Spreading Cheer: How to Turn Happy Customers Into Your New Killer Sales Team

No matter what your sales and marketing strategy looks like, there is never a good time to overlook the power of “word of mouth” marketing.

With this, you don’t have to lift a finger.

Your happy customers do all the hard work for you.

They spread the word about your company, product, or service. All you do is sit back and wait for the new business to roll in. Simple, right?

To take full advantage of this strategy, you have to be proactive in turning happy customers into your best salespeople. Here is what you can do:

Related Article: How to Turn an Ordinary Client into Your Biggest Fan

1. Create a Video

If you are selling in a business-to-business environment, why not create a video to showcase your customer in action? You can show what they do and how they use your product or service.

The end result is a video that you and your customer can share on a corporate blog, social media, and through video services, such as YouTube. This approach allows you to expand your reach beyond your audience.

Example: VerticalResponse touched on the benefits of email marketing, detailing how, Bay Area artisanal spice and BBQ sauce crafters S&S Brand, used this strategy to organically grow their list from “zero to hundreds of subscribers.”

What does this have to do with creating a video? Well, the email marketing company didn’t just tell its audience how S&S Brand benefited from its services. It created a detailed “customer spotlight” video that was shared on its own website, on the S&S Brand website, YouTube, and a number of other online properties.

2. Create a Case Study

This is similar to video in many ways, but doesn’t require nearly as much time or resources. A case study is an in-depth look at how a customer is using your product or service to its advantage.

Getting started is as simple as asking your customer to answer a few basic questions about your product. From there, the answers can be formed into a case study and shared with the world.

Tip: encourage your customer to share the case study with their readers.

Example: when it comes to email marketing services, Emma knows a thing or two. The company has used many strategies to boost customers and revenue, including case studies.

Earlier this year, the company created a case study entitled “How university marketers can score a 60 percent open rate.” The study examined how the Texas Christian University Assistant Director of Student Activities uses Dasheroo for tracking KPIs as well as Emma for email marketing to his advantage.

This customer is sure to share his experience, as well as the case study, with other university marketers, thus giving both companies a strong push via word of mouth marketing. Imagine getting all this for creating a simple case study.

3. Show Them That You Care

You don’t want to ask, ask, ask. At some point, you need to give back to the customers who have helped boost your business. You can do this in many ways. For example, it only costs a few dollars to buy and mail a thank you card. Add a personal message thanking your customer for everything they have done.

If you don’t mind spending a few dollars to say thanks, send your primary contact a gift. There are many ideas, ranging from inexpensive to expensive, to consider.

Tip: depending on your industry, sales approach, and resources, you may want to setup an affiliate program. This gives customers even more incentive to push your product, as they receive a percentage of each sale they are responsible for. Here is an excellent guide on how to setup your own affiliate marketing program.

Example: there is an affiliate program out there for every small business. Your job is to choose the one that is best for you and your customers. GetApp tracks the top small business affiliate marketing software, making it simple for business owners to implement the right solution.

When you show customers that you care, such as by paying a fee for each referral, you can guarantee they will work behind the scenes for you.

Related Article: Customer Delight: The New Standard in Customer Service

4. Don’t be Shy

In addition to the above, this is definitely worth mentioning: don’t be shy when asking your customers for assistance. This doesn’t mean you should be overbearing. This doesn’t mean you should expect your customers to work for free.

Here is what it means: it is likely that your best customers are more than willing to help you out. All you have to do is explain what you need, and of course, make the process as simple as possible. When you turn this into a mutually beneficial endeavor and follow-up with a thank you, everybody will be happy in the end.

What do you think about this strategy? Are you ready to turn your happiest customers into a killer sales team?

Spreading Cheer: How to Turn Happy Customers Into Your New Killer Sales Team

Getting to know the Online Product Marketing Team

Spanning the Atlantic from New York to Oxford, the Global Online Product Marketing team is a motley bunch with a love for all things digital. As custodians of a diverse portfolio of online offerings, they definitely know what’s what on the web. Read on for some literary and digital favourites from the team, and a glimpse into the minds of our online gurus here at Oxford University Press.

