Rebecca Frizzarin, a Field Marketing Manager for the DACH tech market, shares her playbook for success. She discusses the shift from tactical to strategic campaigns, the importance of sales collaboration, and why a field marketer’s most critical role is to be a “connector.”
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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- The Field Marketer’s Core Role is the “Connector” The most crucial function is to connect internal teams like sales, PR, and content, while also connecting the company with external customers and partners.
- Shift from Tactics to Strategic Campaigns Define your business goals and target audience first, then build integrated activities around them—not the other way around.
- Be a Generalist and Befriend Sales Career success in field marketing requires a broad understanding of all marketing functions and a strong, collaborative relationship with the sales team.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your current role?
I’m from Italy, but I’ve been living in Munich for eight years now. I’ve worked for over six years in IT and tech companies as a marketer, with a focus on the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland).
I’ve almost always worked as a field marketing manager, and I really like it because it’s a flexible and dynamic role. You get to be directly in touch with people—whether they are partners, resellers, or customers, and you can get creative and build your own structure. I get bored pretty easily, so I see field marketing as a role where you can really create your own path.
How did you get into marketing?
I studied economics and management, and during my first year at university, I attended a conference on digital marketing and communication. It sparked a light inside of me, and I knew I wanted to do this for my career. I was fascinated by the transition of social media from just being for fun to also being for business.
How I ended up in IT was quite random. Like many who dream of working in marketing, I thought I would end up in a B2C company. In a time where I really needed a job, I took the first one I was offered, and it happened to be in IT. I’m very happy I landed in this industry because it’s challenging but also really fun. It’s a more educational type of marketing; you can´t just assume people know what the product – like in retail where everyone knows what a tshirt is. You need to explain its value and advantages, which is what I like the most.
What is your main focus as a field marketer right now?
My biggest focus has been transitioning from a purely tactical marketing approach to one based on strategic and integrated campaigns. This means planning based on the goals we want to achieve and the people we want to reach before deciding which event to sponsor or which content syndication tool to use.
The second main focus is building a solid go-to-market collaboration with sales. We are making them part of the strategy process to guarantee that our activities are impactful for them and to ensure we generate pipeline together.
How is that relationship with your sales team?
Right now, I’m very happy because I work with a very engaged sales team. They are demanding, of course, but they also listen, appreciate marketing’s input, and are willing to try out new activities.
It’s a relationship that you have to build. The first step is to be present, keep them updated on what you’re doing, and be open to giving your opinion and receiving their feedback. From there, you can build a tighter collaboration.
Can you share a recent campaign or initiative that was particularly successful?
This year, I replicated our large in-house trade show in my region, adapting the content and format for the local market. This was a top campaign for me because it was a truly integrated campaign involving various teams, including marketing, sales, and PR.
It wasn’t just the main event itself; we had roundtables around it, a CISO dinner, and strong PR and social media support. It was the first time we ran it, so we learned a lot, but we also got very positive results in terms of pipeline generation.
How do you evaluate which external events to invest in?
I have three important points that I always ask the event organiser. The first is about the audience; I ask for a list of previous attendees to see if the company names and titles match our target. The second is the agenda and content, to ensure it aligns with our goals.
The third, and very important, point is regarding meeting opportunities and leads. Many events promise C-level access, but the reality is often different. They might not share the contacts or provide real opportunities to meet with them. My rule is that if at least two out of these three criteria are positive, we can consider the event.
How do you see field marketing evolving in the near future?
Marketing has two very powerful tools right now: data and AI. If we learn to use these two assets smartly, we can achieve a lot. I see the role of field marketing switching from just an “event and campaign manager” to a true pipeline generator and the “brain” for the go-to-market organisation.
AI can be our best colleague, acting as a facilitator to remove many of the process- and admin-related tasks we have. The combination of these tools will allow us to focus on what really matters: driving the pipeline and driving the business.
How do you track the pipeline effect of your events?
We stay on top of it by first defining realistic and limited goals before the event takes place. We usually focus on just two to three key numbers, such as how many MQLs or SQLs we can generate, how much pipeline value, or the number of meetings we can secure. The secret to success is not having too many goals and being realistic.
If you could give a piece of advice to someone starting out in marketing, what would that be?
My first piece of advice is to talk with sales as soon as possible and learn from them about the market and the product. Ask as many questions as you can.
Second, especially if you are looking for a career in the field, learn to be a generalist. Don’t focus too much on just one area like social media or content. Try to learn the basics from each marketing department and then figure out how to use those skills in your daily job. You don’t need to be an expert at building a landing page, but you need to understand the main message and the target audience.
If you had to describe the role of a field marketer in one word, what would it be and why?
I would say connector. I see field marketing connecting a lot of different internal departments, like sales with customer success or PR with the content team. And we also connect externally, connecting our sales team to the right audience, the right partners, and the right customers.
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