Characteristics of a marketing expert.
Obviously this is part two of my previous article entitled Everybody is (or wants to be) in marketing these days. - In the first part, I brought up three things that I think are typical characteristics of an expert in the field of marketing. The three points were creativity, being an early adopter and being well connected.
I will now proceed with the final points on my own personal list of things that typically characterize someone well versed in the art of marketing. Of course, as I mentioned in the first part, I’m by no means an expert myself, and such there’s a (slim) possibility that you might disagree with some of the points on my list, but if that is the case you’re more than welcome to rectify my by simply posting a comment.
A good salesman - This one is pretty obvious, because when you think about it, marketing is all about selling products, services or something similar. And such, I dare propose that most professional marketers would make excellent sellers as well!
Analytical capabilities - As Scott pointed out in his comment on part one, it’s absolutely necessary for a professional marketer to have a strong analytical understand. This skillset is used to minimize the percentage of failed marketing attempts by analyzing the numbers and seeing what works and converts well.
Strong sense of empathy - Scott actually touched upon this point as well in his comment, but I want to elaborate on it. If you want to be a successful marketer you need to develop a strong and sincere sense of empathy, that is to understand and share the feelings of others. This is necessary not only in order to see people from the perspective of the different customers, but also to truly appreciate customer feedback.
Flexibility - Another important trait of qualified marketers is the ability to be flexible, and adapt to the constant changes in the environments that surround the businesses and products that they are working to promote. Needless to say, this is especially crucial within the markets that operate on the cutting edge of technology. I am however also convinced that businesses in older and more traditional markets can enjoy more success and expand their reach by more quickly embracing new possibilities.
That concludes my list. The first part got a few responses, and hopefully now that I’ve shared my most important points, even more people will join the discussion and share what they think makes a successful marketer.
On a relatively different note, the number of RSS subscribers here at my personal blog hit a new high today. This came as a bit of a surprise as I have hardly been posting very consistently since I came back from my summer break, but it certainly serves as a motivation for me to continue posting in the future, hopefully a bit more frequently. So expect at least two more posts from me before we hit the end of the weekend, as I’ve already got a couple of drafts just waiting to be polished and published!