Corrina & Taylor welcome Madeleine Work, Product Marketing Manager at Chili Piper, to the pod for a chat about all things positioning. Madeleine dives into the core of Chili Piper’s marketing ethos—experimentation. This approach not only fosters a culture of creativity but also serves as a testament to the company’s commitment to transparency and community engagement. This also inspired her to create an entirely new way to collect feedback on Chili’s upcoming product release, which narrows the parameters to which you can provide feedback, empowering the individual to be more creative and direct.
Connect with Madeleine
Check out Madeline’s Post on Getting Consensus on Messaging
Learn more about Chili Piper’s Experiments
Featured Guest
Name: Madeleine Work
What he does: Product Marketing Manager
Company: Chili Piper
Noteworthy: Madeleine Work: Fluent in Mandarin, spicy food champ, marketing innovator at Chili Piper.
Key Insights
Transitioning Roles: From Content to Product Marketing
Madeleine Work discusses her recent shift from content marketing to product marketing within Chili Piper. This move highlights the fluidity and interconnectedness of different marketing disciplines. Madeleine’s transition is not just a career change but a strategic step that reflects her growth and adaptability in the marketing field. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her content background to product marketing, underscoring the importance of a multifaceted skill set in today’s dynamic business environment.
Chili Experiments: Fostering a Culture of Innovation
“Chili Experiments” is a standout initiative at Chili Piper where the team documents and shares their marketing experiments. Madeleine illustrates this program’s role in driving innovation and encouraging a transparent exchange of ideas. By publicly sharing their trials and outcomes, Chili Piper not only builds a knowledge community but also positions itself as a thought leader in marketing practices. This approach not only enhances internal processes but also enriches the broader marketing community.
The Quest for Efficient Feedback
Madeleine expresses a common challenge in her role: the cumbersome process of gathering feedback. She fantasizes about a “magic button” to instantly collect and compile insights from colleagues, which would significantly streamline her work. This insight sheds light on the often-overlooked aspect of marketing—getting consensus on messaging and launch plans. Madeleine’s candid discussion about this bottleneck in the feedback loop resonates with professionals across industries, highlighting a universal need for more efficient collaborative tools.
Episode Highlights
The Power of Personal Backgrounds in Professional Growth
Madeleine’s personal history is rich with unique experiences that contribute to her professional narrative. She discusses her time in Cambodia, where she taught English and developed a tolerance for spicy food—a humorous prelude to her role at Chili Piper. This part of the conversation underscores the value of diverse personal experiences in shaping one’s professional capabilities and perspectives. Madeleine’s background is not just an interesting tidbit; it’s a foundational element that informs her approach to marketing and problem-solving.
“My mom’s an anthropologist and she did her field work in Cambodia. And so, after high school, I lived there for a year teaching English. and building up my tolerance for spicy food.”
The Significance of Language Skills in Marketing
In this segment, Madeleine highlights her proficiency in Mandarin Chinese, which she uses with her family and even her young child. This linguistic skill is not only a personal asset but also a professional tool that offers her a unique edge in the global market. The discussion reflects on the importance of language as a means of connecting with diverse audiences, a crucial consideration in today’s globalized business environment.
“She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. And she speaks it with her husband, her in-laws, and her baby, which is just so freaking adorable.” – Corrina
Embracing Experimentation in Marketing Strategies
The conversation pivots to Chili Piper’s marketing strategy, particularly their willingness to embrace experimentation. Madeleine speaks about the company’s creative and low-effort marketing tactics, like chalk messages at events, which demonstrate their innovative and human approach. This part of the discussion showcases how Chili Piper’s marketing efforts are grounded in creativity and simplicity, aiming to create a memorable and authentic connection with their audience.
“Experimenting is something that we love to do at Chili Piper. And we actually created a program when I was back in content marketing called Chili Experiments, where we document all the experiments that we’re doing across the company into articles, and then we share them across LinkedIn.”
The Role of Authenticity in Content Creation
Madeleine touches on the authenticity in content creation, criticizing the practice of writing on topics without genuine expertise. She contrasts this with her current role, where she gets to write about real experiences and practices at Chili Piper. This segment of the podcast highlights the importance of authenticity and authority in content marketing, suggesting that genuine expertise leads to more valuable and impactful content.
“I’ve worked at positions where I’ve had to write like four articles a month about something that I have absolutely zero authority to write about. Like if you told me to write an article about cold calling tips, I have zero authority to tell anyone how to cold call.”
