Keeping clients and leads in the know about a new product is incredibly important; the director of marketing is going to be the key person who ensures the word gets out. This question is important to ask for two reasons. First, it will show you if the person has a clear go-to-market strategy. Second, this will help you identify potential candidates who are not as experienced. Listen for the following:

• Ability to outline a clear plan of action
• Examples of previous successess
• Confidence and collaboration across other departments (e.g. sales)

Marketing is all about standing out from the crowd. This question helps you identify the candidates who approach their work with a creative twist and try to think outside of the box. It allows the candidate to speak to their accomplishments and will give you a taste of their work. This question will also help you to see how willing a candidate is to try something new. Listen for the following:

• Examples of unique marketing campaigns
• Eagerness to experiment with new things
• Creative twists on standard campaign expectations

Each director of marketing will have their favorite marketing channel that they believe is the most influential for the sharing of information. Either intentionally or subliminally, the director of marketing will tend to favor this over the others. It is crucial that you know which channel this is in advance to ensure that it lines up with your marketing/business objectives. Plus, their answer will also teach you a bit about them. Listen for the following:

• Clear reasons for their favorite
• Recognition of multiple marketing channels
• Examples of marketing channels that may fit your company best

Marketing relies quite a bit on technology, and this is constantly changing. The director of marketing will need to keep his/herself up to speed on the latest and greatest. This question will show you if there are any potential concerns regarding how the candidate self-educates outside of required training at work. This is also an excellent question for gauging their preferred mode of instruction (e.g. blogs vs podcasts vs books). Listen for the following:

• Examples of several different channels
• Embracing of continued learning to enhance their work
• Willingness to share resources with their colleagues

As great as your team may be, there will be at least one campaign that costs you time and money only to flop once it is released. It is important to know how a candidate will react when something doesn't go as planned, and this is a great way to have them open up and admit a mistake was made; you will be able to better judge their character. Listen for the following:

• Demonstration of a willingness to take responsibility
• Examples of things that did not go as planned
• Ability to analyze what went wrong