I would like to share with you information on how to
select a marketer for your team. What should the specialist be
responsible for?
I will not write clichés about what you
already know. For example, who a marketer is, what the difference is
between online and offline businesses, what the chief marketer and the
marketer in his subordinate should do, and more. I will give only
important information that will help you form a clear picture and
understanding of who you really need, as well as guide you in choosing a
specialist.
What to start with?
For
starters, we are talking only about online marketing, about a
specialist for the promotion of online stores or online businesses.
In
my experience, I conventionally divide people in this profession into
two main types: administrator and entrepreneur. These two types also
have their groups:
1. Administrators.
The “parasite”
administrators. Work for bonuses and kickbacks, they think only about
their own benefit and take every opportunity to profit from you.
The “bee” administrators. These are multitasking people who will not generate ideas, and only can perform the tasks assigned.
2. Entrepreneurs.
The
“hustler” entrepreneurs. Strive to get kickbacks, work more for
themselves than for you. This type is similar to the “parasite”
administrators, but with the head and mindset of an entrepreneur.
The
“torpedo” entrepreneurs. Have the mindset of a business owners.
Professionals of this type have a disadvantage. They bring your business
to a certain level of profit and leave. There is also another option.
They take maximum responsibility, burn out and leave. But at the same
time, while achieving their goals, they bring great value to the
company!
If you want to get the maximum result from the marketer’s
work, find a person who combines a few qualities. The best specialist
for your business is a “bee” admin + “torpedo” entrepreneur.
Unfortunately, such a combination is extremely rare. The business
qualities of such specialists are valuable because they follow the
leader (business owner), and they are leaders themselves, but only in
their competence. For them, the company’s growth and development are
important in the first place. Their own benefit is secondary.
Marketer’s skills
A marketer is a versatile professional who possesses many competencies:
-
Understanding of marketing tools. The specialist must have some
experience in some area. For example, previously the marketer worked in
content marketing. This is the foundation, where the specialist has
started.
- Using the tools of internal and external analytics,
controlling the dynamics of indicators. Also under the marketer’s
control is the calculation of the project’s payback.
- Cross-cutting
analytics. Adjustment of the budget for advertising to reduce costs and
increase profits. Analysis of traffic sources, revealing even those
which have a passive influence on the target action.
Situational
marketing. Here is an example: The song “Leningrad” — Exhibit (about
Louboutins) came out and became a hit. Creative marketers took advantage
of the newsbreak and suggested the following ad for a lacquer and paint
store: the banner shows a high-heeled shoe with a red sole, and
underneath the banner is a text: “We have the most resistant and
high-quality lacquer!”.
Application of process automation. This is a
really important issue. Automation saves time in monotonous work for
both the marketer and his team. Consequently, employees free up time for
other tasks that require an individual approach, and the efficiency of
invested finances increases. The marketer has time to generate new
ideas.
Understanding the basics of web development, and performing
simple tasks. This is necessary for finding competent contractors and
supervising their work.
I would also like to highlight the desire
and ability of your future assistant to keep abreast of the latest
developments in IT. This means that the marketer must be aware of all
the latest innovations in the IT sphere. The specialist should keep
track of what is happening in our country with the digital market and
also keep track of global trends. Optimally, marketers should form a
“portfolio of innovations”. Working with a portfolio of innovations
means creating test tasks for yourself and the team and then analyzing
the results.
For instance, Google has a new advertising tool.
Your ideal marketer should know about it in advance and implement it
immediately. Assess the applicant’s ability to find new or
unconventional solutions.
When interviewing, you should focus not
so much on the applicant’s experience, but rather on the numbers that
illustrate the results of his or her work on other projects.
Marketing specialist work
At
the initial stage of work, the specialist launches the brand to market.
This should be a brand strategy, which is part of the overall business
strategy. The brand strategy includes:
- defining the mission and value of the product;
- making a unique selling proposition;
- drafting a brand book and more.
There
are several steps that are extremely important in promoting a product.
Your ideal marketer should know and understand them:
-
“Differentiate or die!” I fully support the position of Jack Trout and
Steve Rivkin. Therefore, the marketing team must find and constantly
communicate the special value of the product to the target audience.
