Are You a Short or Long Term Focus Marketer?
Who are they and what do they do? I've been reflecting on my own career path lately and where I want to be in the coming years. And, I came up to the conclusion that we truly have two kind of marketers; the Short-Term and Long-Term ones. Both complement each other.
So, I was trying to depict my views on how marketers evolve in their career.
Truly, when we think about it, there are two distinct path or rather types of focus for marketers.
The Short-Term and Long-Term Focused Marketers
Both are equally important for the success of an organisation's marketing initiatives and they both complement each other.
Short-Term Marketers
Short-term marketers are those who are focused on the functional side of marketing. They are most of the time specialists in specific fields. For example, it could be media buying, SEO, or content marketing.
They do have an eye over the overall company objectives and goals, but their main focus is to ensure functional marketing success. Hence, a high focus on functional marketing KPIs.
On the other side:
Long-Term Marketers
Long-term marketers are those who are not necessarily specialists in the functional areas. They do have knowledge in these but are mostly focused on marketing core principles and strategies.
They have an eagle eye view when it comes to creating strategies and connecting teams within or outside the organisation. Some may call them marketing operations.
So, long-term marketers will also pay close attention to branding, segmentation, market research, and all the core approaches. They also have a strong understanding on the future plans of their organisation.
For them, marketing is a strategic approach to business and their marketing eye goes 3-5 years ahead.
Most of the time, beginners will start as short-term marketers. They do the implementation. With time, they gain knowledge about the company, its future plan, the market, and the overall industry.
Then, here is where the T-Shape we often speak about happens: They have a choice to either become Functional Specialists i.e. SEO Manager, Media Buying Lead etc, OR they can become All-Rounders i.e. Brand Director, CMO, or CDO.
So, now you may ask:
Why Long-Term Marketers are More Inclined to Become CMOs or CDOs?
Well, for the simple fact that to sit on the C-Level Board, you need to understand the business completely. The CEO would expect you to know how marketing connects with all departments; whether HR, Sales, Finance, etc.
This gives you a more strategic vision of the firm objectives and how you can influence future plans using marketing while keeping the business sustainable (i.e. bringing in money, optimising resources use, and more).
What are Both Studying?
Short-term marketers will invest more on functional certifications - they will go for specific courses according to where they want to specialised. So, this could be HubSpot email course, SEMRush academy, etc etc.
When it comes to Long-Term marketers, they do also have the functional knowledge and have or are still going through the functional courses.
But, they will most probably would want to do a CIM, MBA, or any other Post-Grad certifications which gives them the strategic marketing learning, but also adjacent required skills in their roles such as Project Management, Management, Market Research, and more.
Hope this helps in influencing your career decisions. But, remember, both short-term and long-term marketers have a role to play in marketing success.
They complement each other and are equally important.
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