What is your favourite blog or podcast and why?

“This American Life and The New Yorker fiction podcast.”
—Sam Zimbler, Marketing Associate

“I am obsessed with the Invisibilia podcast from NPR. Read the description from their site and just try not to listen: “Invisibilia (Latin for all the invisible things) is about the invisible forces that control human behavior—ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. Co-hosted by Lulu Miller and Alix Spiegel, Invisibilia interweaves narrative storytelling with scientific research that will ultimately make you see your own life differently.”
—Erin Fegely, Assistant Marketing Manager

Erin Fegely. Used with permission.

“I love Desert Island Discs on Radio 4, it’s perfect listening when cooking or doing the mind-numbing chore of ironing my work shirts. My life goal is to be on it, so Kirsty Young, if you’re reading this…”
—Barney Cox, Senior Marketing Executive

“Clutch Magazine is one of my favorite blogs. It’s for women of color like myself. The blog reports on beauty, health, love, sex, fashion, and politics in a fun tone while expertly addressing serious matters that affect young African-American women in today’s society.”
—Miki N. Onwudinjo, Junior Level Marketing Coordinator

“Brain Pickings. The images and quotations paired together are really inspiring.”
—Georgia Brodsky, Assistant Marketing Manager

If you had to be trapped in an elevator for ten hours with any famous person living or dead, who would it be?

“I’m extremely claustrophobic and I’m having a mini panic attack just imagining this scenario; given that fact, I am going to have to pick Thich Nhat Hanh who I am sure could calm me down.”
—Erin Fegely, Global Assistant Product Marketing Manager

“Agatha Christie! I love crime fiction (some may say I’m a little bit obsessed)—especially the novels of the Golden Era of crime, with Christie being the Queen of Crime. I bet she would be able to while away the hours coming up with stories of murder and intrigue, and I’d love to ask her about her writing style, inspirations, and what she was doing in Yorkshire when she disappeared.”
—Hannah Charters, Associate Marketing Manager

“Firstly, ten hours, that’s a long time! I don’t think I’d want to be trapped in an elevator with anyone for ten hours, at least not without prior warning, so I could bring snacks. I’d pick somebody fascinating from history so they could tell me all about their life to pass the time. Let’s go with Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Egypt.”
—Barney Cox, Senior Marketing Executive

Barney Cox. Used with permission.

“Michael Pollan, so we could spend ten hours talking about food and then exit the elevator to gorge ourselves on local eats.”
—Georgia Brodsky, Assistant Marketing Manager

Which fictional literary world would you most like to inhabit and why?

“Lyra’s world in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy—I would love to know what animal my dæmon would be!”
—Hannah Charters, Associate Marketing Manager

“I’d live in Dorne in Game of Thrones, preferably in the Water Gardens, whilst steering clear of all the beheadings, poisonings, and massacres. The buildings are beautiful, everyone dresses stylishly, and I bet the food would be good too (although I’d pass on the grilled snake). Plus, winter is coming and I want to be somewhere warm.”
—Barney Cox, Senior Marketing Executive

“I would inhabit the fictional literary world of Alice in Wonderland because I think abstractly and have an avant-garde mind suited for that distorted realm.”
—Miki N. Onwudinjo, Junior Level Marketing Coordinator

“Gatsby’s home and grounds, right at the beginning of a cocktail party, when everyone still has their wits together. I can’t imagine anything more glamorous.”
—Georgia Brodsky, Assistant Marketing Manager

What website do you visit most often in your spare time and why?

“Colossal. It is an art and design blog that always inspires me (and I want to own everything in their store).”
—Erin Fegely, Assistant Marketing Manager

“Does Netflix count? I choose Netflix. I don’t know what I did before Netflix, I probably just stared at my living room wall.”
—Barney Cox, Senior Marketing Executive

“I visit Reddit too much in my spare time for the AMA’s and NoSleep scary stories. Reddit has the weirdest and most interesting stories and first-person accounts.”
—Miki N. Onwudinjo, Junior Level Marketing Coordinator

“New York Times Most E-mailed articles. To see what people are talking about!”
—Georgia Brodsky, Assistant Marketing Manager

What was the last book you read?

