How is AI going to change the world of marketing? with Laura Heisman from VMware

Editorial CMO

Palabras clave: Strategic thinking, data-driven, market research, brand development, multidisciplinarity, artificial intelligence.

First of all

Laura Heisman is the Chief Marketing Officer of VMware. Her career, which began in communications and public relations, provided her with valuable multitasking and effective storytelling skills, significantly contributing to her success in marketing leadership.

VMware is a leading company in virtualization and cloud technology. VMware enables organizations to optimize their IT infrastructures and simplify application and data management. Its innovative technology has paved the way for widespread adoption of virtualization, resulting in increased flexibility, efficiency, and security for businesses of all sizes.

Key moments:

The importance of a multidisciplinary approach [00:00:07] Discussion on whether a marketing leader needs to have a multidisciplinary background to achieve results.

The value of narrative in marketing [00:02:02] The speaker shares how her background in communications and PR taught her the importance of narrative in marketing.

The evolving nature of marketing and the importance of customer focus [00:04:56] Discussion on how marketing has changed over the years and the importance of putting the customer first in marketing strategies.

Listening as a powerful skill [00:10:26] The importance of listening in marketing teams and the method of purposeful listening.

Asking good questions [00:12:09] The significance of asking the right questions to elicit valuable information and be a good interviewer.

Internal and external communication [00:17:57] The merging of internal and external communication in the digital age and the importance of informing employees about the company’s activities.

The importance of narrative [00:20:28] Discussion on the significance of having a clear narrative that aligns with the business priorities and how it helps in internal communication and customer engagement.

Training employees on the narrative [00:22:32] Emphasizing the need for all employees to be trained on the narrative and how it benefits both the company and its customers.

Challenges and opportunities [00:23:49] Exploring the challenges of advancing and modernizing the narrative and the opportunities presented by generative AI in marketing.

Powerful ideas:

The multidisciplinary marketing leader

Laura believes that a great marketing leader should have a holistic view of the business. Building relationships with other departments is key to understanding the company’s challenges and needs. She also emphasized the importance of narrative and thinking about marketing as a whole, and marketers should think about the business as a whole and contribute to its success.

And, she agreed that listening is a fundamental yet often overlooked skill in marketing. It’s not just about hearing, but truly understanding and engaging with customers and clients. Curiosity, Laura suggests, is a core skill in listening and asking the right questions can lead to valuable insights.

The challenges and opportunities of generative AI

Laura sees generative AI as a tool that can prompt ideas and streamline processes, but she also emphasizes the importance of the human element in marketing. She believes that staying ahead of the curve in terms of generative AI, can greatly benefit the marketing organization, because the IA can streamline processes, but she also believes in the importance of the human element and human understanding in marketing.

The role of a modern marketing leader

She emphasized the importance of thinking about the entire business, not just marketing. As a CMO, Laura believes in building relationships with sales, product, and other departments to gain a broader perspective and understanding of the company’s challenges and needs. Instead, marketing should be about helping the sales team create awareness for the business. She also discussed the transformative times in marketing, particularly with the emergence of generative AI, and encouraged marketers to stay updated and be modern marketers.

This conversation also touched on the importance of listening as a skill in marketing teams. Laura mentioned that listening is a basic yet powerful skill that is often overlooked. She believes in the need to listen purposefully and ask good questions to truly understand and engage with customers and clients.

In conclusion, it’s clear that a successful marketing leader needs to be multidisciplinary, customer-focused, and ready to embrace new technologies like generative AI. They also need to be good listeners, storytellers, and advocates for their teams.

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