60 Second Interview: Marketing Leaders in FinTech

Kelly Pettersen, Chief Marketing Officer at leading FinTech Lendingblock, who was recently recognised by the Gramercy Institute as a rising star in financial marketing sat down with Neil Cuthbertson, Senior Consultant at Carter Murray’s London office to discuss the ever evolving landscape of Marketing and its changing role in the FinTech scene.

What originally got you into a career in Marketing?

When I got into Marketing, I am not sure I thought so much about the reasons why I got into Marketing. What I do know, is that I was always fascinated by advertising and branding and what caused a consumer to behave in a certain way that had them choose a particular product or service over another.

Looking back on both my professional and personal journey, I have spent a lot of time more recently understanding my values and what motivates me.

In addition to my pure interest in business and the concept of marketing something, with further personal understanding, I can say that the reason I got into Marketing is because I value connection with people and working in teams. Working across multiple business functions and understanding the different goals of the people involved as well as their motivations is something I find interesting. Building on this, having the ability to be able to craft unique marketing strategies that drive success cross functionally and that ultimately ladders up to benefit at the corporate level is something that is really exciting to me.

To add to this reflection, I discovered that I have a real love for storytelling and communications, which are both key components to marketing and selling a product, but also vital competencies when working with clients and other external partners.

How do you see the market changing in the coming years?

AI, Big Data, Internet of Things and Blockchain are all innovative technological advancements that we are already starting to see have impact on our every day lives and on how we are communicated to by brands.

One of the main challenges that many organisations currently have is organising and cleaning the massive amounts of data they have. Data can provide invaluable insights about clients and market trends and be a competitive advantage. Predictive analytics technologies and AI can extrapolate from the data key predictions about the market, product offerings, and customer behaviour, and provide information and insights into your future customer.

Distributed ledger technologies, such as the blockchain, are also changing the way businesses, customers and jurisdictions around the world interact by providing an authentic, secure and transparent way to transfer value. This technology is already disrupting various industries including healthcare, logistics, financial services and luxury goods.

The world is continuing to become a smaller, more connected place due to digitalisation and new technologies. Flexibility, adaptability and understanding trade offs are important in a landscape where doing business is much more complex. 

What advice would you give someone just starting their marketing career today?

Be a “learn it all,” not a “know it all.” Spend time with people smarter than you, and people you can learn from. Don’t be scared to ask questions.

Stay close to those that are selling as they know the client and what is happening in the industry day in and day out. Keep educating yourself on technology and how it can help you in your role.

And, lastly, if there is one thing I learned over the years, is that taking a practical approach can be the best way to find success.