#631: SMS and meaningful customer connections with Amanda McGuckin Hager, TrueDialog

With over 75% of consumers preferring text messages over email or calls, are brands missing a critical opportunity to connect meaningfully with their customers?

Today, we’re joined by Amanda McGuckin Hager, Chief Marketing Officer at TrueDialog, where she’s leading the charge in leveraging SMS to create stronger connections between businesses and their customers. With a wealth of experience in technology marketing, Amanda recently stepped into her role as CMO and brings fresh perspectives on how brands can prioritize meaningful, timely, and effective communication strategies in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

About Amanda McGuckin Hager

Amanda McGuckin Hager has over 25 years of experience in brand, digital, and performance marketing. She has built high-performing teams that drive exceptional business results. As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of TrueDialog, she leads brand direction and marketing strategy, implementing processes, best practices, and tactics that increase company awareness and grow product demand.

With deep experience in brand development, partnerships, product marketing, public relations, performance marketing, research, and sales development, Amanda’s data-driven, repeatable, and scalable approach has been recognized with numerous awards. Amanda has supported four companies through successful exits.

Resources

True Dialog: https://www.truedialog.com

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Transcript

Note: This was AI-generated and only lightly edited

Greg Kihlstrom:
With over 75% of consumers preferring text messages over email or calls, are brands missing a critical opportunity to connect meaningfully with our customers? Today we’re joined by Amanda McGuckin Hager, Chief Marketing Officer at TrueDialog. where she’s leading the charge in leveraging SMS to create stronger connections between businesses and their customers. With a wealth of experience in technology marketing, Amanda recently stepped into her role as CMO and brings fresh perspectives on how brands can prioritize meaningful, timely, and effective communication strategies in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Welcome to the show, Amanda.

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Hi, thank you for having me. It’s great to be here.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah, looking forward to talking about this with you. Before we dive in, why don’t we start with you telling us a little more about your background and your current role at TrueDialog.

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah, so I’ve been in B2B demand generation for almost 25 years. I live in Austin, Texas, and I have had the good fortune of being surrounded by a lot of technology companies. I’ve worked every level of the tech stack. I’ve been in hardware, I’ve been in storage, I’ve been in networking, been in applications, databases, and here I am at the top of the stack in a software platform I recently joined TrueDialog as CMO and I’m responsible for really revitalizing the marketing function and getting our messaging into the hands of our ideal client profiles.

