The Marketer’s Arsenal
by Terri-Lee Adendorff on 12/07/12 at 12:29 pm
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A successful marketer has a few tricks up their sleeve. In an industry brimming with creativity and fluctuating demands, marketers must be able to adapt and deliver. The shifting landscape of increasingly savvy consumers necessitates marketers who possess certain attributes. Whether learned or inherent, the following skills are vital to a successful career in the marketing industry.
Extraordinary thinking
Marketers should be endowed with the ability to conceptualise the everyday in exceptional ways. In being able to transcend the mundane, marketers can capture the interest, and business, of the consumer. The market is more saturated than ever with novel products and services. Instead of seeing this as a drawback, successful marketers will view this obstacle as an exciting challenge. The ability to compete and improve is the distinguishing mark of an outstanding marketer. When it appears as though new conceptualisations of a certain product or service have been exhausted – marketers come up with a way to make it relevant and vital again.
Project management skills
The tough market conditions of the day make it more necessary than ever to ensure that a company’s resources are managed to ensure maximised efficacy, success and profitability. The marketing industry is especially dependant on project managers to ensure that processes are optimised. Project management is a collaborative procedure of team, time and liaison control which results in the most effective use of resources and the most concentrated degree of focus on prioritised tasks. Properly implemented project management guarantees streamlined relations with branding partners, clients, suppliers and the media. Successful marketers will be able to incorporate aspects of project management into their work, rendering it efficient and waste-free.
An eye for detail
Marketers must be able to think like a consumer. More than that, they should be able to predict what the consumer has not yet thought, and imagine what will catch their attention in the future. Consumers are increasingly detail-orientated and decisive – they are on the lookout for products and services that stand out from the rest. The addition of a thoughtful detail to an existing product or service will render it unique and attract the consumer. Marketers must be privy to the exact needs and wants of the market – these insights will give them the ability to conceptualise new ways of catering to these preferences. A knack for detail is vital to a Marketer’s career, as the hierarchy of client-consumer relations is fragile and can be ruined by marketers inability to realise a fault or omission.
Design skills
Creativity and an eye for detail are ultimately useless without the skills to bring them to fruition. As such, marketers must possess an understanding of design elements and should utilise technologies such as Photoshop or InDesign. In taking advantage of these programs, marketers can bring their vision to the sight of others. A knowledge of website design and forms of internet marketing will ensure the longevity of a marketer’s career.
The University of Cape Town Marketing short course and the University of Cape Town Internet Marketing short course are presented online throughout South Africa. Visit www.GetSmarter.co.za. View more articles by Terri-Lee Adendorff.
Tags: Marketing
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