The conversations that matter in B2B Tech marketing Generated by Splendid Group  If your career depends on how well you know how to do B2B marketing for technology brands, these are conversations you want to be in. We get some of the most interesting people in the field to tell us how (and why) they do what they do. We look at some of the core skills a marketer needs, pull them apart to see how they work (like a curious kid with a toaster) and wonder if they couldn’t be, y’know, “jazzed up” just a little bit. And we also pull back the curtain on how these teams and leaders operate, look at their day to day and see if we can’t steal a few ideas for our own operations. You’re more than welcome to listen in and steal a few ideas for yourself.

Buzzsprout

Plugged In, Switched On.

Splendid Group

Question 1 is the elevator pitch. What is SAP selling and why would anybody pay good money for it?

Question 2: Is that something you grew up dreaming of? What did Rushenka in high school think she was going to do or what was she told she should go in to do?

Question 3: I do this for free. Which particular part of the job or task do you just naturally enjoy and find yourself gravitating towards?

Question 4: Control, alt, delete. What's the one career move or moment you wish you could go back and undo? In that moment perhaps you realized, "Oh, I'm learning a valuable lesson here."

Question 5: Shout out. Who have you learned the most from in your career?

Question 6: The only constant is marketing cliches. How do you keep up with change? How do you continually lean into it? As you said, you've been doing this for quite some time. How do you keep curious? How do you keep excited?

Question 7: Here's to your health. You're in a job that's in high demand, it's a high stress job, it's a fairly cerebral kind of job. What do you do to keep yourself both body and mind healthy and to sustain the kind of energy?

Question 8: Did you come across a segment or a type of audience or somebody that you feel when you're marketing to them, you really do need to take time to understand them and address them a little bit differently?

Question 9: Green with envy. What's the campaign or event or idea or launch that you've seen, and you went, "Oh, I wish I'd done that. That's really good"?

Question 10: That really gets my goat. What's the one thing in this industry, and we can talk about B2B tech or we can talk about marketing or a combination of both. What's one thing in this industry that's gone on for far too long and needs fixing?

Question 11:  Truth serum. You've worked with a lot of agencies over the years. What's the one question you'd ask an agency if you knew they had to tell you the truth?

Question 12: Better together. How are you making that call to know when you should step back and let somebody do the thing or step in and say, "Right, I'm going to do this on my own, 'cause it's just going to be faster and better"?

Question 13: Change your mind. What is a long held belief or conventional wisdom about marketing that you no longer hold?

Question 14: Put your money where your mouth is. What surprised you over the last 6 to 12 months of stuff that's working better than expected and also some stuff that you're like, "Nah, this is starting to tank. We're going to pull back from it"?

Question 15: Overhyped, underrated. What buzzword or concept do you think is getting too much airplay recently?

Question 16:  The supermodel question. Linda Evangelista very famously once said she wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. What figure do you get out of bed for?

Question 17: This ain't happening. What's the most unexpected or unusual situation you've found yourself in thanks to work or thanks to your job?

Question 18: Home alone. What was the pandemic and the lockdown experience like for you and how has that changed the way you work now or live and work and that work-life balance?

Question 19: All of me. How diverse and open and welcoming have you found the culture within SAP?

Question 20: Secret weapon. Rushenka, do you have a secret weapon in your career? And if you do, will you tell us what it is?

What’s it like to be in competition with yourself?   20 Great Answers with Rushenka Perera, VP of Marketing for SAP, ANZ

Barrie Seppings