Challenges faced by a young B2B Tech Marketer (and how I cope with it)

[#1]

Hopefully, after reading this, you can empathise with your fellow marketing team members a bit more :P 

I started my journey in tech marketing as an intern 3 years ago for an inventory management SaaS and I haven't looked back. I knew this is what I wanted to do almost immediately and I've been lucky enough to capitalise on the opportunities I got.

Here's my blog on 8 Ways to improve your chances to get hired as a Digital Marketer: (Less or no experience) that helped me get my first full-time position.

Like any other job, working as a B2B Tech Marketer comes with its challenges and perks. But for me, the biggest perk is the challenge. I thrive on overcoming obstacles and getting results - good or bad. If the results are good, it's a validation that I'm on the right path. If it's bad, I know what NOT to do next time. I had a massive fear of failing - I still do, however, I learned so much more from my failures than any of my successes.

Here are some challenges I've faced and how I deal with it:

#1 Challenge: Familiarising yourself with the audience

Initially, you're often part of conversations that you don't fully understand. There are industry-specific words thrown around, tools being used that you either haven't heard of or don't directly connect to. It can feel awkward and invasive to hone people with questions, especially when you're starting out in a new position. In short, you're lost.

The first couple of months Google is your best friend. And if you're product caters to a niche market - like most of the products I've worked for, do, then you need to talk to your teammates and customers. Which I might add is a fantastic way to build relationships. I've been fortunate enough to be part of teams that are receptive and open to conversations. but here's what I believe - I rather ask all the 'basic' questions than market something I'm confused about.

TL;DR:

• It's okay to say I don't know or understand, you're new to the industry and company
• Give feedback on the onboarding process if it doesn't work for you
• Talk to customers, there'll always be some 'friends' of the organisation and it's good to have a chat and get answers your team members can't offer
• Avail all online resources available to you, Atlassian has some amazing videos for their partners that explain their audience, product, and approach to the market

#Challenge 2: Managing expectations

Marketers are often the last addition to the core team, which means a lot of small to medium organisations are in the early stages of forming a marketing team. Expectations aren't necessarily too clear and they can be too high or low.

The first step to manage expectations is to understand them. I make sure that I know the expectations clearly before I apply for the job, in the interview, and during my onboarding.

TL;DR:

• Understand expectations before you try to deliver
• Clearly communicate your concerns
• Keep a track of changing expectations

#Challenge 3: Everyone has an opinion on marketing

In full disclosure, I don't necessarily view this as a challenge - varied opinions can broaden the way you think and improve your strategy. It only becomes a challenge, when too many opinions hamper your work-progress.

I read a powerful line on an article - So, Everyone Thinks They're a Marketer

From your boss to your spouse to every co-worker you work with, everyone has an opinion on the “best” way to market a product or service.

It is a double-edged sword, if more people are involved you get an insight on different thinking processes, on the other hand, it can sometimes compel you to satisfy your internal team rather than taking the customer-first approach.

TL;DR:

• Encourage a healthy and constructive discussion
• Test and see which approach is most suitable to your audience
• Rely on advice from industry experts who is often your boss or co-workers - all audiences are different and information available isn't necessarily the gospel truth

#Challenge 4: Explaining the nuances of marketing

Like most professions, marketers are creative problem-solvers. There are no off the bat solutions. We do our research, read up articles, talk to our peers and turn every stone to come up with a sound strategy. Even after taking a calculative approach - there's no guarantee that you'll be successful. When you're implementing a campaign from ideation to implementation - you need to focus on EVERYTHING.

Attention to detail is often the key to success. Will adding an extra field in a form decrease submission rates? If we post the social media post half-hour later will it give me an increase in reach? Should I write my blog title in sentence-case or camel-case? Should you use hyphens in your keywords? These things matter and showcasing the value of these things isn't always easy at the start. It can seem almost frivolous to someone who isn't a marketer. I encouraged my team to change the 'sender' on an email from 'marketing' to a relevant team member - the open and click rates shot up to 30%. The change seems 'small' but the result isn't.

TL;DR:

• Back up claims with statistics from your industry
• Make small changes and share the results
• Educate and encourage 'marketing' conversations

I'm sure my approach isn't flawless - it's simply a reflection of my little experience and advice I've received from my mentors. As I grow in my career, my challenges will be different and I look forward to them the most - a heavy increase in paycheck wouldn't hurt either :P

Till next time.

Every marketer's thought :P

[Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy]

Poorvi, your items #3 and #4 are so well-put! As marketers, the work we do is always sort of a hypothesis, you know? When it comes to working with people more attuned to there being a clear right and wrong (I imagine the tech industry is full of these thinkers in particular) marketing tends to turn up a lot of grey areas.

I also agree that Google is my best friend, and I'm about 6 months in to working with Team Gliffy. ;) 

[Poorvi Jhawar]

@Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy 

I thought I was the only one 🙈 There’s a lot of white and black. And I’m like hey, look at all this middle ground. 

I’ve been working for TechTime for 6 months too, but always been working in Tech. It gets easier, either we wear them down or they wear us down. 😂

[Deepanshu Natani]

Hi @Poorvi Jhawar

This is a nicely written article. We have also faced the challenge #3 "Everyone has an opinion on marketing" in our organisation. The marketing team has now learned how to tackle this after months of experience :-)

[Poorvi Jhawar]

Hi @Deepanshu Natani 

Thanks a lot :) 

I think there'll always be a struggle. But what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger :P 

[janewn2]

I envy those people who face challenges. I especially respect those who embark on the path of an uncharted profession. I'm always afraid of starting something new without preparatory courses, a long period of training. Your example can inspire future digital marketers, even if it's not about B2B. The only person I know who does similar work is an employee at https://belkins.io/pricing. I've asked him a lot about how he finds other people's customers and researches the sales market. I found it very interesting, but I never decided to apply to a similar company. However, I've suggested his services to others because I know he's serious about the tasks he sets for himself.