11 essential talents for marketers

The great game of business is all about change. It is about adapting to the environment – listening and responding to all stakeholders.

There is no doubt that in this century marketing is forever different. People do not want to be bombarded with messages that are not relevant to them.

They want to have someone ‘curate’ what is interesting and what they want to hear about. Everyone wants to feel that they can have an ‘intimate’ relationship with the brands that are important to them – and that intimacy is created because we as marketers ‘know’ them.

As marketers, though, the skills, talents and ideas we bring to our profession have changed.

Visionaries – Pursue your purpose single-mindedly. If you know what you stand for and why you exist you will outperform those who don’t by 15:1.

Analysts – Data can appear overwhelming and those who can absorb and communicate that data will come out ahead.

Fluid – We cannot control the brand or conversation about our goods or services, influence has moved to the ‘edge’.

Conservationists – Anywhere, anytime we need to enjoy the conversation not fear it. Our stories have become more important than our symbols – a brand is a story.

Authentic – Most people ignore the noise.

Empathetic – Do we know what people really think and recall?

Futurists – How we got here is not how we are going to get there. The tablet is the future and there will be no keyboards – everything will be voice-activated.

Participants – Encouraging customer generated content.

Geographers – Place is everywhere – anywhere, anytime, on any device – with any interaction.

Gamesters – A whole new generation has arrived that grew up on interactive games. Our customers want to play.

And Culture Kings – The employee experience is EVERYTHING. It is the source of authenticity – it is your advantage – it is the best yet most fragile asset.

Technology and marketing are fused; technology is fusing with us (think how often you have mobile device in hand). And all stakeholder voices are important – there is no longer the notion of internal and external communications. Marketing and the employee experience are now fused.

What an exciting time!

Naomi Simson is considered to be one of Australia’s Best Bosses. An employee engagement advocate, she practises what she preaches in her own fast growth business. RedBalloon was named as one of only 13 BRW Best Employers in Australia in 2012 for four years in a row with an engagement scorecard of over 90% in each of those years – the average in Australian businesses is 54%.

One of Australia’s outstanding entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a passionate speaker, a blogger and a published author, most recently publishing Five Thanks a Day. She has received many accolades and awards for the business she founded, RedBalloon.com.au including the 2011 Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year – Industry.