Sheena Oliver became a marketer almost by accident. During her undergrad years at Philadelphia’s Temple University, Oliver began to realize that journalism, her current major, was not for her. She took a course in class cataloging and that was her introduction to audiology, which eventually led to her current position as VP of Marketing at hearing device manufacturer Oticon Inc. In fact, as a doctor of audiology, Oliver has a unique understanding of Oticon’s customers. This has enabled her to better guide the company’s customer research and marketing initiatives in ways that help to both innovate and build customer trust.
Marketing strategy: Stay flexible, value insights, and encourage my team to be creative. Also, build consensus by making sure key stakeholders are knowledgeable about marketing.
Winning ways: My induction into the 2014 Marketing Hall of Femme. I work in an industry that most marketers would not consider a major player in the marketing arena. I deeply appreciate that my company has given me the freedom to take Oticon into new areas. It’s an exciting time for our industry and I am grateful to work with a company that’s willing to support innovation and change.
Defining moment: I decided to leave my profession as an audiologist in the hearing industry and move to an entry level sales position at a pharmaceutical company. This meant learning an entirely new business and taking a significant pay cut. It proved to be the ideal testing ground to develop strengths and skills I needed to chart a new career path. I eventually returned to my profession in a position that allowed me to start a new division for my company that also included managing a sales team.
Trend watching: I’m most interested in the utilization of social media and multichannel retail by the 65-plus generation. This demographic is currently the fastest growing group of social media users; however, they tend to still shop more traditionally. We’re starting to see this situation change and it will be interesting to see how it develops and how it impacts larger purchases.
Words to live by: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple… that’s creativity.” –Charles Mingus
Good read: Knowing Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You’re Worth by Mika Brzezinski. This taught me that you don’t get what you don’t ask for. You may not always get what you ask for, but I will never have regrets about “what if.”
Good advice: Be on your grind. Show up before everyone else, leave after everyone else, do the jobs that no one else wants. This is what will get you prepared for when an opportunity arises.
Meet the rest of the 2014 Marketing Hall of Femme honorees and read their inspirational stories.