“The Story of B by Daniel Quinn.”
—Sam Zimbler, Marketing Associate

Samantha Zimbler. Used with permission.

“The Lowlands by Jhumpa Lahiri. It’s beautifully written.”
—Victoria Davis, Assistant Marketing Manager

“The Dinner by Herman Koch. Sold as “the European Gone Girl” and set in one of my favourite cities, Amsterdam, this book is a dark and suspenseful summer read.”
—Erin Fegely, Assistant Marketing Manager

“American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I bought this a few years ago and it had been sitting on my bookshelf in all its black-and-gold glory until a few weeks past when I finally decided to give it a go. I really enjoyed it! I love the concept of old gods wondering around America, driving taxis and running funeral homes because nobody believes in them anymore. Also, fun fact, Neil Gaiman once signed my copy of Coraline with a picture of an angry mouse.”
—Barney Cox, Senior Marketing Executive

“120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade.”
—Miki N. Onwudinjo, Junior Level Marketing Coordinator

“The Whole World Over by Julia Glass.”
—Georgia Brodsky, Assistant Marketing Manager

Image Credit: “Power Cut” by Graham Holliday. CC BY NC 2.0 via Flickr.

Getting to know the Online Product Marketing Team

Need Help to Convince Your Team to Adopt Inbound Marketing?

If you are a business owner, sales or marketing professional you know the struggle of generating new sales when growing a company. We have all been in a place where we need to sign new clients to keep the business growing. This means delivering more leads into the sales funnel and convert them into long lasting customers.

Throughout your research on how to achieve growth you found Inbound Marketing. It seems to be a technique which is no longer guess work, but data driven. You share it with your team, hoping everyone understands how it helps get more traction. And then, a simple reply kills the drive: “We have always sold like this, it works, it is hard work but it works.”

So how do you convince them that it is not only about hard work, but efficient work? How do you bring the message that marketing and sales have changed and that you could achieve more using Inbound Marketing? As with every sales pitch (because this is a sales pitch to them) the best approach is to be prepared with hard facts, data and a simple plan everyone understands.

Build up context

Review your business goals and results

Write down the business goals your company needs to achieve, and use them to make your case. Your management or team work hard to achieve the traction the company needs and they will favor strategic, documented facts and solutions. Lead generation, client conversion and new sales channels are a priority for business growth.

Recommended for YouWebcast: How to Create Content for Human Beings: A B2B Marketing Intervention

Use your sales targets and go back to calculate how sales is performing. The goal is to showcase the current situation and achieve agreement on it, not cast blame or point fingers.

You want to discuss about:

1. What tools do you use in your sales efforts? How about marketing efforts?


2. What are the business goals? Leads, customers, revenue?


3. How much does it cost you to acquire a customer?


4. What are your marketing and sales efforts currently focused on?


5. Divide your customers based on how they were acquired: cold calling, networking, online marketing.


6. How do you find top leads? What is the cost per lead?


7. What is the cost of qualifying a lead?


8. Do you reach your leads at the right time?


9. What is the lead-to-conversion rate?

You want to have numbers ready on: leads generated monthly, leads to customer conversion, time spent on generating new leads, cost of qualifying leads, lead nurturing costs, customer aquisition cost.

Transition to Inbound Numbers

Once you presented the current situation, transition to Inbound Marketing data. The numbers are by now widely available, and can provide a good reference against your current situation. Considering your sales targets and challenges, select the best statistics to make your case. A good way forward is to start with general data and move into specifics. Below a few important stats to consider.

Inbound works for B2B

B2B companies see the same return on investment as B2C companies when it comes to Inbound Marketing. In their annual report, Hubspot shows that the ROI is similar regardless of the type product or service you offer.

