Top 5 qualities every marketing professional should have

Marketing is a popular career choice for Australians, with approximately 74,800 employees working in the industry, according to Job Outlook.

With this figure in mind, it’s no surprise that there is a strong demand for marketing professionals when considering the fast-paced nature of social media to the strategic and analytic thinking behind SEO.

To be a successful business, building a strong presence both offline and online is needed, and this is where marketing comes in.

From social media marketing to email campaigns, putting the consumer at the heart of it all is what marketing is; it continuously informs consumers about certain services and products for a potential sale. It is the main ingredient that helps them be constantly aware of the business.

Without marketing, a business may not be able to expand their reach more widely where word-of-mouth is simply not enough.

To describe a marketing professional cannot be summed up in a couple of sentences, as most come with an ever evolving skill set according to the movement of technology and trends.

However, there are some core qualities every person in the marketing industry should aim to have to create a successful career, helping them perform well in roles such as public relations officer, digital marketing strategist or social media manager.

Qualities marketing professionals need

1. Creativity.
2. Working well in a team.
3. Being good with numbers and trends.
4. Organised.
5. Excellent communication skills.

1. Creativity.

Richard Gillingwater, Independent Brand Consultant, Fundraiser and Creativity Coach believes that creativity is important for businesses, branding and marketing saying, “How creative you are tells your story. It says how current you are, how passionate your people are and how confident you are about your offer.”

Marketers are storytellers when it comes to campaign planning, copywriting and strategy when promoting a company’s products and services. In addition, they need to be able to come up with creative solutions when it comes to problem-solving.

For example, they may be given a reduced budget in order to double the sales targets from the previous year, and at times, need to put a creative thinking cap on that will allow them to move within modern times, while increasing customer retention and leads.

Gillingwater also notes how “a creative process depends for its success on flexibility, and a willingness to make mistakes.” 

While traditional marketing often brings out consistent results, it’s important for marketers to be willing to branch into digital marketing and see what’s trending. With consumer habits changing all the time, having the creative mindset to experiment with new forms of marketing and learn from the various outcomes is integral to the success of a campaign.

2. Working well in a team.

Working in silo is not recommended in marketing. In the end, all team members in the marketing team will need to have a collaborative approach when it comes to their work. 

While digital, social and content marketing are different in their own way, it’s important to understand that there is crossover when it comes to all streams. In the end, everyone is working towards the same objectives, which is why that as a marketing professional, it is important to have the ability to communicate with all different kinds of people.

Surendra Kumar Sahu, Corporate HR Manager at Toshali Resort International says, “Teamwork increases the accountability of every member of the team, especially when working under people who command a lot of respect within the business. Team members do not want to let each other down and hence do their best to contribute to the successes of their teams.”

From Sahu’s statement, we learn that no matter the expertise of a marketing professional, having a collaborative approach when it comes to work not only gives it purpose, but it will enable a streamlined process when approaching marketing campaigns.

Working well in a team is a given for any marketing professional, so having excellent people skills can help make “dream” projects a reality instead.

3. Being good with numbers and trends.

A marketing professional getting the desired results from a campaign is important because not only does it help them understand what attracts consumers, but it also helps the way they market products and services of the business. 

Marketing professionals need to be well-tuned when it comes to “measuring” the success of a campaign and the outcome of this is usually from numbers being produced from analysis tools like Google Analytics or Facebook Insights.

A typical marketer in social media will need to be well-versed when it comes to all the main channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and understand the performance value when it comes to a post. This is important because it will help them see what makes a consumer tick and what content is relevant when marketing to their target audience.

Former Global Social and Community Manager at ASOS, Sedge Beswick says, “With business accounts, it’s about your audiences. You have to employ a customer first attitude and constantly assess and reassess what they want, how they use the channel and what they want to get out of being part of your community."

Adding to Beswick’s statement, it’s important for marketers, especially those working in social media to understand the value of authenticity when it comes to content and dig deep in the performance of posts.

While statistics are just a quick snapshot on consumer engagement, it’s enough to gauge what type of audience a business can attract. Being able to understand the trends and numbers associated in marketing can give professionals in the field something to work towards when it comes to their specific objectives.

4. Organised.

Time management is key for a marketing professional, and there are tasks that may be sprung at any moment of the day. They may need to make room for their responsibilities during a time where they have back-to-back meetings, or even have to put together a presentation for the executives of the company to see how marketing is tracking.

Being organised not only helps a marketing professional organise their priorities, but it enables them to be more productive. For example, they could be a Marketing Officer that has multiple responsibilities when it comes to writing up content and website management. From this, they’ll need to be flexible when it comes to meeting multiple deadlines or at times, re-arrange their work priorities.

Having soft skills is important to the success of a marketing professional, so being able to know what they should focus on during their day-to-day is what can keep them in check with their workload.

5. Excellent communication skills.

Communication is important in the marketing industry. It ties into the fact that being a team player is a must for anyone wanting to succeed in an industry that is as progressive and fast-paced like marketing. 

In some cases, some people will work in a tight-knit team where budgets are strict and they will need to communicate how they will use it accordingly. Other times, they will need to engage with their colleagues and work through some gaps to fill and “move” with what’s current.

Either way, excellent communication skills is a must and it will help marketing professionals be better at decision-making with regular meetings. Where creativity is required in the field, being able to bounce off ideas and finding solutions to problems all comes down to effective communication.

Need to fill a skills gap in marketing?

Upskilled offers reputable courses in the marketing industry, offering popular online qualifications such as BSB52415 - Diploma of Marketing and Communication and the 10118NAT - Diploma of Social Media Marketing. Both of these courses can be completed within 12 months, and can be studied at a time that suits you.

Due to the flexibility of online study, you can choose to balance both study, work and other personal commitments.

For further insights into the marketing industry, check out and download Upskilled’s FREE marketing ebook ‘Careers in Marketing and Communication’ and learn more about its career opportunities and the study options available with Upskilled.

If you want to chase your career dream in marketing and believe you have the qualities mentioned above to succeed as a professional, contact one of Upskilled’s friendly Education consultants to talk about your course suitability and what you hope to achieve with a marketing qualification.