Entering the job market is a challenging stage in our lives. However, having the right marketing skills behind the hood is like having a compass to help you navigate the arduous voyage. This blog will go through the marketing jobs, hard skills for marketing, and current marketing analytics trends that firms are looking for.
The present market
The marketing realm has seen a significant transformation in recent years. The primary jobs of Sales, Distribution, and Marketing are no longer the same as they were a decade ago. Marketers have developed into analytical marketers, making insight-driven business decisions thanks to substantial investment in digital marketing, operations, and supply chain records.
COVID times have also resulted in significant changes in establishing an online presence and digital marketing requirements. Before we speak of developing the essential skills, let’s first dive into some basic industry know-how.
Fundamental industry knowledge
Marketing is a position that is found in all sectors. As a result, you must be aware of fundamental trends in the organization and industry you have applied to.
A few fundamental features of industry analysis are as follows:
Key Industry Figures - Market size, industry development over time and significant growth factors, profitability levels (depending on operational components), market share of players (overall and segmental).
Business models: Models that have worked and those that have not. For example, the hyperlocal approach to selling goods has proved highly effective in reaching clients, especially during COVID. Even though it worked for grocery and other essential items, this business model did not work well in the retail industries.
Over the past six months, businesses throughout the United States have struggled to adapt to shifting customer preferences and a series of unexpected setbacks.
Past Trends and Expected Future: Market segmentation enables businesses to provide a more targeted and effective marketing strategy that better meets the demands of a subset of their clientele than would be achievable if all clients were treated equally.
Metrics for Measuring Industry Performance - For example, sales per square foot and ticket size in the rental industry, patents and quality certifications in the pharmaceutical industry, and ARPU (average revenue per user) in the telecommunications sector.
Competition, and on what parameters? - A comparison of rivals and an examination of the evolution and business models of niche players and successful start-ups.
Are you seeking opportunities in marketing and analytics but unsure how to gain the essential marketing skills? Continue reading to learn about the newest marketing and analytics trends and how to obtain the skills necessary for your ideal marketing job.
#1. Storytelling techniques
Practical story-telling abilities are one of the most sought-after skills in this era. This may not be a surprise considering the ongoing development of digital ad expenditure and lead generation. Thus—marketers must understand the importance of compelling storytelling in creating authentic and deep connections with viewers.
Customers are sick of being sold to, and storytelling allows companies to interact with their customers and exchange trade values and knowledge in a way that doesn't feel like advertising. It's a much more effective technique of showing clients why they should select you than telling them. Specifically, studies from the London School of Business indicate that individuals are 22 times more likely to remember a message when delivered through tales rather than numbers.
While it takes more effort and time than directly selling a service or product, one of the most potent tools is expert brand messaging and storytelling. It's no surprise that language, positioning, and storytelling are the most sought-after marketing skills, given their ability to grasp your target audience and inspire prospects to develop solid customer connections.
#2. Campaign planning and strategy
No matter how excellent your tale is, you'll need a sound approach to reach your target audience. The planning and direction of your campaign will establish how your brand will profit from your narrative. It creates a strategy to guarantee that your message is pushed through the appropriate conventional and digital media channels, ensuring that it connects with the correct audiences and achieves its objectives.
A great advertising approach also maintains consistency to build trust and, as a result, enhances brand recognition and viewers’ interest.
#3. Writing and content creation
Content marketing is the third most in-demand marketing talent in 2022. How a message and story are presented is essential to the success of any business. B2B marketing frequently entails reducing complex concepts into simple ideas that connect. Offering relevant and informative material to consumers is critical. Still, it must be able to cut through marketing language to captivate and retain a customer's attention properly.
#4. Data and analytics
In today’s business, data is everything. It produces insight for lead generation, a top priority for B2B CEOs and industry leaders. However, to get there, you must be able to reach and measure awareness among new clients.
