onboarding process, using them throughout the retention sequence to remind people why they made the decision that they did six months ago, twelve months ago, just putting those words back in their head that they were using about their buying decision. There is a period of time where we start to reflect on hopefully everyone is going through their expenses and seeing like "hey, what am I spending money on that I'm not using?" How could I be using that better or do I want to stop using it. It's a smart business move to do that. So you can't hold your customers at fault for canceling a subscription that they aren't using. If anyone's at fault, it's you for not talking to them about why they aren't using it, helping them get the most out of it while they're still there. Don't try and win them back as soon as they want to cancel. Stop it before it starts. Kathleen: It's so funny, because I literally just did that this morning in my role as a buyer of martech. I have a budget that I have to, that my team needs to stick with for marketing tools, which is essentially all the software that we use. That's one of our biggest line item expenses for my team and I literally this morning, before I got on with you, was going through that and thinking "What is the fat that I can cut from this?" There's a new product I want and in order to get it, I have to cut something else. You're 100% right. If there's something we're not using, or we're only using it casually, and it's not delivering full value, it's gone. Val: Yep. So, we need to continually remind them of the value and that values-based conversation is how everything should be positioned, moving forward. So, the product announcements are about the value that those new features are providing the customer. It's not about, "Hey, we spent three months building this feature," and, "We did all this," and, "We, we, we." It's about you. "Here's what you said you needed, so we put it into action, and we heard you, and wanted to create this for you, where you can learn more about it." I remember, as a kid, my mom taught me that if you use, "I" statements, you get a lot more convincing done when you're arguing with your brother and sister. Right? So, I think, "Man, everything you need to know about business, you learn as a parent," because all those things that you tell your kids are things you can use as your clients and customers do. Kathleen: So true. You know, I think what you just talked about with the "You" statements, can be applied even beyond emails. We do that when we look at customer websites. If you go to the home page of the website, and it's saying, like, "We, we, we," like, "We do this the best," and "We created this product," instead of, "Our customers have this problem and come to us for X." It's almost like you can count the pronouns on the page, and if the number of "I" and "We" statements exceeds the number of "You" and "They" statements, there's a mismatch. Val: Yeah, absolutely, and it's also an indicator of the working relationship, long-term. As a buyer, thinking about investing in a product or a service, you want it to be about you because you're spending the money, and you're deciding to hit that "Buy" button and sign up for that product. It just makes sense to put the statement back on the buyer and take it away from you. Kathleen: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. True. Now, you begin with that persona research, the buyer research, learning more about the needs they have, the challenges they have, the problems they're trying to solve through the product. If I'm hearing you correctly, you get certain takeaways from that. The value that they're searching for becomes a little bit clearer. What's the next step, then? Is it to really, then, look at the product and the customer journey through the product and marry the value statements to that so that you can, kind of, map out a sequence? How do you, then, take it forward? Val: That's exactly it. If I'm working with a company that's been around for a while and has data collected, where they can say, "Hey, here are the things that our most successful customers do." It's usually a combination of several different events, but our successful customers do these five things in the first 30 days. Then, you wanna make sure that your messaging is around ... and maybe not even all five things, but what three things are the absolutely most important? Building a framework of emails around that, so that you're not throwing every single feature, under the hood, at your customers from day one, but how are you helping them become the most successful customer you have in those early days? How are you helping them see the value that they wanted out from your product through those email communications? Val: Most of the time, email isn't actually about getting them to use the product, but it's about building a relationship, staying top of mind for them, and reminding them of the value that they have at their fingertips. We know that most of us are reading emails on our phone, and we're not in front of a computer, or we're checking our email in between calls, and we don't have a dedicated hour to sit down and do something. So, use those emails to provide value, to teach them what's possible. The call to action on the email can certainly be to login to their account, but just know that, that's not necessarily what they're gonna do, maybe, the first time they read the email. You're