Ep 72: Jill Cress is the Chief Marketing Officer for H&R Block
With only 105 days to deliver 80% of your revenue, working in the tax space during tax season can be incredibly intense. Add to that the aversion that most people feel to completing such a complex and intimidating task, and you have some pretty big challenges when it comes to marketing and meeting your customers where they are. Joining us today to unpack all things tax and marketing is Jill Cress, Chief Marketing Officer for H&R Block. With over 20 years of experience working with MasterCard, Jill is no stranger to the intricacies of marketing in the fintech space, and for the past year, she has taken on her first multi-location marketing role as CMO of H&R Block. We talk with Jill about her perspective on the state of marketing today, what it’s like having over 10,000 locations during tax season, and what H&R Block is doing to ensure hyper-local awareness in their marketing. We also discuss how they are using digital solutions to improve efficiency for their clients before delving into their extensive use of AI within their operations and what their recent partnership with Microsoft entails. For a fascinating conversation on tax, multi-location marketing, and so much more, be sure to tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
The rise in remote work, not just for workers, but for executives, like Jill Cress.
Jill’s perspective on the state of marketing today.
Learning to market to a Gen Z audience and why it is essential.
H&R Block’s tax services and their enormous addressable audience.
Doing taxes as a gig economy worker and how to maximize returns.
Understanding the large scope of gig work beyond ridesharing.
Jill’s career history in finance, media, and fintech.
What she learned in her past roles and why she is so excited about her current position.
The intensity of the tax season and the challenges Jill has faced in her first year as CMO.
An overview of the huge amount of retailers H&R Block has during tax season.
The digital solutions they are using to improve efficiency for their clients.
Integrating your online and offline presence as a brand.
Their hybrid of corporate-owned and franchised locations.
What Jill has learned about capturing demand in season across a huge range of locations.
The steps H&R Block has taken to ensure that they have hyper-local awareness.
Unpacking the complex customer journey of their users.
An overview of the various ways that AI is being used at H&R Block.
Their exciting upcoming partnership with Microsoft.
Jill shares her advice for aspiring CMOs.