A quarter of all B2B Fortune 500 companies are already using marketing automation, along with 76% of the world’s largest SaaS companies, according to Pardot.

Content brings visibility

Creating targeted content supports generating visibility. Blogging is important as it can add up significant traffic advantages. Traffic growth is important especially if content addresses potential customers. According to Hubspot, an average company will see a 45% growth in traffic when increasing total blog articles from 11-20 to 21-50. Remember though that adding more visitors to the website is irrelevant if they are not close to your target market.

Blogs DO generate leads

We know that blogs can generate a high number of leads, but convincing your senior management or team will not be easy. Use Hubspot data that shows B2B companies that blog only 1-2x/month generate 70% more leads than those who don’t blog. Furthermore, companies that increase blogging from 3-5x/month to 6-8x/month almost double their leads.

Your company might already have a blog, but so far no sales results have been achieved by using it. The question you usually receive here is “We have a blog now, how many leads did we generate so far?” There are a few major points you need to consider when answering this question:

• Do we blog regularly? Blogging works if it is maintained frequently and refreshed with relevant topics that address the questions the sales team encounters in the sales process.


• Do we blog about what customers need? Publishing blogs that are not targeted to the Buyer Personas will probably increase traffic, but yield no results.


• Is our blog designed for conversion? Do we use Call-To-Actions? Do you offer content for each step of the Buyer Journey? The blog itself needs to be designed and structured for lead generation. Blog posts are mainly used to generate awareness, and without content for Consideration and Decision stage, the website will not convert visitors into leads.

B2B Decision makers research vendors online

The business world is shifting online, and instead of calling vendors for quotes, decision makers take time to research the possibilities and opportunities available on the market. B2B buyers are 57% through their buying research before first contacting the seller. (Source: Corporate Executive Board).

When looking for a partner or supplier, companies research solutions that could match their needs before connecting with potential suppliers. In large organizations this might be delegated to interns, or juniors, however the decision maker will reach your website if you answer the right questions online and help the researcher do his job thoroughly.

66% of buyers agreed that the winning vendor provided higher-quality content and 63% said the winning vendor’s content was more conducive to building a business case for the purchase. (DemandGen Reports’ 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey)

Increasing lead generation is not only blogging. It requires your team to leverage your website structure as well as social media for improved results. Hubspot identified that companies see a 55% increase in leads from increasing landing pages from 10 to 15 and Demand Gen Report shows that 72% of B2B buyers said they used social media to research the purchase decision in 2014

Marketing Automation supports lead nurturing

Even if you have a healthy lead generation program, you most likely reach to the decision makers at times when it is not convenient for them. They might not be yet at the decision point of a purchase, or they may have just signed with the competition for the next year. Gleanster Research shows that even with a good marketing strategy 50% of leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy.

How do you turn these leads into assets? Lead nurturing is the best solution, and marketing automation is a perfect solution. A good automation strategy can reduce the stress of the marketing and sales team to nurture leads, while increasing efficiency. The Annuitas Group unveiled that businesses that use marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads.

Case studies

Once you set the context and proved the numbers are there, reinforce it with a case study. You can use the Hubspot case study page and filter for companies similar to yours. Providing a success story from your industry helps your team live the situation rather then see if from outside. Make it easy to relate and they will be more likely to support it. You can check case studies also on InfusionSoft, Act-On or Marketo.

Bring tangible benefits on the table

You presented all about lead generation and sales, so focus on small wins to get your team onboard. Results will convince even the most skeptical in your audience, so now focus on how the team can benefit NOW from adopting a marketing platform and using an Inbound Strategy.

Clear data for management

Senior management likes data and results. An Digital Marketing strategy and a marketing tool like Hubspot gives management clear information about the progress and results.

Educated and qualified sales leads

Lost time with unqualified leads is the main reason your sales team is not effective. You can easily spend all your time engaging with new leads without converting clients. This can happen due to many reasons: they are not ready to buy, cannot afford your service, need a separate feature set, require a different service but do not know it yet, etc. Inbound Marketing helps you qualify leads through offering specific value propositions that appeal to those who are able to become customers.

