The marketing budgets before the pandemic were usually 11% of the Company’s revenue thought it varies as per company size and revenue. But when the pandemic hits, marketing was the first department to be axed for budgets. Nearly half of CMOs (44%) surveyed by Gartner expected budget cuts of 5% to 15% or more.
As the situations are getting better for businesses after curbing the second wave, the businesses are re-evaluating the marketing budgets and also re-strategizing their Got To Market Strategy.
As there are changes in market dynamics , customer behavior or buying pattern, Organizations are now expecting marketers to think differently , build new skill sets, evaluate ways to bridge a gap between traditional & contemporary way to engage customers…
Here are the Top 7 Skills sets for new age marketers :-
- Industry Knowledge – Marketers are expected to have a strong understanding of business, customers, and products they are offering. In the absence of a clear understanding and industry knowledge the campaigns and marketing activities won’t be a profitable bet.
In order to make the perfect marketing go-to marketer strategy, marketers need to focus on the expertise of the organization. Working closely with cross channels teams will help them to channelize the resources to produce a positive ROI.
- Data Analytics – Gone are the days when marketing campaigns were based on intuitions and assumptions. Today, the world runs on data. Data-driven insights are helpful for the success of any campaign. It helps the marketers to understand customer behavior, habits, intent, and likings. In fact, a study by Forbes revealed, 64% of marketing executives “strongly agree” that data-driven marketing is crucial to success in a hyper-competitive global economy. Thus, it plays the most crucial role in creating breakthrough campaigns to win customers’ hearts.
Data is the best friend of a marketer. That’s why marketers are expected to be good at interpreting and leveraging the data. In fact, hands-on knowledge of data analytics is one of the most desirable skills organizations are after in their ideal candidate.
- Technology – Analyzing data and understanding insights won’t be possible without the right technology and tools. Gone are the days when marketers hate technology, today’s marketers are technology savvy. Right from collaboration with the team to measure the success of a campaign without technology nothing is possible.
Be it automation or Creating a buyer’s persona, tools are an integral part of all the crucial activities of a marketer. According to Modern Marketing today, 55% of B2B companies use marketing automation as part of their strategy, and without technology, it won’t be possible. Therefore being technology friendly is a crucial skill of the marketer of the 21st century.
- Storytelling – Right from the days when Grandma’s stories of bravery and horror, thrilled us, we all become addicted to stories. And we haven’t changed yet. Irrespective of your businesses, whether it’s B2B or B2C, the consumer buying your product or service is a Human And Humans love stories.
It has become fundamental for every marketer. The big names like Coca- Cola, Nike, Paperboat, all are selling stories. The marketing in 21st century has become all about the art of creating compelling stories. Even Linkedin has found that around 8% of all marketers on the platform have storytelling in their list of skills on their profile. The marketers having a strong sense of waving relevant and heat-touching stories will excel career.
- Content Creation – Content is a way of communicating your ideas. Whether you are writing a mail, preparing a pitch deck, or writing a simple marketing plan, it won’t be possible without content. A basic idea of content writing and copywriting can do wonders, in results. Because at the end it’s the words that matter.
According to Deman metrics, 91% of B2B marketers say they use content marketing in their overall strategy. Also before engaging with any salesperson 47% of B2B buyers consume three to five pieces of content before engaging with a salesperson as per Curata. Undoubtedly, a good understanding of content marketing has become crucial for the marketers of the 21st century, because their customers love content.
- Designing – When the marketing budgets are slashed, the doors for hiring an expert designer are closed first. Although designs are an integral part of marketing campaigns. Therefore the markers are expected to learn the basics of designing.
With the advent of simple drag and drop tools like Canva, designing has become a piece of cake for everyone. No expertise is needed to create compelling designs. But as Visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text, it has become an essential skill for marketers to learn. - Budgeting – Understanding budgets and allocating them to actions that give maximum ROI is essential. Even in times, where businesses are so peculiar about budget allocation, and spendings, this skill has been given priority by organizations. A marketer who is good at budgeting knows where to invest to generate maximum outputs.
The market is going to change a lot post-pandemic era. The skills which were not needed yesterday, have become essentials today. That’s why constantly skilling up is important for marketers.