How data is adding science to the art of marketing

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Reporting directly to the Vice President of Marketing in EMEA, Pascal Lendermann and his team are responsible for program operations and digital services at Cisco. Together with his team, Pascal is always on the lookout for innovation and transformational services that support the countries in his region; he then uses these programs and tools to help create more effective marketers. As Trovus has been working with Cisco for the past 3 years, and specifically with Pascal and his EMEA team for nearly a year on a variety of projects, Trovus’ COO Fanni Vig interviewed Pascal to find out more about the role of data in marketing and how it affects the business. Thank you to Pascal for sharing his insights and learning experiences within the fast-moving world of IT.

Marketing and technology

FV: How has technology featured in

your career in marketing?

PL: Technology has always played an

important role in my career. Within the

IT industry I have worked for 17 years

in the marketing communications area,

and added operations to my role a

couple of years ago.

I’ve always felt that technology can

create disruptive marketing and

set trends. I dived into the world of

email marketing in 2004 and added

marketing automation in 2008. Today,

it’s crucial to understand customers’

digital behaviour.

We’re in the digital age now. We

gather a lot of data that can help us to

understand our customer needs better.

The key challenges of today

FV: What are the key challenges you

face?

PL: People are taking a different

approach when buying products. Even

in B2B the internet has changed a

lot. People now go online to get more

information and to make their decisions

to buy. As a result, we have to evolve

how we interact with customers.

Our biggest challenge is: how do we

provide the customer with the right

information at the right time and the

right place? At the end of the day it’s all

a question of how we can improve the

customer experience. The bottom line

we need to ask is: what is marketing’s

role in the company and what is

marketing’s role in sales and revenue

generation?

From folding letters to real-time response on social media

FV: What changes have you seen in the

marketing function over the years?

PL: I started my career folding letters!

For example, for event invitations I

worked with direct mail, printing letters

off for customers, then folding and

posting them. Things have changed

now. These days, customers have

digital know-how, and they want an

answer or information straight away:

Cisco and the marketing team have to

react more or less in real time.

Social media increases the complexity.

We see tweets in the social space

saying “Should I buy Cisco?”. If you

don’t react quickly and appropriately

you might lose the sales.

Customers want to find everything

when it suits them, and marketers have

to keep pace with these expectations;

Pascal Lendermann is Head of Program Operations for Cisco across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Marketing in EMEA, Pascal and his team are responsible for program operations and digital services. Pascal is always on the lookout for innovation and transformational services that support the countries in his region; he then uses these programs and tools to help create more effective marketers.

We’re in the digital age now. We gather a lot of data that can help us to understand our customer needs better.”

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CLIENT CASE STUDY

as marketers, we’re now a fundamental

part of the sales process. Studies

say marketing has to cover up to 70

percent of the buying process; this is a

completely new role for us.

How data has rocked the world of marketing

FV: What impact has data had on your

role?

PL: Data has dramatically changed

marketing. It’s changed what we can

do, what we can find out and what we

can measure.

My priority is for marketing to

contribute to the business in a way

that’s measurable and visible. It’s all

about creating a great digital customer

experience and generating demand.

With visibility, scalability and increased measurability, data is bringing science to the art of marketing.”

So, how can we produce great leads

that help our sales teams continue

the conversation and close the deals?

We’ve got the tools to collect that data,

and those tools can help us work out

what customers want, and verify the

impact to the business.

With visibility, scalability and increased

measurability, data is bringing science

to the art of marketing.

FV: So data is helping you to connect

better with customers. With new

communication tools and analytics

technology available, would you say

it’s easier to access and turn data into

useful insight?

PL: Yes, it is easier nowadays. A few

years ago the data we collected was

unstructured, offline and sometimes

even difficult to get. With the digitisation

of information gathering and the new

technologies around big data, we can

store and process data whether it’s

structured or unstructured. The latest

generation of analytical tools then help

us to get insights on customer needs in

a completely different way.