Greg Kihlstrom: Great, great. Well, yeah, let’s let’s dive in here. We’re going to talk about a few things, but I want to start with really kind of reiterating what I was, how I started the show with just the power of SMS. communication and its ability to create meaningful connections. So SMS, it’s often a direct line to customers. How do you see it creating those more meaningful connections compared to some of the other communication channels like email or calls?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: You know, that is a great question. I think, and you alluded to it in your intro, it is a direct line. Email, as you know, I worked in email marketing for Dell actually many years, many, many years ago. And we used to say that in email, your competitors are every other email in the inbox. And that has not changed, right? In fact, it’s getting a little bit harder. The competition in the inbox is much more than it used to be. You may have heard about some of the changes that Google, Yahoo, Microsoft made earlier in 2024. around controlling some of that bulk messaging because it was becoming too much, right? The messaging sequencing tools have gotten easy to use. They’re much more accessible and therefore creating much more competition in the inbox for our prospects and customers. So email is much less of a direct connection and meaningful connection than it used to be. Phone calls, I think with COVID and remote work, phone calls changed, right? Everyone prior to that, everyone used to sit at a desk. They would have a desk phone, a work number. After that, more and more people started relying on their cell phones, so mixing business and personal onto one phone. And as a result, stopped answering phone calls. In fact, Apple, and I’m sure Android as well, now has a setting to silence unknown phone numbers and send them straight to voicemail. So cold calling, even if it’s not even a cold call, even if you are a brand calling customers familiar with your brand and doing business with your brand, if you’re calling from a number that they don’t know, that phone number is likely to go to voicemail. Those two environments have changed dramatically and it pushes text to the forefront of the direct line, in my opinion, and from what I can see in the market.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah, yeah. Can you maybe share some examples or success stories where you’ve seen SMS transform customer engagement?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah, so we work with a customer called Brazilian Professionals. They sell Brazilian blowout hair care to salons and stylists across the country. As a result, well, if you think about it, stylists are not sitting at a desk, hair salons are not at a desk, they’re not checking email. Our customer there, she’s in charge of global sales, was using text message to get a hold of all of her customers and to share with them professional development opportunities, new products, checking on their inventory if they needed refills, and doing socializing events to really drive her revenue. So to me, that is an example of where SMS transformed her customer engagement, right? She could not make the volume of phone calls that she needed to make. It was too manual. She could not send email because of the nature of her customers not being at a desk. So in that particular case study, SMS did truly transform the engagement she had with her customers and ultimately her revenue.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah. Yeah. As I mentioned, you know, research shows that 75%, I mean, you know, three quarters of consumers prefer texts from businesses over emails or calls. You mentioned some, uh, some strong cases for more meaningful connections. You know, how should brands use this, this insight to design their communication strategies?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Well, I tend to believe that if SMS is not part of your communication stack today, then you’re missing out. I do believe like email, text will be one of the table stakes for all marketing teams for communication to their markets.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah. Yeah. And so are there, have you seen any scenarios or maybe even any industries where SMS might be more impactful than others?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah, well, if you have purchased anything from a retail store or a retail company, then you likely have been given the opportunity to opt into their text campaigns. In fact, a lot of retail companies offer discounts to sign up, like a discount code to sign up in their SMS campaign. That, they’re early adopters, right? They see how SMS can drive spot promotions, revenue, it can even drive foot traffic into the store. I want to kind of shift away from that because everyone knows that industry use case today. I think there’s opportunity for industries not using SMS today that really have the opportunity to create impact. For example, I have come from B2B technology marketing in my career, and when I step back and think about how I could implement SMS in the work that I’ve done in my career, it’s very clear to me, right? It’s a very intimate channel. Would I be willing to send text messages to share my company’s latest market research? Yes, I would. Would I be willing to send text messages to my prospects to invite them to a webinar, a personal invitation to a webinar? Yes, I would. Would I want my sales team texting with prospects and opportunities in the pipeline? Yes, actually I would. And we’re hearing more and more from B2B technology companies that sales teams are indeed doing just that. So I do think there’s still, there’s table stakes for SMS, like retail, and then there’s still a lot of opportunity for industries that have not yet started looking at SMS, especially in the B2B world.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah, and I would imagine there’s a lot, the timeliness is another factor here as well. Text messages are often read within minutes of receipt, unlike some other forms of communication. Some brands probably could easily benefit from this. How should brands approach the timing and tone of their SMS campaigns when they may not be used to that kind of quick response?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah, I think, you know, you bring up a good question sort of operationally. I think when sending text messages, especially in a B2B world, we’re hearing and seeing more of this founder led branding where you have an influencer, so to speak, could be a CEO, could be the CMO. It could be a VP of product or the chief product officer. But more and more people are stepping into using their personal brands in the marketing, I think that tone of invite is a, you know, if I’m sharing personal, if I’m putting myself out there to share my company’s research or I’m putting myself out there to invite someone to a webinar, I think that’s a good use of such an intimate channel, right?

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah.

Amanda McGuckin Hager: having that personal connection in that intimate channel. And the good news is SMS, just like email and just like phone calls, is that there’s always the ability to opt out. So if consumers or prospects are put off by that, they have the ability to remove themselves from that channel.

Greg Kihlstrom: Well, let’s, let’s talk a little bit about, you know, SMS as part of the broader strategy. I mean, certainly I think we’ve touched on this, but how should they think? I mean, we’ve talked about a few different facets of this. I mean, there’s, there’s timeliness, there’s the, you know, everything from open rates to preference and all that, you know, how. how should a brand think about where SMS fits into their overall communications and marketing strategy? Is it, you know, is it complimentary? Is it a primary channel for certain types of interactions? You know, what, what are your thoughts there?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah, that’s a great question. I tend to see SMS as a step in the customer journey. I think many marketers out there are familiar with the customer journey and are familiar with some of these automated workflows that are prevalent in many of the marketing automation tools and CRM tools where there may be if-then flowcharts and logic built in. I tend to see SMS as a part of that journey, right? That’s a way to kind of break through the noise and elevate the messaging outside of email, outside of phone calls. But I would defer, or I would sort of discourage it from being the primary channel. Much like so much of what we do in marketing, there are times and places for the right message. I would not send a newsletter over SMS, for example. That’s less timely, it’s informative, and it’s brand awareness, and it’s a good thing to do, but it’s not the right channel for SMS. It’s not the right message for SMS.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah. Yeah.

