The Peerbound Podcast

Kevin Lau, VP of Customer Engagement at Freshworks, on Elevating Customer Marketing for Career Success

Episode Summary

Kevin Lau, Vice President of Customer Engagement at Freshworks, discusses the evolving role of customer marketing. Kevin shares his experiences and insights on professional growth, emphasizing the importance of proactive communication, cross-functional influence, and visibility. They touch on strategies for getting noticed by leadership, the challenges of owning outcomes without full control, and the need for effective orchestration across teams. Kevin also highlights the opportunities for career advancement in the AI-driven future of customer marketing.

Episode Notes

In this episode of The Peerbound Podcast, host Sunny Manivannan welcomes back Kevin Lau, Vice President of Customer Engagement at Freshworks, to discuss the evolving landscape of customer marketing and its increasing importance within organizations. Kevin shares his professional updates, including his new role and personal milestones, and dives deep into significant shifts affecting customer marketing, especially post-pandemic. They explore the fluidity between various roles like customer success, support, and marketing and how AI is reshaping these functions. Kevin provides actionable advice on elevating the role of customer marketers, achieving organizational visibility, and the importance of fostering cross-functional relationships. The discussion also touches on promotion pathways within customer marketing and the need for effective communication of program impacts to leadership. Kevin concludes with a hopeful outlook, emphasizing the unique opportunities for customer marketers to shape their career paths in an AI-driven future.

• (01:10) Kevin’s Big Career & Life Shifts
• (01:54) How Customer Marketing Has Evolved
• (04:09) Org Structure & Success Metrics That Work
• (07:16) Climbing the Ladder in Customer Marketing
• (11:21) How to Know You're Ready for Promotion
• (16:45) The “Orchestrator” Role: Driving Strategy & Execution
• (24:39) Earning Influence Across the Organization
• (33:27) How to Advocate for Yourself Without Burnout
• (38:47) Why the AI Era Is a Win for Customer Marketing

Featuring:
Kevin Lau:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkennethlau

Sunny Manivannan:
LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnymanivannan/
X — https://x.com/sunnymanivannan

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