Monica Myers

One of the great things about Demand Gen is that there isn't a set path into it. For example, I started my career in sales and account management before transitioning over to marketing. While somewhat atypical, I've found having a sales background to be beneficial as I've grown my career in DG because it gave me a first hand look into what the sales and marketing relationship looks like from the other perspective, and a deep empathy for being quota carrying. I've worked with incredible DG marketers who have come to DG from different fields (both from other functions in marketing and fields outside of marketing) and landed on Demand Gen. My recommendation would be to think about how your skills in another field can transfer over to a Demand Gen role. Chances are they are transferable and will provide you with a differentiated view point because of them. Use that to your advantage!

My number one tip when building or scaling a Demand Gen function and team is to ensure that there is a clear path to measureable outcomes and impact across the DG team. While understanding impact and building a sense of accountability is important for all marketing functions, it's critical for Demand Gen. Regardless of how your company is structured, every Demand Generation member should have a set of tangible metrics and business outcomes that they are working towards. This is generally a pipeline target, but may vary. For example, if your company sets different pipeline targets across industries or product lines, you want to ensure that you have 100% coverage over those targets through the structure of your team, which requires mapping all team members to targets. While the metrics and goals will differ depending on scope of the role, all should be connecting back up to key goals and objectives for the broader business.

Demand Gen is such a fun role (I know, I'm biased) because of the split because art and science. DG provides a unique opportunity to get creative and strategic in crafting new campaigns and programs, while also definitively measuring impact and analyzing results. As such, some of the best Demand Gen marketers I've hired and worked with contain a true passion for that combination, and with that, a deep sense of accountability and ownership over the success of those programs.

Congratulations! This is an important moment because you have the unique opportunity to truly define how the Demand Gen team functions at your company. Demand Gen can mean different things to different people, so I recommend creating a clear strategy for what it means for you and your company, and clearly and proactively communicating that across your company, particularly with your key stakeholders in sales, product marketing, content marketing, executive team, etc. DG plays such a powerful role in a company's growth and it is important to frequently share the impact of the work that you are doing, and ensuring that those results get the visibility they deserve. This could mean presenting key results out each week at your company's all-hands, or hosting frequent lunch and learns to share highlights from your work. Doing this early will ensure that your company has a strong understanding of the value that DG can provide from the start. 

Demand Generation sits at a critial intersection of the business, and as such, holds an important responsiblity to ensure that stakeholders and business leaders have access to key metrics. That said, different stakeholders and departments of a company often require information shared in customized ways that ensure that those updates are relevant and actionable to their area of focus. For example, the updates you provide to sales leadership will differ from the updates you provide to the product team. Content leaders may look to understand what content is performing and what trends can be identified for future content development, whereas product marketers will find more value in insights into how an ICP is responding to different messaging and value props. It's critical to think about your intended audience and what is most relevant to them, and to communicate impact in that way. At a company wide level, the most relevant updates usually involve the impact that DG is having on overall business outcomes and the north star of the company. Keep it simple, impactful, and specific to your audience.