Getting a marketing manager job is about more than simply finding the right vacancy and preparing yourself for the application process, it is also about making sure you have the right set of skills to be successful in your new position. Marketing manager roles do require significant experience in the field, but also certain personal character traits like the ability to be both creative and analytical. If you’re looking to step up to a marketing manager role, we’ve highlighted six important factors to consider which will help you progress your career.
1. Learn to lead, and delegate.
Becoming a manager is as much about being able to influence others as it is about your own marketing skills. Effective leadership skills include being able to communicate your vision and bring solutions to challenging situations. Delegation is important too, so make sure you develop a good knowledge of your team’s strengths and weaknesses and can empower your team members with projects and responsibilities of their own.
2. Develop strategic thinking.
To step up to the next level in your career, you need to demonstrate the ability to think and plan at a more strategic level. Being able to create and execute marketing strategies that demonstrate an understanding of how your marketing plan will contribute to the wider business objectives of your company is important. Also being able to translate your strategic plans into tactical marketing activities across multiple channels is critical in ensuring your marketing vision is executed successfully.
3. Communication skills are key.
A key to becoming a successful marketing manager is the ability to communicate effectively with your colleagues and clients. Interacting with your team is important, but also being able to communicate and influence colleagues, management and stakeholders across the wider business is critical to gaining support for your ideas and ensuring your plans are executed successfully. Communication can entail everything from one to one conversations to presentations to senior management and a room full of colleagues. To be able to influence people across your business, you need to be able to convey your ideas succinctly, both verbally and visually through presentations and strategy documents.
4. Measuring results and providing insights.
As well as creative thinking, being able to analyse results and provide insights as to what your campaigns have delivered is critical to the success of any marketing manager. An important part of any marketing plan is showing how you are going to measure whether it’s been successful, usually through a set of marketing metrics. This can include setting a benchmark at the start of a campaign, and analysing and reporting on results against this benchmark at the campaign’s conclusion. Tools like Google Analytics are commonplace in many organisations nowadays and it’s expected that marketing specialists have at least a basic knowledge of how to use them.
5. Stay up to date with emerging trends.
As a marketing manager it is important that you remain up to date with the latest industry and social trends, particularly when it comes to the adoption and use of digital technologies and how to take advantage of them for your brand. There are many industry publications like Marketing Week and Econsultancy which you can subscribe to the latest industry developments. Professional qualifications through organisations like the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (IDM) and the Communication Advertising and Marketing Education Foundation are more formal channels to take to develop your marketing skillset.
6. Build a strong professional network.
Over your time in marketing, you are likely to have built up an extensive network of professional contacts which can help you keep up to date with industry innovations and discover prospective candidates for your team. Joining a professional association, like the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), will open you up to a global network of fellow professionals, as can attending industry conferences and networking events. Also, following marketing influencers and leading brands through LinkedIn can provide you with both inspiration and valuable guidance for your career.