Insights for Sales people

Tracking emails and website activity will return valuable insights on your visitor and lead base. Using a combination of Sidekick for email tracking and Hubspot’s page view notifications you can build up a history of your visitors and understand their needs. Hubspot themselves are very efficient using this approach as they use it to know when you browse Decision Stage content and immediately call you. That is the perfect moment to make a sale.

Present a game plan

Last, present a simple game plan. If you need to convince your team, show them how to reach there step by step. Set a clear and realistic goal, and map out a plan to achieve it with minimum effort and investment.

Build personas & Map the Buyer Journey. Make sure you know who you address. Use people involved in sales and marketing to build up the persona and journey.

Optimize the website and signup for a marketing platform. You may not want to change the website again, but it will save time and money in the long run if you use a marketing platform. A SEO audit will also be needed to focus your website on your desired keywords and improve organic growth.

Commit to regular blogging of minimum 1x per week. This is really the minimum you can do if you want to achieve results within a 3 to 6 months time frame.

Create content for Consideration and Decision stage. Make sure you have a small Expert brief for example, for the consideration stage, and a case study for the decision phase. This will help you qualify prospects and have a complete digital buyer journey.

Use 1-2 social networks to engage with your audience.

Implement a basic subscriber to lead, lead to qualified lead email conversion program. Use a monthly automated newsletter to deliver updates to your email lists and showcase your Consideration and Decision offers.

When you achieve your goals, you have specific numbers to your business that showcase results and ROI. This will be better than any case study or statistics you can find to make the case for implementing a full Inbound approach for YOUR organization.

Commitment is key

Last but not least, remember it takes 3 to 6 months to produce results depending on your target market so commitment and patience is key.

We will shortly release a presentation that you can use as a launch pad for your internal Inboud Marketing sales pitch. Subscribe to our newsletter and we will let you know when it is available.

Need Help to Convince Your Team to Adopt Inbound Marketing?

Local Search Group Digital Marketing Adds New Business Expert to Growing Online Marketing Team

Online marketing company Local Search Group proudly announces the hiring of Raquel Longley, Vice-President of Business Development and Special Events.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) April 18, 2015

Prior to her work with Local Search Group, she successfully grew Sirius XM’s portfolio in the B2B and B2C space. Later she developed keen business insight as the principal of Time Talent Agency. She brings a unique blend of skill sets to Local Search Group’s online marketing team that will make her an immediate contributor to the company’s new business acquisition plans.

Longley has long supported Local Search Group’s efforts with the Houston Auto Show, Texas Auto Jobs and the DFW Auto Show in Dallas. She’s also been a mainstay with local businesses such as The Marque, Landmark Houston Hospitality Group and the Houston Young Professionals community.  Her entrepreneurial spirit, proven track record and brand management abilities will go a long way toward supporting Local Search Group’s ongoing efforts to provide innovate marketing insights to their current and future digital marketing clients.

“Raquel is one of the most connected people in Houston and will fill a needed new business development role for our company,” says Local Search Group President and Founder Jim Flint.  “Additionally her existing event experience will help our existing clients take their business to the next level.”

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/04/prweb12630806.htm

Local Search Group Digital Marketing Adds New Business Expert to Growing Online Marketing Team

Meet the International Law marketing team

We are pleased to introduce the marketing team for International Law at Oxford University Press. Cailin, Jo, Erin, Jeni, Kathleen, and Ciara work with journals, online reference, and books which are key resources for students, scholars, and practitioners worldwide. The OUP portfolio in international law covers international criminal law, international human rights law, international economic and trade law, international environmental law, international humanitarian law, diplomacy, law of territory and statehood, law of the sea, criminal and transitional justice, history of international law, dispute settlement, foreign investment law, and more. Get to know more about the team below and continue following developments from the OUP International Law marketing team on Facebook.

