Here is a transcript generated by otter.ai of The Content Mix podcast interview with Michael McGoldrick from MRP on how to optimize timing in marketing:

Carlota Pico 0:13
Hi, everyone, I’m Carlota Pico from The Content Mix. And I’m excited to be here today with Michael McGoldrick, who is a senior marketing manager for the EMEA and APAC regions at MRP, which is a computer software company. And Michael also has over eight years of experience in marketing, and communications. Welcome, Michael. And thank you so much for joining us today on The Content Mix.

Michael McGoldrick 0:36
Thanks. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Carlota Pico 0:38
The pleasure is ours. Okay, Michael. So let’s jump straight into the interview. Could you tell me a little bit about your background experience and what led you to where you are today?

Michael McGoldrick 0:47
Yes, so I mean, historically, so I’ve spent five years at one of the largest BPOs, executed part of the company’s marketing strategies and targeting the company’s financial service target accounts. So that’s how I got to know the industry and the sheer size of the market. And so when I came across MRP, I love the technology company and the market opportunity. And the marketing position opened up. So it kind of felt like a natural transition for me. And that was just over two years ago. So now I find myself in a position managing our corporate marketing strategies across EMEA, and APAC. And a little bit about MRP, then so MRP products, it’s the only enterprise class predictive ABM platform. And our technology and services empower clients’ sales and marketing teams to simplify the complexity of their operating environments and using real time predictive analytics and intelligence to direct coordinate and execute across seven channels. And so using our global ABM managed service capacity or client infrastructure, our approach is essentially purpose built to drive measurable and higher response rates and pipeline conversion, pipeline value. We were founded seven years before the next oldest ABM platform and we’ve now been part of a publicly traded company with over 700 employees from more than 1000 ABM programs, across more than 100 countries in 10 languages and 11 offices spread across four continents.

Carlota Pico 2:12
Wow. Okay, so let’s think about Michael, as a kid. Did Michael as a kid always know that he wanted to pursue a career in marketing?

Michael McGoldrick 2:21
No, I mean, when I first started out in my career what I was really looking for was a job that would give me a lot of exposure to sort of business in general. And so I started looking at jobs for a management consultant. And and that’s how I found myself within the business process outsourcing industry. But after a few years, I didn’t really feel like I was learning a lot or actively contributing to commercial success in the business. So that’s why I kind of figured it was time for something new. And so I start networking and through conversations and meetings I realized, I love the idea of being creative in my role and contributing to a company’s success by utilizing that creativity. And a position came up in the corporate market department several months later, so I jumped at the chance. So fast forward five years and I find myself interviewing for a marketing role at MRP.

Carlota Pico 3:10
Okay, very exciting. So I guess you kind of just landed in the role by chance, but not after a lot of work. Okay, well moving into MRP, how does MRP help companies reach the right clients at the right time? And this question is obviously meant for audience to understand the value of what you do.

Michael McGoldrick 3:34
So I mean, MRP, we essentially close the loop on integrated account based marketing strategy. So our clients are able to identify and replicate high performing tactics and then eliminate the low performance. So our core technology is scaled, mature, and it’s actually one of the fastest and most scalable solutions available at any price. So, I mean, it’s benchmarked several hundred times faster than that. So for our IT experts out there, I mean KTB Plus is adopted by leaders across the world’s most demanding data analytic environments. And so its essentially what powers our solution. But the only ABM platform designed for sales and marketing professionals, you know, that operate programs across multiple product lines, industries and geographies. And given how sophisticated that environment is, we apply the world’s fastest Stream Analytics solution, which I mean consumes on average $1.5 trillion data signals per month. So that allows our clients to really operate at the speed and customer engagement. So they’re among the first to win. And so, essentially MRP simplifies the complexity of this enterprise sales and marketing environment. Applying AI does not connect this data, these insights and then the next best action, breaking apart a typical siloed approach to marketing.