there simply to stay top of mind with them, because people often sign up for software and then hop onto a call, or go into a meeting, or go grab lunch. You know, they signed up, but they don't remember that they did it, even an hour later. So your job is to remind them that they did it, remind them why they did it, and remind them, what you provide for them ... what value you can give them because of the decision that they made. Kathleen: Now I have a million questions that are really detailed, nitty-gritty things that I want to go into. I guess I will start with ... You talk about reaching out to customers through email to remind them that you're there, to stay top of mind. When you work with software companies, how do you advise them about who the email should come from? Do you suggest that the email should come from, like, a specific person, like a Customer Success Manager? Should it come from the company? The sender ... How important is that? Val: It's important that it's personal because, again, your base emails, especially these initial onboarding emails, are building relationships. So, I like an initial welcome email to come from a CEO or a Founder. I like the following-on onboarding emails to come from a mix of that same Founder or CEO and a head of Customer Success or, if it's a more technical email, maybe, a Director of Engineering chimes in on those. I do like to introduce other people on the team, because they're people that your customers are building relationships with, inherently, over time. If they send in the support ticket, who might they hear back from? Who is leading the helm in this particular area of the products? That's the person you want to introduce ... one, because it shows a buyer, a customer, that there's more than just you behind the brand. When every single email comes from Founder and CEO, it's like, "Okay, but are you the entire team?" Kathleen: Right. Smoke and mirrors. Val: Right. Kathleen: Is there just one guy back there? Val: Right, 'cause we all know there are plenty of software companies that are, like, the Founder and CEO is also the Director of Engineering and the Head of Marketing. S o, it's really important that they know that there are other people behind the brand, and it is super simple to turn around from a piece of software, from this inanimate object you have no relationship with. When you start to build relationships with other people and, even if that's a one-sided relationship where they're just emailing you and you're not necessarily interacting with them, you're reading their name. You're seeing their words. There is a little bit of a relationship that gets built, and it's so much harder to turn away from a person, and it's even harder to turn away from multiple people, to tell you, "Hey, Kathleen, I'm sorry. I'm not really using this software that I signed up for. I know I made the choice to sign up for it. I'm not really using it." That's a harder statement, for me, than to go into a piece of software and click cancel. Kathleen: I could not agree with you more. I use a lot of different software products, and I sign up for a lot 'cause I like to trial things and, kind of, understand if there's something better out there. I find, first of all, that not a lot of software companies do this well, and the small number that do do it well, where, from the beginning, I establish a relationship with a person or a group of people, you totally hit the nail on the head. It's almost like I feel like I'm letting them down if I cancel. Val: Yeah. Kathleen: There's, like, a sense of guilt almost. Val: Yeah, and even though we're marketers. We know those emails are automated. We know that there isn't somebody on the other end personally typing it out to us, but it's a little tougher decision to make. So, there's lots of reasons for making it from a person. I do always like it to be the person's name and, then, from ... I was just using Drift as an example, yesterday. So, I'll use Drift. So, instead of it saying, "The Drift team," it would say, "Dave from Drift," and it also wouldn't say, "Dave Gerhardt," as the only name because, then, it's confusing. In your inbox, you're immediately like, "Who is this? Who's spamming me? Who's this person?" If you have some kind of reference point, "Dave from Drift," "Oh, okay. It's Dave from Drift. Got it," then, I'm more likely to open that email. Kathleen: You know? That's interesting, too, because we are not a software company at IMPACT. We have a very large readership for our content, and we A/B tested the difference in open rates if we send an email from Ramona, who is our head of editorial content. If it says, "Ramona from IMPACT," or if it's just her email address and her name ... It was funny going into it 'cause my theory was that her email address and the name would get opened more because it more closely approximates if it was a person you knew emailing you, that's what it would look like, but you're right. When we A/B tested it, I found out I was wrong and, "Ramona from IMPACT," actually got better results. Val: It does. Yeah. It's, like, friendly and familiar. It's comforting in knowing there's a point of reference because, also, you have to remember that this is a new relationship. This is, kind of like, when you are talking to a friend about somebody else, and you, kind of, always have to mention their last name until that friend gets used to you talking about that person. Then you can just use