There’s no other way to put it — Jay Baer is a modern-day marketing renaissance man. He’s a best-selling author, keynote speaker, emcee, event host, advisor, brilliant marketing strategist, and founder of Convince & Convert, a customer experience strategy consulting firm with multiple media arms and standalone content platforms including a top blog and podcast.

Jay Baer

I’ve been listening to and learning from the Convince & Convert family of podcasts for a few years. But with a role so focused on content like mine is, I’ve found myself gravitating mostly toward Content Pros (which recently became ConEx).

Between these podcasts and his five books, Jay and his team at Convince & Convert work to give marketers the knowledge, tools, and trends to succeed in the evolving world of marketing.

Jay is a featured speaker at the Emarsys Revolution event in Las Vegas, and is shedding light on how he views marketing today, in this installment of “What I Want Marketers to Know.”


One word that best describes how you view the state of marketing today: Competitive.

Tell us a little about your background and how you got to where you are today.

I started my career in politics, and then moved into traditional marketing. I got involved in digital way back in 1993, and have owned several consulting organizations since then. I started writing books and giving keynote presentations in 2011. My firm, Convince & Convert, helps leading brands level up their digital marketing.

What do you wish marketers knew (but you’re pretty sure they don’t)?

That shouting louder never works.

What do you see as the biggest challenge faced by marketers today?

Increasing expectations of customers.

How can they overcome this challenge?

Relentless improvement and optimization of marketing and customer experience.

If you could tell all marketers just one thing, what would it be?

Customers trust each other far more than they trust your business.

Technology has already transformed marketing in so many ways. How do you see tech continuing to revolutionize the marketer’s role?

With more and more machine learning and AI, many marketing tactics are going to be largely deployed by robots. This will put an increasing premium on strategy and creative thinking (and that’s a good thing, in my estimation!).

What are you currently reading, or what would you recommend for marketers?

“Procrastinate on Purpose” by Rory Vaden is an amazing book on time management and prioritization. “Never Lose a Customer” is a new book from Joey Coleman about the first 100 days of new customer relationships. It’s terrific.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see ______answer these same questions. Peyton Manning.

Is there anything else you’d like to add that might be interesting to marketers?

Never forget: “Some days you’re the pigeon …some days you’re the statue.”


With so much changing in marketing today — technology, customer expectations, and the proliferation of channels available — Jay reminds us that we have to forge trust by relentlessly improving our processes and treatment of customers. I’m excited to see Jay live and in action at Revolution Las Vegas!

Jay BaerConnect with Jay: Website | Convince & Convert | LinkedIn | @jaybaer

Special thanks to Jay Baer for his time, energy, and insight.

Know someone who would be a great fit for this series? Email Michael.Becker@Emarsys.com.

Related Resources:

What I Want Marketers to Know: Daniel Incandela, CMO, Return Path

What I Want Marketers to Know: Michael Brenner, CEO, Marketing Insider Group

What I Want Marketers to Know: Ohad Hecht, CEO, Emarsys

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