Marketing is no easy job. You have to generate results for your company; which means you will spend time analyzing data, crafting content, designing creatives, studying the competition, and anything else which will translate to increased sales. As a new marketing manager, you especially have to prove your worth. How do you ensure that you are successful at your job? Below are some tips.
In today’s business, the kind of software you use is a golden key. If you are using substandard and outdated software in your marketing efforts, you cannot be competitive. One of the must-have software for marketers is a content management system for sales. Your sales team should have relevant content to use for different customers during the sales process.
A sales content management system ensures that sellers can make maximum sales by enhancing two-way communication and getting real-time access to changes in information and branding. Users can also follow up on how customers are interacting with content and resolve buyer’s concerns in time.
Based on research conducted by SiriusDecisions, sales reps fail to use more than 60% of the content created, which makes it difficult to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful content strategy.
Excellent sales content software will have email templates and call scripts and documents such as eBooks, WhitePapers, and PowerPoints to share with prospects. It could also have multimedia files such as podcasts and webinars to present to prospects as lead generation tools and supporting documents such as PPT and contract templates to enable reps to sell successfully.
Take time to read and know your company inside out. Understand its mission and vision and set your goals around it. Check out previous marketing strategies and their results. Why did they or did they not succeed? Other things you should know are the sales cycle of the company, existing marketing channels, offline and online strategies, and what extra tools the company needs to achieve its purpose.
Secondly, get to know your sales team’s personality, strengths, and weaknesses. You will be working with them almost all the time and even managing them, so make an effort to socialize with them and understand how they work.
Look at the existing customer base and data on who has made purchases. What traits do those customers have in common? One of the best ways to know your customers better is to take support calls regularly. Talk with customers directly and get to know their likes, dislikes, and views.
Know your competitor’s marketing strategies. You can find these strategies from online campaigns. Determine if they are beating you to your game with their marketing strategies or not. Imitate their successful methods of closing sales.
Marketing is a dynamic job that requires you to get creative and think on your toes. You and your team have to ensure you are well-read to make it easier for you to generate creative ideas that will bring in more customers and keep your existing ones. Study books on advertising, running successful campaigns, generating leads, and so on.
You will be more likely to succeed if you know how to relate well with your colleagues. Let your personality and demeanor continue to draw people in. Dress the part, keep learning how to nail presentations at conferences, stand out in meetings, and never be seen alone. To be a great marketer, you need to improve your listening and communication skills. Learn how to talk to people, be a good orator, and easily make friends.
As a marketer, you may be torn between keeping the top management and the customers satisfied. If the executives understand your marketing plan, they will trust you and become more receptive to what you are trying to do to generate results.
Successful marketing managers value their team’s contribution but are also good decision-makers, able to sift through the many ideas to determine which one will work best. Sound judgment and leadership skills are a pre-requisite for excellent marketing managers.
