Where to start when hiring a Head of Marketing? There are so many types of marketing and skills (digital, demand gen, growth, content, SEO, social, tradeshow, etc.) that can lead a marketer to become an executive. And while there are pros and cons to every type of marketing, there are traits that transcend these different marketing branches and create stellar marketers. 

Whatever specifics around experience and past education you need from your Head of Marketing make sure they also have these 5 traits that make GOOD marketers GREAT. 

Self-Starter

Marketers should be self-starters and DIY-ers by nature. Why? Because they need to be able to continually ideate and push new forward projects. With so many campaigns on-the-go at once they have to be able to juggle them all and roll up their sleeves, when necessary, to help get things done. Self-starters don't wait around for campaigns to lose momentum, they are motivated to continue to push new ideas forward and proactively reach out to collaborate with other departments.

Adventurous

Those who are adventurous, scale programs. It’s that simple. Without taking risks and jumping into the unknown, growth and strategies will see slower growth - something that doesn’t align well with technology companies and startups. Those marketers who aren’t afraid to mix things ups, even when things are working, are those who will get results. GOOD marketers coast on what’s working, GREAT marketers are always trying to push the envelope, take risks, and try out new strategies.

Resilient 

On the other side of the adventurous coin, marketers need to be resilient! For every ten tests, at least eight will fail or fail to show that tremendous growth GREAT marketers crave. Being resilient by nature means they aren’t willing to give up; they will continue to fail fast and bounce back with fresh ideas and continual testing. 

Collaborator

A GREAT Head of Marketing will not be complacent working in a silo. They know sales-marketing and customer success-marketing alignment are essential to creating well thought out campaigns. They need to be willing to reach across the aisle and speak to sales, in their language, to ensure they are bought into marketing’s vision and participating in campaigns. They also need to build a relationship with CS to dig deeper into the data and see who makes the best customers, what problem the solution really solves, and how to best position the brand in the market. Doing so creates stronger, better performing campaigns. 

Adaptability 

Marketing, especially digital marketing, is changing at such a rapid pace; what worked in 2018 is not going to cut it in 2020. GREAT marketers are information seekers and always learning. They are adaptable to changes in algorithms, privacy laws, methods of tracking ROI, etc. GOOD marketers are reactive to change whereas GREAT marketers are proactively looking for ways to improve results and move with the times. 

Not sure where to begin when trying to differentiate those good vs great Marketing candidates? Book a consultation with Martyn Bassett Associates to discuss the marketing marketplace.