Grow & Thrive: A Call to Action

The social media market is more fragmented - and more sophisticated - than ever before. How do brands decide on a social strategy that fits with their broader organizational goals, while cutting out the noise?

Lauren Thomas develops social media strategies for billion dollar brands, and is currently the Head of Social Media for Intuit TurboTax. She shares her insights on knowing when there’s a growing audience on a new channel, how to keep an authentic presence for the brand, and how to handle the higher content volume and trend turnover in this fast-paced corner of the marketing and communications world.

Influencing behavior is at the core of what marketers and communicators must do, but many don’t keep up with the latest research around behavioral science. Working at the intersection of psychology, sociology, economics and more, Intuit’s Jaime Kornick explains how insights from the behavioral science field can improve marketers’ jobs and the impact they have - in both big and small ways.

In this episode, we welcome new co-host Laura Mae Smith to the show, and turn the tables to put former host Mos' Okediji, director of marketing and communications for learning, growth and development at Intuit, in the hot seat. We speak with her about applying design thinking to your career, the gift of feedback, people skills as a source of power, and more.

Few organizations have mastered the art of responding with intent to reputational threats - being proactive instead of reactive. Derrick Plummer, Director of Corporate Communications at Intuit, says the key is to have integrity, empathy and to build trust with customers throughout your relationship with them. 

Plummer has consulted with companies from Delta to Nissan to Arby’s to Mailchimp, and worked on the Kerry/Edwards presidential campaign as well as in the Obama administration.

The award winning Intuit Mailchimp brand marketing and corporate citizenship team talks to us about what it means to purposely practice your craft as a marketer and communicator. 

In this episode, we speak with Michael Mitchell, who leads brand marketing and the content studio at Mailchimp; Lain Shakespeare, who is responsible for Mailchimp’s corporate citizenship platform Big Change Starts Small; and Megan Spellman, who led a partnership with the Black in Fashion Council in a collaboration at New York Fashion Week.

Intuit’s best-in-class approach to the marketing and communications craft comes from a culture created at the top. In this episode, we speak with Lara Balazs, our Executive Vice President, General Manager, and Chief Marketing Officer, as she reflects on her career, the company’s achievements this year, and shares actionable insights that marketers and communicators can leverage in 2023.

While it grabs many headlines, for many, the metaverse still feels far off. It’s important for those in the marketing and communications fields to pay attention to how the metaverse is developing, though, and take a strategic approach. But those strategies can’t be about the technology first - they have to start with customer problems and pain points. We speak to Toby Daniels, former chief innovation officer at AdWeek, about where to start.  

Product marketing is a vital part of so many businesses - but exactly what that job entails differs from organization to organization. At Intuit, we’re all about customer-centered design, and that means the way we do product marketing is unique. In this roundtable, we’ll hear from three internal product marketing experts on what they’ve learned through trial and error: Andrea Bekhazi, group product marketing manager; Jessica Cheng, a product marketing manager;  and Justin Brock, who recently transitioned from marketing into product at TurboTax and Credit Karma.

Stories cannot live in silos. The walls are coming down between departments, between inside the company and outside the company, and between different types of media. No one understands that better than Erica Terry Derryck, VP of communications for the Small Business and Self-Employed Group at Intuit. In this episode, she speaks about her past work, including in the world of politics and journalism, and how she's applying it at Intuit. 

You’ve heard how important storytelling is to be able to connect with your customer, but how do you keep stories authentic when everything is moving so quickly? Intuit’s Lionel Mohri says that the answer starts with becoming a better listener. The Chief Storytelling & Experiences Officer explains what he’s learned about listening to customer experience, how internal and external stories should be aligned, and how to make sure your story is truly authentic. 

Marketing is challenging and a competitive career, and it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. You might feel like you need to be on track, get the promotions that your boss did, stay in your lane to succeed. And often, there is this misconception that the only way to grow is up. However, we know that true innovation often means zigging while others are zagging. In this episode, we speak to Intuit’s Alison Ganz about her unexpected career path - and how it paid off. 

Whether at a startup or an established organization, marketers see products fail all the time. According to today’s guests, that’s largely because there wasn’t a product/market fit from the start. Sean Ellis, a podcaster and marketing expert who helped grow companies like Dropbox and Eventbrite; and Ben Blank, Innovation and Product Leader at Intuit, join hosts Bri Amarillas and Mos’ Okediji in talking about the right and wrong ways to test for product/market fit, and why that’s essential for rapidly growing any business.

Marketers and communicators have access to an ever-expanding selection of marketing technology to solve customer problems and unlock business growth.  But, with so many tools in the market, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. It’s important to have a clear understanding of which technologies are most fundamental to their business goals, and what can drive growth. Kiki Burton is passionate about the critical role marketing and technology play in delivering value for the customers through personalized experiences. She's in growth marketing at Plaid, and previously was Head of Growth Marketing at Credit Karma, and she shares her views on how to think about, and execute on, growth marketing.

It's challenging to predict the future. As Marketers or Communicators, it's easier to default to continue following trends that are already in motion. Ty Heath, director of market engagement at the B2B Institute at LinkedIn, says that instead, as we look ahead to the next decade, we should think about bold, contrarian ideas. The trends LinkedIn identified include the "war on brand," blockbuster marketing, and more.

A go to market strategy is about much more than just launch products. Strong marketers need to think about the process the team will go through to adapt to evolving needs of customers. Guest Catherine Crevels, who leads US Marketing at Quickbooks Online Services at Intuit, explains how she approaches go to market strategy, with some help from classic marketing principles. 

It's vital to know how approach underserved audiences – how to identify them, how to find them, and how to get your message to them efficiently and effectively. As markets continue to segment further and further, it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out where to focus your energy for the best payoff and to reach the relevant audiences. Guest Maria Twena, Partner and Global Head of Consumer X at 9th Wonder, says a bottom up, cultural approach to finding audiences is the place to start. 

We're all more overwhelmed by our workload and digital distractions than ever. But Parneet Pal, Chief Science Officer at Wisdom Labs, says there are things we can do to help us increase mindfulness, reduce stress, and ultimately boost our creativity and productivity. She offers tips on how to reset for the New Year. 

In this episode, we’ll look at the power of experimentation to learn from customer behavior and create products, messaging, and experiences that deliver the customer benefit. Intuit's Josh Rab and Dylan Lewis share what they've learned about the best way to experiment and gain actionable results. 

A very important part of marketing communications is our understanding of customers, what customers want, and how to align your products to their needs and how they buy. This episode will cover how Marketers can influence the product roadmap and discuss different approaches to bringing innovations to market. Intuit’s Jessy Hanley, who spent time in marketing and retention at Uber and Wag, explains how she approaches product marketing.

In this episode, we’ll look at how AI and ML can create personalized experiences, drive data-backed decisions, and give marketers a tool to deliver the right message at the right time. Intuit’s John Jack and Justin Brock talk about how artificial intelligence and machine learning is empowering the modern marketer and communicator.