their first name. You know what I mean? It's like you need to mention the company name as a point of reference for who you are and why you're in their inbox. Kathleen: It's not pretending to be something that it isn't, like, if you don't have a really deep relationship, it's not pretending and trying to come into your inbox in disguise as though you do. Val: Yeah, totally. Kathleen: My next question ... These are all, by the way, totally selfishly motivated because we spend a lot of time in my team talking about email. So, I'm really psyched to see if you can, maybe, help clear up some questions that we have. Val: Oh, okay. So, this is a consult call. Kathleen: In disguise, it's a podcast interview. No, no, no. This is why I was so excited to talk to you, because email is a topic that is so top of mind and there aren't a lot of really concrete black and white, right or wrong answers. It's different depending upon industry, depending upon what you're emailing about, but- Val: A hundred percent. Kathleen: Yeah, the other thing that we debate all the time is the format that emails should take, meaning, when should you use a more traditional designed email with, like, a banner header and- Val: HTML. Kathleen: ... Yeah, and when should you use something that -- I mean, let's be honest, it's not plain text, it's like, plain HTML -- something that looks like it came out of your Gmail inbox- Val: Yeah, text-based. Kathleen: ... What are the use cases? Val: The way I like to think about that is transactional emails, HTML all the way. Put all your images in, put your header and your logo and all that stuff. So that is like monthly invoices, anything about the product, anything that is future releases, your regular blog post newsletter, that kind of thing. Those are all pretty transactional emails. Those are great for HTML, templated, beautiful, whatever, kind of emails. Relationship-building emails are where I love to use text-based emails. Relationship-building emails are the ones that I write for my customers. They're the onboarding, the retention emails. They're the campaigns about something really specific going on. That's where you wanna, again, really hone in on that customer journey and the personal aspect. So, if it feels like it's relationship-building, stick to relationship-building, stick to text-based. If it feels more transactional, then, template it up. When I say, "text-based," it's really important to know that I don't mean text only. You can certainly have images. You can even use a header if you want. Add your logo at the bottom. Whatever you wanna do. Text-based means at least 60% of the email is text. Kathleen: Now, does that actually improve deliverability as well? Val: It does. Kathleen: Have you noticed any particular ... Is there X percent more ... How impactful is that from a deliverability standpoint? Val: Deliverability varies by inbox since you have to think about where your customers are receiving your emails. If a lot of your customers are on Outlook, then good luck to you. Truly, if most of your customers are on Outlook, then, ... Outlook is, like, tons of corporate customers. Right? So, if that's the case, then you really do wanna stick with text-based emails because Outlook does not like a lot of HTML emails. They just look horrible, and email developers and designers will tell you that Outlook is like the bane of their existence It's their kryptonite. So, if that's the case, stick with text-based as much as possible, even for those transactional emails. Kathleen: Yeah. There's just so much potential for things to go wrong. We ran into this all the time when I had my agency. You would design what you thought was the most beautiful newsletter and it looked great, and you preview it in some of the different email clients, and then, it goes to an Outlook, or something, and all of a sudden, it's just a disaster. Val: Yes. It's a total mess. Again, on mobile. What's it gonna look like on mobile? Are they gonna have to scroll around on mobile 'cause nobody likes to do that. So, just considering that, as well, but as far as deliverability goes, it really depends on the inbox. I'm in this community of email geeks, and we all talk about this a lot. The deliverability experts there have told me that, really, the more text in a email, the more it looks like an email from a friend, even if it's being sent through an email service provider. The more an inbox can read text, it thinks that ... because, again, it's AI. It's not a real person making a decision. It's an algorithm, and so it's saying, "Okay, this is a lot of text. This person probably really wants to see this email," versus, "This is a ton of images. It's probably more promotional, or even SPAM." I want to be certain to say that the Promotions folder in Gmail is not the SPAM folder. That Promotions folder is, often, a good place to be. I know a lot of consumers who get really upset if a brand is trying to sneak into the main inbox, because they rely on that Promotions folder. They go to it to look at what deals they have available to them ... especially in the world of eCommerce. What's the next offer in their inbox? They'll drag those emails over to Promotions, left and right, when they land in their main inbox. So, be really careful about your industry, but also know that the Promotions folder is not like a garbage can. It's a place people actually really enjoy going to. Kathleen: Amen. You know, in my