The benefits of being a T-shaped marketer and utilizing expertise from different digital fields to stay on top of this rapidly changing marketing landscape is crucial.
We are witnessing unprecedented levels of digital disruption in marketing. AI is also assuming more marketing responsibilities and raising concerns that human marketing roles might become obsolete.
This will most certainly not be the case. At least not anytime soon. But the ability to embrace new technologies quickly and implement marketing experiments independently can make the difference between success and be made redundant. This is where T-shaped marketers come in.
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By nature, T-shaped marketers are self-starters and doers. They do not confine themselves within the limits of their specialization but seek to understand all facets of digital marketing while achieving expertise in one.
Building a team of T-shaped marketers can be highly beneficial because it will ensure everyone understands the bigger picture while filling expertise gaps in different marketing specializations. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of being a T-shaped marketer – for yourself and your company.
Benefits of being a T-shaped marketer
Generalists are capable of many things but do not excel in any. I-shaped marketers are specialists in one area of expertise. They carve their corner in a single space. On the other hand, T-shaped marketers are skilled in different marketing facets but experts in one.
Thus, one would easily say that T-shaped marketers are an excellent fit for agile, fast-paced environments and startup cultures. Here’s why:
1. Cross-Disciplinary Knowledge
T-shaped marketers can identify opportunities for collaboration with other teams across multiple disciplines, such as content marketing for lead generation and social media for community building. This can lead to more effective teamwork, increased efficiency, and reduced marketing costs.
For example, a T-shaped marketer conversant with digital and traditional marketing can use a digital advertising campaign to complement a more extensive print advertising campaign.
Furthermore, T-shaped marketers help companies manage diverse workloads, preventing them from hiring separate full-time marketers. They also understand how different marketing elements fit together and can allocate resources to guarantee the success of marketing campaigns.
2. Ability to Work in Any Industry
Most marketing initiatives or activities are industry agnostic. Being a T-shaped marketer makes handling various tasks in any company or industry easy. For context, you can seamlessly pivot and fit into a new market, technology, or industry without compromising quality service delivery.
Moreover, companies are looking for flexible marketing professionals who can bring new perspectives and deliver results no matter the industry.
Similarly, the versatility gained from being a T-shaped marketer makes you well-suited to meet such demands. You can get your feet through different doors because of the diverse marketing skills you bring to the table.
3. Better Chances of Getting Hired
Skills are the bedrock of your expertise, and companies hire based on skills, not roles. 64% of experts claim that skill testing is vital for hiring the right candidate, much more critical than traditional hiring methods.
Likewise, having various skills that cut across different niches increases your chances of employability. So no matter how competitive the job market is, you can be confident of landing your dream job as a T-shaped marketer.
4. Helps You Develop High-Value Soft Skills
Being a T-shaped marketer gives you a holistic avenue to develop in-demand soft skills that could boost your career prospects. Handling diverse responsibilities and working across several departments requires you to wear several hats simultaneously.
Consequently, you can build a robust stack of soft skills applicable to any industry.
You can become a critical thinker, an effective communicator, a collaborator, a leader, and a great negotiator, to mention a few. Additionally, you learn to adapt quickly to technological changes, customer behavior, and market trends.
Benefits of Having T-shaped Marketers on Your Team
Having T-shaped marketers on your marketing team is akin to fixing round pegs into round holes. They fit perfectly. On that note, let’s look at some benefits of having such perfect fits on your team.
1. Valuable Assets to Any Company
The experience and unique blend of soft and technical skills T-shaped marketers possess make them invaluable talents to any company. They are also referred to as marketing demigods capable of taking a marketing framework from zero to a hundred, single-handedly or collectively.
Who would treat someone who is basically good at everything and can deliver effectively as a liability? Except, of course, they are ignorant of the competitive advantage T-shaped marketers offer or are terrible at managing human resources.
2. Complete Perspective Over the Digital Strategy
From sales to customer relationship management to analytics, T-shaped marketers provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to digital marketing strategies.
For example, a T-shaped marketer with experience in UX and CRO could bring a unique perspective on self-reported vs. traditional marketing attribution across different customer touchpoints. This could help you make more sense of the customer journey and invest in the channels that are truly bringing results.
T-shaped marketers also bring a data-driven approach, evaluating the effectiveness of their campaigns on the go and making informed decisions by running many small-scale experiments.
3. Provide Creative Solutions to Problems
T-shaped marketers are great creative thinkers because they are exposed to and understand different marketing domains. It enables them to proffer feasible solutions to problems as they arise.
Additionally, they can identify marketing loopholes that could potentially risk the company’s growth.
4. Ability to Deliver Well-Rounded Results
Being knowledgeable in different areas of marketing makes T-shaped marketers all-rounders. They can think beyond the boundaries of their expertise and consider the bigger picture when developing marketing strategies.
This means they consider broader business goals, external factors, and how to thrive in the competitive landscape.
5. Experienced Collaborators
T-shaped marketers can take on small responsibilities and assist colleagues across different departments while keeping sight of the company’s goals.
