The Successful 'Social Skill Set' for Marketers

Academia has long referred to the marketing profession as the backbone of every business, accountable for the creation, communication and delivery of customer value. Its fundamental management issue lies in identifying a superior value position where all concomitant marketing activities contribute to a sustainable, long-term completive advantage and the applied organisational resources profitably satisfy customer needs while meeting shareholder expectations within the invariably changing business environment. In recent years, however, with the exponential growth of technology and the advent of ‘media-savvy’ consumers, the scope of marketing has shifted drastically to accommodate the new communication arena, morphing completely the skill set required from current practitioners. The knowledge acquired through academia develops a meaningful understanding of organisational dynamics and is still the salient precursor of how practitioners should behave in their positions. Controversially, this social and technology driven business setting has overhauled the marketing behavioural conduct and the new revamped rules precipitate the need for a new skill set to be honed by practitioners, contemplating a successful career.

Inspired by the Marketing Magazine recent interview with Clare Sheikh, global brand director at Vodafone, I decided to dissect this topic further, and applying my personal experience and knowledge, offer a piece of tutelage for a propitious marketing career.

1. Eschew Complacency-Embrace Humility
Feel the subtle qualities that determine the uniqueness of your brand and immerse yourself into its exclusive equity to build a brand architecture which showcases all its remarkable credentials.

2. Break Silos-Build Collaborative Relationships
Form effective teams by harnessing strategically the capabilities of all members with everyone heading in the same directions with a united sense of purpose.
Curate and encourage mutually beneficial relationships with a well-executed dispersion of responsibilities to ensure efficiency accelerates the business performance.
Be an inspirational leader who sparks loyalty and motivation, communicates with members to bolster their confidence, and genuinely care about their personal development.
Do not let your team be sated with the brand success, celebrate the achievements, allowing no room for complacency but restlessness attitude toward unrelenting progression.

3. Strategise Rationally-Synchronise Emotionally
Showcase the amenity value of your brand through a commercially sustainable and emotionally captivating strategy that has a positive effect on consumer volition and precipitate purchase.
Passionately build the brand value through customers’ eyes and instil its principles in your team’s credo.
Create panoply of physical cues for your brand that help consumers commemorate all points of contact while entering an enticing brand ambience where each ‘visit’ is a pilgrimage in itself.

4. Manoeuvre Astutely-Master Communication
Plot compelling journeys for particular consumer types, decipher where the communication medium will work best for them and establish useful and feasible connections.
Apply a well-honed agile mind to curate content online and share information pertinent to your brand aura and in line with your customers’ interests.
Design advertising messages that are so memorable and ubiquitous that consumers regularly hark back on them, winning you their genuine, lasting allegiance.

5. Shine with Versatility and Determination
See beyond the common sense and short-termism, keep the business SWOT analysis in your armour and defeat competition with long-term value creation and established reputation.
Expect brand mistakes and don’t fear the condemnation of some consumer vigilantes but be honest and transparent and when in the wrong offer a recovery strategy as a sovereign remedy to win back loyalty.
Don’t eschew direct online interaction with disgruntled consumers, respond immediately, be genuinely remorseful but don’t jettison your brand values-your brand is a humanised persona and should stand up for itself when attacked.

6. Lead with Creativity-Manage with Innovation
Embrace the delightful challenge to keep abreast with industry news, success stories and trailblazing research work, concurrently delving into the latest technology developments.
Engage in field marketing, base decisions on shopper insights and utilise the digital data and targeting in conjunction with traditional media channels to allow the creation of a truly immersive campaign.
Train staff with heuristic methods that encourage creativity and produce bespoke solutions which often render more effective and palatable than previously implemented practices.

My Marketing Credo

Marketing has become one of the most desired graduate professions, with almost every university offering a degree in this field. Many students eagerly jump on this bandwagon, thinking that with a tint of social skills, textbook knowledge and scant passion they can enter its arena.
Yes, you can.... but the duration of your stay is what matters.



A successful and reputable marketer is not just another player-but a formidable combination of intelligence and determination, eagerness to learn and unrelenting passion for consumers, who applies high integrity and pragmatism in a collaborative work environment where he/she Inspires by Action and Leads by Example.

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