Employers are looking for marketers with digital experience and those with skills to analyse campaigns, according to the latest survey by recruiters Hays.
In the current financial year, 43% of employers intend to increase their permanent marketing staff levels, according to the Hays Salary Guide.
One key focus is digital expertise. Hays says employers look for talent to lead and guide on new trends and consequently a strong understanding of digital is now essential for career success.
Campaign analysts and market insights analysts are another focus. These candidates are sought to help understand data, drive more sophisticated customer profiling, impact measurement and ultimately lead to more precise and accurate decision-making.
The rollout of mar-tech projects has seen the recruitment focus shift to strategy execution.
Content specialists are now sought to work alongside marketing analysts and digital channel managers to deliver to the increasingly complex campaign requirements and in the assessment of performance and progress.
Content managers, content writers and communications executives with content writing and video production skills are a growing focus of demand because content is increasingly used to strategically qualify and nurture leads and drive customer acquisition.
Those with exceptional writing skills and technical expertise are in demand.
Hybrid marketing managers, senior marketing managers and digital marketing managers with a blended generalist and digital skillset continue to be sought.
Hays says candidates must be able to create and implement strategies, use data to make evidence-based decisions, possess strong search optimisation skills, lead a team and prove return on investment from strategy.
"A sole traditional skillset is no longer viable in today’s market," says Hays.
"The exception is in digital, where employers look for digital experts in social media and data analytics. Candidates must be able to map the customer journey and then tailor marketing campaigns accordingly."
Marketing automation skills are also in growing demand. Mid to senior-level experts are in short supply.
"The competitive landscape of the marketing automation technology space has evolved and intensified with an abundance of solutions spanning SME to enterprise level," says Hays.
"In turn, the talent required to operate and optimise these platforms are no longer exclusively sort from mid-large organisations, but across all industries and all industry sizes."
Marketing and CRM professionals with experience using automated AI customer relationship management platforms are in growing demand as well.
Like all industries, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are having an impact on marketing with routine, repetitive tasks automated.
Loyalty Marketing/CRM Specialists and customer centric Digital Marketers are growing in demand. Given the increasing scope and complexity of the traditional Marketing Manager role, more organisations are investing in lifecycle specialisation by separating out acquisition and retention.
Consumer choice and online transparency are necessitating a growing emphasis on retention marketing to support a sustainable operating model for many organisations.
Campaign marketing managers are required too as organisations increasingly bring campaign management in-house. Hays says candidates must be able to brief and coordinate external agencies to support activities.
Marketing executives and assistantbrand managers with strong experience in inventory and product management will be in high demand as SMEs compete with large corporates for the top talent. Hays says the trend is most prevalent in the FMCG industry.
Some demand exists for crisis managers or senior media professionals with reputational management experience to respond swiftly and engage with senior stakeholders when required.
There is also some demand for internal communications professionals with specific internal experience as organisations look to reinforce their company culture by engaging and nurturing their existing workforce.
Bid and tender writers and managers are in short supply and high demand, particularly those with diverse skills for niche and specialised organisations.
E-commerce candidates are sought in the retail sector to help in-house teams meet high online revenue targets.
In the public sector, graphic and digital designers are needed for temporary roles as government agencies aim to improve engagement with the public by enhancing their websites and digital applications.
There has also been an increase in demand for senior graphic designers with relevant industry experience. This is particularly apparent for marketing agencies with high-profile brands focused on innovation and gaining a competitive advantage.
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