5 types of marketing hires you should have on your radar
Financial marketers often think they can solve their challenges by finding just the right outside agency. Outsiders can help you but they can't work magic. For marketing directors and CMOs in banks and credit unions the beginning lies in determining what kind of marketer you are and then figuring out where your department is weak. Merely hiring more marketing generalists is not going to solve your problems.
One of the most shocking things that I have observed when attending various financial industry events is how often I run into my fellow bank marketing executives who cannot clearly articulate in one sentence the answer to “What are you an expert in?” or “What area of marketing does your institution excel at?”
That lack of clarity leads to some poor decisions, in terms not only of staff selection and development but also working with outsiders. For example, many of these same financial marketing leaders also ask: “How do I find a marketing agency that will help us differentiate from other banking institutions?” Whenever you create a line of questioning pointing outwards, you’ll typically end up working on a problem that isn’t the root cause of the issue. Beyond that, it’s not the marketing agency’s job to solve your business problems.
Yes, the agency can assist and provide feedback and enable you to do more with less. But you can’t offload the entire responsibility of business outcomes onto the agency. That’s your job.
Financial marketing leaders and departments must stop abdicating their responsibility and realize that you, your team and your brand, and not the agency, differentiate your institution. It’s critical to understand the types of skills that go into financial marketing today.
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