Every business needs creative direction when it comes to an advertising or marketing campaign, which is why most companies turn to marketing managers to help drive their visual processes. According to US labor statistics on art directors, these roles are expected to grow by 4% in 2023. Considering how businesses must meet changing customer interests, it’s unsurprising that leadership roles like marketing managers are essential in driving sustainable growth.
The job description of a marketing manager is no small matter for businesses. They play a vital role in the marketing, branding, communications, and digital departments. Marketing managers are tasked to lead their teams and maximize available talent, developing guidelines and directing all creative work. They are also responsible for meeting company executives to present project information and determine visual needs for packaging or advertisements.
Considering their comprehensive role, it’s critical that marketing managers can keep up with a demanding role while maintaining good communication with internal staff and clients alike. If you’re interested in this position, below are some ways to become a great marketing manager.
Look back and learn from experience.
Before becoming a marketing manager, most professionals start out as graphic artists, social media gurus, or design members of the creative team, to name a few. Once you become a marketing manager, it’s essential that you share your expertise and teach new strategies to help less experienced members of your team. However, it’s also important to keep your mind open. There are plenty of trends and specializations that you may not be familiar with, and you may face potential difficulties with clients and internal resources. By keeping your work open to new developments, you can easily adapt your marketing or advertising to any challenge.
Empower your team members.
As described in your job title, it’s essential that marketing managers lead their marketing output from concept to completion. Managers have to go beyond just delegating tasks and giving reminders for deadlines— they have to empower their team members to take an independent but responsible approach toward business goals. Good leaders know when to jump in when needed, allowing members to make mistakes and coaching them on better approaches afterward. This, in turn, builds trusting relationships between each member of the team, helping drive them forward to solving problems independently and achieving their deliverables.
Develop strong interpersonal skills.
While interpersonal skills don’t develop overnight, there are several practices you can adopt to motivate your marketing team better and encourage your clients to deal with your business. One way marketing managers can work towards better communication is to understand different communication styles and how to work with them. For teams, you can rely on personality assessments to help you better understand how each member prefers and expects to be communicated with. This helps you develop your interpersonal skills, which can then carry over to client communication. In addition to knowledge of communication styles, it’s crucial that marketing managers find a good balance between profits and creativity. This lets them negotiate when a creative team or clients disagree on certain outcomes.
Understand market changes
A marketing manager must keep themselves abreast of changes in their chosen markets – whether that’s customer trends or technological advances. Knowing which social media to target with a campaign can be the difference between success and failure. For instance, visual content goes over well on Instagram, but if your customer base is males over 50, are you going to reach your target market? Also, as trends move quickly, a marketing manager must keep their finger on the pulse. One day, they might be on Twitter; the next, it’s called X, and their customers are over on Threads. The marketing landscape can change very quickly, even in terms of world events. If you have a marketing campaign or product aimed at a particular area, real-world changes can affect that. Wars, disasters, and even shifts in pop culture can change a marketing strategy at the drop of a hat, so understanding the market and having a finger on the pulse is vital.