The UK ranks fourth in the world for the size of its advertising market, and is the largest in Europe. Bringing in £22.35bn to the British economy in 2022, marketing is a discipline which attracts thousands of professionals hoping to make a name for themselves and hone their talents by helping firms to sell their product across every industry imaginable.
Marketing is a fast-paced, exciting career to be involved in, with new frontiers opening up in social media as well as through more traditional routes, such as organising and running campaigns and sending out mailshots. It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that marketers are passionate about what they do. However, the industry is also competitive, which makes marketers some of the most ambitious professionals around: indeed, 68% of marketers rate the opportunity for career progression as ‘very important’, and 89% say that training is important to them.
But how to get that elusive promotion? Here are a few tips for standing out from the crowd- and moving up to the next stage of your career.
Stay up to date and learn
Marketing, like many other industries, is changing at a rapid rate, and you have to keep up with it. With 49% of UK marketers considering themselves to be ‘advancers’- or people who actively chase down new channels and outlets to promote their campaigns- you should also be doing everything you can to pick up new ideas if you want to gain that promotion. Read new publications and books, and attend conferences and training courses: Keep your finger on the pulse of new channels, campaigns and tools, and you may find yourself with the edge you need to stand out to your manager.
Keep organised
There are only so many hours in the day, and many marketers confess that they suffer from digital overload, with only a third of them leaving work on time. Being organised is therefore vital if you want to keep on top of your workload: besides tidying your desk, plan your day rigorously. Include a ten- to fifteen-minute buffer time at the end of every workday to wrap up your work and start prioritising tasks for tomorrow; similarly, allocate specific blocks of time to working on tasks, with periodic breaks to check your emails, rather than jumping to attention every time one pops into your inbox.
To really grow – and be promoted – you need to stay on top of your everyday responsibilities, as well as doing the extra work that will help you stand out: in the office, being organised is key to success.
Be analytical in your approach
The best way you can get noticed in the often results-driven world of business is by proving your worth to the company through numbers. Though of course it’s important to create successful campaigns and cultivate clicks and likes on social media, and on your company’s website, it’s the bottom line that will ultimately provide the proof that will gain you the right attention. As a result, you should also be turning your focus to more commercial measures like establishing leads and increasing revenue if you want to gain that elusive promotion- especially as having hard figures to hand means you can make a much more compelling case to your supervisor when the time comes.
Make it easy to understand
It’s tempting to get carried away at meetings, but when conversing with the rest of the business, it’s important that that you don’t talk too much ‘marketing’. Don’t get technical: that’s the easiest way to disengage listeners, and while others in your team may understand, the rest of the business needs to know your value to the rest of the company in clear terms. The best way to communicate that is by communicating in a way that makes your message easy to understand: indeed, marketing mogul Richard Branson says it’s the most important skill any leader can possess, so if you want to gain that promotion, take a leaf from his book and demonstrate just that.
Step away from the tactics every now and again
Though it’s easy to be sucked into the minutiae of running a campaign, it’s also important to step back every now and again to reevaluate your position and provide support and leadership to your colleagues. It’s easier said than done when you have a lot to do, but if you’re always in campaign mode, it’s easy to lose sight of where you’re going and which other issues need addressing. With 36% of British workers citing poor communication skills as a major factor in poor leadership, it’s important to take the time to explain your work to others. Give your colleagues and team some attention and time, and you’ll stand out as a stellar employee as well as an excellent marketer. After all, businesses are always looking for potential leaders to promote.
Work closely with sales
Aside from the influence that many sales teams have within a company, sales people also work closely with marketing when it comes to establishing and converting leads. It’s therefore important to have them on side, especially as many sales people are just as ambitious as those in marketing. Getting sales people to convert your leads, therefore, is a win for both of you: it makes you look good, and brings in revenue to boost your company’s bottom line. If that’s not a sure-fire way to get promoted, nothing is.
Show wider business knowledge
59% of global leaders say that providing goals and objectives for the business as a whole is important to become a great leader: indeed, if you want to climb the ladder in any profession then you need to be able to see the bigger picture. Though marketing is of course your speciality, having a good idea of how your actions affect different parts of the firm- as well as showing a wider knowledge of your business, customers and market knowledge- will go a long way to proving that you’re ready to take on the responsibilities of a bigger role.
Take control of your career with BMS Performance
Marketing is changing all the time. Stay on top of it with the latest insights from our team of experts at BMS Performance, or get in contact with us for an in-depth talk about your marketing strategy.