They are flexible and can adjust their approach and strategies based on input and feedback from others. In addition, they are open to new ideas and are willing to work with others to find the best solution.
6. Organizational Integration
Everything is omnichannel or multi-channel today. Thankfully, T-shaped marketers can integrate multiple organizational functions—such as branding, product development, and customer relationship—leading to better marketing results.
They provide organizational integration by creating a synergy between different departments to achieve common marketing goals. And they do so by establishing clear communication channels and creating cohesive marketing strategies.
7. Work Better in Teams
Working in silos is fast becoming outdated in today’s business world. Fortunately, having T-shaped marketers in your workforce can help you foster teamwork and achieve the company’s goals more quickly.
Furthermore, T-shaped marketers can mentor and share their knowledge with other team members, helping to build a stronger, knowledgeable marketing team.
The Benefits of T-Shaped Marketing Extend Beyond Just Being a “Jack of All Trades
The first step towards leveraging T-shaped marketing is having a basic understanding of what a T-shaped marketer is. Besides being a jack of all trades, T-shaped marketers are great fits for the fast-growing business ecosystem. This is because their expertise goes beyond the marketing spectrum.
So, if you want to expand your craft and become a highly sought-after marketing personnel, consider becoming a T-shaped marketer. Likewise, an organization looking to stand out from competitors must focus on creating a versatile marketing team that also includes T-shaped marketers.
[TAG4]The post Why T-Shaped Marketers Hold the Key to Success in the New Marketing Age appeared first on DigitalMarketer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What keeps you motivated to be an entrepreneur?
The freedom to achieve my goals is what motivates me the most. We live in a world that limits how much we can earn, save money, invest and buy, as well as our ability to borrow, rent, drive or fly. However, these limits do not apply for us. We have the freedom to follow our dreams and make them a reality.
We can't allow ourselves to be slaves to these limitations. If we do, we lose sight of the fact that we are the masters of our destiny. We are the captains on our ships. We are the architects of our lives.
I am driven to create wealth beyond what I can imagine. To create businesses that have a greater impact than life itself. To build businesses that will change the way people live for ever.
To create more powerful companies than any government, more influential that any religion, longer-lasting than time itself.
It's why I'm here. I want to help entrepreneurs grow and expand their businesses faster than anyone else. Because everyone wins when you win.
What is your greatest motivation?
Do you want to know my top motivations? Let me tell it. It is the best motivator in my life to make people feel better. To make people realize they are incredible, because they really are. They are worthy and deserving of love.
They are entitled to happiness.
It is important to feel great about yourself. Nothing. And I'm determined to make the world a better place.
When we feel good about our own self, we are more open-minded and compassionate to those around us. It's a great thing to stop judging others based on superficiality. Instead, we start to see the person inside.
It is the best way to motivate people to believe that they have everything they need.
It may be something they didn't realize, but it's why they've been struggling for so long with something. They knew deep down that they could heal themselves.
They needed the right environment. The right support system. And the right mindset. This was something they somehow lost sight.
Why did they lose sight of it? Because they were too busy trying to figure out where the problem came from. They were too busy trying to fix the problem, when they realized that they had all of the tools needed to solve it.
They also forgot to mention that the main reason they couldn’t solve it was because the answer wasn’t in their heads.
This is why I remind you that you can create something entirely new. All you have do is tap into your inner genius.
All will be well once you do that. You will be amazed at the ease it takes to fulfill your dreams.
I believe every human being is endowed with their own superpower.
It is up to us to master its use.
Why is motivation so important for entrepreneurs?
Motivation is what keeps us moving forward even when we feel discouraged or lost. Motivation gives us the courage to face our fears, and makes decisions that may seem impossible or risky.
Motivation is also key to success. We become unmotivated, unproductive and lazy when we lack motivation.
To unlock your potential, you must find ways to motivate. You must find a way to motivate yourself throughout the day.
You can think of it as a muscle. It becomes stronger the more you exercise it. If it's not exercised, it will begin to weaken.
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs are self-motivated. They set goals, plan their progress, and then follow through.
You may find yourself struggling to stay motivated at times. Here are three easy steps to keep you going.
Step 1) Get inspired. Find someone who inspires and motivates you. Someone who is already achieving your goals.
Step 2: Set small goals. Make sure that each goal is reachable. Focus on the next step rather than the ultimate result. It's easier to achieve big goals by breaking them down into smaller tasks.
Step 3. Reward yourself. Give yourself rewards when you've completed your goals. You don't need a reward to be material. It could be as simple as taking the time to do something that you enjoy.
Motivation is a choice. Choose happiness, choose success, and live a full life.
If you're ready to transform your life, get started today. It is important to take the first step and decide to change. Then take action. Then, take action and start living your dreams.
How to motivate yourself as an entrepreneur
Find someone to motivate you. Find someone who is working hard towards his goals and ask him how he did it.
Ask for help, listen, learn, and most importantly, keep it coming. Look up successful people to emulate.
