Not everyone can boast that in four years they have grown from an ordinary employee to a vice president of a multi-billion dollar company. Maclean Donnelly (McLean Donnelly) can.

How did he do it?

Since he worked as a designer, it can be assumed that the secret of his success lies in amazing projects. But this is only part of his strategy.

Quality design paired with stunning design is what helped Donnelly climb to the top of the career ladder. Not the least was his ability to cultivate talent, improve his product and constantly improve performance.

As part of a presentation at the Digital Marketing Summit, McLean Donnelly shared his knowledge gained after graduating from the MBA. He outlined three areas in which every marketer must grow in order to confidently move to the top of his career. At the same time, it is not necessary to have a business education.

1. Learn math

Even if the last time you studied mathematics was in high school, you can still learn “business mathematics” pretty quickly. Ask an accountant to advise you or take special courses. Here's what to look out for:

• Income statement... As you understand the income statement, you will begin to understand better. When doing this, focus on more than just sources of income. By cutting costs, you can also effectively increase your bottom line. For example, at Expedia, Donnelly discovered that if a customer spends more than X seconds on a support call, the company starts to lose money. Opportunity? Perhaps.
• Statistics... Master the basics of statistics, it's not as hard as it sounds. For example, in Google Analytics, you can find Conversion Rate \u003d Visitors / Conversions. Study, ask questions. Once you have mastered these two areas, proceed to the next step:
• Models... Formulate a business case before starting work. Then build a model and test your performance for ROI.

2. Rely on strategy

With a strong business case behind you, you can strategically choose tactics. As Michael Porter said:

"The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do."

Too often, marketers focus on what they need to implement. However, sometimes you need to take a step back and determine what not to do. This approach yields results much faster.

Donnelly suggests following his creative approach to Human Centered Desig. It is a design and management strategy that involves developing solutions to problems from a human perspective. It is based on four elements:

1. Define an emotional connection... Anyone offers opportunities for making emotional connections. Find yours by creating a map. At Shutterstock, Donnelly's team asked customers to share the emotions they want to experience at every stage of their journey. For example, when placing an order, users want to trust the site, be confident in it, and expect fast delivery.
2. Solve user problems... Establish an honest and constructive dialogue with your customers about your company and product. For this, great fit social networks... Do not be afraid of the negative, you need to learn from them.
3. Talk to customers... Actually speak. If you don't talk to clients in person, you may not expect to be successful. Pay attention to how their facial expressions change when they talk about different interactions with your brand. Clients cannot be just data sources.
4. Offer a unique experience... How is your brand different from everyone else? To understand this, Donnelly recommends using the Northstar Workshop strategy. Gather all team members in one room and have a free discussion. Such meetings can be held regularly.

3. Inspire the team

It was with this that Donnelly's path to the goal began. He decided to pursue an MBA to better develop talent and manage the organization. In doing so, he was always guided by the "commandments" of Dr. Edward Deming (Dr. Edward Deming):

• Break down barriers between departments... Researchers, designers, salespeople, and developers must work as a team to anticipate potential problems and effectively improve products and services.
• Reduce the need for auditsputting product quality first. Checks are ineffective, employees must be responsible for the final product.
• All team members must accept changes and implement them in your work.

Use strategy in your work

You've noticed that your job is to implement tactics one by one. Take a step back, check with the team, and start asking questions. Use to choose what not to do, not the other way around.

It has already been noted above that marketing is a dynamically developing area of \u200b\u200bactivity. Today almost all Russian companies have marketing specialists on their staff. In small companies, these may be individual employees, in larger companies, departments and departments. As the range of tasks solved by marketing expands, new marketing professions appear, and the specialization of marketers becomes narrower (Figure 1.13).

Figure: 1.13

Table 1.6 Characteristics of tasks solved by marketers

The modern market makes high qualification requirements for specialists not only in terms of having higher specialized education, but also knowledge foreign language, possession of modern means and methods of data analysis, including computer software products and databases, the availability of information search skills and knowledge of the language of queries on the Internet. Many positions require analytical and / or communication skills. Marketers themselves are also somewhat different from other categories of employees. First, they are younger. 40% of marketers are 22-25 years old, 50% 26-35 years old. Partly due to their age, they are more mobile. Perhaps these characteristics are transient. After all, the training of marketing specialists in Russia began not very long ago, and therefore the age of graduates is not that great. Second, the motivation for marketing is different from other professions. For most of them, the main motivation is career growth. In second place in terms of importance is the content of the work performed, since it depends on the improvement of the employee's qualifications and gaining valuable experience. And only in third place do marketers put wage requirements. Among other motives, one can single out such as the ability to take initiative or make independent decisions, etc.

