The sustainability challenge
Over these twenty years, one of the great challenges in the industrial sector has been helping customers understand the differences between recyclable, compostable and bio-based materials, so they can make informed decisions. I believe that all of us who are part of the value chain share a responsibility: to inform and educate on environmental matters.
The brand challenge
In the industrial sector we tend to look at the product first: what we offer and how it performs. That makes sense in a technical field, but it is also one of marketing’s great challenges: making visible the value of a coherent brand, where every catalogue, every trade fair and every message tells the same story. Working with sales teams and adapting messages to very different markets, I came to see that the same product is not chosen the same way everywhere. Because in B2B, people decide too, and that is where my interest in how they decide began.
The challenge of a technical environment
For years I worked in a technical, industrial sector where, in many meetings and trade fairs, I was one of the few women in the room. I learnt to earn a hearing through preparation and product knowledge, without giving up my own way of communicating. Today I value that experience: it confirmed that diverse perspectives make for better decisions.
The challenge of coming from marketing
In a company where engineering and product took centre stage, marketing had to prove its value every day: translating technical features into benefits, measuring the impact of each action and building bridges with sales, product and R&D. Being the group’s only marketing person, with the support of external agencies, taught me to prioritise what really makes an impact and to temper my perfectionism: done is better than perfect, without neglecting the details that matter.
