Here is a transcript generated by otter.ai of The Content Mix podcast interview with Elise Duchateau, EMEA marketing director at Nuxeo, on thinking like an entrepreneur in the marketing industry:

Shaheen Samavati 0:13
Hi everyone, I’m Shaheen from The Content Mix and I’m excited to be here with Elise Duchateau, EMEA marketing director at Nuxeo, a global content services platform. Thanks so much for joining us, Elise.

Elise Duchateau 0:24
Thanks for having me, Shaheen.

Shaheen Samavati 0:26
Can you start out just by telling us a bit about yourself, where you’re from and what you do?

Elise Duchateau 0:32
So I’m based in Paris right now. I’ve been living in Spain, in New Zealand, in Bordeaux, Dijon. So I like to see myself as a citizen of the world.

Shaheen Samavati 0:46
Okay and can you tell us a bit about your role at Nuxeo?

Elise Duchateau 0:51
So my goal as EMEA marketing director at Nuxeo is to lead all the marketing activities for the region and to help the region grow. So I have a focus on France, UK, Ireland, DACH, Benelux and Nordics. I’m in charge of delivering the right message to the right audience, taking into account cultural differences and market maturities.

Shaheen Samavati 1:20
Okay and you’re based in Paris now, right? So you’re joining us from Paris?

Elise Duchateau 1:24
Yes.

Shaheen Samavati 1:26
And you work with markets all over the region, like you said?

Elise Duchateau 1:29
Exactly. So I used to travel a lot before COVID.

Shaheen Samavati 1:35
I can imagine. So this year, a lot less travel. So can you just give us some context about what Nuxeo does? So what are smart content applications?

Elise Duchateau 1:48
So Nuxeo is an innovative platform that helps enterprises manage their information better in order to improve their customer experiences, productivity, efficiency. So basically, the platform can manage billions of assets, such as documents, photo, videos, 3D files, all types of contents really. The platform includes all the latest technologies, such as AI, to BETA store search and retrieve information, as well as automates content based processes.

Shaheen Samavati 2:30
So who’s your target audience or your target clients, who are the people who use this?

Elise Duchateau 2:36
So all enterprises need to better manage information, especially at this time. The majority of our clients are within two industries, which are financial services and retail CPG. So for financial services, we are targeting enterprise architects or directors of claims, people that really want to modernise their IT systems or digitalize their processes. For retail and brands, we are targeting more creative operations and marketing directors that want to manage their digital assets better. So photo, videos, 3D files etc.

Shaheen Samavati 3:28
I see. So what are your most important channels for reaching those audiences?

Elise Duchateau 3:34
So I would say the websites, professional social networks, such as LinkedIn, emailing, industry media as well. Webinars, virtual events right now. All these kinds of channels.

Shaheen Samavati 3:55
I see. So do you have an example of a campaign or a piece of content that’s worked really well for you recently?

Elise Duchateau 4:04
So what we really like to do at Nuxeo is we like to really understand our audience and really respond to their needs. So we like to run local survey, for example. So that’s what we did this year, we did two local surveys, one on financial services and one on retail CPG. For financial services for example, we surveyed a financial services worker to really understand what were their challenges, in terms of Brexit, innovation, AI or time they were spending to look for information every day, that one hour per day they were looking for information is huge. Really to help our customer understand their challenges and how to respond to it. We did the same with retail and brands, we focussed more on customers. So really understand what the customers were expecting from them in terms of brand consistency, in terms of interaction and channel, etc, to help our customer. These kinds of pieces are really successful and really appreciated by the press and our audience.

Shaheen Samavati 5:29
So what does the end result look like with this kind of content?

Elise Duchateau 5:34
So, basically for financial services, what was really surprising was the time they were spending per day looking for information, because they had a lot of systems in place. So it was really interesting to see how much productivity enterprise they were losing because of people trying to look for information and they didn’t have the right tool to really retrieve the information. So that’s how we really understand what the challenges are into our audience and letting them know that we can help them with our solution.

Shaheen Samavati 6:28
So what do you think is important to keep in mind when creating content marketing materials in your industry?

Elise Duchateau 6:35
So I think what’s the most important is to focus on or to really have in mind, why you created this content and for who because I’ve seen a lot of content pieces in the industry focusing on their enterprises or their products and that’s fine. It’s usually normal, when you really believe in your company product that you want to tell the rest of the world that you have the best product in the world and that’s understandable, I would say. But if you want to do content marketing, I think content marketing starts with altruism, for me, in my opinion. So you really need to focus on your audience and when you really want to help your audience, you start building trust. You start understanding them better and offering them the best product. So I think content marketing shouldn’t feel like marketing for me and if it does feel like marketing, maybe you need to change your approach.

Shaheen Samavati 8:00
Absolutely. That kind of leads into my question about tone of voice. How does tone of voice play into the content you produce? How would you describe the tone that you use?

Elise Duchateau 8:11
So for tone of voice, we try to stay dynamic, straightforward and simple because we focus on a European audience as well. So we try to focus more on benefits, rather than technology, in order to simplify the message and democratize our vision.