Carlota Pico 4:50
Okay, yeah, no, it sounds like you make marketers lives a lot easier through a really complex platform but that’s really easy to use, right?

Michael McGoldrick 5:00
Exactly.

Carlota Pico 5:02
The back end must be like oof. But the front end is like, this is easy and straightforward.

Michael McGoldrick 5:11
Yeah, the back end blows my mind as well.

Carlota Pico 5:14
Yeah. Okay. You obviously take care of the EMBA and APAC regions, I want to ask you about the challenges of multi platform digital marketing?

Michael McGoldrick 5:25
I think this is the biggest challenge, b2b marketers have outgrown sort of simplistic point solutions they require, you know, the ability to unify data sources and rapidly drive insights and take action across different channels or lines of business or geographies, but they need this all in real time. And today’s buyers have transcended through marketing channels from moment to moment. So they have no idea that separate teams operate, display advertising or website content, your email campaigns or your sales development by reach. So as an organization, you were fortunate enough when a buyer interacts with us, but what we really want needs to do is adjust or respond to that success and pull the buyer on their team into the next stage of engagement. So the requirement here is really like speed and accuracy in our efforts to connect insights to actions. And so whether it be a new email, a phone call, or an entirely new campaign and content flow, I mean, if you’re currently working with an intent data or predictive analytics vendor, if they’re unable to update their data periodically, your only problem will be able to operationalize that data in real time, you’ll always miss this right time. So you’ll always be off message, your ability to generate response and revenue is really 100% based on your ability to learn and adapt to the needs of each targeted client and operate in real time, milliseconds between clicks and page views. I mean, when we look at research from McKinsey, for example, they found that b2b buyers are using an average of six channels to research considered vendors, and about two thirds of them leave the experience dissatisfied and so marketers really need to ask themselves if their market program can identify audience needs, select the relevant content and orchestrate this all simultaneously through multiple channels. I mean, many of the ABM platforms that are operating on our space have sort of multiple channel capabilities. But an enterprise marketer needs a lot more control that prevents them from over marketing, sending conflicting messages between marketing teams, and they really require real time trigger connections between the identification of needs within a targeted client to the identification of the next best action and the result and delivery of a high volume sales marketing action.

Carlota Pico 7:34
Okay, Michael, so what I understand for you marketing is all about timing.

Michael McGoldrick 7:39
Correct, yeah.

Carlota Pico 7:41
It’s about reaching your customers at the right time when they may need your products?

Michael McGoldrick 7:47
Yeah, ultimately, I mean, if you miss that right time, you have no way of being able to check if they will be back. Customers operate from moment to moment philosophy. So really the ability to identify those needs and insights in real time is what’s gonna allow you to perform the next best action.

Carlota Pico 8:10
Yeah, now, I mean, I love your platform. I wish I could use it for my personal life. I mean, what the perfect timing is for this and so that I can take action. I think life is all about timing. Even more than marketing is all about timing, but I guess life is as well. And so if there was a platform that could let me know like, you know what, get on that plane today because tomorrow there’s a great opportunity in like Alaska. Yeah. It’s like a little magic ball that gives me all these insights.

Michael McGoldrick 8:46
We’re not quite there yet. But you know, we are that little crystal ball for the b2b marketing space. But as soon as we we get to that level, you’ll be the first to know.

Carlota Pico 8:55
Please let me know, if you do ever have a little crystal ball that gives you all the answers, I want to be the first buyer. Okay, excellent. Michael, moving into my next question, from a marketing standpoint, how do you or would you cater for different market maturity levels?

