Hi Div, Tell us about your role as the Director, Product Marketing at SpotMe. How has your role evolved during the pandemic?
I recently joined the SpotMe team, and I am excited about the opportunity to lead the positioning for our SpotMe platform and our B2B Event Marketing portfolio across Webinars, Virtual and Hybrid events.
The events industry has morphed over the past year to meet customer needs, and we pivoted to virtual events and are well-positioned with SpotMe Studio technology to lead the next transformation in Events.
What started as an experiment has shaped my story in a picture-perfect introduction, and it’s amazing to see how stories evolve over time.
With a B2B events marketing platform, SpotMe has helped customers adapt quickly to the market shift and also how to think about B2B event marketing as a continuum.
Events are not just a couple of days to get together kind of conference anymore. Events are shaping how companies position their thought leadership and need to be front and center for the target audience. This is crucial to building long-lasting and trustworthy engagements from the first impression with a webinar all the way to hybrid events as part of the buyer journey.
That’s so kind of you. I am an introvert turned ambivert, and when I started five years ago, I could barely write 500 words and was afraid of speaking in front of large groups. Thanks to the focus and commitment with my first attempt at personal OKRs in 2018, I have come a long way and am still learning and a student forever. I guess when I am truly passionate about something, I love to share my learnings and experiences. #sharingiscaring
I have been very fortunate to have amazing mentors throughout my career. Simon Sinek helped me believe in myself and realize that leadership is a privilege. I’m grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community and be a mentor at the Product Marketing Alliance.
My inspiration comes in all shapes and forms from leaders around the world. An explorer at heart, sometimes it’s the art museum or a craft store, or most times I look to nature for my next idea, and I am always in awe of seeing the beauty of things around me.
Simplicity has been key in everything that I do, and I try to practice essentialism. This discipline has helped to ensure that whether I’m working on positioning or market/competitive intelligence or any product marketing initiative, I’m keeping those lines of simplicity and have a laser focus.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci.
SaaS companies are going through a business model transformation and now realize that being sales-led is not moving the needle at the anticipated rate. So, companies are shifting to be product-led and moving from a single core product to a platform with a portfolio of solutions to meet customer needs.
This is an exciting time to be a product marketer as we can drive that product-led growth and think about the end-to-end customer experience through a Buyer Journey from Discover to Advocate.
Customers are now just as savvy in B2B as we are in B2C and our expectations are that B2B companies need the same tenacity and need to be trustworthy to be able to do business with them. This is where true customer advocates will rise up, and champion for products they love and the service offered. It’s no more a one-and-done thing for B2B companies just to sell the product. With product-led growth, you also see customer success as key to ensuring that we deliver on the promise that we shared when a customer purchased our solution to meet their business needs.
For me, there are three key pillars that are core to my values and beliefs. These have helped me stay true to myself and also guide decisions and conversations throughout my career.
As a believer in servant leadership, I aspire to empower my team and create a safe environment to share their perspectives. I also share my own vulnerabilities and build transparency in processes and frameworks. I don’t know everything, and that’s the beauty of learning every day. I’m keeping an open mind and embracing what the universe has planned for me. Every day is a new day!
1. Inspire – Trust and Credibility
2. Influence – Extreme Ownership
3. Impact – Results and Relationships
I enjoy taking a problem that hasn’t been solved and run with it.
I love the opportunity to work with different teams across an organization and make things happen.
Having a curious mindset and asking WHY has given me the right frameworks to guide my decision-making.
I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to have diverse opportunities. I try to keep a growth mindset where I’m challenging myself and my team to be the best that we can be and get out of our comfort zone.
A big advocate for GROW and personal OKRs, I encourage each of you to ask what are your personal OKRs for 2021/2022. This has given me clarity on what to focus on meaningful work – mentorship, reading, and writing to name a few.
Always ask Why, no matter what you are doing, as Simon Sinek shared in Start with Why. It’s easy for us to fall into complacency. If you are not learning anything new, find other sources of challenging the status quo.
In Think Again, Adam Grant invites us to rethink our identity with values, not opinions, and embrace the joy of being wrong. Ask, “What evidence would change your mind?”
Bring mindfulness with you wherever you go! I encourage each of you to find your true self and live life to the fullest in every moment, one day at a time.
Thank you for reading and for sharing this time together.
Uzma Abdulla is an Editorial & Content Coordinator for The Media Bulletin. Experienced with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing space. Skilled in strong program and project management. Master of Arts (M.A.) in Archaeology and Pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling. She likes to be on her toes when it comes to facilitating events and collaborating with people.
