Fei Guo, Customer Marketing Manager at Rocketspark

After deliberately trying to avoid working in tech because she perceived it as cold and boring, Fei Guo, Customer Marketing Manager at Rocketspark, is not only glad she was wrong, she sounds like she has really found a home.

We caught up with Fei to learn more about her career journey into tech, why she has fallen in love with the industry and what she loves about working at Rocketspark. She also has some great advice for anyone that might be curious on following her lead. Thanks for sharing your story, Fei.

Firstly, how would you explain to a five year old what it is you do?

Have you ever watched a cartoon from TVNZ Kidzone online rather than on TV? Or have you ever seen your mum shop online?

We create a tool for people to create their own website or online store so that they can get seen and found by other people in the world on the internet.

My job is to let people in need of a website know the existence of Rocketspark, get them to try and keep using us while keeping them happy.

And for the adults, what does that translate to in regards to your day-to-day?

We are a website platform that enables people to create websites code-free. We also build a community of designers and marketers who create websites for their clients on our platform with good support provided by us along the way.

Strategies and analysis are big parts of my job.

I'm like the conductor behind the scenes leading our marketing and customer success team to talk to the world about our brand, engage and support our old and new clients with product features and techniques that can help them to be more successful online.

What are some of the common misconceptions about working as a marketing manager?

People think only those who know coding or tech can be competent in this industry. The reality, though, is that the core competence relies on the ability to learn quickly and constantly, given how fast the digital landscape is changing nowadays.

People also tend to perceive marketing-related roles to be ‘sales’ or running ‘promotions’ through ‘ads’.

However, thinking of the options people have at their fingertips in this information explosion era, marketing is less about all the marketing techniques marketers can utilise but how our brand is reflected on people’s personal goals and values.

The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing, it feels like a service.

Was working in tech something you dreamed about doing as a kid, if not what was?

I was actually in a very opposite position - tech was one of the industries I tried to avoid when I was a fresh graduate and looking for my very first job because I thought it was something cold and boring (facing the computer all day long and dealing with code).

Instead, I was eager to find a job in the tourism or education industry, or work for a not-for-profit where the human connection is deep rooted.

My assumption has soon been proved wrong since I joined Rocketspark as I started working with the most caring bunch of people and for a company that exists to create a better life for the world around us. It’s quite a cool nice feeling when we do that through tech.

What we’re working for through tech and the people behind the scenes is what makes tech even more appealing.

Tell us a little bit more about your career journey and ultimately about how you ended up working at RocketSpark?

My bachelor's degree was a double degree in marketing and journalism. Since then I had been working for a Fortune 500 back in China, national TV channels, e-commerce, and PR agencies across various industries.

Coming from a multicultural marketing/customer service background, I’ve seen and became fascinated with the powerful impact marketing and digital technologies can have on businesses and people’s day-to-day life.

So about seven years ago, I came to New Zealand and did my master’s degree at the University of Waikato with the research focus on service-dominant logic in the context of digital flourishing.

I was working in Auckland back then shortly after I graduated from UOW and when a professor of mine introduced me to the opportunity to work at Rocketspark as a Customer Success Specialist.

I was soon drawn to applying for this role as the opportunity arose to shift my career path from traditional marketing to a more digitally focussed field. I then relocated back to Waikato and have been working for Rocketspark ever since.

My first two years in the customer service role have equipped me with rich product and customer insights which enabled me to get a head start on my following career progression into a marketing role.

I’ve been in my current role for almost two and half years now, and I’m still having that wow moment every day in terms of what the team creates and how much more we can do to improve our offerings that will empower our customers.

What is the best piece of career advice you have ever received?

Think big, start small, learn fast.

If it’s not easy to get straight into a role that seems to match your career goal, deliver value in your current role and build knowledge that will lead to your final goal.

What do you love about working at Rocketspark?

I think people - the people I’m working with and people we’re working for (our co-founders, our partners, and customers) and the shared value we hold.

Compared with the vibe of working in a big corporation, we’re super agile and everyone gets a say on what we’re working on. I know exactly why I’m working here every morning when I walk into the office, and the caring and supportive culture is second to none.

I always have an eagerness to learn and a curiosity about where the world is leading us, so getting to experience the ever-changing technology firsthand from both the business and personal point of view is also quite exciting.

Lastly, Rocketspark continues to grow and evolve, what are the key traits and characteristics of people that will be well placed to work there?

Smart, amiable, reliable, fast learner, problem solver, creative thinker, team player. People who have great initiative and can roll up their sleeves in driving the growth/delivering our goals.

People who are passionate about what we do and can resonate with our values.