What comes to your mind when you hear the word NIKE, just a brand that manufactures shoes? Certainly not. With their successful marketing strategy and brand personality, Nike has built a timeless brand that honors athletes and athletics. Be it Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Venus Williams, or Rafael Nadal – every sport has a Nike-Sponsored athlete. Nike just did it.

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it’s what consumers tell each other it is.” Scott Cook, Co-founder of Intuit.

A customer who feels valued keeps coming back while spreading positive word of mouth. But, even the smallest negative brand perception can lead to negative consumer sentiment. And no amount of dollars you put into marketing or ads will compensate for that. So, when you hire a marketing strategist, they will plan and execute strategies to increase your brand’s perception and position in the market while driving sales and revenue.

Who is a marketing strategist, and what does hiring one mean for your business?

Has your brand not reached your target audience? Are your competitors crushing you? Do you have multiple marketing challenges that you cannot tackle well? It’s high time you hire a phenomenal marketing strategist.

A marketing strategist is a data-driver pro who knows how to implement a successful marketing strategy. They observe your company’s current marketing efforts, devise a plan to drive user acquisition, retain and attract new clientele for business success. They turn innovative ideas into marketing campaigns to meet your company goals and budget.

With an in-depth understanding of the current market and industry trends, a marketing strategist discovers gaps and flaws in your operation. For instance, you might be advertising your business on Facebook while the majority of your buyers use Instagram. A small mistake as such can hide you from your customers.

Does your business need a marketing coordinator, strategist, specialist or director?

As an HR / Business Owner, you might have come across applicants with various marketing titles and wondered, “What do they mean?”. Well, here’s the difference.

  1. A marketing coordinator assists the marketing department with its initiatives and programs. The responsibilities vary with companies.
  1. A marketing director provides direction and leadership and is responsible for your company’s entire marketing plans as well as its overall branding and image.
  1. A marketing specialist specializes in a particular area, be it SEO, social media, branding, PPC, inbound marketing, or content, and increases buyer engagement.
  1. Marketing Strategists have an in-depth understanding of multiple marketing channels and drive teams to reach business objectives.

You may even chance upon 2 people with different titles offering similar services. The key here is to focus on your requirements and ensure that their services match your needs. This brings us to the next question,

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5 qualities to look for in a marketing strategist

  1. Relevant experience and a master’s degree in advertising or marketing
  1. Knowledge in Business/Digital strategy, analytics and revenue generation – Must be capable of conducting thorough market research to develop optimized business strategies and metrics-driven marketing campaigns.
  1. Understanding of ROI and ROAS – A good marketer will fetch you an ROI of 5:1, which means your business earns $5 for every $1 spent.
  1. Hands-on experience with multiple Digital Marketing platforms and tools – In addition to knowing how platforms like social media, email marketing, conversion optimization, and Google Analytics work, they must know how to use them in conjunction with specific KPIs. 

According to Hubspot, 56% of businesses currently use a marketing automation tool like Hubspot Marketing Automation, ManyChat, Moosend, or EngageBay to automate repetitive tasks and save time. Related knowledge would be great. 

  1. Willingness to help others and readiness to do a Facebook Live video, create a podcast or conduct webinars.

Marketing strategist salary insights

According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a marketing strategist ranges between $60,000 and $120,000 per year. While the pay for entry-level positions starts at $50k, experienced marketers make as much as $110k yearly. While Indeed states marketing specialists earn an average salary of $53,000. 

How to hire a good growth marketing strategist?

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do, we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do” – Steve Jobs.

So, how do you hire smart and kind candidates for your company rather than pretentious people who may seem charming but turn out to be cultural misfits?  

Use Testlify to screen and pre-assess your candidates

Begin by integrating your ATS with a renowned talent assessment platform such as Testlify to make your hiring process easier and more effective. For a nominal monthly subscription, you get access to 220+ tests, unlimited assessments and candidates. You can even add open-ended questions, single/multiple select questions, or ask the candidate to record a video answer for a better assessment of marketing strategist. Finally, review candidates’ performances, the areas they are strong and weak at, along with their trust score. Want to know what a trust score is? Head over to Testlify.

Conduct an employee referral program

You can bypass the traditional hiring process by conducting a referral program. According to a report from Zippia, 45% of referral hires stick to your company for 4 or more years compared to job board hires. And employee referrals save you $1000 as opposed to other hiring sources. Such programs help measure employee satisfaction, how much they value your company and promote employee retention.

Assess their communication and leadership skills

From writing that compelling tweet and interacting with a prospective client or customer to hitting the right chord at the marketing event, an excellent marketing strategist must know how to hit the right chord. Effective communication is the key. They must be exemplary at multitasking and understand how to employ tools from Trello to Hootsuite to their advantage.

Running a successful strategy is not a one-man show. A marketing strategist knows what to look for while hiring others and leads a well-balanced marketing team that specializes in various platforms.

Use social proof

One of the roadblocks your potential candidate faces is not knowing your company culture and work environment. Synonymous to checking out online reviews before buying on Amazon or looking up restaurants and bars on Yelp, major purchasing decisions ride on social proof. 

By having current employees talk about the work environment, sentiments, and culture, you incorporate authentic social proof in the smartest way to attract the right talent. No filters, no edits.

Test their storytelling skills

What started with a couple of broke students and air mattresses @ $80 a night soon turned into a million-dollar company via Airbnb’s powerful storytelling skills. Yes, stories trigger empathy. 

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell” – Seth W. Godin.

By putting your customers in the limelight and not your brand, a marketing strategist must be able to use storytelling skills effectively to create customer loyalty and improve brand awareness. So, instead of the regular “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”, try asking, “Tell us about a grave mistake you made at work and the steps you took to fix it”. Assess content strategists by observing their narrative know-how, relevance, novelty and resonance.

Test their readiness to understand your business

Finding a knowledgeable and experienced marketer who is a cultural fit is not enough. They must be able to work on their own without demanding too much of your time and energy. If a marketer is serious about your best white label digital marketing agency, you will notice how well-researched they are regarding you and your business. Once you find someone who checks all the boxes, shares your values and understands your business, you’ve found a keeper.

Are you a startup or a small business?

If you are a startup on a limited budget, you might want to follow a different recruitment procedure to hire marketing strategist. You can begin by tapping into your existing network or getting in touch with marketers you admire. When you find THE ONE, don’t hard sell yet. Build a rapport slowly by reaching out for occasional advice or support. And when the time comes, take steps to hire them for a full-time position. As Misty Akers, the co-founder of ‘The Candle Pour’ says, “Hire Slow, Fire Fast”.

Final Thoughts

In this blog, we have covered everything from who is a marketing strategist, their crucial skill sets, and how to hire a marketing strategist to suggestions for startups to hire talents without exceeding their budget. The best marketer reduces the need for selling and makes the buyer feel smart.
A talent assessment platform such as Testlify prescreens your applicants and tests their on-job skills to give unbiased, accurate analysis results. Increase your recruiter efficiency by 6 times and decrease the time to hire by 45%. Check out the website now.