Well-known Russian specialist and marketing consultant I. Mann offers the following formula for a good career in marketing (I. Mann, 2009):

Marketing Success \u003d O + N + S + P

O - good education (well received) N - mentor S - specialization (marketing is too big a topic to try to master everything) P - continuous professional development.

One of the goals of this tutorial is, we hope, precisely to help you successfully form the first term of this formula.

“Hello, reader of the blog about marketing and the workforce of a marketer. I will continue the cycle "Course for a young marketer". You must admit that climbing the career ladder is a pleasant and exciting activity and, in principle, the field of activity is not very important here. Actually, marketing is no exception, but a career in marketing has its own characteristics. This is what we will think about today. I think the knowledge gained in this article will be very useful. "

Most people who work in the field of marketing say that our industry is filled with challenges, both in terms of development and growth. This is due to the fact that marketing is constantly changing, other methods, tools and trends appear, corresponding to the new time. How can you stay in this “stream of changes”? To do this, you need to have certain qualities.

Key qualities for a successful career in marketing

In the article about the requirements for a marketer, I already mentioned the key qualities, but they are important when applying for a job, for career growth, slightly different advantages are needed:

• clarity and conciseness of thought, both written and oral;
• the ability to recognize problems;
• the ability to develop a strategic plan to address these problems;
• the ability to interpret complex data into simple truths;
• the ability to generate new ideas;
• ability to organize the process of implementing an idea.

If you have the potential sounded above, then a career path in marketing is certainly open for you. There are tons of opportunities in marketing to promote your loved one, and perhaps this is the only area where your interests, values \u200b\u200band style can be applied. It remains only to choose. But where to get experience?

We gain experience for a career in marketing

There are many companies in Russia that offer the opportunity to gain experience and skills in relation to our activities. Sometimes, you don't even need company. The main thing is the desire to gain experience in marketing to build your career.

Method 1. Start small.

You can get experience in your chosen specialty in large companies by getting a job as an intern for little money or even completely free. Many companies successfully practice this form of training for specialists. You won't get money here, if only for Doshirak and sausages, but experience can be gained, for sure. What is most interesting is that such activities can be combined with training (even full-time). This is exactly the way I went personally, which I talked about already in the article how to become a marketer.

Method 2. Self-study.

When we come for an interview with a new company, everyone looks at experience and knowledge. And experience is not always equated with seniority. And skills and knowledge can be obtained independently. There are several possibilities for this:

• read books on marketing and business;
• study the experience of practicing marketers (blogging is a great power);
• seek and learn new marketing tools and ways of promotion (no practice, only skills and knowledge);
• watch educational videos and films about marketing;
• conduct marketing research yourself;
• practice different types of analysis.

If the first two possibilities are quite clear, then the last two, I think, need to be commented on. How can you independently conduct marketing research? In fact, there is nothing difficult here. We read several books on this lesson (no longer needed) and started. We chose an industry (sphere, company, specific product) and analyze this market, in accordance with the algorithm that you read in the book. Then the next one, then another, and so on, until you "get involved".

Regarding training in any analysis, everything is also simple here. There is a lot of data on the Internet for conducting analytics. For example, you can take the reports of various OJSCs that annually publicly report to their shareholders. Or the old data of the early 2000s (there is such data, you just need to search, by the way, this is how the skill of the research part of the marketer's work is acquired). Based on these data, consider the effectiveness of their activities, or build a forecasting model for the years ahead (you can take past years and forecast for the current one, at the same time check the model).

With this attitude, no marketing education is required. True, there is one drawback here - it is motivation, or rather its lack. When you work, you know if you don't get the job done, you won't get paid. And here is pure enthusiasm.

After that, they will be much more willing to hire you. And once you get the coveted position, you can safely start a career in marketing, persistently continuing to study and develop. Otherwise, nothing.

You have read books. You've watched the video.

You are convinced that you are already a marketer.

Now all you have to do is wait for customers, right?

