Why You Need Marketing Skills (Even If You're Not A Marketer)

So you’ve probably heard of marketing, and like the rest of us, still don’t know exactly what it is. So that leads to the inevitable question; should I even bother with this?

I’m here to tell you yes. Whether you are a marketer, an accountant, a computer scientist, or you just want to drop it all and start making candles, everyone needs marketing skills.

You’re probably thinking I’m full of it, why would an accountant need to know marketing?

Well they don’t, but if they want to be a successful one, then they must.

Increasingly the modern world is looking more and more like a marketplace. Whether it be your Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or even your Yelp review, you are marketing yourself. A big amount of branding and curating goes into building the online persona you present. Through such media you tell others about your opinions, ideas, interests, and career. This communication is not only to friends and families, but to employers, potential future business partners or a customer base. This will make the difference between a job at your dream company or having to claw your way up through experience and luck.

Marketers are excellent listeners. Listening to people allows you to look for opportunities, make connections and connect others. Listening is not something you can lay back and do, at least not well. You must be actively analyzing to understand what people want. Once you have this, you know what you should and should not do. In any profession you must provide value whether it be to your boss, coworkers, or clients -- listening is the first step.

Being analytically minded allows you to make better decisions. Modernly we are overloaded with data and if you’re able to analyze it, it’s a road map to success. Data will tell an artist when the best time is to drop a hot new track, an entrepreneur what kind of business to start and a marketer who to market to. Looking up new trends, markets and other developments can put you at the cutting edge of any industry and create opportunity. Instead of guessing, learn to use your map.

Marketers have excellent communication skills. Rome was not built in a day and it definitely was not built alone. Whether you’re programming a system, or doing the accounting for your organization, there will be several individuals you must communicate with, all of which will be very different. By being able to read a person and figure out their wants and needs, you will communicate effectively and be a person who can get stuff done. If people can’t understand or get on board with your ideas, they have no value.

Marketing is complicated, complex and constantly evolving but it is worth learning. The good news is you don’t have to be a marketing major to learn it or use it. Get out there, learn about marketing and use it in every aspect of your life.