AMA: Shopify Head of Video Marketing, Katie Jane Parkes on Demand Generation Skills

The common traits that all of the best demand generation candidates have is a growth mindset and the ability to combine both data/science and creativity in their approach at work. Demand generation requires a growth mindset because you constantly need to test and iterate and use your learnings to make the next idea or next piece of your strategy better for your customers. And with this style of thinking, you need inputs from both data/science but also an excellent gut instinct and a creative app ...Read More

Here are the skills I think you need to be a great demand generation leader: Deep understanding of the sales process Ability to connect sales and marketing Email marketing Google Analytics SEO Systems: Salesforce, Marketo, Hubspot, etc. Knowledge of ABM programs Understanding customer personas Able to manage multiple tasks and projects Project management Experimentation mindset And here are the skills/knowledge that will make you an exceptional demand generation leader: Social media and content ...Read More

I chose Demand Generation over Product Marketing because I wanted to be at the front lines of brand building. I have specialized in content creation and strategy, specifically in video and social media, and I've seen first hand how the right content put in front of the right audience at the right time can have a significant impact on sales and customer and product acquisition. I love the thought that a customer (potential or current) could be watching a video that my team produced and it makes t ...Read More

My advice for recent graduates looking to go straight into demand generation is to think about your own experience as a person who loves certain brands. Ask yourself what made you get into them, how you heard about them in the first place, and what about their brand makes you love and trust them. Then continue to do this exercise over the course of your career. It will remind you that every customer's journey is unique and nonlinear. And that the journey you plan out and hope they might go on is ...Read More

I think having the right soft skills is better when you're joining a new team. A lot of the time, the soft skills are very hard to teach others. They are developed over a long period of time and are a culmination of that person's years of experience on the planet: their upbringing, career path, interests, likes and dislikes, all shape how soft skills show up and they are often what make most people very unique and allow them to stand out in a field like demand generation. The hard skills can typ ...Read More

I think you need to acknowledge this problem with your boss, especially if you have data to back up why their feedback isn't helpful or is steering the strategy/project in the wrong way. Being able to solicit critique and then facilitate meaningful discussion about the work is key to success on complex marketing teams. Make the discussion about the work and about the impact it will or will not have on your customers, and not about the person. If this continues and the critical feedback keeps com ...Read More