Michael McGoldrick 9:11
So yeah, I mean, it’s a complex question. So in my current role, I’m responsible for both EMEA and APAC and we consider APAC – the reality is that it’s no less innovative or solid than the western based counterparts. And there’s a lot of misconceptions in regards to the maturity of the region. But I mean, as we’ve discussed before, APAC is such a huge diverse region, and it’s silly to tar that entire region with the one brush. I mean, when I think of APAC, I think of the hurdles that they will have to overcome, primarily surrounding delivery and distribution of digital market across Asia. So what I mean by that is connectivity is still an issue, sort of many Asian regions and the distribution of marketing material can be a big issue with large black spots. So there’s no quick solutions to some of the logistical issues in Asia, but mostly recognize that the region is in no way to same as the West when it comes to marketing, sales or business. One of the biggest mistakes that Western brands make when they try and grow markets in Asia is they lump it all together into one big region. So I mean, when we talk about delivering a sort of full integrated marketing strategy, regardless of market maturity that relies on robust orchestration. So that means considering the total messaging experience for each client rather than just ramping up the noise with some more broadcast messaging. So it’s another step away from this story, spray and pray model, and that is genuinely targeted and customer focused. And of course, it calls for a solid insight into customers or targets so that the messaging experience reflects their needs, which is what I intended to give you. So when it comes to message distribution, it’s no surprise that highly effective marketing teams adopt coordinated multi channel approach that was identified during orchestration, where data can be particularly helpful here is identifying which inbound channels prospective customers come from, and then delivering back targetted messaging that reflects the way the buyers in that region have engaged. So it’s tried and tested strategy to deliver more effective ABM programs.

Carlota Pico 11:19
Okay, but when it comes to like content and UX wise, both regions are extremely different. I worked heavily across the EMEA region, also the APAC region. And UX wise, when I used to help companies build websites, Asia, in general tends to enjoy or tend to like very cluttered websites, whereas in Europe, we’re seeing websites that are much more simple. And that’s just one cultural nuance that I’ve observed in my work. What about cultural nuances that you’ve observed throughout your experience of marketing?

Michael McGoldrick 11:53
I mean, both regions are hugely diverse. And I think when we look at APAC for example, Hong Kong and mainland China are vastly different and different languages and very different cultures. I mean, we think of Hong Kong, for example, it’s relative Western in their attitude, whereas China generally has been previously sort of on the other end of the spectrum until recently. So therefore, that market is a little bit less mature than other parts of Asia. I mean, through in India, Japan, Korea, Australia, you start to really appreciate the variety of cultures that exist there. So it comes back to sort of good marketing, it needs to be tailored to customers. And that means having an understanding of different preferences, their pain points, responsibilities, solutions they prefer and so on. And although this might seem obvious, surprisingly, many marketers tend to ignore this advice. You can’t hope to understand these differences from afar. The region is too fast, too complex and moves too fast. So in my opinion, having a base, whether that be in EMEA or in APAC and spending time on the ground across the different markets is absolutely critical. While it might not be possible for everybody to have a physical presence in the area, those organizations just don’t have the resources or skill to do so. You need to have the resources on your payroll, employees with experience of these complex markets, and even, better their native speakers, and that’s true for both EMEA and APAC markets.

Carlota Pico 13:20
Definitely. So basically have feet on the ground. People who understand the local culture and also speak the local language.

Michael McGoldrick 13:28
I mean, I think there so many large organizations have budget, marketing and all that coming from US operations and it makes it way downstream to Europe and in Asia, and that just doesn’t work. One size fits all isn’t going to work for you?

Carlota Pico 13:47
Yeah. But what about like those companies that don’t have a large budget but are quite strapped in resources. At the same time, lots of potential clients are in Asian markets and so they kind of approach the Asian market as one big cluster, although I do agree with you, you can’t compare China to India, for example, two completely different beasts just because the size of the population and itself I wouldn’t even compare China to China, I would focus on smaller regions within China.

Michael McGoldrick 14:20
I mean, I think like you said, the cost of setting up operations is astronomical. Like I said, I mean, having employees that operative experience working within these environments is really going to be your best asset. You can’t go in to these markets blind if you really haven’t got resources inside your organization. So from the region, speak the language or have that deep understanding of the cultural nuances. I think its invaluable.