Shaheen Samavati 8:36
So you’re responsible for marketing in the EMEA region? So how do you make your content resonate in different geographies across the region?

Elise Duchateau 8:45
So, I would say we focus on the right language, the right message, the right time, and that is for each country. Europe is difficult, because there is so much culture, so much different languages and you need to understand the right language for your audience, but it depends on the industry, depends on your audience. For example at Nuxeo, even if we target people that speak English in France, for example, they speak English, but they want to consume content in French. If you don’t understand that, you will never reach out to them actually. Even sometimes when we have some anglicism into our slides, they complain about it. So we need to really try to choose the right language for the right region and after we define the message as I said, Europe is usually really straightforward, more straightforward than any other region in the world. So we try to really focus on benefits, what they’re going to get from it. So titles are usually longer and what they’re going to get from it is keeping on our promises. So we promise something in a title and we will deliver an outcome. That’s how we keep people coming back for consuming more content.

Shaheen Samavati 10:25
Do you think your experience having lived and worked in so many different places has helped you in your role now?

Elise Duchateau 10:35
Yeah, I think so. I’ve been traveling around and since my studies, I’ve always been amazed by intercultural differences and I even created a local nonprofit organization… International mobility and intercultural awareness… I like, you know…I think it’s really interesting and really rich, all these different ways of thinking from vision. I think the fact that I love to travel and I’ve been living in different countries helped me in my position right now because I’m open to that.

Shaheen Samavati 11:30
And you’re curious about the different cultures, even if it’s not one that you specifically have lived in yourself?

Elise Duchateau 11:37
Yeah, I try to learn languages as well, because I think language is really an interesting part of culture. When you learn a new language, you understand the culture better.

Shaheen Samavati 11:50
So could you tell us a bit more about your background, like how you got into marketing in the first place?

Elise Duchateau 11:56
So I did business at school. I had studied in Spain and France. So I had a double degree in French and Spanish and after I specialized in international marketing and communication. So I really entered my first job as a media consultant, so it wasn’t so marketing, it was more communication and it really helped me. So I was doing curation, media curation for a lot of different enterprises and so it really helped me being curious about the market trends and the industry, the media creation, so it helped me in my job. But my approach, when I’m taking a new position or a new job is always to keep on a new challenge. So I like to learn, I like to try new things and so I always try to change the perimeter of my job and keep on a new challenge approach.

Shaheen Samavati 13:15
So how did you go from being a media consultant to moving into management roles in marketing?

Elise Duchateau 13:20
So, I did marketing before because I created a local and nonprofit organization when I was a student and this local nonprofit organization I affiliated to a network of big local nonprofit organization in the world working with the European Commission around intercultural mobility and this kind of stuff. So I was a communication manager before for this network at the national level and I did street marketing before as well. So I knew the space but what happened is, yeah, it’s a big step between media consultant and marketing manager because that’s happened to me. But it was really a question of, I met the CEO of my own company and it was a match. So we had the same vision. He wanted to create a marketing environment and a business environment in his company and I wanted to take on a new challenge. So I asked him to give me the position and to let me prove myself in terms of, I can do it. I know I can do it and you will not regret it. So that’s how it happened.

Shaheen Samavati 14:19
Yeah, it sounds like you have a really entrepreneurial mindset. You started your own nonprofit which actually I didn’t know about that, that’s not on your CV. Then you were responsible for setting up the marketing department at your previous company and then again in your current role, you also set up everything from zero for the European operations, right?

Elise Duchateau 15:31
Yeah. I think I’m an entrepreneur deep down.

Shaheen Samavati 15:42
Well it sounds like an interesting story. Can you tell us more, the nonprofit does it still exist and what was the story there? That sounds like it was the route to everything else you did in a way?

Elise Duchateau 15:56
Yeah, maybe. I never actually visioned that like that. Yeah, it still exists, it’s still a big network. It’s called Erasmus Student Network, ESN. It’s a big network and you can watch that online. It’s a really nice network of all these people all around the world, coming from different experties, different fields, willing to promote international mobility and willing to promote the intercultural openness. It’s an amazing network actually. Maybe you can meet some wonderful people there.

Shaheen Samavati 16:48
Yeah, it’s actually really well known because I used to work in the student accommodation space so I’ve actually heard of it. What a coincidence. Very cool. I mean, how do you think your experience there has impacted the rest of your career, your interests and what you’re doing now.

Elise Duchateau 17:08
I think the fact that I actually created the [created the local non-profit organization], and I took some risk there, financial risk and I did a lot of stuff that I didn’t know about before, I didn’t know about creating something. So it was maybe the first step in my career saying, if you want to do something you can do it, you just need to try to take some time to experience it and maybe you can do it if you really are willing to learn and just do it. I think that’s helped me to get confidence in myself and in the rest of my career saying okay, I can take on this new challenge because that’s how I will grow, that’s how I will improve myself and learn new skills. I’m confident that I can actually learn a lot and I think, for a marketer, it’s even more important, because you always need to learn because it’s always evolving what we’re doing in terms of job and activities.

