What is the best way for a B2B marketer with a background in the life sciences industry to transition to a Product Marketing role with an organization like Veeva Systems if they do not have direct product marketing experience? Is industry experience or title of 'Product Marketer' more important?

Rather than answering this about my current employer specifically, I’ll say more broadly that it depends on the company, the hiring manager’s specific needs, the corporate hiring philosophy, the employment market conditions and more. That may not be a satisfactory answer but it is truthful. Having domain experience is always a plus and if your marketing responsibilities cross over into product marketing, then you can make a stronger case that you are fully capable to take on that role.

I think the best thing to do in such a case (and I was in this same boat in my first job in software as well) is to prove how your domain experience, coupled with your marketing skillset, makes you a more valuable asset compared to someone else who already has the product marketing expertise but lacks industry knowledge. Can you represent the voice of the customer better? Can you hit the ground running because you understand the industry already? Can you deliver new capabilities to the product marketing team that the company doesn’t have today? Are you able to break the mold and redefine what a top product marketer at this company is going to be? If you can convincingly argue that you are going to make a stronger impact, then you increase your odds of landing the job.

You also have to balance all of that out with the current employment market conditions. Sadly, a lot of highly qualified and talented people with great experience have recently found themselves out of a job due to no fault of their own. The competition for jobs right now is much tougher than it was just a few months ago.