Your employees take pride in and understand its specifics.
- You need to get the brand request to account for 70% of the traffic to the site.
-
Niche first, then expand. The marketer studies your competitors and
finds categories of products or services that they don’t emphasize,
don’t advertise or don’t have a range. Launch in that niche.
- The
marketer partially influences the work of every department in your
company. Because the work of each department affects the performance of
its achievements. This is especially relevant to the sales department.
Where and how to find the best marketer?
There are two ideal options:
1. The best one is you are looking for two specialists. These are the Marketing Director and the Marketing Manager.
Specialist “two-in-one” (“bee” admin + “torpedo” entrepreneur).
2. A team of employees who work on the marketing tasks can be assembled within the company or outsourced.
Finding
a good marketing specialist is not easy. I suggest reviewing similar
categories on LinkedIn. Look for those employees who have made a visible
impact on another company. For example, they provided an increase in
visitors, increased sales, or attracted new clients. Another option is
to recruit the head of marketing from a digital agency. Such a person is
likely to be useful to you, because they are familiar with all the
necessary processes for the job. Take care of choosing a candidate who
does not overestimate his qualities.
Do not look for your ideal
marketing specialist on such websites such as work.ua or rabota.ua.
These sites are not the needed level for you. They will not provide
results for this position in 90% of cases. Search only on Djinni or
LinkedIn!
How much does the good specialist’s work cost
Now it’s important to tell how much a good marketer’s job costs.
The salary of marketing specialists varies widely:
- $500–2000 — you can find a specialist who will agree to that salary;
- $2,000 -3,500 — the average market rate;
-
$5000 -10000 — applicants who consider themselves super professionals
can claim such a salary. But for most companies, such expensive
specialists are simply not needed.
Ideally, the marketer’s
salary consists of the rate + % of the company’s profits. Therefore the
marketer can be motivated as much as possible! But make the decision
individually, because many applicants are satisfied with the fixed rate
without %. Although such a request should alert you. Perhaps the
applicants are not confident in their skills.
Advice
To summarize, I want to give some recommendations that will reduce your time and effort in promoting your business.
“Pocket” or “karma”?
When
recruiting a marketer for your company, it is important to find someone
who works not “for their pocket, but for their karma. Someone who will
work for results and develop your business as his own. That it was not
just an employee, but a like-minded person, your “right hand”. With such
people usually you work together for more than one year. And don’t
think of it as a utopia.
Expensive is not always good
Don’t
try to recruit marketers from super-famous companies. In the early
stages of your business promotion, such large expenses will not be
reasonable. Maybe you won’t need such professionals at all if you and
your expert move towards success together step by step.
Keep your customers.
I
believe all marketing is now built on customer retention, as it costs a
lot more to attract a new one. When retaining customers, take into
account that they are spoiled by the variety of offers online. Any
business now has a lot of competitors who offer very different prices.
In addition, the customers themselves are more experienced, they choose
the best offer. Practice shows that price is not always the decisive
criterion in making a purchasing decision.
Test employees.
Divide
large tasks and assign them to different contractors. At the same time,
set certain goals that must be achieved. Each of the contractors will
solve tasks in their own way. That way you get to choose the best one
and get maximum results. For example, give the context task for one
category to the first contractor, for the next — to another. The
condition for continuing cooperation is an ideal rate of 200–300%
payback (but 100% at least).
When is the right time to expand?
I
think that the right time is when you have recruited enough customers,
built up your business processes, and achieved your first steady profit.
When
the decision to expand is made, you analyze the portrait of the
consumers and determine what they return to your store for. This is how
you increase the assortment, or by additional goods that the client
needs.
Example: If you sell cement, you need to start selling sand, gravel, weather fillers, and other related products.
This
business expansion strategy keeps the cost of error to a minimum and
allows you to quickly work out the accuracy of your choice (hypothesis).
Besides, it’s the shortest way to go!
I hope my story was useful
to you. All the advice was formed in the process of finding the best
solution, it is the results of trial and error in the IT rating brand
development. Don’t waste your time and money on going down the wrong
path, take advantage of someone else’s experience.
In conclusion,
I would like to express special appreciation to my marketing partner
and in-house marketer at Promodex for the inspiration to write this
article.