What is your favorite demand generation interview question and the best answer you've heard?

My favorite question to ask during an interview is “If you could spend an extra $100k on demand generation in your current role, what would you spend it on and why?”

I really like this question because it helps me understand a variety of things about how the candidate thinks. Dependent on the response, I can learn which type of marketing campaigns they tend to prefer to work with and how they budget and plan.

The answer I look for is typically something with a multi-channel approach. Throughout my career I have learned to trust the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” That has been even more true after the last 2 years of the pandemic. The entire way we do Demand Generation or Field Marketing shifted with the removal of in person events combined with the rising cost of digital marketing. Now as we are shifting back to in person, we face the battle of inflation overall. Multi-channel gives you a lot of at-bats and allows you to shift funding around as needed.

My favorite demand generation interview question is around how do you measure success. I tailor the question based on the role, but the essence of the question is the same.

This is my favorite question because I’m a believer of being data informed within demand generation. Right away I can gauge the sophistication of the candidate's experience based on this question. I’m looking for an understanding of how to gauge performance and the rigor of data analysis you’ll have with your programs. This of course will vary based on the role.

What was the best answer I’ve received? When the candidate teaches me something I’m not familiar with. Educate the hiring manager on a nugget of information or a unique perspective and that will give them insight into how much you can bring to the table.

Walk me through your favorite campaign. 

I love this question but it's pretty open-ended and can reveal a lot about the way in which a candidate thinks. Did they understand their audience? Did they design their program in a way to achieve the goals? Did it even have established goals? Was in creative in the sense that it ultimately achieved what it set out to achieve? 

It enables a candidate to demonstrate how they think about strategy, planning, and execution without leading the witness!