Aaron Goldman is CMO at 4C Insights, a martech company described on its website as “building the leading self-service platform for brands to execute video-centric marketing and optimize business outcomes.”
We caught up with Aaron to find out what his day looks like, from freestyle rapping to running like an antelope.
Please describe your job: What do you do?
I market to marketers. I am my target audience. In some ways I’m lucky as it’s not hard to get inside the head of the people I’m trying to reach. But in other ways it’s quite challenging as marketers are a discerning lot with high expectations. I can’t just put out anything and expect people to buy into it.
Whereabouts do you sit within the organisation? Who do you report to?
I sit in Chicago, reporting to the CEO as part of the global executive team.
What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
Improvisation. The marketing world is constantly changing and CMOs need to adapt to the latest consumer and technology trends. I credit freestyle rapping for preparing me to be agile and not afraid to fail.
Tell us about a typical working day…
I was taught a month ago to bide my time and take it slow but then I learned just yesterday to rush and never waste the day.
I wake up early and spend the first 20 minutes of my day multitasking on the toilet – scanning email and social media and listening to Phish. If it’s ice outside, then I’ll do a quick exercise video and twist a podcast in the shower. I’m all about stealing time from the faulty plan. Then I run like an antelope (out of control) around the house to get the kids ready for school and catch my train. I don’t want to be a slave to the traffic light! My commute is 46 minutes but it feels like 46 days so I can get through most of my inbox before I get to the office.
When I walk in, it’s party time! Just kidding. Although sometimes our pod feels like when the circus comes to town. Mostly though it’s a maze of internal and external meetings with the occasional rift of a couple hours to crank on deliverables. I always try to get home before the squirming coil of sunset to hang with the kiddos, help with homework, and tell the story of the ghost before bedtime.
Then if there’s more work to do or international colleagues who want to chat live, I’ll make myself free. Otherwise, it’s my wife and me on the couch like the sloth binge-watching TV until our brains split open and melt. Heavy things, I know. But if I could, I would do it all over again. Like the man who stepped into yesterday.
What do you love about your job? What sucks?
I love working with great people in a dynamic industry. We may not be saving lives but we’re contributing to the global economy. What sucks is that my family doesn’t understand what I do. My kids think I make t-shirts (4C does have the best swag) and my parents figure I know how to fix computers.
What kind of goals do you have? What are the most useful metrics and KPIs for measuring success?
My goal is to drive revenue. Whether it’s providing air cover for the sales team, on the ground support for client success, or getting in the trenches myself to help close deals, I’ve oriented my time and my team around revenue growth. To that end our key metric is revenue contribution. We have a proprietary scoring model that assigns value to all marketing activity based on revenue impact.
What are your favourite tools to help you to get the job done?
Slack, Survey Monkey, G2, and, of course, Scope by 4C.
How did you end up at 4C, and where might you go from here?
4C CEO Lance Neuhauser and I were fraternity brothers in college so we’ve scheming business ideas for over 20 years and this is our third time working together. Not sure where we go from here. I foresee doing this as long as possible. Same dream different day.
Which campaigns have impressed you lately?
I love Tide Laundry Night. I also loved the not-a-Tide-ad Super Bowl spots from last year. I guess you could say I’m undeterred by detergent commercials.
What advice would you give a marketer just starting out?
Take every meeting. Reply to every email. Be kind. Rewind.