Once you've developed your story, strategy, and content, you must be able to test and validate it with your target audience. Data and analytics, as well as demand generation campaigns, improve the performance of your message by offering information that can raise awareness and build demand for your service, resulting in interested clients.
#5: SEO and digital/video creation and editing
Despite its rapid development and size, many marketers focus their careers exclusively on search engine marketing. With so many businesses relying on search engine traffic, it's crucial to understand how to optimize your site for search engines using both paid and unpaid methods. As a marketer, you won't need to be an expert in sponsored search or SEO, but you ought to master the fundamentals and be able to put them into practice.
If the word "design" makes you nervous because you don't consider yourself artistic, be assured that it’s not essential to be an artist or a great marketer. In most companies, the marketing department will either employ a full-time designer or contract with an outside agency or designer for larger projects.
However, you should feel confident with the fundamentals of visual marketing, such as snapping photographs during an event or picking images for a website. It's terrific to make a quick graphic on your own. Therefore, it might be helpful to grasp the basics of Adobe (especially Photoshop and InDesign) and free design tools like Adobe Spark or Canva.
#6. Varieties of thought
When employing marketers, Teresa Barreira, CMO of digital consultant Publicis Sapient, seeks a variety of thoughts in the employee. She urges her employees to think outside the box regarding recruiting and to explore outside the sector and function. "Our team brings better creativity to the table because of the incredibly different backgrounds and experiences our team members collectively offer," she added. Hiring people with diverse professional experiences and transferrable talents from various companies frequently results in fresh and distinct ways of thinking. “It makes us effective, collaborative, and introduces fresh, new, and distinct problem-solving approaches, " says Barreira.
#7. Ingenuity
Screencast-O-Matic's Chief marketing officer, Andrew Baum, stated in his interviews that he seeks brilliant, intelligent, creative, and dynamic marketing professionals who can think on their feet. Baum noted that he is not aiming for certain degrees from specific institutions or backgrounds but rather an enthusiasm, the capacity to be creative, and the ambition to continue learning and growing.
#8. Capability to drive tangible results
Alicia Tillman, global chief marketing officer of Capitolis, stated that she is searching for marketers who can demonstrate that they deliver business outcomes. "When arranging your skill sets, keep the results in mind," Tillman said. "For example, you may be proficient in several marketing technologies, but how did your efforts affect your company's goals? Did the tech stack generate more leads, raise brand recognition, or reach out to more buyers? I'd want to learn about outcomes you achieved that demonstrate your abilities."
#9: A combination of soft and hard skills
Tillman stated that she focuses on the candidate's soft talents, which she describes as "extremely crucial and are rarely portrayed on a CV." "You may have tremendous experience, but if you are lazy or unpleasant to deal with, for example," Tillman said. "I prefer to delve into style, work ethic, how others would describe them, and so on to evaluate how effectively they would perform the accountabilities of the position."
You must be skilled at transforming raw data into knowledge and insights that can be used to make business decisions. A simple table with rows of numbers will not go very far. The ability to use basic statistical procedures such as central tendency, graphs, and distribution systems, on the other hand, will reveal surprising patterns and fascinating findings. Statistical tools like SAS, SPSS, and even MS Excel will come in handy here.
The success of a presentation is not in the knowledge you provide but in what the audience gets. It may be discarded if your idea is not presented most intuitively and effectively. Learn how to utilize tools such as Tableau or Excel Power BI to visually depict all of your findings and weave them into a presentation that includes qualitative analysis and an action plan. The declaration must be delivered effectively.
Conclusion
You might be a marketing or analytics enthusiast presently studying or working. You may be concerned that you lack the necessary skills to be a marketer after seeing the list above. But don't panic; these abilities can be developed via committed training and instruction. SYP.net provides an extensive analysis of marketing and analytics abilities and recent marketing trends that will be valuable to you.
A marketing degree is an excellent method to master the most crucial marketing talents that today's businesses value, including basic soft and critical technical skills. You'll graduate from a degree program with a well-rounded, up-to-date marketing skill set that will position you for success in your first job in the industry.