culled from:leadershipnow.com
Marketing is the foundation of any brand. Without a good marketing campaign you’ll never be able to achieve your goals and visions for your project. Whether you are a one-person army or have a team of workers aiding you, these 10 essential marketing skills are ones you need to familiarize yourself with.
1. Perfect Your Story
Without a good story you won’t gain any interest from customers, clients, partners, etc. The way you convey your story will be how your audience perceives you and your company. Think of how you want people to see your company and write your story accordingly.
2. Keep Up In-Person Skills
Texting, instant messaging, and email have taken over. It’s easy to become lax with our in-person communication skills when we aren’t exposed to it often. For the sake of your long-term success, being able to express yourself in-person is necessary.
3. Collaborate and Network
An important marketing skill is being able to effectively network with like-minded people. Collaborating or networking with others opens up doors and helps you gain skills for your own marketing campaign.
4. Understand SEO and Apply It Properly
It’s all about keywords. SEO is something you need to familiarize yourself with. If you’re a marketer you must stay up to date with the latest changes and always review the techniques you use.
5. Be At Home with Social Media
We all know social media is huge. From a marketing aspect, understanding how the most popular platforms work is a must. How can you leverage one of the most powerful marketing tools if you don’t understand how it functions?
6. Focus on Numbers
Going by your gut feeling isn’t going to get you very far. Understanding the importance of averages, ROI, and how to track traffic is a key skill for everyone. A metric driven marketing campaign will help you achieve your goals.
7. Craft a Killer Pitch
Crafting a killer pitch for marketing purposes can be difficult. You will need a compelling story, writing skills, and an understanding of your audience. Your business is competing with hundreds (or more) other businesses. The pitch needs to hook the audience and prove you are the right choice.
8. Know Your Audience
Your audience is everything. They are potential consumers who may become loyal customers if your marketing is done right. Knowing how to read your audience and their needs are important. Paying attention to their feedback through social media is a great way of achieving this.
9. Be Persistent
Persistence and marketing go hand in hand. Those who are persistent with their endeavors will be around for a long time. Along with entrepreneurship come harsh realities and occasional failures. Be persistent and confident to get through these times.
10. Constantly Feed Your Brain
The business and internet world is constantly evolving. Never fall into the trap of thinking that you “know enough”. Read up on blogs regularly, check out some books, and find a mentor. Constantly feeding your brain information will keep you from getting dull.
TOPIC: Leadership Development
The CEO’s Secret Handbook
F illed with rules and tales about management, the gray-colored Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management was originally part of a PowerPoint presentation the CEO made to engineers and scientists at the Waltham defense giant.
But Swanson, who has spent his entire career at Raytheon, was later asked if he could put his rules down on paper. So he did: in 3-inch-by-5-inch spiral-bound notebooks handed out to executives and customers. Some of the rules were originally published over 60 years ago as The Unwritten Laws of Engineering (1944) by W. J. King. Unfortunately they were not available to the general public.
Learn to say, “I don’t know.” If used when appropriate, it will be often.
It is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it.
If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what’s there, but few can see what isn’t there.
Viewgraph rule: When something appears on a viewgraph (an overhead transparency), assume the world knows about it, and deal with it accordingly.
Work for a boss with whom you are comfortable telling it like it is. Remember that you can’t pick your relatives, but you can pick your boss.
Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they are supposed to be. Avoid Newton’s Law.
However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best efforts.
Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement, or indifference. Don’t be known as a good starter but a poor finisher.
In completing a project, don’t wait for others; go after them, and make sure it gets done.
Confirm your instructions and the commitments of others in writing. Don’t assume it will get done!
Don’t be timid; speak up. Express yourself, and promote your ideas.
Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get it done.
Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.
Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements.
Don’t overlook the fact that you are working for a boss.
* Keep him or her informed. Avoid surprises!
* Whatever the boss wants takes top priority.
Promises, schedules, and estimates are important instruments in a well-ordered business.
* You must make promises. Don’t lean on the often-used phrase, “I can’t estimate it because it depends upon many uncertain factors.”
Never direct a complaint to the top. A serious offense is to “cc” a person’s boss.
When dealing with outsiders, remember that you represent the company. Be careful of your commitments.
Cultivate the habit of “boiling matters down” to the simplest terms. An elevator speech is the best way.
Don’t get excited in engineering emergencies. Keep your feet on the ground.
Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.
When making decisions, the pros are much easier to deal with than the cons. Your boss wants to see the cons also.
Don’t ever lose your sense of humor.
Have fun at what you do. It will reflect in your work. No one likes a grump except another grump.
