Yes,
I currently have two more books in the works. One is with my
co-author for Digital
Marketing Journey,
Eric Bishop. We’re working on a book about nimble innovation teams.
We’ve both had success using small teams to generate new product
lines, which has proven to be faster than the standard development
approach that most companies use. We hope to publish a book on that
topic in 2018.
I’ve
also started writing a book about interview strategies for getting
jobs in top-tier companies. I lead campus recruiting for my company’s
marketing department, and my first solo book will be based on my
experiences interviewing hundreds of candidates over the past 15
years. My goal for that book will be to help people develop winning
answers to challenging interview questions. I plan to publish it by
the end of 2017.
What
do you think makes a great business book?
My
favorite business books have interesting stories that provide clear,
actionable tips. Like most people, I learn from examples. That’s
why I enjoy books like Freakonomics
and Drive,
which are filled with interesting stories and practical advice.
Lately,
I’ve also been reading business fables, which are fictional stories
that provide lessons for readers. Two of my favorites are The
Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni and The
Goal by
Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox.
What
inspired you to write Digital
Marketing Journey?
Eric
Bishop and I met when we were working on a digital marketing project
together. He was the VP of business innovation for a digital
marketing agency, and I was one of his clients. As we built digital
strategies together, we realized that our approaches could be useful
for others who are struggling with an ever-changing consumer
environment. Our ideas included everything from how to find a new
marketing agency to how to create an ecommerce site. We started
writing down these tips in hopes that other marketers could use them
to grow their businesses. That eventually turned into the Digital
Marketing Journey
book.
Eric
and I also enjoy public speaking. We’ve both been featured speakers
at digital marketing conferences and corporate events. We hope this
book will open up opportunities for us to do more speaking
engagements in the future.
What
do you hope readers will learn from the experiences you and your
co-author have written about?
We
hope to show marketers how to adapt their approach by putting
consumers first as they develop new strategies that are based on
changing behaviors and emerging technologies. We’ve both seen what
happens when companies fall into the trap of approaching marketing
based on how things have been done in the past. We’ve also been
able to implement new strategies ourselves based on the changing
needs of consumers.
Marketers
don't always notice when their consumers are evolving. They often
continue to employ the tried and true strategies that initially made
them successful. To stay competitive, they need to evolve with their
customers. Digital
Marketing Journey
shows marketers how to monitor changes in consumer behavior and how
to respond with new strategies and tools.
Our
hope is that the book will provide a road map for anyone who wants to
stay ahead of consumer trends. That’s why we included a
step-by-step process for identifying consumer needs, building
successful marketing strategies, and launching winning digital
campaigns.
What
roles did you and your co-author play in writing the book?
Eric
is an exceptionally talented business strategist and digital
marketer. He provided most of the technical knowledge and agency
expertise. I was able to add the client’s perspective, as well as
put our ideas into a story format.
How
did you come up with the concepts and ideas found in Digital
Marketing Journey?
I've
worked for successful consumer products companies for over 15 years.
While those companies have been able to adapt as consumers have gone
digital, many of our retail customers have struggled. I wrote this
book based on the struggles of those companies. Eric had also seen
companies struggle to adapt during his career, so we were able to
build ideas together based on similar experiences.
Did
anyone other than your co-author make contributions to the book?
Yes,
my wife, Nathalie, was particularly helpful as she offered useful
suggestions for improving the book throughout the writing process. My
daughter, Sophie, also added creative suggestions for many of the key
characters.
Eric
and I used crowdsourcing sites to find amazing editors for the book
and graphic artists for the cover design. We also used a
crowdsourcing site to find our narrator for the audio version of the
book.
What
are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?
My
ambitions are to be a part time writer. I enjoy my full time job as a
senior marketing director at a consumer products company. Writing is
one of my creative outlets, but I don’t see it as a full-time
calling.
When
did you decide to become a writer?
Writing
a book has been an aspiration of mine since college. I never acted on
it earlier because I felt I lacked the expertise to write anything
useful. As I was acquiring experience in my marketing career, I was
too busy learning to spend time capturing my thoughts in writing.
Now, I feel I have the business experience to write a book that’s
worth reading. Meeting my co-author a few years ago also propelled me
further into writing this book.
What
do you like to do when not writing?
I’m
currently helping my wife launch a new business, so I’m applying
many of the steps from my book as we create her marketing plan
together.
I
also lead the recruiting efforts for my company's marketing
department. I enjoy interviewing the up-and-coming talent and hearing
their ideas for marketing.
Readers
can get more information about Digital Marketing Journey on
Amazon.com or by going to www.digitalmarketingjourney.com.