How to Write a Better Marketing Job Description
Here in Orange County, marketing jobs are constantly in demand. Between our growing corporate technology hub and the increase in start-up’s, businesses are hustling like never before and seeking marketers to support increased sales and exposure.
To help companies grow, marketing professionals are needed to identify market trends, analyze market research data, and guide the sales strategy and branding. Yet, development of the brand strategy in terms of creative design, image development, and even social media marketing is completely different. A good marketer can bring your company to new levels, but that doesn’t mean they know Adobe Illustrator like the back of their hand.
So why are recruiters looking for a new type of unicorn – both a marketing and a designer in one role?
Yes, marketing and creative design are both overhead costs, which may be one reason companies try to get both skill sets from one job posting. We have seen businesses set up for failure (and a lot of wasted money) when expecting to find both an analytical, strategic marketer and a creative, innovative designer within the same job role. And while we think a pug dog in a unicorn costume is adorable, is this really the concept you want driving your marketing and design initiatives?
To help Orange County businesses hire the right marketer and designer, here are three questions to ask among the executive team before writing that job description.
1. Which marketing activity needs to happen first?
Marketing can be broken up into several primary activities or stages:
- Strategy
- Product Development
- Positioning/Messaging
- Creative Design
- Branding/Voice of Customer
- Content Writing
- Events/Conferences
- Digital Design (Website/eBooks/Mapping)
- Website Development
- Social Media
Some could even argue the list goes on. The point here, however, is a business needs to understand where they are in the sales & marketing process, and which marketing activities are the most necessary within the next 6-12 months. Then, this clarity helps to carve out the exact skill sets needed to continue sales and product development.
2. What are we hoping to gain from this role?
To build on Point #1, clear and realistic objectives are not only needed for the marketing plan, but for the marketing hire as well. When we say realistic, yes, we’d all like the new hire to bring in hundreds of leads in the first three months, but in most industries, this just isn’t possible for one person. Additionally, trying to fill two different roles with only one new hire could result in less productivity, lowered quality of work, or both.
If your business is not ready for the lead generation stage and is more in the sales strategy and content marketing stage, this is also a different type of person you need.
Supplement Instead of Hire
Here is another scenario. Some start-up’s have an executive acting as Chief Marketing Officer. He or she may already have the product and sales strategy set. Now, that person is ready to create a website and digital lead generation click bait to start building a sales lead pipeline. The start-up has limited funding, so hiring a full-time marketer is a stretch.
Instead of searching for another full-time employee, this type of business could benefit from hiring a creative design agency to help bring the concepts to life. This is just one of the types of clients our Revealed Creative team has helped here in Orange County since 2013.
3. Do we have the budget to hire multiple people?
Trying to fit multiple roles into one job position can set the new hire up for failure. This becomes very expensive for a company if new hires do not feel successful and decide to leave their job; especially if they leave within the first year.
Once the executive team has taken a good look at the most pressing job requirements, it can be helpful to consider whether or not hiring more than one person is in the budget. This allows the company to hire two or more people who can specialize in different aspects of marketing, making the final campaign more effective overall.
If the business doesn’t currently have the budget to hire more than one full-time employee, this is another time a creative design agency can help. The Revealed Creative team has different packages and payment arrangements available to help a company on a project basis or on a retainer to help with digital design activities across a number of channels.
Let Revealed Creative Help
To summarize, trying to save money and filling multiple marketing roles with only one person can negatively impact a business in the long run. If your company needs creative design experts but is not able or ready to hire another full-time employee, we can help. Contact our team today to learn how we may be able to create a design package that best fits your current marketing needs.
