We’re on Zoom for everything. Our classes, group meetings, happy hours, game nights, and catching up with loved ones. So why not Booth’s professional development events? As a pilot event, “Kilts Marketing Masters presents: Satyajeet Salgar, ‘07, Google” was not only a success for the Kilts Center for Marketing at Booth, but also a testament to how we can continue to access rich MBA programming while we shelter in place.
Satyajeet was very gracious with his time. He shared with the 20 students in attendance his experiences as a product manager for various Google products, mostly centered around media. Because Satyajeet has most recently spent his career on the Search product, he has built products with no specific monetization opportunity, focusing more on “delight.” As incoming product managers, Booth students typically think of the benefits of the product first and then think about how to price and monetize the product. But what if the goal was to make users’ lives easier and more fun? Satyajeet explained that some products require the product manager to optimize other metrics and goals while still being an evangelist for their product.
We typically think of marketing as pricing, promoting, and placing the product in various channels. But the product itself can also be core to the marketing strategy of a large technology company such as Google. Satyajeet focuses on how to use doodles, Easter eggs, and other hidden “delight” features to bring joy to and form stronger relationships with users. While we Booth students love to drill down to the product economics and unit profit, we sometimes lose sight of the emotional effects a product can have. After all, we are building products for people and not for shareholders.
Satyajeet’s lasting advice? It’s simple. Don’t underestimate “people knowledge” and think big. Especially in his first year at Google, Satyajeet found himself thinking about the frameworks from organizational behavior classes at Booth and how he could build relationships and influence others to continue the success of his products. But after a few months, he recognized the team wanted to see how he could push the success of the product, the team, and the company with new ideas. When you think big, you don’t just think big for yourself but for the larger company as well.
Thank you to Satyajeet for his advice and experiences and to the Kilts Center for Marketing for hosting such a great event. I can’t wait for future speaker series in this virtual setting.
To learn more about the Kilts Center for Marketing and to join the thriving marketing community at Chicago Booth, connect with the Kilts Center on LinkedIn.
