Your marketing team is central to the success of your brand, your reputation and ultimately your bottom line. Successful marketing isn’t just about creative copy and good graphic design – it’s about taking your business objectives and developing marketing strategies that drive revenue.

Building an all-star marketing team for the long run doesn’t happen overnight. You will need to commit to an iterative process that will always ensure your team is at the top of their game and is in tune with the latest digital tactics, social algorithms and market trends for your industry. This involves strengthening the vision, tactics and skills of your current team and hiring the right talent to build a winning team.

Whether your team is already in place or you’re looking to hire someone new, there are three core skill sets that your team must possess.

1. Research and trend analysis: Great marketing always starts with an expert on your team who is on-top of analyzing current trends, has an eye out for what your competitors are doing and is familiar with the state of your industry and market. A successful marketing plan must be built from a solid foundation of research. This person should be good at identifying trends, conducting surveys and performing data-analysis.

2. Business development: Once you have solid research in place, you need someone who can improve your competitive advantage and develop a solid sales strategy. This person should be very in tune with your business, have strong networking skills and a drive to exceed targets. This person will also be working closely with your sales team, so it’s important to make sure there is a positive relationship between them and your sales lead.

3. Marketing strategy and execution: This is where marketing comes to life. You need someone who is creative, knows how to bring attention to newsworthy events, write inspired copy and bring together a cohesive visual design. This person should also have considerable experience with digital, mobile and social strategies.

If your team is lacking in one of these areas, it might be time for you to reassess the structure of your department and this could mean making some tough decisions. Once you do have these skill sets in place, you need to be committed to always improving your team’s core competencies and ability to think creatively.

Here are a few ways you can ensure your marketing team is on top of their game:

• Compete with other marketing teams. Awards like the B2B Marketing Awards are a great way to motivate your team’s creative juices and ensure they are up-to-date with the latest trends in marketing.
• Hire a student intern. Like any new recruit, student interns come with pros and cons, but more often than not, students bring fresh ideas, inspire creative, child-like thinking, and are up-to-date on the latest technological trends.
• Invest in team training. Marketing trends change as rapidly as technology and it’s important to ensure your team keeps on top of best practices. Organizations like the Canadian Association of Advertisers and the Canadian Marketing Association offer a wide variety of workshops.

The fabric of a successful marketing team is a diverse and collaborative environment. A marketing role is the furthest thing from being linear and marketers need to have a breadth of knowledge and adaptability of skills to succeed. Consider these 6 archetypes your marketing team should ultimately possess.

Ready to build your marketing team? Working with marketing recruitment agencies in Toronto can help you to identify, attract, and hire the top talent that will drive your business forward.