Five Characteristics Of Marketing Professional Who Excel
During my first two years at LiveRamp we have scaled tremendously. Our team is 500% larger and our overall company headcount has quadrupled. We owe this great success to our dedicated team of high performers. Naturally, as we continue adding great talent to our team, I find myself obsessing over one seemingly simple question: as our team continues to scale, how do we nurture the same high performance characteristics that got us here today?
As our team continues to scale, how do we nurture the same high performance characteristics that got us here today?
When it comes to sharing opinions, marketers are known for being quite vocal. I had the pleasure of working with other leaders on my team to define these important characteristics and I was amazed by how easy it was for us to agree on this list (we are, after all, loud and full of opinions). One note: we understand that for some they may feel intuitive — perhaps to the point of not needing to be stated. But while obvious for some, I believe it is our responsibility as the leaders of our team to embrace and enforce these positive characteristics (especially for recent grads and young professionals) because professional habits are developed early on should be practiced often.
So whether you’re a veteran looking for an inspiring refresher, or a new hire looking to develop your strong, personal brand, by embodying these five characteristics you will excel on any marketing team:
1. Be curious
A curious mind is a great thing to have and the questions you ask build the foundations for your success.
Don’t know the answer? Google it. Look it up in our wiki. Research your question and be proactive. You should always make a reasonable effort to self educate. A curious mind asks questions such as:
Why is this the way we do things, should we be doing this differently?
What’s the story we’re telling when we go to market?
How can we ensure we’ll meet that goal?
How does this product help that customer?
2. Communicate often and clearly
Be concise and inspire others with your words. Communicate proactively about your work by sharing roadblocks, progress and results. Be present in meetings and actively participate, or don’t be there at all.
As we grow, it is a lot harder to make sure everyone knows what’s going on. Too much communication is far better than not enough.
Always be thinking:
What are my priorities for this month?
What’s my plan for when I’m on vacation?
Did I communicate changes to my plan?
3. Be accountable and take ownership
Do what you say and say when you don’t. Own your project so your boss doesn’t have to. Value others’ time, be consistent and set the right expectations.
Do what you say and say when you don’t.
Value others’ time. We provide a flexible working environment, but you should always let your manager know if you’ll be late or need to leave early.
Prepare for your meetings in advance and don’t be late. Be proactive and resourceful. Strive to resolve your questions first by checking if that information exists or is documented before reaching out to someone else. When someone directs a question to you, answer them quickly and thoughtfully.
4. Be introspective
What’s your greatest strength, and how can you better hone and build on it? What are your interests, likes, and dislikes? How about your most vulnerable weakness?
You should be challenged but not overwhelmed by your work, and if that’s not the case then think about what you would change.
5. Aspire for greatness
If you are going to do something, do it great. If you’re going to half ass something, then it’s not worth doing. Bring a positive attitude with you to the office because it’s contagious!
Plan for the details so they don’t come back to haunt you. Do what you say and say when you don’t. Admit what didn’t go well and focus on what can be improved upon.
Anticipate what questions, concerns or issues there may be so you can proactively address them.
Final thoughts
I sure hope you enjoyed this blog! Now that you know our five tips to excel as a marketing professional, it’s your turn. What characteristics do you embody as a high performing marketing professional?
