It often happens that we can get a job spec for a broad marketeer or a business that thinks it needs a content person. We send CVs, first round interviews happen and there is a sense that sometimes those businesses are still feeling their way. They know they need the marketing function, but they still need to figure out where the skills will match what they need.
Companies can often think, especially at early stages that any marketing professional will do, but what they should be thinking about first is the type of leads they need, the type of branding they want, or maybe it’s a lot more about brand awareness in the public sphere they want, in which case it’s actually a public relations and communications function they need. So, figuring out the right marketer for your business is important.
A lot of businesses will figure it out through hiring a marketing consultant. We would work with a number of consultants who have great backgrounds in product marketing. You’re going to need somebody to consult and look at the resources, the budget and where the quick wins will be.
A lot of our clients, particularly in that B2B space will hire someone from the growth function and that can come through on a number of CVs, but it’s usually somebody with a bit of a mixed marketing and sales/commercial head. It’s somebody who can come in and say, ‘With this much budget, we can do this and produce that and let’s see how we go.’ At RECRUITERS, we can also consult with a business and advise as to where they’re at now and what would be the most value for money to start.
For early-stage hiring of marketers, you need to bring in somebody who can achieve quick wins, through content, through paid advertising or through some great connections. There has to be a strategy behind it and that could be produced by a CCO or a marketing consultant who you may not be able to hire full time but you could afford for a fixed-term contract at the beginning.
If you’re hiring certain types of marketers, you need to know what to look for in their CV. There are ways to establish if the person you’re considering has the right credentials. For example, if it’s a content person, do they have a blog and have they proven any interest in writing? If they’re a demand generation marketer, you should look at what demand gen-related software they have used. You’re looking for Salesforce or HubSpot or Eloqua. And also, for a demand gen person or a PPC person, you should be looking for numbers on the CV. If an application comes through and the person hasn’t commercialised the work they’ve done, they’re not thinking in the framework that you need them to be. On the B2C side, you’ll need somebody strong with commercials to own the P&L and budgets. You need strong stakeholder managers to manage a lot of agency partners, both external and internal.
If there’s concern, talk to a marketing consultant or talk to an agency which is expert in hiring marketers, such as ourselves. We delight in working with start-ups or scale-ups or SMEs or 25-year established businesses that are tentatively looking at hiring a team but are unsure of the steps to take.
Looking to hire top marketing talent or build your team from scratch? Check out our award-winning marketing recruitment solutions or talk to me by email at louise.oreilly@recruiters.ie or on the phone at 353 1 632 5043.
Louise O’Reilly is an associate principal marketing recruitment consultant at RECRUITERS
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
