Coworking with Stacey Epstein

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Stacey Epstein is CMO of Freshworks, a software company.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? My job is to understand people and help them realize they need what I’m offering. It’s really as simple as that. If by understanding them I realize they don’t need what I’m offering, I should move on.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? With a teen and a preteen daughter, I am taken by the “reverse selfie” campaign from Dove. The ad really hits hard with the message that social media is ruining the self-image of our young girls, and making them feel they need to adhere to unrealistic and harmful standards.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? LinkedIn is a fantastic site, but it is quite one-dimensional. It accurately portrays my work self, but you might not know from it that I am a devoted and present mother of two daughters; a wife of a teacher and basketball coach; a lover of travel and adventure; a dog and hamster mom, an aunt who is thrilled to have her niece starting college nearby and hopes her nephew chooses similarly; a sister, a daughter, and more! I adore my career, but it’s only one small piece of the bigger picture.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? Personalization is completely changing the game. Going back to my core basics—marketers need to understand your audience, and then help them realize they need your offering. Personalization has basically simplified and automated that process for us.

My least favorite trend is forced app downloads to get to some sort of content. I have so many apps on my phone that I used once, just because I needed it for a situation. Unless I am a regular user, I don’t really want to download your app!

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? I’ve been enjoying the Grit podcast from Kleiner Perkins.