Unfortunately this no longer works. Getting into marketing is easy. But here's how to become a good marketer with a line of customers?

It's a great game with its own set of rules.

And when you look at the projected growth rates in marketing - a 10% increase by 2026 - you can't afford not to understand these rules.

The growth of the marketing services market may be good news for the economy, but it poses challenges for the aspiring marketer.

Fortunately, there are a few tricks you can use to gain an edge over the competition. Use these strategies to build your marketing career and leave your competitors behind.

1. Improve your communication skills

And it's important for you to keep up.

71% of marketing executives use six or more types of marketing technologies in their daily lives.

Trying to master even one, let alone six, can be a daunting and downright impossible task for new marketers.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution:

Go back to basics and then dominate them.

No matter what new technology comes out tomorrow, your core communication skills are always in demand.

For proof, take a look at the requirements of employers looking to hire new employees for entry-level positions:

More than 80% of employers want to see good written communication skills, and less than 70% want those who know how to communicate well, talk.

In comparison, less than 60% of respondents cited technical skills as a top attribute. Less than 50% are looking for an employee with computer skills.

This is great news for newbie marketers.

Whether you're just graduating from college or changing your line of business, you can develop your communication skills. And you can do it without spending money, without making a big investment.

These skills will make you better marketers. After all, what is marketing if not communication? And it will make you more in demand in any industry.

But how do you develop your communication skills?

The answer is simple and obvious:

To become a better communicator, communicate more. And in particular, write more.

Focus on improving your basic writing skills and your resume will stand the test of time.

2. Choose a specialization and make a name

Significant job growth is expanding marketing opportunities. But competition is also growing.

And competing with other marketers means you will come across a wide variety of them.

A lot of complicated stuff on paper. If you want to differentiate yourself from the rest, you need to decide on a specialization.

The three most in-demand specializations in 2017 are digital advertising, content creation, and content strategy development.

Creating content, improving your skills in this, is a long way to become yourself as a digital marketing guru. But the best part is that you can start for free.

In fact, you can even convince other marketers to build your reputation. How?

Create content for other people.

In particular, write for other major blogs. This is a great way to get your name out there.

But more importantly, it also gives you a skill that 53% of marketers cite as their top priority.

This is probably why so many marketers are such prolific bloggers.

If you want to hone your content skills, you must become one of them too.

Start by guest posting on other blogs like Texterra or Webpromoexperts. Alternatively, you can just get started through Medium.

Ultimately, no matter how you choose to hone your communication skills, authoritative articles won't just help you find your audience and make a name for yourself.

It will also help build a portfolio.

3. Build your portfolio

Your skills cannot grow without practice.

But you won't have many opportunities until you demonstrate that you already have some skills that you need to improve.

But here is a double-edged sword - while you have few skills and no experience. Nobody will give you this experience to work out.

In a 2017 survey, 64.5% of employers indicated they prefer to hire candidates with relevant work experience. This is also true for college graduates.

So, no matter where you came to the market - from an institute or from another industry, you need experience in order to gain more experience.

It's frustrating, right?

Luckily, there is a simple solution to break the cycle and make you look pretty impressive.

You can volunteer. In particular, volunteer for a non-profit organization.

This will help you expand your dating network, and get a portfolio job.

It also helps showcase your values \u200b\u200bto future employers, such as education and animal welfare (an added plus in karma).

You may even meet other marketers along the way. Radish Labs, a creative agency specializing in non-profit organizations, regularly promotes creative volunteer activities.

So look for volunteer organizations in your city and offer help. It's simple, and there is no need to postpone the matter indefinitely.

4. Get involved in networking

In some industries, who you know is more important than what you do. But in digital marketing, they work together.

And if you are an inexperienced marketer, this can create a significant obstacle to starting your career.

It's almost a chicken before the egg problem. How do you meet the right people if you don't already know which people will be useful to you?

After all, according to SilkRoad's 2017 Sources of Hire report, employee referrals still play a role in attitudes towards them.

This is the same vicious circle as the “no experience” puzzle described in the previous section. You cannot grow your network because you need connections first in order to look respectable and gain people's trust.

Fortunately, the decision to stop this loop is just as simple:

Log out and look into the offline world to support your online network.

Do you need to meet people in this industry? Attend local meetings and events, and make friends.

