Typical marketing skills every employee needs

Read up on some basic marketing skills every single one of us could use at our jobs. (ShutterStock)

If you plan to do well in both your personal and professional life, these typical marketing skills may come in handy.

The reality of today’s world demands that every single one of us is (though unofficially) a marketer. We need to work on retaining a personal brand and marketing ourselves on social media every day. No matter what personality or career path you are following, some basic marketing skills will help you to think and operate like a marketer, even if you’re not one.

Being able to listen

To be able to maximize the results of a marketing campaign, a marketer needs to be able to listen. They need to understand what their customers want, what co-workers want, and what the public wants. They need to connect to people during all parts of the production process. By listening to what everybody says and how people feel, and analysing that information, a marketer is able to maximize the satisfaction of every shareholder. And no matter which field you work in, having happy shareholders is always a plus.

Being able to tell stories

By looking for the best of things in everything, marketers are able to shape every campaign into a compelling story. Stories are what make people listen. We all shape our lives by constructing meaning through stories and sharing those. If you are able to tell a great story, people will listen to you and may follow your vision.


Being more aware

Marketers need to be aware, not only of what’s happening in the industry, but also of what’s happening in the world. They read, go to networking parties, but also need to figure out what’s the latest in popular culture. If you want to attract people’s attention, you need to know what is going on and keep up with the latest trends. What worked yesterday, might not work tomorrow, so changing strategies according to the topicality is a must.

Being able to make decisions

Advertising means getting attention, and getting attention means making hard decisions from time to time. It’s often difficult to predict the consequences and to tell beforehand what is going to work and what isn’t. Marketers need to be able to interpret data from tools like Google Analytics, and make the right decisions about a campaign. There is never a guaranteed success, but every failure is an opportunity to learn and try again. Impressing someone with just talk isn’t going to work in that world, putting in the hard work and achieving results will.

Being tactful

If a marketer wants to reach and communicate with various audiences in a campaign, he needs to offend as few people as possible. Being tactful in their approach is key to deal with a varied audience. This is true for all kinds of sectors and companies. If you want to connect with customers, or just work well in a team, being tactful is a good quality to have.

Being thrifty

Most marketers aren’t one of those lucky ones with a phenomenal budget to make an enormous world-wide campaign. They need to be able to reach a maximum amount of people with a minimal amount of resources. The mind-set of always wanting to reach as high as possible while on a budget, and being creative with the available resources, is something every company dreams of in all their employees. 

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