Amanda McGuckin Hager: However, uh, events, you know, those are time and date specific. So I think those are a good, a good message for SMS. I think invitations because they’re so personal, you know, if I’m a salesperson and I’m going to do a field event in the Chicago area, texting, uh, those people, my prospects and customers in the Chicago area that I will be there and would love to see them in person. I think that’s much better done over text than it would be over email.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah. Yeah. What do you see as the role of automation and personalization in terms of, you know, SMS marketing?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah. Kind of like those workflows I talked about just a moment ago. I think that there’s all kinds of tools now to build SMS steps into some of those sequences, especially if you’re using one of the major CRMs.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, outlook looking out ahead, certainly there’s, there’s going to be new channels popping up and, and new preferences and, and trends with, with consumers as well. You know, as all of this continues to evolve, what are you seeing from a trends perspective? You know, what, what do you think is going to shape the future of SMS over the next, you know, let’s say two, three, four, five years?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: Yeah, that’s a great question. I think, you know, now we’re talking about generations that are born with screens in their hands. I mean, not literally, but, you know, I’m Gen X, I think is my generation, and we were alive before the internet. I think the sort of the 20 year olds and 25 year olds don’t know a world without the internet. This is the generation that is not necessarily opening emails, certainly not taking phone calls, but they will read text messages. So I tend to believe that as we go forward in time, the future of SMS is only going to get bigger based on the people that we are trying to communicate with. Personally, that’s how I see it.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah, yeah. I think another component here, similar to, you know, there’s regulations and compliance areas for email marketing and certainly many others. How do brands ensure that they’re remaining compliant with regulations, with SMS, and, you know, while still innovating, you know, how do you look at balancing the two?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: That is a great question. With SMS, there are some regulatory things to be aware of. Opting in requires some legal content on your checkboxes. There are some rules around offering promotions or not offering promotions for opt-in. There are network regulations put in by the carriers. For example, even though CBD and marijuana might be legal in some states, it’s not legal federally and so therefore if your company is based around that, the carriers will not let you use text as a promotional strategy. So there are some things to know, some nuances with compliance, but it’s not too hard, right? It’s not an obstacle that marketers and rev ops cannot overcome. And I do think that it’s important to understand those and it’s important to remain compliant. As far as innovation, I think innovation comes in the messaging sent, the timing, sort of that campaign design. Remember, SMS is just a channel of communications. It’s a channel to get your marketing and your campaign and your messaging, your offers out into the hands of your customers and your prospects. And I think that’s where the innovation really comes in. And using the channel in new ways with new messages.

Greg Kihlstrom: Yeah. And so, you know, the last thing I want to talk about with you is, you know, first, you’ve recently stepped into your role as CMO at TrueDialog. I wanted to talk a little bit about that. And just, you know, as someone, you know, new to that role, you know, what unique challenges and opportunities have you encountered?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: I had the good fortune of working as a consultant with this company for probably six months before I came on full time. And I think it was a great way for both of us, myself and the company and the executives at the company, to kind of just check each other out, see how we work, see what our values are, what our You know, our operating models, and I’m really fortunate for it. It was a great experience. It led me to learn more about the company, the product specifically, the executive team, and the future, the marketing opportunity. You know, I feel very fortunate that that was how this role turned out. You know, the challenges I think are not unique. It’s getting up to speed quickly and effectively. Sometimes it can be drinking from a fire hose. There was so much as a consultant that I was not included in on that I didn’t see until I became a full-time CMO here. So it can be a lot to absorb and to take in, but I think it’s like that with every job.

Greg Kihlstrom: Sure, sure. But yeah, no, it’s, but it’s, it’s important. And, you know, I know those CMOs out there, or those, those new particular CMOs out there, you know, can probably benefit from just, you know, thinking through that in that way. Well, well, Amanda, thanks so much for, for joining today. Really appreciate your insights here. One last question before we go, though, something I like to ask everybody, what do you do to stay agile in your role? Your, your role as CMO? And how do you find a way to do it consistently?

Amanda McGuckin Hager: That is a great question. I learned very early in my career. I read an article that just said a lot of executives read a lot. And so I do try and stay on top of the headlines. I’m, you know, scrolling through LinkedIn to see what some other marketers are doing and talking about. I belong to a professional group called Pavilion that I have loved and adored. I have been a member for three years now and the amount of expertise in that group, they offer schools, if you will, sort of professional development training classes and I’ve taken at least five of them just to see what’s going on in the world and to see how the market is looking at marketing and operations and looking for new efficiencies. So I think kind of having an ear to the street and understanding what’s going on in the rest of the market is really important, and then sort of jumping between that 50,000-foot view and being operationally consistent, right? So actually doing the work, getting my hands dirty, you know, rolling up my sleeves, whatever it might be, getting into the work to see how those things can be applied practically.

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