Of course, one of the main obstacles to this approach is that larger conferences tend to take place in large cities.

But don't worry.

Even if you can't fit a large conference on your schedule, there are still several options for expanding your network.

You can attend online conferences and webinars, and get acquainted there.

This not only cuts down on your travel costs, but also helps you create a local network and find or organize events on your own schedule.

Finally, even if you cannot attend such events for some reason, join suitable groups on social networks and start communication there.

Here you can quickly find like-minded people and start growing your dating network.

5. Work with data

There is no better way to get ahead than developing some of the most sought after skills in the job market.

And in 2018, that means you have to work with big data.

Statistics and analytics help marketers quantify their audience.

But that's not all that can be done.

Data-driven marketing techniques also help professionals make better decisions and acquire new customers.

Marketing spending and data-driven revenues rose to their highest levels from 2016 to 2017, according to DMA research.

But despite this significant growth, there is still a talent shortage in the marketing world.

The amount of data continues to grow, but there is no one to work with it. The market is in dire need of analysts.

Here's a 2018 survey of marketers 'confidence in their organizations' ability to process data for marketing:

So what does this mean for your career? I can tell you in one word:

Opportunity.

As data becomes critical for marketers and business leaders around the world, there has never been a better time to learn how to analyze it.

And with the advent of multiple e-learning platforms, it has never been easier. Here are a few places where you can delve into this area.

Coursera offers higher education. Courses usually take four to six weeks.

Many of their courses provide free videos and the choice for marketing analytics is huge.

And best of all, all of their courses are online and you receive certifications upon completion.

Are you looking for a less academic option, or do you need to customize your own schedule? If so, try Lynda.com

LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com in 2015. It is now a powerful resource for exploring marketing, SEO, content, design, and more.

Unlike Coursera, the Lynda.com lecture series is made up of videos and tutorials, so you can learn entirely at your own pace.

And while you won't have a forum to interact with other students in the course, many of the videos contain exercise files to help you practice your skills.

Plus, with LinkedIn integration, you can automatically display the learning path on your profile.

Lynda.com has classes that range from beginner level to advanced. Everything you need to hone your data skills from start to finish is here.

No matter which platform you choose, adding data analytics to your skill set is a great way to make yourself more in-demand in the job market.

6. Build your branding

Finally, if you want to step out of your competitor's shadow, you need to build your branding and build it well.

This means that, in addition to guest posting, you need to establish a clear visual identity. Without it, your brand can easily get lost, especially if you're using stock images.

Getting lost means your audience ignores you. And if your audience ignores you, you can never take your career to the right level.

But gaining control over basic marketing concepts and strategies is difficult. How do you develop branding and stand out?

And what distinguishes a brand's visual style?

Regardless of which channels you use, consistency is key.

If you think this is all too complicated, think again. You can get started by creating a logo in about five minutes.

And there are also many services for designing logos and other things yourself. You can sit and try to figure it out. Choose for yourself some corporate colors - and already with this you can start.

Ultimately, whether you are using freelance work or not, using the same color palette will help you stand out and set the tone, style, and overall look of your brand.

Conclusion

The field of marketing is growing rapidly and experts expect it to continue to grow.

This means you have many opportunities. However, this also means that you have a lot of competition.

So how can you stand out?

For starters, don't get too hung up on new technologies. Saving for a beginner is difficult and expensive. Instead, focus on developing basic communication skills.

You can then set yourself apart from the competition by choosing a specialization and communicating. Create content for other industry blogs to build your name.

Filling your portfolio is a great way to make your resume more compelling, even if it's an unpaid gig.

Volunteering will help you find work for your portfolio. Plus, you will change the world and your career.

Networking is still an important part of the job. Your acquaintances can recommend you to someone.

Building an online network can be challenging. One way to quickly expand your network is to look outside and attend industry events.

Candidates with data processing skills are among the most sought-after salaried employees in any industry, including marketing. Build your analytics skills to boost your career potential.

Branding isn't just about content. Having a clear and consistent visual identity is the key to success.

Even if you don't have your own designers, you can find good (and cheap) freelancers through platforms like Freelance.ru, Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelance.Boutique.

Create your own color palette - this will ensure consistency of your branding regardless of who is behind the design.

A marketing career can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Follow these six strategies to take your career to the next level.

What strategies are you already using?