STRATEGIC skills are becoming a rare asset in marketing departments, and organisations are devoting little time or resources to strategic planning. Zeynep Roberts from Thrive Counselling says companies are undervaluing the long-term benefits of strategic marketing planning. "With the graduates that are coming out of university, there is probably less emphasis on developing core commerce and core learning in the strategy area," she says.
Narrowing Marketing Expertise
Ms Roberts, who also lectures on marketing strategy at the University of Wollongong, says the trend is for companies to create more refined positions, with employees responsible for one area of marketing such as communication, product development or media. As a result, marketing skills are becoming narrower. There is less training in organisations and many big companies that once provided training have changed. "Some have gone offshore with their head office and others are taking on fewer graduates."
Strengthening Links Between Marketing and Business Operations
However, companies can overcome these obstacles if they develop stronger links between marketing and other departments. The marketing departments are not exposed to the overall business decisions and how marketing can facilitate some of those business decision-making processes. From a customer perspective and a market perspective, marketing managers and staff should play a critical role. In a lot of cases, marketing is the department you go to after you develop your strategies, so they can do the execution, the promotion, the brochures and so on. Marketing staff can be more involved in the central decision-making and more vocal in the direction of the business. That must come to the surface a lot more, in terms of allowing them to be business managers and not just promotional managers.
The Three Broad Marketing Skills
Zeynep Roberts outlines three broad marketing skills: task-oriented, plan-focused, and strategic. People with task-oriented skills have narrowly defined roles. Their activities are driven by daily tasks and their focus is on the short-term, without a holistic view of an organisation. Plan-focused skills are used by marketers who may consider an organisation's future in terms of a 12-18-month plan. However, those with strategic marketing skills have a much broader perspective. They understand that their decisions are going to be valuable to the future of an organisation. Adding value to the organisation can only come from having a strategic view that looks at creating a differential position in the market that is superior to competitors. Productivity also plays a significant role in determining how the organisation maintains value.
The Evolution of Marketing's Role in Organisations
Being close to the external elements of the business, such as the customer, was the focal element of marketing, but it no longer is. The deterioration of the role of marketing in a lot of organisations will have long-term ramifications because it will become more and more difficult for them to have a true market orientation approach to how they do business.
Developing critical strategic marketing skills is paramount to long-term success.
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