Passion? Dynamism? Resilience?
All useful. But ultimately, the role of a marketer in any company is to ensure the business understands (and delivers to) the customer need.
Your marketing people need EMPATHY.
The need to be able to see your company, your products, your services, your brand – from the customer perspective.
Marketing people should represent the voice of the customer.
They should be able to see what your customers care about. And how they relate to your product and your competitors. They need to understand why they make the buying decisions they do.
After that, it’s common sense.
Yes, of course there are techniques, principles and good practices – and creativity too.
Experience helps.
But ultimately it’s about putting yourself in the customer’s shoes.
The best ads you’ve ever seen are ones that you relate to.
That doesn’t happen by accident.
That’s because a marketing person, or team, took the time to really consider and understand their target audience…
Just do it.
Arguably the most successful campaign or series of campaigns of all time.
Back in 1988 Nike sales were at $800 million. 10 years later, that figure was over $9 billion.
In 2020? $37 billion.
Why did it work, and why is it still working?
Quite simply because it encapsulated how people felt (and still feel) when they exercise. It’s a universal truth.
The insight is that we find it hard to push ourselves – but we feel great when we do.
It’s such a simple concept, but one that’s entirely relatable. It connects.
That kind of success doesn’t come from passion. It doesn’t come from determination, drive or resilience.
It doesn’t even come from creativity (well, not entirely).
It comes from empathy.
That’s what you’re looking for in your next marketing recruit.