Cailin Deery

What is your role in OUP’s International Law department?

I am the Marketing Manager of OUP’s international law journals and the leader of our social media strategy group.

What was your background before you started working at OUP?

I was studying literature and sociolinguistics at NC State University with the distant dream of working in publishing as a lexicographer. Thankfully, I had the good fortune to find myself in publishing much earlier than expected – a week after graduation – in Journals Marketing (undoubtedly a better fit for me!). I moved to the United Kingdom four years ago.

Who is your international law inspiration?

I am privileged to work with many inspiring international law academics through my journal editorial boards, so it’s difficult to choose one. I was very fortunate to know and work with Antonio Cassese on the Journal of International Criminal Justice, and he continues to be an inspiration.

What is the most exciting project you have been a part of while working at OUP?

Working with the international law group is truly among the most exciting projects I’ve been a part of at OUP. Working with the editorial boards of new journal launches is also very enjoyable and rewarding, whether the journal is brand new, such as the London Review of International Law or Journal of Law and the Biosciences – or in its early age – such as Journal of International Dispute Settlement or International Journal of Transitional Justice.

How would you sum up your job in three words?

Absorbing, collaborative, and forward-looking.

What is the strangest thing currently on your desk?

Nothing too strange at the moment, though I do have my desk covered with pictures and cards and have a mini lunchtime library accumulating.

What are you reading right now?

I’m finishing Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon, Kim’s memoir of her life leading up to the formation of Sonic Youth through their last show, and spent some of Saturday afternoon dipping into Susan Sontag’s On Photography essays.

Jo Wojtkowski

Jo Wojtkowski

What is your role in OUP’s International Law department?

I am the Assistant Marketing Manager for the US Law Division. I work specifically on end-user marketing for our books and online products.

What was your background before you started working at OUP?

Before moving to the United States, I worked for OUP in our UK office, as a Senior Sales Executive and Account Manager for the law department. Prior to OUP, I was a Welfare Manager at an International English Language School based in Oxford, UK.

Who is your international law inspiration?

M. Cherif Bassiouni, often referred to by the media as “The Godfather of International Criminal Law” and a “war crimes expert.” Professor Bassiouni has been appointed to 22 United Nations positions including Chair and then member of the Commission of Inquiry for Libya, and Independent Expert on Human Rights for Afghanistan. He has served as a consultant to the US Department of State and Department of Justice on projects relating to international traffic of drugs, international control of terrorism, the defence of the US hostages in Iran, governance and democracy projects in the Middle East and North Africa, and the future of the Iraqi justice system.

Among the many distinctions, awards and medals he has received are the Nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize (1999); Hague Prize for International Law (2007); World Peace Through Law Award (2010); United Nations Association’s Adlai E. Stevenson Award (1993); and Stockholm Human Rights Award (2013).

I had the pleasure of working with Professor Bassiouni on the release of the Sixth Edition of International Extradition: United States Law and Practice.

What is the most exciting project you have been a part of while working at OUP?

The launch of our International Law Twitter channel: @OUPIntLaw. We started the account back in September 2013, and we now have over 3,000 followers. This was a real collaborative effort, involving many members of the marketing, editorial, and social media departments. Social media is still a relatively new area, so it was exciting to be one of the founding members of this channel.

How would you sum up your job in three words?

Collaborative, creative, diverse.

What is the strangest thing currently on your desk?

A stone-carved trinket box, in the shape of the African continent. One of the countries secretly opens the box. I will not tell you which one…but it begins with K!

What are you reading right now?

The New York Times #1 bestseller, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. I have a four-month-old daughter and this is a bedtime story favorite in our house.

Erin Fegely

Erin Fegely

What is your role in OUP’s International Law team?

I am a Product Marketer and Brand Manager for a range of Oxford’s digital resources including the family of products on Oxford Public International Law.

What was your background before you started working at OUP?

I started at Oxford directly after graduating from Pennsylvania State University where I double-majored in Public Relations and International Studies with a French minor.

Who is your international law inspiration?

