The key skills of a good marketing manager
As a key role within an organization, the marketing manager wears many hats: project management, product strategy, copywriting and data reporting - his or her duties are manifold.
A true leader, he or she is capable of managing a team while maintaining a global vision of the company's objectives. So what are the essential skills needed to become a marketing manager? We take a look together!
1/ Defining market strategy
As a marketing manager, you need to be a fine strategist! Most of the time, you'll be working in highly competitive markets.
Your main task? To devise a creative and effective marketing strategy that sets you apart from the competition, while taking into account your bottom-line objectives. Video, print, digital, advertising or content - marketing is now omnichannel, and you need to learn how to organize the different levers at your disposal to steer your activities.
2/ Communicate effectively with stakeholders
In some organizations, you'll have to work as part of a team. You'll be expected to be able to communicate clearly on current projects (actions, deadlines, upcoming meetings, etc.).
Management, team members, colleagues from other sectors, external partners or customers - there are many stakeholders around the marketing manager.
It's up to you to determine the messages to be communicated, the frequency and the most effective communication methods, depending on the profile: e-mail, videoconferencing, interactive dashboard, etc.
3/ Building brand awareness
One of the main missions of the marketing manager is also to improve the company's reputation through branding. The aim? To make your brand known and recognized!
Thanks to a well-established marketing strategy, your role will be to build a strong brand image with consumers. To be effective, this image must convey the company's values. Customer ambassador program, online presence (especially on social networks), online advertising, content creation (blog), influencers... the options are numerous!
In some cases, well-targeted outbound actions can affirm your presence in the market. Street marketing, flyer distribution, short-lived events, trade show participation... here again, it's up to you to determine the most effective levers.
4/ Prioritize marketing actions
You've set your marketing objectives, but you're stuck on how to achieve them? To avoid diluting your efforts and sacrificing your results, focus will be your best ally! Assume that you can't do everything at once.
Don't panic: there are a few key steps you need to know in order to prioritize the most ROI-producing marketing actions. In other words, those that deliver the most direct return on investment from your campaigns.
- Take stock of your resources (team, budget, time): be realistic!
- List the marketing resources at your disposal to maximize their impact (what acquisition, conversion and loyalty channels are already in place?).
- Detail all the options for marketing actions to achieve your objective (don't hesitate to use the mindmap system to better visualize the different levers).
- Choose the most effective actions in terms of complexity, time and cost of implementation, in relation to potential results (low, medium or high impact).
In concrete terms, the aim is to prioritize low-cost actions offering maximum results. To become a marketing manager, knowing how to prioritize actions will therefore be essential to the success of the project.
5/ analyse marketing performance
Setting objectives, defining a marketing strategy and prioritizing actions: that's all very well! But let's be honest: the best marketing campaigns are now based on data analysis. This data, both qualitative and quantitative, is essential for understanding how your prospects react and optimizing your marketing strategy.
A good marketer is also able to react quickly to the slightest change; and this is only possible if he takes the time to analyze the performance of his actions. Agility is a key skill to develop if you want to become an excellent professional!
To find out more, read our article on marketing data.
6/ Leading your team
76% of employees see empathy as a driver of productivity! More than technical skills, organizations are looking for marketing managers who are focused on the human side and personal communication.
Knowing how to manage, train and coach is essential, but not sufficient. To become a marketing manager, you'll also need to learn how to develop your employees' sense of belonging. Similarly, the ability to federate in an inclusive way is often the key to excellent management. Empathy and influence are highly valued qualities, which could well make all the difference... think about it!
You now have an overview of the key skills needed to become a marketing manager. Would you like to update your knowledge? Implement an effective marketing strategy adapted to today's challenges? Join our continuing education program.
