Do you have what it takes to become a successful marketer?

With the increasing number of college leavers, graduates, and retrainers looking at careers in Marketing, it’s no surprise that competition for roles is incredibly fierce. This ultimately makes getting into the field that much harder for those who don’t already possess X number of years of experience or a degree. So, to compensate, you need to ensure that you’re the best soon-to-be marketer that you can be.

In this article, we want to discuss the attributes and skills you should have and emphasise in your CV in order to improve your chances of breaking into the field.

Before embarking on your journey to becoming a marketer, it’s incredibly important to ask yourself one key question “Do you have what it takes to excel in this profession?”

The following skills and traits are important attributes that a successful marketer should have. Check them out.

Inquisitiveness

Effective marketers excel at observing consumer behaviour and habits to gain a deep understanding of their motivations and preferences. They are passionate about staying updated on market trends and consumer preferences, constantly questioning and seeking answers. So, if you don’t like doing research on a regular basis, marketing may not be for you.

Sales Skills

Marketers not only need to be proficient in marketing strategies but also in the art of selling. A skilled marketer can persuade customers to purchase any product or service, whether it’s toothbrushes or sports cars. They excel at communicating their message effectively, playing a crucial role in driving sales. Now, we’re not saying you need to be able to pick up the phone and sell directly to someone, but understanding how to communicate effectively and ultimately influence a consumer’s decision to buy from your organisation is a really important skill.

Innovation

Marketers embrace new ideas and approaches without fear, provided they have the data and rationale. Their curiosity drives them to constantly seek new challenges and experiment with innovative methods of communication. Testing out novel strategies and analysing the outcomes is what excites them the most. If you’re resistant to change or don’t like to learn new things, marketing is going to be a really tough field for you.

Continuous Learning

Following on nicely from the previous point, successful marketers invest a significant amount of personal time and resources in advancing their careers and learning new things. They view learning as a lifelong commitment and continuously strive to enhance their skills beyond the confines of their daily work routine. Because technologies are advancing year on year, and new processes, systems, and practices are being developed, it’s vital that you focus on CPD as a marketer or you’ll be left behind.

Adaptability

The marketing landscape is ever-changing, demanding marketers to swiftly respond and adapt to emerging trends. Flexibility and agility are key attributes in navigating the dynamic nature of the industry. We’ve hinted at this in two other points thus far. If you can’t adapt, you’ll fall behind and you’ll struggle as a result.

Creativity

Outstanding marketers have a knack for standing out from the crowd by making their products or services appealing. They don’t shy away from taking creative risks and exploring unconventional ideas to capture attention and drive engagement. Breaking the mould can be scary. But, as Seth Godin’s Purple Cow discusses, standing out from the crowd is vital in the white noise of marketing and advertising that people are confronted with every day.

An eye for data

Plan, do, review, and optimise is the super simple process that you’ll follow as a marketer. A key element of that process is collecting data and evaluating the performance of your campaigns. Without this, you won’t know how to improve your efforts and you’ll be walking around in the dark. Being comfortable with working with data is paramount to any marketer. If you’re scared to open up dashboards, you’re going to really struggle.

Written communication skills

You don’t need to be a modern-day Wordsworth, but having effective written communication skills is a must-have for 99% of marketing roles. I’d argue that written communication skills will put you in a good position no matter what you choose to do. But, in marketing, they’re incredibly important. If you struggle with writing, seriously consider taking some courses to try and improve your communication skills.

Understanding marketing as a whole

Too many people see marketing as the “doing” part. In marketing, there’s a model called the marketing mix which consists of four P’s (there is a version with seven P’s, but this just demonstrates how we love to over-complicate simple things). The four P’s stand for Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Most people obsess about the Promotion aspect which deals with the methods you use to promote your products and services. However, a successful marketer must understand the intricacies of Product, Price, and Place as well. Having an all-around understanding of marketing and its processes will put you in a much better position as a marketer.

Wrapping up

Don’t worry, we’re not saying that if you don’t have all of the above you won’t make it in marketing. But, having the traits and skills that we’ve mentioned will certainly make it a lot easier to break into the field and succeed within it.

If marketing is the direction that you want to go, be sure to focus on developing in these areas and be sure to discuss these traits in your CV. Mentioning things like CPD, your interest in data, research, and written communications could make you stand out from the crowd.

Ultimately, keep chipping away and learning about marketing and eventually you’ll land that first job.