Although not technically a lawyer, I would be remiss not mention our own John Louth, Editor in Chief of Academic Law here at OUP. He is certainly one of my favourite individuals to brainstorm with! Outside of this, there is no one person that I would like to recognize, but I am always drawn to anything in the field of Human Rights and myself take a large interest in the work done to raise awareness of modern day slavery and human trafficking.

What is the most exciting project you have been a part of while working at OUP?

One of my favourite projects that I have been a part of since I started at OUP was the relaunch of Oxford Handbooks Online in the fall of 2012. We completely altered the publishing model and updated all site functionality. It was the first major relaunch I was able to manage and involved a lot of branding work and innovative digital marketing tools, including our first (and award-winning) digital brochure.

How would you sum up your job in three words?

Central communication hub

What is the strangest thing currently on your desk?

A strongly scented geranium (the ‘flavor’ is Attar of Rose) that I am trying very hard to keep alive!

What are you reading right now?

Depending on my mood, I am currently switching between The Circle by Dave Eggers; Bohemians, Bootleggers, Flappers, and Swells: The Best of Early Vanity Fair; and Nicholas Kristof’s A Path Appears.

Jeni Payne

Jeni Payne

What is your role in OUP’s International Law department?

I am the Marketing Manager of UK books for the International Law team.

What was your background before you started working at OUP?

After graduating from Lincoln University with a degree in Journalism and Media, my first job was at OUP as a Marketing Assistant. In 2003 I left to work at Blackwell Publishing where I worked on their nursing products, but five years ago, the opportunity to come back to work at OUP came up and I jumped at the chance.

What is the most exciting project you have been a part of while working at OUP?

To be honest, it is working with the International Law team. It is great to be able to work so closely with colleagues in different departments and countries, and to be part of a team that has the same goals and visions.

How would you sum up your job in three words?

Busy, diverse, and challenging

What is the strangest thing currently on your desk?

A half-chewed bike pedal that had to be replaced after my dog mistook it for a dog toy!

What are you reading right now?

I am re-reading The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, which is one of my all-time favourite books.

Kathleen Sargeant

Kathleen Sargeant

What was your background before you started working at OUP?

Prior to joining the International Law team at OUP, I was studying English Literature and Modern History at the University of St Andrews.

Who is your international law inspiration?

My international law inspiration is Leora Bilsky, Professor of Law at Tel Aviv University. I find her study of Israeli political trials, and of the Adolf Eichmann trial in particular, fascinating. My MA dissertation considered the role of eyewitness testimony in different aspects of Holocaust studies, and I continue to be captivated by the part that witnesses play in international criminal tribunals.

What is the most exciting project you have been a part of while working at OUP?

I’ve been very lucky to have been involved in the creation and promotion of a number of themed article collections since joining the International Law team. The most exciting of these for me was a collection created in recognition of Human Rights Day 2014. This collection was so interesting because the articles we included covered many aspects of human rights law, and I was given the opportunity to work with some very talented authors during the process.

How would you sum up your job in three words?

Creative, varied, challenging

What is the strangest thing currently on your desk?

I am a huge fan of a decorated desk, and so mine is engulfed in weirdness. But the strangest item currently nestled amongst my myriad of postcards – and one photograph of Michael Redgrave – is a crooked blue elephant that I crocheted a while back. His name is Napoleon.

What are you reading right now?

I find it difficult to focus on one book at a time, probably because, as a student, I was often wading through volumes of poetry, alongside textbooks on the history of medicine, and the complete works of Bertolt Brecht. I am currently reading Sarah Waters’ new novel The Paying Guests, with regular breaks for My Swordhand is Singing (an old favourite) by Marcus Sedgwick.

Ciara O’Connor

Ciara O’Connor

What is your role in OUP’s International Law department?

I’m a marketing associate for the US law division.

What was your background before you started working at OUP?

This is my first job after graduating from college in 2013. I previously interned with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and at a law firm doing marketing and copywriting.

Who is your international law inspiration?

