In this episode of the Snoball Effect podcast, Todd Jensen sat down with marketing expert Will Crowley to discuss various facets of marketing, from the importance of building your personal brand to knowing which skills to highlight and develop on your resume. Will's insights provide a valuable guide for marketers looking to enhance their careers and impact.
Key Takeaways
- Storytelling: Will emphasizes the importance of storytelling not just for brands, but also for marketers themselves. He suggests that marketers need to develop a personal narrative that outlines their skills, passions, and career aspirations.
- Skill Sets: Will describes the concept of the T-shaped marketer, which combines a broad understanding of various marketing functions with deep expertise in a specific area. Finding this balance helps marketers remain versatile while also providing value.
- Advocacy: Relationship marketing is vital. Will emphasizes the need for marketers to identify and nurture customer advocates by maintaining strong relationships with customer success teams and making it easy for customers to provide testimonials.
Leverage Storytelling in Marketing Careers
One of the key themes Will focused on during the podcast was the critical role of storytelling in marketing. He argued that storytelling is not just essential for brands but equally important for marketers themselves. According to Will, “Storytelling is such an essential element of marketing, right? If you don't tell your company story, someone else will tell it for you.”
Will advocates for marketers to apply this storytelling approach to their own careers. He suggests that marketers need to develop a personal narrative that outlines their skills, passions, and career aspirations. This narrative, or elevator pitch, should help marketers position themselves effectively both in the job market and within their current roles.
“I think storytelling should be a more important element when we think about our careers as marketers,” Will said. “And I think doing some exercises to really do some self-reflection of what am I passionate about? What am I really good at? What does a company need?” This self-reflection helps in crafting a compelling story that aligns with business needs and career goals.
Will Crowley
Marketing leader & consultant
"I think storytelling should be a more important element when we think about our careers as marketers."
Understanding and developing your story won’t happen immediately. As Will explained, “It takes some time to really sit down and think about, all right, what were the moments of my marketing career where I felt most fulfilled? Or the ones that were challenging? Projects I was on, campaigns I led that I really got excited about?” He recommends exercises that can help marketers identify their key strengths and interests, which can then be used to craft a narrative that guides career decisions and enhances professional development.
Balance Broad and Specialized Skill Sets
Another critical insight from Will was the importance of balancing broad and specialized skill sets. He explored the concept of the T-shaped marketer, which combines a broad understanding of various marketing functions with deep expertise in a specific area.
“A framework that… I've shared with some folks is this idea of a T-shaped marketer,” Will explained. “Developing your T of — I've got this base knowledge of maybe analytics or communications or design, but where I go really deep is in paid media, or I go really deep in a certain industry, right?”
Pro Tip:
Become a T-shaped marketer, having a foundational knowledge in multiple areas and excelling in one particular domain.
This concept highlights the importance of having foundational knowledge in multiple different areas and excelling in one particular domain. Will expounded that finding a balance between skill sets ensures that marketers can adapt to various roles while maintaining a strong position in their specialty.
Will also touched on the importance of analytics, emphasizing that understanding data is crucial for marketers. “I think the importance of understanding the numbers and doing a little bit of analytics, that does not mean you have to go become a data scientist, right? But really understanding and just knowing how Google Analytics works, understanding what a conversion is, what a marketing funnel looks like.” Adding data analytics skills to your marketing toolkit increases your versatility and value to a company.
Build Relationships and Customer Advocacy
The third significant theme Will talked about was the importance of relationship marketing, particularly in B2B contexts. He stressed the need for marketers to identify and nurture customer advocates by maintaining strong relationships with customer success teams and making it easy for customers to share reviews.
Will noted, “On the B2B side of things, I think it's this idea of always being on the lookout for those moments, right? Whether that's what someone said when they hit the form on the website, or if you're doing a win-loss interview. I think just always having a pulse for those moments and being vigilant for that is just a really good skill set to have.”
Furthermore, Will highlighted the importance of turning detractors into advocates by addressing their concerns proactively. He believes that solving customer problems can turn dissatisfied customers into brand promoters, a concept that holds true in both B2B and B2C. Will stated, “When you hear back from that company and you feel heard, you feel seen and they are able to change that bad experience into a good one, that's what it's all about.”
Will continued, “Surprise and delight moments. So if you've been on the receiving end of that it's awesome. And now you do become more of that advocate and you've got that story to tell others.” It’s important to make it easy for advocates to share their positive experiences. If you can recognize the customers who have experiences to share, you can take advantage of the situation by boosting their voice even more. Will explained, “Making it super easy for that advocate… Maybe helping them go speak about it or getting some media exposure, right?”
Need help finding the right moments to ask customers for reviews and referrals? Let Snoball help! Schedule a demo to see what Snoball can do for your business.
Schedule DemoShow, Don’t Tell
As his final marketing tip, Will advised, “Show, don't tell. Marketing can be such a visual thing.” How can you show your value to your current company or companies you want to work for? He suggests gaining as much experience as you can, even in small ways, and compiling your projects in a portfolio: “So show me how you're helping this company with their campaign. Show me how you built this website, build out a portfolio. And start just doing some projects, maybe help out a family business with a small little thing or a friend and do some of that kind of small work to start to build out some of those kinds of professional skill sets that can help you understand what you're passionate about.”
If you’re looking to build out your marketing resume, Will Crowley's insights from this episode of the Snoball Effect offer a list of tips. By harnessing the power of storytelling, balancing broad and specialized skill sets, and leveraging customer advocacy, marketers can position themselves effectively in the industry and drive meaningful results for their organizations. As Will aptly put it, “It's a long game here. So just understand where you're at, where you want to go, and build a plan towards that.”
