Silver Apples 2021

Each year the DMCNY presents its highly distinguished Silver Apple Awards to select professionals who have spent at least 25 years in marketing and who not only have excelled in their careers, but also have generously contributed their talents and time to the marketing industry. We’ll be introducing you to the 2021 honorees over the next few weeks, in advance of DMCNY’s annual Silver Apples gala on November 4, 2021, at Edison Ballroom in New York. 

Meet…

Aaron Cano
SVP, Analytics and Marketing Operations
FreshDirect

Aaron Cano is among the most customer-centric marketing analytics leaders out there. He’s the one who always makes sure the customer is represented in strategy meetings. In fact, he won a 1to1 Customer Champion award, as well as a FreshDirect Customer Achievement award, 1800flowers Quality award, and Chase Manhattan Bank Excalibur Award for excellence and commitment to customer-centric values.

Cano espouses a customer-focused, data-driven approach to marketing at every opportunity. He’s spoken at countless conferences about how to best use customer data to optimize marketing. He taught his customer-centric approach to analytics at Columbia University. And his winning strategies have been spotlighted in several industry publications, including Integrated Solutions for Retailers and Direct Marketing News.

Those winning strategies have led to results such as a 50% increase in response and a 30% reduction in time to profit for FreshDirect and a 25% increase in new customer revenue at JP Morgan Chase Bank.

What initially drew you to marketing?

Like every other kid not knowing what to do with my life, I took a mix of classes in college, one of which was a market research class taught by an outstanding professor named Nancy Church. Her passion for the customer really got me excited about marketing.

I took all her classes and then got an internship at the local small business association doing research—everything from research for a local hotel on expansion to research for the fire department on supply chain. And then, while in grad school, I learned this amazing data tool called SAS in an econ class.

After grad school, I landed at Publishers Clearing House using SAS to run models and selections for direct mail campaigns. It was fascinating to use data to make decisions on who gets what campaign or promotion. And that was it. Marketing was my path forward.

Tell us about a career highlight or turning point.

Working at Publishers Clearing House was a great learning experience but after about a year, there wasn’t anything more for me to learn in my role and there wasn’t another role that was a fit. So, I got myself an interview at Chase Bank—which was rife with data and opportunity.

I walked in expecting to meet with a stereotypical banker; instead, I met Mike Eichorst, this guy who was straight out of the Sixties with long hair and a mustache and all he talked about was customers and data. And I thought, “I need to work with this guy.” And from there, it was all about using data to transform everything we could in marketing.

What excites you most about marketing right now?

The advancement of technology enables us to use data in more ways than we ever imagined. Today, we can use real-time customer information to change offers and experiences in the moment, where 10 or 15 years ago that would’ve been a dream. But it’s not easy. You have to handle it the right way, so customers don’t think the personalization is creepy; instead, they think it’s useful.

Share a favorite customer story.

Back in the day, 800Flowers was very innovative. We had an idea to use data for a reminder program. We’d remind customers of occasions—birthdays, anniversaries—that they had previously purchased a gift for. So, we created this campaign that proactively sent out direct mail pieces and emails reminding customers about an upcoming occasion. The reminders only included the occasion, not the prior recipient’s name.

Even so, it turns out that we should have done a little more research, because a lot of wives were calling and complaining that they weren’t the recipients of the original gift; the husbands had been buying gifts for other women.

We learned a lot in a short time from that. And we quickly shifted the campaign to an opt-in at the time of purchase. We simply asked if the customer wanted to set a reminder for that occasion the following year.

Share a treasured data story. 

Back in March 2020, FreshDirect couldn’t handle the increased volume of orders coming in due to Covid from new and existing customers. Our loyal customers weren’t able to get delivery time slots because of all the new customers coming in. So, we dug into the data we have on our loyal customers—and there were thousands of them—to learn their favorite time slots and proactively reserved recurring deliveries for that time slot. And over time, as capacity increased, we were able to serve more new customers.

We received countless accolades from our customers about being there for them in their time of need. Our Net Promoter Scores were in the mid-70s because we made sure that our customers were taken care of first.

What’s your go-to marketing metric?

Loyalty, but the definition is different for every business. So, it’s coming up with that metric and managing around it. It’s also understanding what loyalty means for the customer. At Fresh Direct, for example, it’s about creating a habit that translates to weekly or biweekly purchases. But a customer who shops with us once a month every month may think of themselves as loyalty.

What’s one piece of advice for someone just starting out in marketing?

Learn the value of telling a story with numbers. The most successful marketers are more about testing and learning, measurement, and facts—letting data drive versus making decisions primarily based on their own perceptions.

What was the best piece of business advice you’ve received? 

To listen and observe.

I received that advice early in my career when I was having trouble with an internal client, trying unsuccessfully to convince her to move forward on a project. My boss said, “Listen to why she’s in the room and what she’s trying to accomplish.” When you listen and learn to understand someone’s objectives, you can have a very productive relationship. And that’s exactly what happened.

That also was a turning point for me in learning how effective listening and understanding are as cornerstones of collaborating with colleagues and clients.

Do you have either a personal motto or an inspiring quote that guides you?

Teach others what you’ve learned and be transparent. The good, the bad, and the ugly all have to be shared.

What’s something surprising about you? 

I don’t like change, but I push for change in the workplace. And I push for using data to make change.

What are a few of your interests outside work? 

My passions include spending time with family and the ones I love—I never get enough of that; baseball, and the Mets, specifically; and playing craps and poker.

What’s your hidden skill? 

Patience. The best example is in my ability to play craps longer than anyone I know. I can stay for hours, enjoying the ups and waiting patiently though the downs of the game.

About the Author

Ginger Conlon, editorial advisor at DMCNY’s MKTGinsight, catalyzes change in marketing organizations. Ginger is editor-in-chief of MediaVillage and president of DMCNY. She is a frequent speaker on marketing and customer experience, and serves in advisory or leadership roles for several industry organizations. Ginger was honored with a Silver Apple lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the marketing industry.​

Find her at @customeralchemy and on LinkedIn