Four essential technical skills for salespeople.

Four essential technical skills for salespeople.
There are now over 7,000 marketing tools available to help marketers work more effectively. Companies are now investing a higher percentage of their marketing budgets in technology. According to Gartner, marketing technologies accounted for 29% of total marketing spend in 2018, up from 22% in 2017. With the rise of marketing technology (martech), the skills needed to be a marketer are changing. Marketers are increasingly inclined to take a more technical approach to their campaigns. However, to do this, marketers need to develop new skills and competencies that help them get the most out of marketing tools. Here are four technical skills marketers need to deal with the flood of marketing technologies.

1. Basic upstream development

Front-end development includes everything that a user can directly see and interact with on a website, making it a vital area of ​​marketing support. While it's not necessary for marketers to become coding experts, understanding the basics of HTML, CSS, and Javascript can go a long way. Basic knowledge of coding enables marketers to perform essential tasks such as landing page creation, custom blog post formatting, website editing, structuring, and much more. The style of the emails, etc. Basic HTML and CSS are also useful for creating custom elements, such as call-to-action buttons or forms on websites or email templates. Marketers who learn Javascript can perform robust A/B tests to optimize landing pages. Another area where a basic understanding of front languages ​​is helpful is implementing analytics tools like KISSmetrics and Google Analytics. With basic coding knowledge, marketers can take advantage of these tools and be able to configure advanced tracking, custom variables, and other features to improve monitoring and reporting. analytical. Marketers with basic knowledge of front-end development are becoming increasingly valuable to the entire organization. Even if a company has a dedicated front-end developer, marketers with basic development skills won't have to wait for that person to make changes or try new ideas. Plus, they can work seamlessly with the developer to get ideas moving faster.

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2. Advanced data analysis.

More and more companies are striving to be data-centric, resulting in increased demand for data-fluent salespeople. According to Venngage, only three percent of vendors are proficient at handling large data sets. This number presents a huge deficit in marketing skills in data analysis. Collecting the right data doesn't just produce the results. Knowing how to read the data is essential to measure the performance of campaigns and strategies in general. For example, specific metrics can indicate that a campaign is underperforming. Marketers will benefit from data analysis to decide whether to make campaign changes or focus their efforts elsewhere. Today's marketers need to master analytics tools, collect and interpret data, and create data-driven strategies. Skills in these areas are in high demand and will enable marketers to make better decisions overall.

3. Understand artificial intelligence (AI)

AI-based tools are replacing a growing number of human tasks in marketing. IDC predicts that spending on cognitive and artificial intelligence systems will rise from €19.1 billion in 2018 to €52.2 billion in 2021. Marketers will need to know about this growing technology. in particular, how to strategically leverage artificial intelligence and how it affects marketing objectives. Marketers can now rely on machine learning to automate some of the most common marketing tasks. For example, many tools automate email marketing and personalization. AI-based systems can help marketers set up automated or drip campaigns based on consumer data. For example, Automizy is an email marketing platform that uses AI to scan subject lines, A/B test, and automatically bounce emails. AI can also help marketers provide engaging content based on past buyer behavior. The more a customer engages with a brand, the smarter technology becomes, offering a more personalized experience. Marketers don't need to know the mechanics of AI, but they do need to understand what it can and can't do. The knowledge of artificial intelligence allows marketers to obtain better results and have a positive impact on the results of their business.

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4. Basic principles of design (UX / UI)

As the amount of content increases and attention spans decrease, consumers are becoming increasingly selective in what they choose to participate in or view. Given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would rather read something beautifully designed than plain. Good design, especially user experience and user interface (UX and UI), plays a vital role in attracting and retaining the attention of consumers. It's essential for marketers to consider basic design principles when creating landing pages or creating emails. A user interface, for example, is the appearance of a website or email. This design can make or break a consumer's perception of a brand. Similarly, an easy-to-navigate website for users with a great user experience can increase trust and increase conversions. The martech industry shows no signs of slowing down. An Ascend2 study indicates that 87% of marketers believe that marketing technology improves the marketing performance of their businesses. Marketers who embrace change and develop these technical skills on demand are expected to produce more valuable results for their business. Those who don't adjust to a more technical state of mind may be left behind. Albizu Garcia, CEO and co-founder of Gain.