The benefits of this data don’t stop

at marketing. The data is helping us

to understand customers better: their

potential, their willingness to invest,

how likely they are to buy or their share

of wallet; and we are also sharing what

we are learning with other functions in

the business. We share this information

with the sales team to help them

plan better. We can use this data to

support the finance department, as

they calculate margins and expected

revenue. And it also helps our research

& development teams to develop the

next generation of Cisco products.

We’re now on our way to becoming a

strategic advisor for the company.Example: Cisco’s Connected Performance Sales and Marketing Funnel

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FV: Does data help Marketing Directors

to be heard more as strategic advisors?

PL: Yes. As CEOs, CFOs and CIOs

want to see numbers we are now able

to prove our programs and the return

on our marketing investments better

than ever before. Our voice is now

being heard and taken more seriously.

Marketing with statistical support

FV: Do you think Marketing Directors

who have had exposure to statistics

have an advantage these days? Will

they need a different skill set in the

future?

PL: I think there is a need to

understand statistical basics, but what

is much more important is to have a

good team collecting, compiling and

preparing the data for you.

I’m passionate about data as it has

always supported me in my decisions.

FV: What impact has the project

generated that Trovus and Cisco are

working on?

PL: It’s been considerable. Normally,

I would say in a company the size

of Cisco, marketing could or should

generate 10 – 15 percent of the

business. We have made tremendous

progress in the last 3 years and

the sales team is recognising and

appreciating our efforts. They do see

the benefit and value we can deliver to

them with leads, customer insights and

in driving the digital experience for our

customer.

You can’t take people out of data

FV: Is data really about data or is it

about people and processes?

PL: Data should help people make the

right decisions. The people acting on

data have to understand the numbers

and the trends. Using customer data

and trends on customer experience,

people can now intervene and manage

the impact of their actions at any time.

Data gives them some control in places

where we used to act on gut feeling.

To find the right answers people need

to start by asking: what do we want to

solve with the data we are looking for?

FV: Some people are wary of using

data because they know they will have

to change processes. Have you come

across this before?

We’re now on our way to becoming a strategic advisor for the company.”

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If so, we’d like to show you how to prove and improve your marketing impact on the sales pipeline.

Sign up for a 1:1 briefing where we will show you:

• How to gather the right data from your campaigns and systems(Eloqua, Salesforce, Marketo, Silverpop etc.)• What tools to use to analyse your data and turn it into insights• Best practice dashboards that answer ROI questions• How to optimise your lead generation and increase sales enablement• What to report on to protect marketing budgets or increase CFO/CEO buy-in

For a 1:1 consultation or for more information get in touch with us now on 0207 582 5022 or email emma.creagh@trovus.co.uk

I’m passionate about data as it has always supported me in my decisions.”

PL: Yes, during my career I have seen

that some people are keener to dive

into the analytics than others, but I am

convinced it is essential for staying

competitive, as customer expectations

are changing fast. Data will help you to

analyse the changing trends.

Think big, start small, build for scale,

and stay confident & focused!

FV: Do you have any advice for

somebody hoping to drive their

business with data?

PL: Think big and create your vision.

At Cisco we’re transforming the way

we work through data. We’ve switched

from outbound to inbound-oriented

marketing, bringing the customer into

the focus of all activities.

I’d advise starting small, carrying out

pilots before scaling and using little

successes to justify your journey. Use

your data to learn and to back you up

as you move forward.

Stay confident and focused; you have to

take some risks and it will take its time

but you will be successful in the end.

FV: And finally, if there was one wish

you had or something that would make

your life easier, what would that be?

PL: More data. [laughing]

FV: And the Trovus team is looking

forward to continuing to help you with

this along the way! Thank you Pascal,

for taking the time to share your

insights and knowledge with us.

Do you struggle to prove your Marketing ROI and lead generation value?

About Cisco

For a 1:1 consultation

or for more information

get in touch with us now on

0207 582 5022 or email

emma.creagh@trovus.co.uk

Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and sells networking equipment. Cisco enables people to make powerful connections, whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible, providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time. Cisco engineers are leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. With more than 65,225 employees worldwide, Cisco sells its products and services, both directly through its own sales force as well as through its channel partners, to large enterprises, commercial businesses, service providers, and consumers.