8 Marketers You Don't Want to Be – and How to Improve

We’ve all encountered this kind marketer: a stiff-legged type that goes on and on about the good ol’ days of marketing. This persona clings to past experiences and dated principles, and assumes that practices and preconditions have been left unaltered since the 80’s.

Unfortunately, it isn’t hip to be square today.

Albeit, experience fosters wisdom. However, the world of digital marketing calls for adaptable marketers that can keep up with customer demands. And as data has become instrumental for success, haphazard bulk sendings and a one-way mindset simply won’t cut it.

True marketing magic happens when an experienced marketer is able to make use of their knowledge – and merge it with an in-depth understanding of the power of data. Now, that's a marketer to be reckoned with!

 

Generic Gary

Generic Gary is the Square Nostalgic marketer’s cousin. Rather than being a blast from the past, Generic Gary doesn’t believe in the power of personalisation and marketing technologies. Instead, he or she believes that general bulk sendings will suffice.

Oh so wrong...

In today’s marketing climate, the customer is king. And the customer craves relevant content delivered at the right time. So, you need to put impersonal place bulk sendings in the back seat and steer towards marketing automation.

Want some marketing automation inspiration? Check this out!

The Hot Air Hero

The Hot Air Hero oozes with charisma and charms you with quantitative results. However... When push comes to shove; The Hot Air Hero relies on vanity metrics, rather than actionable metrics.

 

The difference? Vanity metrics might make you feel good, but in the end they don’t result in actual action. Actionable metrics, on the other hand, are statistics that guide you towards your business goals. And of course, you want to see statistics that point to the latter.

Me-Me-Me-Marketer

The purpose of marketing activities during the last decade has revolved around contributing and supporting the organisation as a whole. In essence: it’s a marketers task to to nurture a customer from an unknown person into a loyal customer.

Even though this is common marketing sense, it doesn’t necessarily stop the emergence of the Me-Me-Me-Marketer. What’s their sin at hand? They solely focus on individual tasks, rather than how they fit into the overall marketing puzzle – and the customer journey.

 

The fix? Foster an organisational team-oriented culture that revolves around contribution and collaboration. Make sure the Me-Me-Me-Marketer understands how they fit into matrix. That way, you’ll end up with a colleague that becomes as devoted to your marketing scheme as their own work.

Want to know how you fit into the marketing matrix? Read our post about the importance of internal collaboration.

The Creative Cherry-Picker

What’s the building block of digital marketing success? That’s right: customer engagement. As it has it, the Creative Cherry-Picker is at the epicentre. Who are they? They’re social media trailblazers and creative content writers with a passion for strengthening and nurturing customer relations.

 

However… They might let their creative juices flow so freely that they lose sight of what the customer actually wants to read. Yes, you should think outside of the box. With this said, customer insights derived from data should set your figurative boundaries. Otherwise you run the risk of producing a hamster wheel of impersonal content...

The key? To merge your channels and touchpoints to an integrated whole. That way, the Creative Cherry-Picker can use cross-channel behavioural data as guidance.

Impatient Imogen

All marketers know that marketing activities should be measurable. However, Impatient Imogen expects immediate results and a hefty return on investment as soon as you’ve clicked publish.

What Impatient Imogen fails to realise is that marketing as all about perception. Rome wasn’t built in a day – and neither was your brand. To build a relationship with your customers requires a lot of time and hard work. The results need to simmer and the cake needs to bake – with data as the main ingredient, of course.

Wishy-Washy Wally

It’s said that you are what you consume. This might sound like quite a statement, but if you take a look at the items in your close vicinity: why did you choose to purchase those particular brands?

Some of you might say price, some say awareness – but a majority will answer that it's because you identifiy with the brand. How? You chose organic salad because you hold sustainability close to heart, the hand lotion because the scent reminds you of your favourite place and you chose that particular brand of briefcase because it awakens an emotion within you.

With this in mind, it becomes rather clear what the Wishy-Washy Wally lacks: a clear set of values that your customers can identify with. So, in an era where customers sway towards brands values: you need to be bold.

 

The Data Devotee

This marketing persona might come as a surprise to you. However, The Data Devotee can often fall into a four-sided analytical pit. How so? Even though data in instrumental for action-based customer insights; you still need a persuasive wordsmith that connects to the customer.

Even though the Data Devotee and the Creative Cherry-Picker might seem like polar opposites, they should be joined by the hip, in essence: the Data Devotee provides insights, and the Cherry-Picker strengthens brand perception.

The Key? A Healthy Mix!

Do you identify with one of the many marketing personas? Or perhaps a few? We all have our weaknesses and our strength. The important part is that we, as marketers, can stay humble and learn from our faults and mistakes.

Because in all honesty: there’s no such thing as the perfect marketer. It’s a little bit like a Goldilocks scenario: we need to A/B-test ourselves and try the too hot and the too cold in order to get to the just right. Be true to yourself, but learn how to listen and cooperate to grow stronger as a marketer and as a marketing team. That way, you can go from good to great.