Basic marketing principles may remain the same but the digital marketing skills and tools you need to thrive in the workplace are constantly evolving. How can tomorrow's digital marketers future proof their marketing skills?

Preparing for a job in the marketing world tomorrow will be vastly different than it is today. While the basics of marketing may be the same, the digital marketing skills and tools you need to analyze, create, and implement marketing campaigns continue to evolve at breakneck speed. If this seems overwhelming, don't worry, we have resources in place to help you. Why not start by reading up and finding out more about what digital marketing means today. Why are digital marketing skills important now? In the March 2023 CMO survey, 46.4% of respondents ranked 'labor/skills shortage' as their top- or second top-ranked challenge over the next 12 months. In other words, there’s a huge gap…

The cultural digital transformation we experience every day highlights the importance of continuous learning in all aspects of business and marketing. How can you leverage training and skills development planning to achieve your goals this year?

The landscape of today’s workplace isn’t what it was twenty years ago. Today’s environment is both fast-paced and competitive, which makes it all the more important that employers find a way to keep employees energized - often with an employee training and skills development plan. This changing nature of work requires additional training strategies focused on enhancing learning agility, transferability of skills and opportunities to explore adjacent, in-demand skills. Digital transformation is an area of skills development that demands attention. Companies need to improve the effectiveness of their online communications now that digital channels are one of the main techniques customers use for selecting and buying products and services. If you're looking to create or improve your marketing…

Manufacturers are rapidly adapting their marketing strategies in the age of digital disruption. How do your digital marketing capabilities compare?

In this article, I will be reviewing the state of digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. I will give practical digital marketing recommendations for manufacturing companies at different stages of digital maturity. Plus, I'll be revisiting our popular 2021 digital marketing maturity benchmarking report to help you assess the effectiveness of your manufacturing marketing. The manufacturing industry, including the marketing of manufacturing products, has typically been slow in its approach to digital transformation over the last 20 years. There are many reasons for this. McKinsey highlights 'external market factors, combined with fragmented and complex industry dynamics and an overall aversion to risk' in construction as barriers to change in this vital area. However, the digital disruption caused…

What does future-proof digital marketing training look like?

When it comes to technology, “The ability of something to continue to be of value into the distant future and not become obsolete” seems pretty obvious. We can all recognize items that have become obsolete as technology changes and improves. But, what does future-proof mean in the context of digital marketing training for work and employment? From my perspective and looking at reviews from experts in education and psychology, to be future-proof is to “Continue to be useful or successful in future when the situation changes.”  This definition sounds a bit woolly but can be distilled into three primary components: Being able to identify opportunities by anticipating the future Using this knowledge to minimize the effects of shocks and stresses of future events by having a clear strategy Then, using this strategy to…

As digital transformation continues to shape the new relationship between healthcare providers and their customers, upskill your pharma marketing team with the key digital skills and tools to improve performance

The question of the key digital skills and tools in the pharma industry is an ongoing challenge. Pharma marketing generalists plan and optimize marketing strategies, campaigns and product launches, requiring a T-shaped digital skillset and continuous professional development to oversee all marketing activity. Pharma digital specialists manage day-to-day optimization of key digital channels, the new front-line of customer engagement. Investment in tools and training for these staff is crucial for your company's growth. Of course, the breakdown of these channels will depend on your pharma company's positioning and target markets, which we will visit further on in the article.

Why invest in digital marketing for pharma?

Improved distribution of, and accessibility to, pharmaceutical data and information is accelerating customer-centric disruption…

With the launch of our brand new Learning Paths - offering practical, strategic marketing courses online - discover which marketing training solutions have been the most popular

Deciding on a marketing course to optimize your strategy in 2021 is tough. With so many marketing training options, you need a solution that's practical, data-driven, and proven to generate results, quickly. Read on to discover our Smart Insights members' top Learning Paths and resources in each membership tier.

Top Business Professional marketing course: Manage change for digital transformation

Module from Digital Transformation Learning Path for Business Professional Members Digital Transformation is the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems. However, a Boston Consulting Group report found that only 33% of significant IT projects have been fully successful since the year 2000. The danger is that the benefits of digital transformation are not being fully achieved as organizational barriers can hold…

Just like other avenues of learning, there are many ways you can approach upskilling your marketing team

If you’re reading this post, chances are you know how beneficial upskilling can be to your team’s results. But how exactly do you go about upskilling your team? [si_guide_block id="117459" title="Download our Free Resource – Marketing careers and skills development workbook" description="Our guide shows you how to map out your personal short-term and long-term goals, become more productive in your day-to-day work, identify your key motivators and analyze your digital marketing skills."/] Just like other avenues of learning, there are many ways you can approach upskilling. For instance, you will need to consider factors such as: Upskilling budget Availability of trainers Proximity of trainers Your business needs Your team needs Your team members’ preferences Skills to be learned There are even more factors that may come into consideration once you decide to start upskilling your team. Fortunately, there are…

Helping your team to develop their skills and knowledge can improve engagement, retention and business results.

Upskilling your digital marketing team should be an ongoing project if you want to ensure you’re always using the best tools and techniques, as well as getting the best results. Far too often, companies take on a business-as-usual approach, with everyone performing their usual tasks and a lack of focus on learning. While this results in getting the job done, it doesn’t help your team grow or develop new skills. Ensuring you put some focus on learning not only benefits each individual member of your team, it can ensure that you retain talent, grow skills that will benefit your business and bring more activities in-house in the long run. You might think that team development needs a big budget, but there are plenty of options available that can allow you to grow people’s skills without incurring a high…

Upskilling has become a vital part of keeping your team productive

With the elimination of some jobs and the rapid changes happening in others, upskilling has become a vital part of keeping your team productive. It helps to keep your team members engaged, improve their skills and serve customers better. Having said that, it’s easy to go wrong while planning to upskill your team. There’s so much information out there that it can get confusing really fast. [si_guide_block id="95176" title="Download our Business Resource – How to keep your team up to date with digital marketing" description="The guide is also useful for agencies since teams need to be ahead of what's happening, so their clients can always get the latest thinking and trends."/] So, how do you upskill your team to ensure you get the huge benefits and positive returns on your investments? In this blog post, I’m going to share 6 important tips you need…

Chart of the Day: A summary of the state of digital marketing skills

I thought this infographic from General Assembly was useful for showing specific skills gaps since it isn't based on a survey, rather it is based on a test taken at the end of a digital marketing qualification. We will be sharing research we have done in collaboration with the IDM on the perceptions of marketers to their careers later in the month. The top of the chart shows a skills gap amongst non digital marketing specialists that might be expected since those focusing on digital marketing activities will naturally understand digital concepts better. It is arguable whether corporate marketers need to know the details of techniques like search, display and AB testing. However, they will need to discuss such techniques with their teams, so this does hint at a…