Shaheen Samavati 18:29
Yeah, so can you tell us more about like what goes into setting up a marketing department?

Elise Duchateau 18:37
So, first is to get to really understand the environment. So like, for me, it was corporate marketing, the different stakeholders to the company. After, understand the processes, get the processes done for you and for your needs, for your department. Think about scalability, because you create a first time report or first person at the beginning and after you need to think about growing a team. So thinking about scalability and start building processes where you can actually involve different people into it. It’s really a question to be a hard worker you need to work hard, have your hands on and multitask. You need to manage everything at the beginning and start building, be really organized.

Shaheen Samavati 19:46
Yeah, figuring out things as you go along and adapting to different challenges?

Elise Duchateau 19:52
Yes.

Shaheen Samavati 19:56
Well, that kind of answers my next question about what you think are important skills to have as a marketing manager. That kind of covers it, I suppose, any others?

Elise Duchateau 20:07
Yeah. Curiosity, agility, flexibility and willing to learn more. I think that’s the main thing, you need to train yourself, always train yourself and learn more because it’s always evolving.

Shaheen Samavati 20:23
Yeah, so that actually goes into my next question, which is about how do you stay up to date on marketing trends? Or how do you keep your skills fresh?

Elise Duchateau 20:32
So I read a lot. I have a daily curation on marketing, on industry trends that come from my old media consultancy job. But I read a lot of other stuff as well like innovation in other industries, novels or theatre pieces, I love to read anyway, but I think it’s really important to open your mind into other stuff, rather than only your industry or only marketing. I think there is a whole really interesting thing around that can really inspire you, as well.

Shaheen Samavati 21:20
Do you have any favorite marketing or business book in particular you’d recommend?

Elise Duchateau 21:28
I like a book which is Blue Ocean Strategy, it’s a business book and it really inspire me to look at new markets, new market segments, new demands, new audiences. Blue Ocean Strategy is a book that’s telling you how to compete in blue ocean in a trade ocean. So red ocean is the market competition as usual I would say and blue ocean is to open your mind to other market segments. It’s really, really interesting, I really advise it to really keep you open.

Shaheen Samavati 22:26
Actually, it’s a classic that I haven’t personally read and several people have recommended it on the podcast. I definitely have to read it. So do you have any professional role model?

Elise Duchateau 22:46
I would say Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand Prime Minister. She’s funny, she’s efficient, empathetic and transparent and because of that she gains the trust of her people and an international admiration, I would say. I think she would have been a really great content marketer.

Shaheen Samavati 23:20
Yeah, multi-talented. Do you have any productivity hacks or any tips?

Elise Duchateau 23:34
Yeah. I run every day. So I run seven kilometres before I start my day and it helps really clear my mind and begin my day without stress and more dynamic. So yeah, I think my productivity hack is my run. I have a written to-do list as well. It’s not new, it’s kind of old to have a written to-do list, but it works for me as well. It’s a good productivity hack.

Shaheen Samavati 24:13
Definitely, solidifying ideas on paper can be good. Any favorite software tool or app at the moment, either professional or personal?

Elise Duchateau 24:27
So all the tools that help automate my activities are my favorite apps at the moment. At Nuxeo we use Marketo and Limbor for social network automation, but I used to like HubSpot a lot as well.

Shaheen Samavati 24:46
That you’ve used in other contexts, I guess. Well, any other resources for marketers like online communities, publications, podcasts, any other things that come to mind?

Elise Duchateau 25:02
So definitely, I would advise The Golden Circle and Hubspot Academy and blog, I think they are great assets to read. What I like as well and what I like to advise is a novel. It’s The Ladies’ Delight from Émile Zola. It’s not a marketing book at all. It’s really a novel and I like it because it’s really about how to be at the risk of disruption for those who are not embracing change when it comes. So actually the book is about the arrival of malls but it’s the modern and accuracy of this book, even as of today. It’s wonderful. I love it.

Shaheen Samavati 26:00
Very cool. Yeah sometimes you need to read something that’s not only business and it can actually inspire you in your work. So we’re reaching the end of the interview. So I just wanted to give you the chance to give us any parting advice or final thoughts, takeaways for other marketers in Europe?

Elise Duchateau 26:20
I think 2020 has been hard. It’s been tough, a tough year and 2021 will be maybe even harder, but I think we can take that as an opportunity to actually create, innovate, and maybe rethink our content marketing approach. I think we can see that really as an opportunity. 2021 can actually be the best year to grow for us. So let’s embrace it.

Shaheen Samavati 26:53
Yeah, absolutely. That’s a great message to end on. Thank you so much Elise for sharing your insights with us today.

Elise Duchateau 27:01
You’re very welcome. Thank you, Shaheen for having me.

Shaheen Samavati 27:04
Thank you and thanks everybody for listening in. For more perspectives on the content marketing industry in Europe, check out TheContentMix.com and keep tuning into the podcast for daily interviews. See you next time. Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai