Top Marketing Manager Skills To Have (And How To Improve Yours)

Marketing managers use a variety of hard and soft skills to carry out their duties. If you are interested in working as a marketing manager, it will benefit you to know what kinds of skills are associated with the position. In this article, what the most important marketing management skills are and how to improve yours.

Read more: Management Skills: Definition and Examples

What are marketing manager skills?

Marketing manager skills are the individual competencies and abilities that help a marketing manager succeed in their industry. Marketing managers need both hard and soft skills to perform their jobs well. Some marketing manager skills come naturally while others take time to develop.

Hard skills

Hard skills typically require some effort to acquire since they usually involve technical knowledge or industry expertise. In the case of a marketing manager, an example of a hard skill is the ability to evaluate and edit marketing materials, including photos and videos.

Soft skills

Soft skills are often something that people have a natural propensity for, but they are also something you can learn and improve. Soft skills are typically associated with interacting with other people. An example of a soft skill for a marketing manager would be the ability to peacefully manage a conflict that arises among their team members.

Both hard and soft skills are necessary for a marketing manager's success. The hard skills help them to complete complex tasks while the soft skills aid them in managing and leading their team.

Read more: Key Marketing Skills To List on a Resume (With Examples)

Top marketing manager skills

Marketing managers use a variety of skills while fulfilling their role. Here is an overview of six skills sets that are beneficial for marketing managers:

• Leadership skills

• Technical skills

• Organizational skills

• Communication skills

• Creative skills

Leadership skills

Managers in every industry are responsible for leading a team and motivating them to achieve a certain goal. Marketing managers are often required to oversee and facilitate the activities of several different departments and offices. Marketing managers must be able to set common goals and guide each team in working toward those objectives. Leadership skills for marketing managers involve:

• Setting strategic goals

• Motivating employees to perform well

• Mentoring less experienced team members

• Delegating tasks to other employees

Technical skills

The field of marketing requires some amount of technical expertise and experience. Marketing employees use specialized software, tools and equipment to design, manufacture and distribute marketing materials. Marketing managers should have at least a basic understanding of how the technology in their department works and how it is used. As technology develops quickly, this often requires continuing education and consistent effort. Technical skills for a marketing manager involve:

• Optimizing content for search engines using keywords

• Writing and sending mass emails and communications

• Creating and editing spreadsheets and digital schedules

• Evaluating and editing websites and social media profiles

Organizational skills

Organizational skills are beneficial to anyone who manages multiple tasks or projects at the same time. Marketing managers frequently have to make decisions regarding multiple assignments, all of which may be at different stages of development. Organizational skills help a marketing manager to create and enforce achievable deadlines, adhere to complicated schedules and keep track of important information. Being organized in the workplace also allows marketing managers to reduce stress and perform their duties efficiently. Examples of organizational skills for marketing managers include:

• Coordinating events and meetings

• Recording and filing information and documents

• Creating strategic schedules for major projects

• Helping team members to finish assignments on time

Communication skills

Marketing managers communicate with a range of people, including their coworkers, their team members and their company's customer base. Marketing managers should be able to communicate ideas, expectations and requests clearly and effectively. They should excel in both organizational and interpersonal communication, which means they must be able to share information in both large groups and one-on-one conversations. Marketing managers use communication skills by:

• Collaborating with their team to make decisions

• Developing rapport with clients and customers

• Listening to and addressing feedback and criticism

• Writing press releases or quarterly summaries

Creative skills

Marketing is in many ways a creative endeavor. Marketing managers should be able to develop unique and interesting ways to sell products or promote the brand. This involves the ability to come up with original ideas and innovate ways to make them a reality. To be successful in the industry, marketing managers must be able to capture and hold their audience's attention. Creative skills for a marketing manager often involve:

• Brainstorming ideas with graphic designers and artists

• Evaluating the aesthetic appeal of marketing materials

• Devising creative methods for promoting and distributing products

• Planning and executing promotional events and activities

How to improve marketing manager skills

There are several important steps a marketing manager can take to improve these skills and grow professionally:

1. Seek out leadership opportunities. Learning to be an effective manager requires practice. Aspiring or inexperienced marketing managers can volunteer or ask for leadership opportunities to gain practical experience and increase their competence.

2. Find a mentor. One of the quickest ways to improve your managerial skills is to imitate a leader that you admire. Seeking out a role model who can offer you advice and answer your questions can greatly influence your ability to succeed.

3. Listen to criticism. It is often difficult to hear and internalize constructive criticism. However, acknowledging and learning from feedback is one of the best ways to discover the areas that you might need to focus on in order to grow.

Marketing manager skills in the workplace

Marketing managers primarily use their skill set to encourage productivity and motivate their team. Here are some tips for how to use marketing manager skills effectively in the workplace:

• Represent the company well. One of the primary goals for marketing managers is to represent their employer positively and accurately in all marketing materials. Marketing managers can use their creative and technical skills to determine how best to market a brand's identity to the general public.

• Keep the customer's needs in mind. Marketing managers also work to attract new clients and satisfy loyal customers. They can use their communication skills to find out what the clients want and come to an agreement on what kind of marketing campaign best suits their needs.

• Motivate the team. Marketing managers are often tasked with managing one or more teams of individuals. They can use their leadership and organizational skills to push their team members to realize their potential and to help the team achieve its goals.

Read more: Learn About Being a Marketing Manager

How to highlight marketing manager skills

When applying for a marketing manager position, it is important to effectively communicate your proficiency level in the required skills. Many job listings include a list of desired skills, so it is a good idea to review these before submitting your application. Here are some tips for how to highlight your skills during a job search:

Marketing manager skills for resume

Your resume should include an overview of any professional skills that are relevant to being a marketing manager. To find out what kind of skills you should include, speak to an established professional to find out which competencies potential employers are looking for. Then, determine which of those skills you can accurately include in your resume.

You can also look at online job listings or descriptions to see which skills are frequently repeated. If a hiring manager responds to your job application, offer to provide references that can verify your proficiency level in any required skills.

Marketing manager skills for the job interview

During an in-person interview, you have the opportunity to provide more in-depth explanations for when and how you acquired your skills. If possible, share specific background information about how your previous experiences have given you the skills you need to be a marketing manager. In addition, you can tell specific stories about times when your professional skill set helped you to achieve a goal or overcome a problem. If you can prove that you are well-prepared to fill the role, you are more likely to be hired as a marketing manager.