Do what it takes to be that person. Learn from them. Take their advice. Follow their lead.
Keep moving. Keep moving. Never stop learning. Never give up.
Never allow anyone to tell you that your abilities aren't possible. Don't listen to anyone who tells you there is no path.
Even though you may fail, that doesn't make it any less valuable. Failure is an opportunity that can help you grow. To learn more. To push harder.
Failure is just one step on the path to success.
So go ahead and get started. Do something today that will get you closer to your goal.
What are you waiting for?
What are the types of entrepreneur motivations?
There are three main motivations for entrepreneurs. Each type has its unique set of strengths as well as weaknesses.
The most common form of motivation is external, where an individual wants to make more money. This motivation is usually triggered by financial concerns.
External motivation is driven by personal interest, ambition, and desire. This type of motivation leads to people who are extremely goal-oriented.
It is rare to find internal motivation. Internal motivation is far more rare than wealth. Individuals with it do not seek to be wealthy. Instead, these individuals pursue other goals, like self-development, fulfillment and service.
People with internal motivation are frequently called "passionate" since they find satisfaction from their work.
Finally, intrinsic motivation can be described as the least common form of motivation. Intrinsic motivation is a person who finds enjoyment and satisfaction working towards achieving a goal.
Internal motivation is much more motivating than external or intrinsic motivation.
It comes from the inside. It is based on the belief that people have certain talents and abilities. These talents and abilities allow them to accomplish things that no one else could possibly do.
Feeling fulfilled and satisfied when you realize your talents and abilities is a sign of happiness. It feels like we are doing meaningful work.
In other words, intrinsic motivation is what makes us happy. The joy that comes from knowing we can accomplish whatever we set our minds on is intrinsic motivation.
It is this feeling of accomplishment that keeps us going even when the going gets tough.
In fact, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, then why bother doing it at all?
Click here to learn more about the motivation of entrepreneurs.
How can entrepreneurs motivate their employees to do well?
Motivation can come from anywhere. Motivation can come from anywhere. Motivation is key for any business, whether it's a carrot or stick approach.
Employees who feel motivated are more likely to do well. To make your team more productive, empower and engage them.
You need to create an environment where they feel valued. They need to feel valued and able to learn. A place where they can freely share their ideas without fear of punishment.
A company culture that allows them to thrive and succeed. That's how you keep your most talented employees happy, satisfied, and productive.
You need to recognize the behaviors that make you successful in order to maintain a culture. This could include giving bonuses for reaching goals, offering training opportunities and providing perks, such as health insurance.
It is important to communicate clearly and provide direction. Make sure everyone is clear about what they are expected to do and why.
Make sure your policies and procedures are written down and communicated. You should ensure that they are observed by someone.
And most importantly, communicate frequently. Keep your team updated about what's happening in the organization. Inform your team about what's going on and what's coming up.
Communication is vital. Looking after your team is the best way for you to stay ahead of the game. They will take care you.
It could cost you big time if you don't have a good relationship with your employees. Studies have shown that companies with high employee engagement score higher in productivity and profitability than those struggling to retain their top performers.
It's important to remember that not all employees are willing to work at an equal pace. Some people prefer to work alone, while others enjoy working in teams. You can motivate anyone in many different ways.
Some people may be more responsive to rewards than others, and some might prefer recognition. Whatever works for you, ensure it aligns with the company's goals.
You, the leader, are ultimately responsible for setting the tone. Be open-minded. Listen to the team. Don't forget to listen.
Statistics
- “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know. (americanexpress.com)
- "If you improve by just 1% every single day, in several months, you will have improved by 100%. (carolroth.com)
- Invest at least 30% managing those with authority over you and 15% managing your peers.” (americanexpress.com)
- “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” (oberlo.com)
- I shifted my motivational point from something huge (and undefined) to improve by just 1% each day. (carolroth.com)
External Links
inc.com
due.com
businessinsider.com
- 101 Best Inspirational Quotes For Entrepreneurs
- Why Elon Musk sets nearly impossible goals for SpaceX employees
twitter.com
How To
What are five motivating factors for entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs want to be financially independent. They want to take control of their fate. They also want enough money to support their families and provide for their own needs.
They also feel motivated by the desire for helping others. Many business owners who succeed are motivated by the desire to help others.
Other motivations than these are also possible.
- Passion - Passion is the key to success. If you don’t enjoy what your do, who would?
- Vision – A vision is a picture of where you want to go. When we dream, we imagine ourselves there. Because we believe our dreams can come true, dreaming makes us feel happy.
- Courage: Don't fear failure. Take it on the chin. Failure is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to define who you are. Failure is not inevitable. However, you can still achieve success if your persistence is constant.
- Believe in yourself. Do not let doubt keep you from reaching your goals. Doubt can often be caused by fear. Fear keeps us stuck in our comfort zone. Don't be afraid to get out of the comfort zone and set your sights on your goals.
- Persistence is key - Never give up, even when the odds seem against you. Everyone fails sometimes. But if you persist, eventually, you'll achieve your goal.
