The use of innovative information technology is leading to significant changes in marketing. As a result, new challenges are arising for marketing managers. Which skills are becoming more and more important in the coming decade are provided below.
The impact of digitalisation on marketing
In the B2B segment, marketing processes are becoming increasingly digitalised and automated, and are thus speeding up. The corona pandemic has accelerated this trend even further. More than half of marketing decision-makers, according to a LinkedIn survey in Germany (German only), have revealed that the digital transformation in their company has been forced forward due to the crisis.
B2B marketers have to be equipped for this change. The demands being placed on how marketing teams have to perform today in the “new normal” have taken a huge leap compared to the past couple of years. For example, top specialists for live trade show are not automatically qualified for the transformation of such events to the digital realm.
The most significant future topics for marketers include digital lead generation and marketing automation. After all, automated campaign steering is not only beneficial for marketing and sales processes, but also the entire spectrum of customer communication.
These are the tasks of an online marketing manager
When an online marketing manager is a true all-rounder, he takes responsibility for the coordination of various marketing measures on the Internet. In reality, however, the different tasks are usually carried out by specialists in their field or external experts who are bought in.
The traditional tasks of an online marketing manager cover:
- Development of marketing campaigns
- Development of brand and marketing strategies
- Planning of content and affiliate marketing
- Market and competition analyses
- Search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine advertising (SEA)
- Social media marketing and communication
- Email and newsletter marketing
- Monitoring, reporting and controlling based on essential figures
- Coordination of agencies and editorial offices
- Platform and asset management (e.g. Web CMS)
- Network maintenance
These marketing skills will become more important in the coming years
Due to the continuously shorter cycles of digital innovations, online marketing managers have to constantly develop further and adapt to changing demands. Life-long learning is essential; specialisation is increasing. More and more fields of competence have to be covered, which requires specific specialist knowledge and special skills of employees.
Communication with Generation Z
In the 2020s, the focus will be first and foremost on communicating with Generation Z – and this is forcing digital marketing to face completely new challenges once again. Those born at the turn of the century have grown up in a fully digitalised world and are thoroughly familiar with the latest technologies.
Social media competences
Insights in social media marketing and in social media listening are becoming increasingly sought after, with the aim to analyse the interest of potential customers and to cultivate interaction with the brand. Gamification, 360-degree videos and interactive surveys are now standard in a modern content marketing strategy within the B2B segment. The professional integration of augmented reality and virtual reality requires additional skills. The use of intelligent chatbots – software programmes based on machine learning – and the basic understanding of the Internet of Things rounds out the profile required of future online marketing managers.
New career profiles
According to Jens Fleischer, the Chairman of the Bundesverband Industrie Kommunikation e.V. (bvik), the German association for industry communication, new career profiles are gaining importance. This includes, for instance, the Chief Revenue Officer, who knows sales, the brand and communication, and who takes care of all matters ultimately contributing to sales. This means marketing heads can step up to the C-level, in other words to the highest possible hierarchy level.