case, it's interesting. I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters just to, sort of, stay up to date on what's happening in the world of marketing, the world of technology, and also because I like to see what best practice email newsletters look like because we just launched a new one. You collect emails, I collect email newsletters, and they all go to my Promotions tab, or the vast majority of them do. The few that don't, I do move over because I have an hour blocked out in my day just for going to the promotions tab and reading everything in there because I really wanna see that information, but I want it categorized in such a way that I'm able to use my time efficiently. So, I couldn't agree with you more. Val: Right, and if you're an eCommerce brand, and your emails aren't in the Promotions folder, and somebody goes to the Promotions before they make their buying choices, and if your competitors are there, but you aren't, guess who they're gonna choose? Kathleen: Right. That's a very good point. That's a very good point. Yeah, the issue of images and text-based emails is interesting to me. I've really been looking at that closely lately because we're trying to make some decisions about the newsletter that we send out. I've noticed, even in Gmail, watching my own habits, I have Gmail set up so that it doesn't automatically download images. So when I go into these newsletters, if they're very image-heavy, they look really messy because, by default, those images are not opening, and I don't always click that little Gmail link that says, "Display images below." So I find myself gravitating more towards emails that don't have a lot because they're easier to read and digest without having to load the images. And if an image looks like it's gonna be really relevant I'll hit that button but there's something to that, you know to making something easy to read and cohesive without having to rely on a bunch of particularly decorative images as opposed to useful ones. Val: There's so many use cases that you just have to consider the majority of your customers and then do the best that you can by the rest of them. Use the alt text, uses few images as possible, you know all those things. Kathleen: Yeah the alt text ... we had a conversation yesterday because somebody on my team did a text based email that had a video in it and the video didn't show up in it by default. The alt text did and the alt text was like 'webinar promo' and we talked about how there's a real opportunity with alt text to change it to say 'click here to see a special message from,' you know? Just not something that you normally think about but I think it's those little details that can really improve results. Val: Yeah, absolutely. And the alt text has an opportunity to give more information. Like it shouldn't be a repeat of the heading on the sentence below the image. It should be its own stand alone piece of information. Kathleen: Yeah. That's so interesting. I love those little details. I must be a huge email geek as well. Val: You are. You're a secret email geek. Kathleen: I am. I'm letting my freak flag fly today. So we've talked about formatting and what these emails should look like. Where do you generally see -- in the SaaS customer onboarding and retention funnel -- where do you generally see the most leakage from the funnel and how do you use email to shore that up? Val: In the world of SaaS -- we've talked a lot about eCommerce I'm gonna transition back to SaaS -- the biggest concern is churn. And churn looks like revenue churn for most SaaS companies. The leak in the funnel is really around right when somebody converts to being a paid customer. Those first 30, 60 I'd say even as far as 90 days are absolutely crucial to nail the customer experience. There are too many software companies that are getting to conversion, so maybe they have an onboarding sequence set up and they're getting to conversion once their customer becomes a paid customer. That's it. They hear nothing else from the company until, you know, they get their monthly invoice and they get added to the newsletter segment and that's it. There's no other communication. That is a huge problem for battling churn because they're still a new customer, they're still trying to figure things out. Just because they've decided to go ahead and pay for month one doesn't mean that they're sticking around long term. I think once you get past month three, definitely past month six you have a dedicated customer at that point. But you know the biggest problem for SaaS is getting through those first couple months as a paid customer. And if you aren't paying attention to your customers in that time then you're gonna see pretty high churn numbers. You can drop your churn numbers just by paying attention to your existing customers. Stop trying to battle churn by bringing in new customers and increasing your conversions on new customers; everybody tries to battle churn by doing webinars and adding sales people to the team and going out and getting new customers because we have to get two customers for every one who churns, or you know whatever math they work out. If you just focus on the customers you've already attracted then you don't have to get any new customers. You can just keep the ones you have. Kathleen: Right. Plug the leaks in the bucket as opposed to pouring more water in the leaky bucket. Val: Exactly. Yeah. And you know, especially if your