What is the job of marketing executive?

What advice would you give someone starting a new job as a Marketing Executive at a startup company?

• I'm starting a new job as a Marketing Executive at a technology start-up. The company employs around 25 people; it hasn't had 'marketing' before. It's a B2B technology/software service that has been growing handsomely by word-of-mouth alone. Many of the people in the company are experienced with working in a start-up environment. I am not. The company is almost two years old. I will be owning the Marketing agenda, and there has to be a heavy focus on content creation and thought leadership. I'm the creative hardworking type. I have never had a senior position before (am quite young; but my interviewers were very impressed with me) and I need advice on what first things I ought to think of doing when I get to this company. All your advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.

• Answer:

  Without knowing the specifics about your company (what industry, how competitive it is, sales cycle, price, etc.) and without knowing your own background, I can only give some general advice, so here it goes: 1. Be humble. In a startup you have to wear many hats, that is also true of the Marketing Exec. While you are responsible for setting direction, budget, etc. you will be required to be hands-on. Be prepared to write copy, to configure your email marketing program, and to make calls to vendors. If you only want to stay "strategic" and hire people to do all the grunt work, you won't last long. 2. Be thrifty. In bigger companies once your budget is approved you can spend with minimum approvals necessary, not so in a startup. Don't assume that you will have the money to spend and don't assume you don't need approvals. Typically big budget items have to pass the CEO's approval even if they are in the budget. 3. Forget politics. The typical startup doesn't have time to play that game, so be direct and to the point during meetings with other managers. Take action fast, don't keep waiting around. 4. Be flexible. Things change quickly in a startup, you've got to be able to adjust your plan and your mindset. 5. Be creative. Forget the traditional marketing plan with big budget supporting it. Unless your startup is VC backed and has money to spend on marketing, you will be better off thinking of innovative ways to get the word out. Trade shows, print ads, etc may not be affordable. 6. Get the story right. What is the startup's story? Why do they exist? Who are the founders? Get a good understanding of what makes them unique. Typically startups that get launch without a good marketing person on the team have trouble telling their story or incorporating it into their overall brand. It will be your job to understand what makes them special and help them with what their brand stands for. 7. Resist the urge to hire. Just because you're the first marketing exec and there's no team in place it doesn't mean you have to hire 10 people tomorrow. Grow the team slowly, outsource when it makes sense. 8. It all comes down to sales. Sure, all the branding and press mentions are good, but in a startup the owners (and VCs) want to know how many leads and how much sales you'll help bring. Know your numbers (website traffic, blog post comments, twitter followers, etc.) and your metrics and be prepared to show that you know what you are doing. 9. Think "content marketing". It's the cheapest and most effective way of creating lasting content and generating buzz, especially for a startup and especially if you are going against competitors who don't have a good content marketing strategy. Thought leadership is more important than ever and can help tremendously. 10. Integrate marketing into the organization. In many cases, the startup founders (technical founders especially) think of marketing as another department, like HR, that they have to hire for and then forget. You have an important role, because you will have the opportunity to change this mindset (if exists) that marketing is something separated from everything. Try to show them that everyone in the company is responsible for marketing. It begins with social media (will employees tweet? will employees be encouraged to share stuff on facebook? etc.), but it goes into content creation (employees should post stuff on the blog), thought leadership (employees doing presentations at events), and media relations. It includes sales, tech support, and product management. It should be part of everyone's vocabulary.