The profile of a senior marketer

Marketing has been undergoing significant shifts for years. Increasing responsibilities and the pace of change in technology have put pressure on all marketers. The pandemic has only added fuel to the fire, placing new demands on already heavy shoulders.

In a volatile and uncertain environment, marketers must focus on customers and adapt the way they engage with them to drive growth. While soft skills are increasingly vital in achieving this, fundamental skills remain just as important.

“While marketing skills change rapidly – often due to technology – core marketing capabilities such as insights, strategy, and innovation are timeless,” says Andrea Martens, CEO of ADMA.

And while senior marketers show strong capabilities in opportunity, insight and learning, they also have a number of development opportunities, according to ADMA’s new Marketing Skills Assessment tool pilot study.

READ THE MARKETING SKILLS ASSESMENT REPORT

The assessment tool was created by industry leaders, designed to evaluate a marketing team’s capabilities today and the skills they needed to succeed in the future. Grounded by ADMA’s marketing Capability Framework and covering the end-to-end marketing process, the tool examines four key marketing quadrants, 12 capabilities and more than 35 skills. It encompasses all levels of marketers and is relevant for B2B and B2C and all industry verticals on both client and agency side.

Senior marketer profile: The capable generalists

Strategic, with the right mix of soft skills

The study suggests senior marketers are generalists, showing a level of knowledge across a broad range of skills. They rank high in strategy, goal setting and collaboration skills – capabilities crucial to their role.

Particularly important for senior marketers is their ability to collaborate. They alone can’t solve the increasingly complex problems that businesses face – they must work with sales, IT, production teams and agencies, among others.

Perhaps not surprisingly, all four soft skill capabilities – collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and curiosity – were ranked among a senior marketer’s top 10 skills.

They also have a strong focus on strategy, with significant direct experience in strategic planning, market research, and PR, as well as shopper marketing and data science.

Opportunity to develop MarTech skills and knowledge sharing

Where they match or fall behind their junior colleagues is in the more hands-on skills, such as creative development, copywriting and ecommerce. Most of these skills are related to the growth of digital – an environment in which junior marketers have grown up in.

Data and marketing technology are areas that all marketers need to develop in an increasingly digital ecosystem. And while senior marketers ranked low overall in MarTech capabilities, there is a sought-after segment of marketers who specialise in this area.

Other quantitative skills including data management and planning are becoming increasingly important for today’s marketers and they present important development opportunities for senior leaders.

While leaders are doing a great job sharing their knowledge in strategy, planning and goal setting, they need to do more to mentor junior-mid marketers in how to identify opportunities, insights and learnings.

The same can be said for development capabilities. Junior-mid marketers reported much lower skills in areas such as positioning, portfolio, and segmentation, and lower involvement in innovation – giving them less opportunity to learn on the job.

These capabilities take more time and experience to develop, so senior leaders need to invest in sharing their knowledge, so they can build their team’s skills more efficiently.

READ THE MARKETING SKILLS ASSESSMENT REPORT

Preparing for the future

As strong, capable generalists, senior marketers are experts in strategy, planning and understanding their brand. To stay relevant, they need to focus on how they can identify risks and better communicate their growth story.

In a fast-paced environment, they must also share their skills and knowledge to help junior-mid marketers develop their skills in these areas.

To build your team’s capabilities and get them ready for the exciting opportunities up ahead, you need to start by getting a 360-degree view of their existing skills – and the areas they need to develop.

With the ADMA Skills Assessment tool, you get a complete view of your team’s strengths and gaps, with a detailed, actionable blueprint for the future.

Uncover personal development opportunities to gain skills that will help individuals perform more effectively in their current role, and get them ready for the next step.

Receive insights to inform your team structure, and identify skills and areas to build across the entire team to support your organisation in the future.

The assessment only takes 30 minutes to complete and will give you the confidence, clarity and tools to achieve your goals.

GET YOUR TEAM STARTED TODAY.