What’s a major marketing lesson you learned last year? In today’s interview, Mark de Bruijn, director of marketing EMEA at Smartly.io, shares how he has learned time and time again—especially last year—why the customer experience is absolutely vital for any brand’s success. He points out the strong connection between content marketing and the customer’s evaluation of his or her experience with any given brand. 

Tune in as Mark speaks with Shaheen Samavati about the most important skills for modern marketers, how the tone of content is just as impactful as the message, plus why transparency should be the backbone of communication between a brand and its customers. 

You can watch the full conversation in the video above or on YouTube, and listen to the podcast on Apple or Spotify.

Rapid-fire recs

• Source of inspiration: My previous manager. “I learned a lot about marketing, but also how to become a better person, how to be family-focused and how to stay calm when things are not going as planned, as well as the idea that it’s okay to fail.”

• Useful book: Marketing Design by Eveline Van Zeeland. “I think that’s a really interesting book to read. It focuses on the importance of design, neuromarketing and a different view on how you can do things as a marketer.”

• Favorite app: Be My Eyes. “It’s an app that connects blind people to people that are sighted to help them with various tasks. I think it’s a perfect example of humanizing technology. It’s an app that truly has a purpose.”

• Productivity hack: Waking up early. “I think working in the morning is great. I also try to not schedule any meetings in the morning; I block my agenda and just try to have all my meetings in the afternoon. This lets me clear my head.”

“I once heard somebody say that customer experience is a feeling. If you have a good customer experience, you feel welcomed to a brand. In turn, you also feel good about everything connected, from employees, to social media, to email newsletters—everything.”

Connect with Mark and Shaheen on LinkedIn.

This post was edited by Jamie Albert.

---

For more insights on how to enhance the customer experience:

Bridging the empathy gap – Amy Kelly, EMEA marketing director and customer experience expert

Optimizing the customer journey – Hugo Faria, EMEA marketing manager at Kemp

Gain customers for life – Alwi Mohamed Suleiman, content marketing master

To see the full transcript, click on page number 2 below.