pricing model is based around the growth of your customers. So you know if you have something where they have some kind of tiered plan based on their usage or based on the number of subscribers or website hits, any of those things, if you educate your customers and help them grow their business then they're gonna move up your pricing plans and the more you educate them, the more you help them grow the business while they're moving up the pricing plans they are also seeing you as a valuable resource in their business in general, right? You become a trusted advisor as a brand and then they're not going anywhere and now you have them not going anywhere, loving your brand, probably evangelizing your brand and they're at one of your higher price points so that's a win for everybody. Kathleen: Now during those crucial first few months, if I were a software company that decided, "Okay I'm really gonna double down and make sure I'm treating these new customers well. I'm nurturing them so I'm encouraging product usage and adoption," I imagine it would be very easy to kind of tip the scales in the other direction and overwhelm them with email communications. So how much is too much and how often should these companies be having a touchpoint with their customers? Val: Well you definitely wanna make sure the left hand talks to the right. What I see often happening is that the product team will send out emails about the product while the marketing team is sending out emails about the blog or the newsletter and they're overlapping one another, they're creating this weird cadence or they're just crowding up an inbox. So you definitely wanna make sure that things are consolidated. And I'm not saying put everything in one email. I'm just saying make sure that you understand the send cycles in the calendar. There should be kind of one master calendar for all emails going out to your customers. And then there's segments inside of there too. So customers who aren't actively using your product but are paying for it you wanna talk to them a lot. You wanna know why that's happening. Because it's way better to ... honestly it's way better to let them churn out early than to have them on for months and months and months and then come back and say, "Hey I really haven't been using the product for six months can you refund me at least three of those?" Like that sucks. So you know I think a lot of founders are afraid of talking to people who aren't using their product because maybe they have a whole bunch of customers who aren't using the product and it's like, "Well then I won't have any customers left-" Kathleen: It's like there's something very, very wrong with that entire mindset. Val: Yeah, yeah. And also you don't really have any customers right now. Like you have people who are paying you. But they aren't your customers, they aren't using your product, they're not doing what you intended to have done with what you built. So they're just people who happen to be paying you money and probably forgot about it. Kathleen: Right, they're like zombie customers. Val: Yeah, yeah. I actually have an article that I wrote about the customers, those zombie customers. There are vampire customers who are the ones that like suck your customer support team dry of everything, they're not great customers. There's ghost customers who are customers who maybe sign up for a trial, never converted but have experienced your brand before. And there are zombies that are like out there in the wild running around trying to figure out how to use your product and maybe even forgetting that it's available to them. So yeah those are two great areas of opportunities to focus on is those ghosts, those customers who were around at one time and then vanished because there's a level of familiarity with the product and especially if you've done some major feature releases making sure you're reaching those customers in that process. And then yeah the customers who aren't actively using your product -- get them on board and talk to them a lot. If they are actively using the product, that's where the cadence changes. They maybe get less emails, but the emails they get are more of a congratulatory and a support from a level of, "We see you, we see you out there working hard. We wanna support you however you need it, here are the ways that we can do that." Versus someone who's not using it at all like, "Hey, we wanna help you be successful, whatever that means. Here's some of the opportunities that are available to you we'd love to hop on a call with you." Get your customer support team on board with really supporting those people in doing one on one calls or setting up group Q&A hours, webinars or whatever you need to do. Try out different tactics because what works for one business won't necessarily work for another. Kathleen: That makes sense. Now you've worked with a lot of different companies on these types of email strategies. For companies that do it well, what kinds of results can they see in terms of reduced churn or increased trial to customer conversions? Val: Well the results ... results may vary. They really do vary depending on what area the company's focusing on. And this is the one thing I caution people on is trying to do too much at once. I think you'll get no results if you try to do too much at once. But you will see results and they might be incremental, but a one percent decrease in churn can have a massive impact on your bottom