As marketers, we’re storytellers for the brands we represent. York IE’s Marketer Spotlight series focuses on the individuals crafting stories, orchestrating go-to-market strategies and executing across all channels. They embody their brand, laying the groundwork for scalability. Join us as we uncover the story behind the story with the top marketers in SaaS.
Here we talk to Taylor Pawelka, director of marketing at ProShip:
As marketers, we often are storytellers for the companies and brands we work with and for. But everyone has a story. What’s yours?
My journey as a marketer began with a degree in strategic professional communications from the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. Joining ProShip straight out of college, I was fortunate to learn under a skilled mentor who shaped my strategic approach to marketing while allowing me the freedom to try out my own ideas.
At ProShip, I focused on building a dynamic marketing team, selecting talent and fostering a culture of creativity and innovation. Together, we’ve elevated the brand’s presence and crafted content that continues to foster respect in the supply chain industry.
In essence, my story as a marketer is one of strategic vision, passionate storytelling and a relentless drive to make a lasting impact through the power of providing the right content at the right time.
Why did you start in marketing?
I actually wanted to be a psychiatrist entering college. Turns out, you have to excel in chemistry (and not just biology), which I certainly struggled with. Fortunately, I’ve always loved to write, so I commenced upon Plan B and followed the path of journalism and marketing. That’s where I found my true passion, and I’m thrilled to have failed that chemistry course to this day.
What’s your current role?
My current role is all about orchestrating strategic initiatives that not only showcase the innovative solutions we offer, but position our brand as the thought leader that businesses can trust for accurate, actionable industry information.
What keeps you in B2B marketing? What do you love about it?
What’s great about B2B marketing is that it’s never dull. The economy changes, businesses change, and what businesses struggle with or need change. What I love most is the opportunity to delve deep into the needs and complexities of each type of business and provide the right message(s) in return. There’s never a one-size-fits-all solution, so you can’t utilize a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy.
What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing today as a marketer, and how are you overcoming it?
Email marketing. It’s really hard to stand out with the amount of emails being sent in the B2B world, and companies are getting better and better at blocking bulk sends and tossing them into junk to never see the light of day.
But by utilizing information from our intricate MarTech stack, we’re getting better at honing in our efforts to reach accounts that we know are in-market. We are also building targeted advertising and direct mail strategies into our campaigns.
How do you derive your goals for marketing? How closely are you tying with company KPIs?
Our marketing team is responsible for building 100% of the pipeline for net-new sales. Our sales team only receives qualified opportunities to close — no prospecting on their end required. As long as we hit our quarterly pipe goal, we’re hitting the most important KPI.
Where do you see marketing in the next year?
I see a notable rise in account-based marketing, with detailed contact-based personalization at an all-time high on multiple mediums, especially on websites. People don’t want to talk to sales right away, and they don’t want to fill out 12 of your forms to download a single piece of content. Build the right content for each relevant title at each account and make it readily available. And be transparent! Do it the right way, and they’ll want to learn more.
This level of personalization will require an impressive MarTech stack and include AI features for it to scale properly, but it will payback big.
What is the worst marketing advice you ever received?
“How are X, Y, and Z competitors marketing? Can’t we do something similar?”
Terrible advice. Be original. Blindly copying a competitor’s marketing strategy and/or messaging insults your own brand and results in lifeless content. Do better.
