#1 of the lessons learnt series
Working as a B2B marketer in the technology industry has been a wonderful and challenging learning experience so far. Here’s some lessons I learnt along the way that may resonate with your current situation and influence your existing or future marketing strategy.
At the beginning of my journey, following my career pivot (more about that here), I joined a global digital product consultancy which helped brands build products for mobile, web and other connected platforms. With a head count of over 100 people, the company worked with brands from Deliveroo to AJ Bell and specialised in agile product development across design, user research, product and technology.
Starting in business development and then transitioning into the marketing lead role, I learnt a huge amount about the commercial aspect of the business and the important role marketing has to play in this. Here’s four key learnings from my time working in Marketing in a Global Digital Product Studio.
Prioritisation
Marketing is a key function in promoting growth. Whether it be growth through attracting new business, increasing the customer lifetime value or elevating the employer brand, marketing has a huge contribution to play. Like in many business functions, there’s never enough time or resources so prioritisation is so important. Dealing with ambitious CEOs and founders, will mean a cacophony of ideas, from producing a podcast to launching campaigns to new target markets. Having a strategy in place empowered me to be able to identify if this activity was going to contribute to delivering the strategic priorities of the business.
Customer Insights
As a marketer you are told to make sure there are opportunities in your strategy to speak with customers. Being introduced to win / loss analysis, which were conducted with key clients post pitch, demonstrated the huge impact it can make on a business. The information helped set out what makes the company unique in the market, how we differentiate from our competitors and what we can do better was marketing gold and imperative to the growth of the company.
Process
Moving into a role which already had processes in place e.g. having a robust CRM, a pipeline reporting process, marketing strategy etc. allowed me to focus on implementing the tactical part of marketing. It allowed me to experience different marketing channels without the responsibility of reporting on the ROI to the Board. This is something I learnt by shadowing and asking questions to my line manager. I was able to look at the existing processes and suggest areas of improvement, like refining the lead nurturing process.
Continuous learning
At this stage in my career I discovered the marketing meetup community. As the only marketer in the business it provided a space where I could learn from more experienced industry professionals. At this early stage as a marketer it was really valuable in helping me find out where my strengths and weaknesses lay as a marketer and which areas I enjoyed and which I wanted to avoid.
What next?
This role was an incredible experience at laying the foundations to be a successful tech marketer. It is also where I won Rising Star at the North East Marketing Award. It gave me a great launchpad to move to a larger consultancy and knowledge of how to build and run a business. When you first launch your marketing career I’d recommend listening more than you speak, follow existing processes to see how they work and ensure you allocate time to your learning and development.
Interestingly, upon reflection there is huge overlap with the time I spent at a Global Technology Consultancy and Experience Design Agency.
Want me to come and speak to your team about my career journey and developing as a market? Find out more about my public speaking services here.