line revenue. So if you focus on one segment of customers and maybe you focus on churn reduction for those zero to three month customers and really hone in on that instead of trying to cover all the way from new trial onboarding all the way through 12 plus month retention, just focus on a small segment of that and see how that can move the needle for you. And then replicate it. Everything about email is testing. Like if you aren't testing things ... like I love when my clients say, "Hey we wanna work with you and understand that these emails might not have the best results immediately so it's all about testing and we wanna have AB tests and we wanna run different segments through various email campaigns. And we wanna see what doesn't work because then we know what will work." Those are my favorite clients. The ones who say kind of like, "Let's break it and make it messy ..." because usually they come to me with a, "It can't get any worse from here" kind of mindset. So yeah, you can see a significant change if you focus on one segment at a time. If you're trying to do too much at once you really aren't gonna see much improvement. Kathleen: That makes a lot of sense. Well I feel like I could continue asking you questions forever and picking your brain and having my free consultation- Val: Yeah, let's do that. Any time. Kathleen: But you know as I said earlier you came to the podcast because one of my guests mentioned you as somebody who was doing inbound marketing really well so I wanna ask you my two questions that I always ask and see what you have to say. Kathleen's Two Questions Kathleen: So company or individual who do you think is doing inbound marketing really well right now? Val: I love Tara Robertson at Sprout Social. So Sprout Social's a really special company, they do social media distribution I suppose -- she probably knows a better word for it. But Tara's really focused on that customer retention piece and talking to customers. She does it so beautifully and is an advocate for customer relationships in her company. And she's really made a big change internally and also with their customers. So I love ... I got to spend a little bit of time with Tara recently and I wanted it to be days and days and days. So I love her, yeah. That's a great one and it's funny that it hasn't come up yet. I know Tara pretty well. She's also a friend of IMPACT's so it's great to hear her name come up on this podcast. Val: Yeah, for sure. Kathleen: Now my second question is digital marketing changes so quickly, how do you stay up to date and keep yourself abreast of the latest developments? Val: So my biggest resource in the world of email is Litmus. So they're kind of like the email mecca I suppose. So Litmus is both a tool and they kind of aggregate all the email marketing news and really stay on top of things in the world of what's happening from an email design development strategy distribution. All categories of email they are covering on their blog, in their community and at their conference. And so I'm a huge part of the Litmus community and I don't know where I'd be in email without them. Kathleen: Oh I will definitely be checking them out as soon as I get off of this conversation. Val: Yeah and they have a really powerful tool too for email testing. You can see what your emails will look like in various inboxes. There's a one simple button that you can see what it'll look like without those images displayed so it's really handy, yeah. Kathleen: That's neat, I'll have to check that out. Well thank you! This has been so interesting, I've learned a lot. You've definitely cleared up some sources of, I don't know if confusion's the right word, but you've helped to resolve some of the debates we've been having on our team about emails so that's awesome. Connect With Val Kathleen: If somebody's listening or has a question or wants to reach out to you what's the best way to get in touch? Val: So my website is a good place to start, it's valgeisler.com. I'm also pretty active on Twitter and I'm at @LoveValGeisler. It's G-E-I-S-L-E-R.com. So come say hi to me on Twitter, tell me you listened to the podcast I would love to meet you. And if you LinkedIn request me I'll get back to it in like three months, my quarterly checkup with LinkedIn. But Twitter is where I am on a daily basis. And then come join my own email newsletter. I send out my regular blog post, I write onboarding tear downs. In 2019 I'm writing more on retention and the overall customer journey and I would love to see you over there as well. Kathleen: So I do subscribe, it's great. That's a little plug for anybody who's thinking of that. I love your writing style -- it's really different but it's really kind of authentic so it's a great example. Well and I also love your Twitter handle by the way. Val: Oh thank you. Kathleen: Well speaking of Twitter if you're listening and you liked what you heard here consider tweeting me at @WorkMommyWork to give me some feedback. I'd love to know what you think about the podcast, if there are more topics you'd like to see covered or if you know somebody who's doing kick ass inbound marketing work I'd love to hear about that because I want to interview them. And if you like the podcast, give it a review on the platform of your choice. I would really appreciate it. That's all we have for today, thank you so much, Val, this was a lot of fun. Val: Thanks for having me, Kathleen. Kathleen: Thanks.