*Originally posted February 16, 2024*
I haven't been on the job market a particularly long time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person spends about 20 weeks looking for their next gig. I'm at a little less than half of that - and while the hiring process is indeed fraught, and often discouraging, and probably more overcomplicated than it needs to be, that isn't what I wanted to discuss today.
My question to you is: what type of marketer are you?
No really. I have questions.
Do you only apply to Product Marketing jobs? Are you strictly speaking a Demand Generation Marketer? Because, at least in my experience, those are distinctions that exists predominantly on paper. Sure - this is probably less true at the enterprise level where the marketing team is 500 people, but I think the point remains - how do you differentiate yourself?
I've been a "conference marketer" and a "services marketer" at mid market organizations in my career. These are, of course, meaningless and unhelpful descriptors. Why? I am so glad you asked.
As a "conference marketer" my job was to work with the product, sales, CS, web development, and graphic design teams to:
- Conduct competitive and pricing analysis, which often included our own back catalog of products
- Identify our target audience
- Carve out a unique, compelling brand identity - colors, logos, iconography, brandmarks, etc.
- Set campaign and performance benchmarks
- Scream into the void about the seemingly arbitrary financial goal
Then, having gotten the hard part out of the way, my job was simply "actually do all of the marketing campaign tactics."
- Acquire a URL that threads the needle between suiting the brand we've developed and the elusive "people knowing what the hell we're talking about" factor.
- If I've got the luxury of a marketing team supporting me, defining swim lanes, all-hands tasks, and point people for various initiatives.
- Work with web developers, graphic designers, product, and sales (who all want different things) to march in lockstep towards production benchmarks.
- Have you ever proofread a 24 page brochure? Like REALLY proofread it? Now do it with a team of six to twelve people who have edits that include typos, visual tweaks aka "can we change this shade of blue on page 13," and usually at least one graphic designer asking us to PLEASE NOT CRAM ALL OF THAT TEXT IN THERE. Marketing doesn't necessarily run point on this, but you HAVE be closely engaged with one of the campaigns primary assets.
- Do this again, but for the website.
- Typically, I get to spend about 10% of the aforementioned budget figure on marketing - postage, print costs, print ads, PPC campaigns (usually google, twitter, and LinkedIn, but occasionally other platforms too). The audience for these materials is often called the total addressable market (TAM) but in reality you're targeting the slice of that TAM where you can maximize each dollar spent. Students and academics might be in your TAM - but do you want to spend on your lowest-cost sale? Probably not.
- Now do this for every channel, which needs creative in a different formats, with variations of your USP, CTA, tagline, price, location, benefits, etc. Does product want to sign off on EVERY asset? Of course they do. Does this take time? SO MUCH TIME.
I'll stop there out of courtesy. That said, there's also copywriting, designing emails, making sure your forms are working, working with graphic design as the scope creeps on the product offering, adjusting for a new CTA, THE WEBSITE IS DOWN? WHY IS THE WEBSITE DOWN? Oh, also reporting back on KPIs, giving financial updates, budget updates, prospect objections, developing content (podcasts, reports, interviews, etc.) and trying to convince the product person that I'm actually doing everything in my power for the product to succeed, because - and I can't believe I have to explain this (again) - I also freaking work here. OK, I'll actually stop now.
So, what would you say I do here?
Am I a product marketer? Conferences are a product, after all, and my job is to shape and market that product.
Am I a demand generation marketer? A lead generation marketer? An email marketer? Am I an integrated marketer? Or a multichannel/omnichannel marketer?
Cue the breathy* Billie Eilish song here.
* Pointless sidebar: is this THE MOST breathy song of all time? There are no less than 40 GASPS in this song. She's a great singer, but my god, it sounds like her lungs are fighting for their life on this track. This song gives me the same visceral response one might have to someone chewing loudly. It is just...It's A LOT, ok?
If you're a smaller or midmarket organization, I don't understand why you're trying to fill a roster like Salesforce might. Salesforce has more staff than you have prospects in the pipeline. I totally understand that every organization aspires to category dominance and enterprise scale. I'm just suggesting that a marketing generalist is probably more aligned to your current goals.
After all...
Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.
I get it, you absolutely want a "rockstar" and "ninja" product marketer with your very specific industry experience. But remember - what is your CMO if not a seasoned marketer with a very diverse skillset?
