People all around the world want to get into marketing and advertising, and they want to be successful. They see scenes from Mad Men, and think it’s a case of discussing creative ideas all day, and waiting for the controversial, provoking taglines and design to just appear out of nowhere. Well, while there’s a lot of discussing and waiting, you don’t get to the top that way. Some of the best in the business share the following traits, and they’re characteristics you should try to emulate if you want to sit at the top table. Likewise, if you can’t imagine yourself picking these traits up, then it might be time consider why you want to get into marketing, and whether another career might suit you better.
Enthusiasm to learn new skills and techniques
Marketing and advertising changes so quickly: new channels and methods are formed and then fail within months. So, if you want to stay ahead, you need to have that desire to always be learning and exploring. Whether it’s discovering all about marketing automation, or how to create interactive infographics, you’ll always want to be finding out new things and putting them into action.
It’s a good idea to have your own blog or website, so that you can practice these new techniques and methods. That way, when the moment arises, you’ll be able to suggest them for a client brief or campaign, and know how to manage it from start to finish.
Likewise, you’ll find information sharing fascinating: the thought of going to networking events, training courses and industry conferences will fill you with anticipation and excitement. If you’re not one for learning off others and teaching in return, then you won’t get that far.
An ability to bounce back from mistakes – and learn from them
Marketers will get things wrong. They’ll get things seriously wrong. While this is disappointing and frustrating, the best in the business won’t get hung up on it. They’ll do a debrief, find out where things started to go pear-shaped, and then they’ll chalk it up to experience and move on.
If you don’t ever go wrong in marketing, you’ll never have the opportunity to learn a valid lesson. Yes, no one wants to make mistakes and ruin a campaign, but when it does happen, you need to be ready to take the blame, conduct an autopsy, and be ready for the next challenge.
If you struggle to come back after a mistake, or wouldn’t feel brave enough to pry into the failings, then senior marketing and advertising roles might not be your perfect match.
An innate curiosity to find out about people and what makes them tick
As a marketing professional, you need to excel at people watching. You need to know what motivates them to buy certain goods or use certain services. Then, you need to be able to transfer those actions in a marketing campaign. If you love people watching, and you love the psychology behind persuasion, then you’ll love a career in this industry.
If you want to get into marketing, but you aren’t bothered about why people buy, then you’ll have a shock. Marketing is all about convincing people to do what you want them to do – and the psychology behind it is fascinating.
Founder Dinis Guarda
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