When building a marketing team, it is important to think about the skills and competencies that are required in today’s highly personalized, highly automated marketing landscape. While not every organization will have a need (or ability to hire or outsource) for every single role or competency, it is a good practice to take stock of where your team has strengths and where you might have opportunities to improve.
Below are some suggestions of potential skills and competencies a marketing team may want to consider. Remember – one individual on the team may exhibit many of these competencies!
Writing Aptitude
The natural ability to write with purpose. Think of this not as the ability to write an email to peers, but the ability to write a piece of content that can be used in a marketing campaign – e-mails, infographics, press releases, new product datasheets, promotional pieces, web content. In addition, a good command of grammar is important.
Orientation to Data-Driven Decision Making
The desire and ability to utilize data as a critical tool in decision-making in every project, every time. Those that have this competency start projects by analyzing data that helps them understand their options, evaluate progress over the course of projects by continually looking at the results data, and analyze performance at the conclusion of a project, drawing clear conclusions and making decisions about next steps based on what the data has told them.
Propensity to Adopt Technology
Marketers with this competency enjoy learning and working with technology. They find learning new applications easy and are curious about technology and what it provides. You will often see them diving in to see how a system can help power a process. They will often bring new technologies to the table because they are constantly researching the latest and greatest. And they are typically the ones who help teach others on the team how to use and do things within systems, because they naturally just “get it.”
Campaign Management Skills
The ability to identify, design and plan a campaign. The campaign might include different channels like email, social and offline. Those will this skill have the ability to design the campaign tactics, and understand what their marketing platform and technologies can do so they can advise stakeholders on what can and should be done in a campaign.
Creativity
For the purpose of this article, we will refer to creativity as the propensity to always be thinking outside the status quo. When a problem or challenge is placed on the table, those with strong creativity are able to come up with solutions that have never before been dreamed up. Creativity is a competency that can exist in many different roles within a marketing team – but when you see it, you will know that someone has this strength.
Project Management Skills
Those with project management backgrounds can think holistically about overall project strategy but also are great at drilling deeper to manage the details that keep projects moving to completion. These people are more likely to be detailed oriented, like “to do” lists, and enjoy using project management software. This competency is important because it helps pull all the various components of your marketing tactics together and makes sure the vision turns into a reality.
Graphic Design
A person with experience doing graphic design and understanding key elements such as contrast, scale, color, pacing and typography. Those with this skill set are able to support the marketing team with design services that will help accomplish the objectives of a marketing campaign or campaigns. Those with this skill have the ability to listen to stakeholder needs and campaign objectives, and articulate the visual elements clearly and in a way that aligns with the campaign messaging. They are able to deliver graphic resources such as headers, product images, promotional images, banner ads, email/Web/landing page graphics, online ads, etc. They are also able to layout and format new datasheets, brochures, e-books, or custom company-branded content.
Web Design
This competency requires someone to have had some experience designing and coding websites. They must understand graphic design elements but primarily have a keen feel for user experience and how to ensure that the website is lending itself to achievement of marketing objectives. This requires a competency in HTML and CSS, an understanding of how website design and information architecture relates to SEO. Having some writing and editorial experience is a plus.
Process Orientation
Those with this competency are excited by process and are extremely process driven. They like to set up processes to follow and document how things should flow. They enjoy showing others how to use a process and are excited by the efficiencies that processes bring to the marketing organization. They are always looking for ways to streamline and make current processes more effective, efficient, and repeatable.
Content Marketing Aptitude
Understands what content marketing is all about and how a content marketing strategy is important to driving awareness and conversion. Those with this competency understand the critical foundations to content marketing, such as aligning content to personas and the buyer’s journey. They are continually looking for new ways to reach the buyer through content and channels and realize that many marketing automation initiatives cannot even get off the ground without a solid content marketing plan.
Digital Marketing Aptitude
Those with this competency understand that there are many digital channels that can be used in marketing campaigns and that a digital marketing strategy is more than just email. He or she understands the various types of digital assets and digital channels that can be used collectively within a campaign to reach the customer where they are. They understand the appropriate times to use various digital channels, the cost implications, and how to cross-pollinate digital channels between campaigns.
Social Marketing Aptitude
Those with social marketing aptitude understand the social landscape and how social marketing can enhance awareness and marketing lead generation campaigns. They understand various social channels available and how they can be used to feed the front end of the sales funnel. Socially competent individuals are aware that they must work hand in hand with content and digital teams to feed assets into the social streams. They understand various social relationship tools that can be used to track and engage potential and current customers.
Cross Functional Teamwork Aptitude
Those with this competency understand that there are many digital channels that can be used in marketing campaigns and that a digital marketing strategy is more than just email. He or she understands the various types of digital assets and digital channels that can be used collectively within a campaign to reach the customer where they are. They understand the appropriate times to use various digital channels, the cost implications, and how to cross-pollinate digital channels between campaigns.