Christopher Espeland Aitken

Your boss wants you to read this

AI isn’t just the future of work. It’s the assistant you needed yesterday! Making use of AI is not about making up new jobs AI can solve. It's about moving existing jobs and activities from your desk to AI's. Got a time-consuming, repetitive task

Why should anyone want to be led by you?

"Why should anyone want to be led by you?" That was the question we were asked on day one of leadership training last week. We talked a bit about personal qualities, but the main focus was on the "Kongstanke" - your central, guiding idea or vision.

Marketing in 2024 and beyond

In 2024 it'll be more important than ever to craft content that truly clicks with your audience. And based on what I've seen in all my years as a Marketer, this seems to be one of the biggest challenges out there. I was fortunate enough to

What all new Marketers need to know

Had a blast guest lecturing at Noroff yesterday for the next generation of Digital Marketers 🚀 I was so excited when a student took a picture of one of my slides that I decided to share it here 📸 What all new Marketers need to know: 1️. Try lots of things, always

Be the scientist, not the lab rat

Hey! You've built something amazing, and that's no small feat. But to catapult your business into the stratosphere, it's time to stop pressing that same red button, expecting the same rewarding outcome. Think about it: Are you the lab rat in your business, or

How to enable AI-powered 1:1 marketing

As part of the AI for Marketing course, I answered this very question, using Libero, a leading diaper brand, as a case study. AI Retention Campaign for 'Libero' Introduction: Libero sell diapers of all sizes (age / kg brackets) at different pricing points (some premium offerings + different fits). They

Move from traditional to 1:1 marketing with AI

Here's my summary of the Marketing for AI class from University of Virginia: ● Businesses of all types and sizes are investing more in AI for Marketing in the next 3 years (even traditional node companies that rely on channel partners) ● Moving on AI now creates a powerful moat

Make your marketing convert like crazy

How to make a landing page that converts at >70%: ● On-point targeting ● An offer they can't refuse 🤌 ● Generate interest upfront ● Instant recognition ● Deliver on your promise ● Clear language ● Make it easy to say yes ● Say just enough ● Add real urgency ● Rapid experimentation Your goal shouldn't

AI as the second brain for Marketers

Marketers should use AI for brainstorming and sense-checking. You get the benefits of stepping away, or a second pair of eyes, within seconds. This cuts down time and surfaces blind spots. Don't see AI as a threat/fad, use it as a sidekick! 🦸 Great use cases: * Explore topics

How do your customers take their milk?

Customer preferences vary a lot. Even with simple stuff like milk: * Those with allergies want to avoid lactose * Vegans want to avoid moo's and baah's * Coffee and tea drinkers often want serving-size portions * Babies only drink breastmilk and formula * ‌Some want skimmed, extra fat, or kefir

Be the guide

Sales is all about the customer. It's the same with Marketing. Never forget: * It's what's in it for them, not about you * Understand and build a relationship before you suggest, or fall on deaf ears Long story short: 🦸‍♂️ Customer = Hero 👨‍🏫 You = Guide

Creativity in Lifecycle Communication

Creativity can boost or stunt the  growth of a company. HBR research shows you should embrace both creativity and constraints. Marketers are most likely to get too close to the flame. If you have to choose between clear and creative communication, choose the former. But the magic happens when you

Careful what you measure

We all want to know how we're doing up against our goals, but focusing on the right metrics is key. Marketing success is not measured by the number of Campaigns completed. Sales success is not measured by the number of Leads that are followed up. Customer Service success

Look for compounding

Targeted effort has a way of unlocking compounding results. If you slowly pour sand from a bucket in one spot, you have a tower. If you pour it all over the table, you have sand all over. In the same way, ad-hoc initiatives can keep you from building your sandy

Turds and tiaras

Good copywriting has more influence on conversions than design, but as the saying goes, you can't polish a turd... At the same time, you'd be hard-pressed (no pun intended) to trick someone into a tiara being poop. Good copy is situational and subjective. You can have

From Corn Kid to CEO of Corn

Nobody exemplify all the customer journey stages better than the CEO of Corn! If you haven't seen this kid yet, you should check out this video before reading on: https://youtu.be/1VbZE6YhjKk Awareness: He was told that corn was real. Consideration: It tasted good. Decision: When he

Approaching Data Privacy as a Lifecycle Strategist

Blanket-approaches to privacy hurt Marketing Teams... Privacy is not a checkbox you can just tick off and forget about as as a Marketer. The only "okay" way to do that, would be to follow the strictest interpretation of all existing and future regulations. It's not only

Don't let ROI glasses stop growth

When I got my first digital marketing job back in 2015, I was wearing ROI glasses. ROI is important, but you have to know when to invest long-term too... My first gig was doing Google Ads for my mom's cleaning and renovation business. I only bought "ready

So you have Product-Market Fit, now what?

Reading John McTigue's post about various stages of Product-Market Fit, inspired me. Here's what to do right after it "clicks": Once your customers "get it", it's time to get your product into the hands of more users. You've

Create and capture demand in tandem

You shouldn't create OR capture demand. You should do both... Think in terms of pie 🥧 If you only capture demand, you reach at plateau. When you run out of ready-to-eat pie, growth hits a break. If you only create demand, you make the pie, but give too much

Remember to zoom out

There's a lot of buzz online surrounding B2B go-to-market. But I wish more of it was zoomed out... Don't get me wrong. I love that it's being talked about so much. But reading mostly tactical content can keep you caught up in ad-hoc ideas,

5 Multi Channel Commandments

Do you want to ascend to marketing automation heaven? Here are 5 commandments you need to live by... 1 / Keep the customer at the center of what you do 2 / Don't think about channels in silos 3 / Don't spam your list 4 / Don't think

It's not just between Marketing and Sales

Sure, the relationship between Marketing and Sales is important. But it's not the only one that counts... Never forget: ● The hand-off between Sales and Implementation ● The importance of introducing Success early ● Re-involving Marketing based on the way the deal progresses ● The tight integration between Product and Go-to-Market ● Being

Marketing automation is more than just email

Marketing automation is often used as a term for automated email campaigns. But that's only part of it... Marketing automation is starting / stopping / pausing / branching and otherwise modifying marketing based on customer data and / or behavior. Email, paid social, display, popups, website personalization and SMS can all be

Message Match throughout Lifecycle Communication

You need to ensure message match between ads and landing pages. The same applies to automated journeys... Here's how it feels when a company maintains message match, while being adaptive: 1. You have a dog, and you see a video ad for a new, customized dog food provider

Funnel-thinking vs Flywheel-thinking

Flywheels are all the rage these days, but the old funnel still has a place. Here's how to use both... Traditional funnel-thinking needs to happen when you're zooming in, like: * Pinpointing A and B (where you want to take a customer to and from) * Evaluating the

Lifecycle Marketing Strategists should think like Amusement Park Planners

Me and my wife visited Disneyland in California back in March, and it got me thinking... When planning and setting up longer, automated lifecycle journeys, you should think like an Amusement Park Planner. When you come into an amusement park, you get pulled in all directions because of all the

What should lifecycle communication feel like as a customer?

Customer obsession is a competitive edge, and B2B buyers expect a smooth experience. Pre-sale (and post-sale), customers want: * Confidence that the problem and solution category makes sense to consider * Strong signals that indicate your company has the proven ideal solution for customers just like them * Easy access to info they

Building systems around your goals

I want to share regularly on LinkedIn going forward... So I bought a domain for my new newsletter. Starting a newsletter helps my LinkedIn goals by ensuring I: 1) Regularly create content 2) Stay on topic / theme I don't know how many complete websites I've set