Future Watch – Arming Newer Generations of Marketeers with Insights for Success
Given the changes afoot in the B2B tech marketing space, what do the next generation of marketers need to know about entering the industry? We asked Lindsay Schleisman, Head of Global Public Relations for Danish engineering solutions company Danfoss Power Solutions, for her advice. Her response could be summed up in two words: get experience.
‘Get experience in both B2B and B2C to determine what it is that you like,’ she says. ‘B2B and B2C are very different in terms of what you are going to be doing.’ For Lindsay, modern marketing and PR professionals need to be well-rounded. ‘If you can, try to get some professional services experience, too,’ she adds. ‘Promoting products is one thing. Promoting services is a whole different ball game.’
Both public relations and marketing have changed dramatically in recent years, Lindsay says, and PR professionals in particular need to appreciate that their work is no longer just about media relations. ‘There’s so much that goes into it now,’ she says. ‘You have to understand not just how to get coverage, but how to promote and amplify the coverage you get. And that’s both paid and organic.’
Many communication professionals want to work in-house. But they should be mindful that they’re unlikely to be hired right away. Lindsay says that employers at big companies want their PR and marketing hires to have done their time in an agency context. ‘In an agency, you learn what works and what doesn’t work because you’re doing it day in, day out,’ she says. ‘You’re always working. It might sound blunt, but I wouldn’t even bother looking for an in-house job straight out of school. Get agency experience first.’
For those thinking long term, Lindsay suggests that it’s just as important that long-term agency professionals try to get some experience in-house as well. ‘There’s a lot you can learn,’ she says. ‘They’re different worlds.’