Yasmine Akbaba, one of my political science professors in college who got me interested in international relations during my freshman year and advised my senior seminar research on international relations and religion. She is a great teacher and mentor.

What is the most exciting project you have been a part of while working at OUP?

I’ve enjoyed preparing for the American Society of International Law’s annual meeting in April. There are a lot of logistics but I’m excited to see everything come together and to highlight our new international law books.

How would you sum up your job in three words?

Unpredictable, fun, and challenging

What is the strangest thing currently on your desk?

Three empty flower vases left behind by the person who used to sit at my desk. She must have been very popular!

What are you reading right now?

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I’m about half way through and can’t wait to see how it ends.

Headline image credit: Sky. CC0 via Pixabay.

Meet the International Law marketing team

The Next Big Innovation In Marketing Is Already On Your Team

If you’re an email marketing manager, you have to learn to sell yourself to the CMO.  Here’s some ammunition.

Conversely, if you’re a CMO or other marketing exec, keep reading for ways to leverage a phenomenal resource that you’re likely underutilizing: the email marketing manager. 

Here are three skills email marketers have that CMOs can leverage today for strategic-level marketing planning: 

1. They know your customer really well. Email marketers have long been the gatekeeper and primary users of first-party data. They know exactly which customers have acted on recent messages, what they purchased last, etc. Even more valuable, they know how to react with appropriate messaging based on those behaviors. They also are very creative in thinking about the customer lifecycle journey, pinpointing when a customer needs to hear from you. They have tested what works and can automate that full journey end to end.

2. They understand where integrations need to take place and how to make all technologies work together.  Making automations and triggers work requires real-time and batch-automated data feeds.  I often say that if email is a car, then data is the fuel.  You need data to make email function. There’s no better person on your marketing team who knows what systems need to be integrated than the email marketer.  Not only are they feeding data to power multi-channel communications, they understand the importance of bringing back data into the enterprise to get a full 360-degree view of your customers.

3. They converge analytical thought process with creativity to create top-notch customer experiences. Email marketers are required to think with both sides of the brain to have a successful career.  On the logical side, they’re experts in setting up a clean A/B or multivariate test and pulling the data needed to drive campaigns. As creative thinkers, they know what designs work and often have to educate creative teams (specifically those that have never designed for email) on how to produce an elegant email while keeping the design simple and clean for an optimal mobile experience.  They’re experts on writing grabby subject lines, headlines, content and creating visual hierarchy to make communications appealing to recipients.

And that’s just the beginning.

There are many other reasons that the email marketing manager is a valuable resource.  They understand branding, process, resource management, IT speak, omnichannel marketing — specifically SMS, push notifications, display retargeting, social retargeting and even alternative channels such as connected devices like wearables and in-dash car screens.  

Many companies are looking for digital cognoscenti to bring sophistication to marketing.  Go ahead and revise the email marketing manager’s job description and grab the in-house opportunity.

The Next Big Innovation In Marketing Is Already On Your Team

Affiliate Marketing Team Leader

My client is one of the world’s most respected providers of education and are looking for an Affiliate Marketing team Leader after massive success.

As Affiliate Marketing Team Leader, you will ensure the successful development and implementation of affiliate campaigns and be directly responsible for establishing and executing strategies aiming at the expansion of the groups online affiliates.

As Affiliate Marketing Team Leader, you will;l mange a portfolio of key brands and provide proactive marketing services primarily through affiliate marketing but also through other forms of online marketing, you will also manage a team of two affiliate marketing specialists.

As Affiliate Marketing Team Leader, you will have proven experience in managing multiple affiliates and take responsibility for strategising, growing and ensuring successful affiliate accounts.

As Affiliate Marketing team Leader, you will have a minimum of 3 years experience in managing affiliate campaigns, degree educated, experience in setting up and implementing affiliate programmes,be able to manage large scale affiliate programmes and extensive online experience across all digital channel, SEM, SEO, display and email marketing.

Affiliate Marketing Team Leader