How to Choose a Marketing Specialist for a Growing Business

I'd like to share some insight into how to choose a marketer for your team. What should this specialist be responsible for?

I won't repeat the clichés you already know, such as what a marketer is, how online and offline businesses differ, or what a head of marketing and the marketers reporting to them should do. I'll share only the essentials that will help you get a clear picture of who you really need and guide you in choosing the right specialist.

Where to start

First of all, we're talking only about online marketing, meaning a specialist who promotes online stores or online businesses.

In my experience, people in this profession fall roughly into two main types: administrators and entrepreneurs. Each type has its own subgroups:

1. Administrators.

• "Parasite" administrators. They work for bonuses and kickbacks, think only about their own benefit, and take every opportunity to profit at your expense.
• "Bee" administrators. These are multitaskers who won't generate ideas but can carry out the tasks they're given.

2. Entrepreneurs.

• "Hustler" entrepreneurs. They chase kickbacks and work more for themselves than for you. This type is similar to the "parasite" administrator, but with the head and mindset of an entrepreneur.
• "Torpedo" entrepreneurs. They think like business owners. Professionals of this type have one drawback: they take your business to a certain level of profit and then leave. There's another scenario, too: they take on maximum responsibility, burn out, and leave. But while they're pursuing their goals, they bring great value to the company!

If you want to get the most out of a marketer's work, look for someone who combines several qualities. The best specialist for your business is a "bee" administrator plus a "torpedo" entrepreneur. Unfortunately, this combination is extremely rare. What makes these specialists so valuable is that they follow the leader (the business owner) while being leaders themselves within their area of expertise. The company's growth and development come first for them, and their own benefit comes second.

A marketer's skills

A marketer is a versatile professional with a wide range of competencies:

• Understanding of marketing tools. The specialist should have solid experience in at least one area. For example, the marketer may have previously worked in content marketing. That's the foundation the specialist started from.
• Using internal and external analytics tools and monitoring how metrics change over time. Calculating the project's ROI is also the marketer's responsibility.
• End-to-end analytics. Adjusting the advertising budget to reduce costs and increase profits. Analyzing traffic sources and identifying even those that have an indirect influence on the target action.
• Real-time marketing. Here's an example: a song about Louboutin shoes came out and became a hit. Creative marketers seized on the buzz and came up with an ad for a paint and varnish store: the banner showed a high-heeled shoe with a red sole, with the caption "We have the most durable, high-quality lacquer!"
• Process automation. This is a really important point. Automation saves time on repetitive work for both the marketer and their team. As a result, employees have more time for tasks that require an individual approach, and the money you invest works more efficiently. The marketer also has time to come up with new ideas.
• Understanding the basics of web development and being able to handle simple tasks. This is necessary for finding competent contractors and overseeing their work.

I'd also highlight your future hire's desire and ability to keep up with the latest developments in tech. The marketer should be aware of all the latest innovations in the industry and keep track of what's happening in the digital market both domestically and worldwide. Ideally, marketers should build a "portfolio of innovations." Working with a portfolio of innovations means creating test tasks for yourself and your team and then analyzing the results.

For example, say Google releases a new advertising tool. Your ideal marketer should know about it in advance and start using it right away. Assess the candidate's ability to find new or unconventional solutions.

During the interview, focus less on the candidate's years of experience and more on the numbers that show the results of their work on other projects.

What a marketing specialist does

At the initial stage, the specialist launches the brand on the market. This should follow a brand strategy that is part of the overall business strategy. The brand strategy includes:

• defining the product's mission and value;
• creating a unique selling proposition;
• developing 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 agree with Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin. That's why the marketing team must identify the product's unique value and communicate it to the target audience consistently. Your employees should understand what makes the product special and take pride in it.
• Branded search queries should account for 70% of your website traffic.
• Win a niche first, then expand. The marketer studies your competitors and finds product or service categories they don't emphasize, don't advertise, or don't carry. Launch in that niche.
• The marketer has some influence on the work of every department in your company, because each department's work affects overall performance. This is especially true for the sales department.

Where and how to find the best marketer

There are two ideal options:

1. Ideally, you hire two specialists: a marketing director and a marketing manager. Or one "two-in-one" specialist (a "bee" administrator plus a "torpedo" entrepreneur).

2. A team that handles marketing tasks, either built in-house or outsourced.

Finding a good marketing specialist isn't easy. I suggest browsing relevant categories on LinkedIn. Look for people who have made a visible impact at another company: for example, they increased traffic, grew sales, or brought in new clients. Another option is to hire a head of marketing from a digital agency. Someone like that is likely to be a strong fit because they're familiar with all the processes the job requires. Make sure you choose a candidate who doesn't overstate their abilities.

Don't look for your ideal marketing specialist on general job boards. They aren't at the level you need, and in 90% of cases they won't deliver results for this position. Search only on LinkedIn!

How much a good specialist costs

Now let's talk about how much a good marketer costs.

Marketing salaries vary widely depending on experience, location and scope of responsibility. Roughly, candidates fall into three tiers:

• Entry level: specialists who are still building experience and will accept a modest salary;
• Mid level: the average market rate for an experienced marketer who can run campaigns independently;
• Senior level: candidates who consider themselves top professionals and ask for a premium. Most growing companies simply don't need such expensive specialists yet.

Check current salary data for your city on job boards and salary surveys before you set a budget.

Ideally, a marketer's pay consists of a base rate plus a percentage of the company's profits. That way, the marketer is as motivated as possible! But decide on a case-by-case basis, because many candidates are happy with a fixed rate without a percentage. That said, such a request should raise a red flag: the candidate may not be confident in their skills.

Tips

To sum up, here are a few recommendations that will save you time and effort in promoting your business.

"Paycheck" or "karma"?

When hiring a marketer for your company, it's important to find someone who works not "for their paycheck, but for their karma": someone who will work for results and grow your business as if it were their own. You want not just an employee but a like-minded partner, your "right hand." People like this usually stay with you for years. And don't think of it as a utopia.

Expensive isn't always better

Don't try to hire marketers from big-name companies. In the early stages of promoting your business, that kind of expense isn't justified. You may not need such professionals at all if you and your specialist move toward success together step by step.

Keep your customers

I believe all marketing today is built on customer retention, since acquiring a new customer costs much more. When working on retention, keep in mind that customers are spoiled by the variety of offers online. Every business now has plenty of competitors offering very different prices. On top of that, customers are more experienced and choose the best offer. Experience shows that price isn't always the deciding factor in a purchase decision.

Test your contractors

Break large tasks into parts and assign them to different contractors, setting specific goals that must be achieved. Each contractor will approach the task in their own way, so you can pick the best one and get maximum results. For example, give the PPC campaign for one category to the first contractor and the next category to another. The condition for continuing to work together is an ideal ROI of 200–300% (but at least 100%).

When is the right time to expand?

I think the right time is when you've acquired enough customers, set up your business processes, and earned your first steady profit.

Once you've decided to expand, analyze your customer profile and find out what brings people back to your store. That's how you expand your product range, adding the related products your customers need.

For example, if you sell cement, start selling sand, gravel, weatherproofing fillers, and other related products.

This expansion strategy keeps the cost of mistakes to a minimum and lets you quickly test whether your choice (hypothesis) is right. Plus, it's the shortest path!

I hope my story was useful to you. All of this advice came out of searching for the best solution, through trial and error while developing an IT ratings brand. Don't waste time and money going down the wrong path; learn from someone else's experience.

Finally, I'd like to give special thanks to my marketing partner and Promodex's in-house marketer for inspiring me to write this article.