You can learn marketing technology. You can learn AI shortcuts. You can even learn Best Practices. And you still would not be “on top of it”, as marketing is changing constantly.
So what should you aim to do, as a productive member of the world’s most difficult profession?
1- Train yourself to think holistically when it comes to developing a marketing strategy, ensuring all the pieces of your “attack plan” work together.
2- And critically— asking why and why not and questioning fit, definitions, and “business as usual.”
3- And also practically: involve your competitive landscape experts (salespeople, business analysts, market researchers) to ensure tactics will work.
There’s such a demand for experts on the marketing team, but I’ve noticed that these whizzes tend to work in silos in specialty areas (performance marketing / lead generation vs. content creation / brand husbandry vs product / UX / CX vs. internal communication / PR + media relations.) And as such, they just do not know how to zoom out (and overlay a structure) so that campaigns and messages and initiatives work.
A great marketer is an asset to a company when (insert pronoun) understands the 3C’s: conducting, conductor, and conduct. Not (just) being a technical expert:
1- Conducting: Being the central thinker who connects stakeholders and knowledge sources in order to allow the easy flow of information and ideas. This includes building relationships and trust. Naturally, it benefits one’s effectiveness in strategy development and execution.
2- Conductor: Orchestrating all activities in a structured way across channels, platforms, message themes, product launches, and key industry events. And across calendar quarters. Within budget and with respect to return on investment (ROI) and key performance indicators (KPIs). Writing as one talks with attention to grammar not necessary.
3- Conduct: Leading by good behavior. (Basically being a good human being and treating both colleagues and customers with respect.) Being open for experimentation (and both successes and failures.) Establishing a culture of learning (and mistakes.)
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