10 Traits of a Great Marketer

In a recent discussion I was asked by someone, in my opinion, what traits do a great marketer posses? Throughout my professional career as well as my academic studies I have been fortunate to interact with a lot of good marketing individuals but I had never really thought about what traits differentiate the good from the great. So I decided to go through all of the individuals that I have known as well as leverage my own experience in marketing to put together a short list of traits that I believe all great marketers posses. This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list however this are the ones that I feel particularly separate marketers. I would love to hear the ones you feel are important.

1. Ability to work cross-functionally – Marketing people rely heavily on others within the organization to either get valuable information or to help execute the marketing plan. Many times they are expected to “own” the product and must interact with Finance, Sales, R&D, IT, Manufacturing, Legal and Regulatory, Customer Service, etc on a daily basis.
2. Ability to indirectly influence people – Since a lot of work by marketers involves other departments who each have its own priorities it is imperative a great marketing be able to establish relationships with people who do not directly report to him/her and then be able to influence those individuals in order for projects to be completed.
3. Open minded – A great marketer must be willing to accept input from all of the different individuals he/she interacts with on a daily basis.
4. Analytical – Data driven decisions are no longer the exception; they are the norm. With budget dollars being scrutinized and CEOs and GMs demanding greater efficiency and return marketers are continually asked for justifications, and performance metrics on tools and programs. In addition, they must be able to analyze market and competitive trends.
5. Strong communication skills – A great marketing plan or a great marketing tool or idea is useless the objectives and benefits can be communicated to all vested parties. A great marketer must be able to communicate well across the organization and with all customers.
6. Innate ability to listen – Marketing involves understanding customer (both internal and external) needs. Therefore a great marketer must be able to not only hear what customers are saying but they must also be great listeners and process what is being said.
7. Ongoing desire to learn – Technology continues to evolve and new marketing techniques and methods are developed. A great marketer not only leverages his/her past experience but also learns and embraces the new.
8. Ability to Execute – Great marketers not only develop marketing plans, create tools and tactics they execute. Too many times I have seen marketing individuals come up with idea after idea and for one reason or another never execute on them. A great marketing individual not only comes up with ideas but also is able to get them implemented.
9. Funnel information – Marketing people are expected to manage large volumes of information. A great marketing person is able to go though the information and funnel it down into something that is manageable and usable by the masses.
10. Multi-tasker – Being able to manage multiple projects simultaneously is essential.  A great marketing has the ability to prioritize his/her projects as well as bounce between them to meet deadlines while at the same time addressing the daily “fire drills”.