12 milkshake Taste Test 2021
CO-FOUNDER & VP OF CUSTOMER
SUCCESS, VIVIO HEALTH
T.J. TEDESCO
TMARKETING-MINDED ENTREPRENEUR ON
ENGAGING WITH TODAY’S CLIENTS .J. Tedesco started a marketing
services agency in 1996 and
ran it until 2016. After focusing
exclusively on the graphic arts
industry, they diversified and
became the agency of record for a Silicon
Valley healthcare software company. After great success, Tedesco and the
leadership team started an “accelerator” focused on helping early-stage
healthcare companies position themselves for similar market success.
Through the accelerator, he partnered with a visionary drug management
leader and became cofounders of a healthcare data company that now has
over 500 customers and is successfully solving one of America’s prickliest
healthcare challenges—specialty drugs. We sat down with the marketingminded
entrepreneur to get his ideas on engaging the clients today.
As a CMO and customer
experience expert, what
challenges are right in front of
you?
As any business student knows,
strategy is core to success, but
knowing and living it are two
different things. When I was leading
a marketing services agency from
1996-2016, I thought the successful
strategy we were talking about
was my own company’s, not our
customers’. We were fixated on
compiling the best arsenal of
marketing weapons, choosing
the right ones for each client, and
executing flawlessly. While not
necessarily wrong, there was room for
improvement. Leaders of marketing
services companies should prioritize
understanding their customers’
strategies over their own. This is their
business.
If possible, try to serve companies
with significant business differentiators,
and pass on the rest. Yes, easier said
than done, but the sooner you realize
your business is their business, the
better you and your organization
will perform. If you don’t understand
your customers’ strategic strengths
and weaknesses, and believe in their
competitive advantages, you may earn
a few bucks here and there, but you
won’t make a long-lasting difference.
You’ll be just selling a job, not a
relationship.
Marketers seem to carry more
of the burden today than prepandemic.
Why do you think this
the case?
The pandemic has packed a decade
worth of change into 15 months. Over
the past half-century, the B2B sales
process has slowly evolved from the
three-martini lunch to a value-add
consultative approach. However, the
recent lack of face-to-face access
has accelerated the blurring of the
line between marketing and sales.
Figuring out what’s important to the
decision maker used to be one of the
main roles of the salesperson, but
today, a buyer’s electronic fingerprints
paint the clearest roadmap of
what’s important to them and their
organization. This, coupled with the
fact that marketing inherently scales
better than sales, marketing will
“carry more the of burden” going
forward, especially in a future where
business travel may be reduced.
How are brands supposed to
develop relationships at a
distance?
Focusing on solving customer
strategic challenges naturally
transforms a company from order
taker to strategic partner. Brand
representatives (i.e., salespeople)
who can sell strategically will feel
more empowered in their day-today
business lives than before. Less
available face-to-face time means
companies need to quickly change
their sales focus to strategic value
and data. Salespeople who rely on
bagels, donuts and lunches have
been feeling the pressure for years,
but during the pandemic they were
forced to change, literally overnight.
As things open up, it’s important for
companies to remember the best way
to compete is through data and ideas,
and to use face-to-face meetings to
reinforce this point, not visa-versa.
Due to the pandemic, how has
the skill set of a marketing
department changed?
The pandemic has accelerated the
timetable for push marketing’s
demise. Being housebound for so
long has lowered many people’s
tolerance for invasive advertising, and
the junk button is being used more
now than before. Spammers have
noticed. In June 2020, the average
daily spam volume across the globe
was 316 billion. Six short months later,
the volume dropped to 61% to 122
billion. Advertising still makes up 36%
of all spam content, but smart money