Guest speaker: John Sheldon
Expertise in Business Transformation, Digital and E-commerce with strong breadth in key marketing disciplines. Proven, innovative leader and driver of growth for large multinational service and product marketing organizations. Numerous ground-breaking product marketing and strategic leadership engagements within rocket-ship growth startups and Fortune 500 companies. Strong passion for developing data-driven and/or SaaS products, brands and services that maximize customer experience and brand value.
An inspirational team builder and trusted advisor to senior executive leadership and colleagues as well as a designer and driver of sustainable and highly profitable marketing organizations. Proven success in building cohesive professional teams with a clear P&L focus coupled with a dedication to achievement, growth and professional fulfillment.
Episode summary
This episode features an interview with John Sheldon, Chief Marketing Officer at SmileDirectClub. A self-proclaimed “truffle pig” of customer data, John has over 30 years of experience in digital marketing, brand value, and growth.
In this episode, Kailey sits down with John to discuss marketing differences pre and post iOS 14.5, insights you can gain from observing customers in stores, and the consumerization of healthcare.
Key takeaways
The CRM is the circulatory system of the marketing system. It’s a vital piece of the machine that helps customers not get lost in the cycle. It helps to remove barriers so customers feel confident and comfortable in their experience.
In an industry like teeth straightening, it’s critical to understand what hurdles your customer has to overcome to use your product. You also have to help them envision what life will look like on the other side of those hurdles through marketing and communications.
The consumerization of healthcare continues to grow, with more customers taking control by bringing conversations to their doctors. It’s important that marketers empower customers to control the process and get the results they want.
Speaker quotes
“CRM is the circulatory system of our marketing system. You couldn't rip it out. It's so vital and critical because there are so many places for a customer to kind of get lost in the cycle.” – John Sheldon
Episode timestamps
*(01:39) - John’s career journey
*(05:50) - Digital marketing differences pre and post iOS 14.5
*(08:12) - Trends in customer experience and behaviors in the teeth straightening industry
*(12:19) - Insights Jon’s gained from viewing customers shop in stores
*(14:19): Challenges in the customer engagement journey
*(17:36) - How data influences marketing at SmileDirectClub
*(18:53) - How John defines “good data”
*(24:21) - An example of another company doing it right with customer experience (hint: it’s Yeti)
*(31:05) - John’s recommendations for upleveling your customer engagement
Resources & links
Connect with Kailey on LinkedIn