Carlota Pico 14:58
Yeah, definitely. And then for the someone that doesn’t have the resources they can always rely on consultants as well, local consultants that navigate local marketing nuances and challenges and just basically figure out what strategy is going to work for that market. And then once they do have the resources, then start to expand.

Michael McGoldrick 15:15
Yeah, I mean, when you think of the UK and Irish employment markets, there’s a wealth of resources here. And people are from different groups. There is a lot of experience out there and you just need to make sure that you can tap into.

Carlota Pico 15:34
Yeah, definitely do your homework, right? Okay, tying into that last response, the economic consequences of the corona virus pandemic are far reaching and advertising and marketing budgets have been some of the first ones to go. What major lessons have you learned about marketing during this time? What do you think the future of marketing will look like Michael?

Michael McGoldrick 15:58
So I mean, for many of your listeners, their CFOs or executive teams are likely target significant cuts to their marketing budgets. Unfortunately, fear drives bad decisions. But that fear can be removed with data. I mean, we think back to advertising typically the first area of any strategy and marketing budgets often do fall in line for reducing expenses through the current climate. When we think back to the 2008 financial crisis, while advertising budgets fell by 13%, research identified double digit hits to sales and income when ad spend is cut during recession. I mean, companies that cut advertising take much longer to recover, and as such that actually depresses sales, but also market share. So when you think about what marketers can do in the near future and what we currently do, a lot of them are making use of computer data that they have to predict models build segments based on the customer needs. The organizations will have a wealth of data there and the current climate is likely to accelerate that trend. But for many markets, the patterns of growth expanding in their markets will have shifted. Some companies may be thriving, others may be struggling. And the right companies to target will have probably changed. We can now target based on more nuanced data, with tailored value propositions to match. It might become more productive to segment this business personality, the demographic makeup of it;s customers or maybe its digital maturity. And most people already have lead queues generated in their CRM from these data sources. And the opportunity to combine that data. So better insights will allow organizations to identify the right time and place to join that conversation with their customers quickly and effectively.

Carlota Pico 17:47
Okay, excellent. So basically use MRP to target the right accounts.

Michael McGoldrick 17:51
I mean, you’re pretty much.

Carlota Pico 17:55
Okay, well moving into the next section of our interview. It’s your recommendations for our audience. To get started, I’d like to ask you about your source of inspiration. Who do you admire Michael?

Michael McGoldrick 18:09
No person has inspired me more than the previous manager and mentor, Jaime Romero. He really helped me realize my potential and his instruction and guidance was what really ignited my passion for the industry.

Carlota Pico 18:26
Okay, beautiful, nice shout out. What about a resource that you’d like to recommend? So for example, a group, a book, a publication?

Michael McGoldrick 18:37
I think, a publication, The Drum is at the top of my list. It really calls on the industry to consider the effect its work has at large, so it’s a fantastic source of insights.

Carlota Pico 18:50
Okay, and last but not least, what’s your favorite app at the moment?

Michael McGoldrick 18:56
Oh, difficult and I mean, I think for me, it has to be Microsoft Teams. It’s on all the time. I mean, given through the different markets and things that we operate across, that ability to be able to connect with any given time zone is really invaluable for me. So it’s a great app for me.

Carlota Pico 19:19
Yeah. Okay, well, Michael, thank you so much for joining us on The Content Mix. It was awesome to meet you and to learn about your experience.

Michael McGoldrick 19:26
Yeah, pleasure to meet you.

Carlota Pico 19:29
And to everybody listening in today. Thank you for joining us on The Content Mix. For more perspectives on the content marketing industry in Europe, check out The Content Mix. We’ll be releasing interviews just like this one full of insights like the ones that Michael gave us every week. So keep on tuning in. Thanks again. Have a fabulous day and see you next time. Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai