Communication and Technical Skills as a tool in Marketing

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Subject: Communication and Technical Skills as a tool in Marketing
Objectives
To present communication skills as a tool in marketing
To discuss technical skills as a tool in marketing
To highlight factors that influence communication mix
Introduction:
Marketing is by far one of the most appealing jobs among graduates. This has prompted the need for impression among graduate recruiters. To be considered for placement in a competitive marketing industry, it is important to have in place, a good mix of academic ability, soft and hard and skills as well as determination.
To have a fruitful marketing career, commercial awareness and interest in people becomes useful. These are some of the critical skills that are gained from marketing practice and through the course of one’s social sciences acquisitions. Notably, one can also attain such skills through the extra-curricular activities and other part-time work. The skills are also obtained through aptitude and other potential experiences.
Marketing communication has been used in promotion of company products and services. Some companies have employed marketing communication tools that are strictly devoted to developing and planning of marketing tools. Apart from advertisement, public relations and sales promotion, such tools as direct marketing and personal selling have gained imminence in the marketing industry. Personal selling is known to be the best persuasive marketing tool of communication.

There are inside and outside sales executives that help in marketing products to consumers. The advantage that this tool has over the rest is that it offers two-way communications between the sales reps and the consumers. It should be noted that direct marketing is also another effective way of ensuring that the results are measurable and can thus be assessed. Examples include the use of emails promotions, mails, catalogues and radio and TV responses.
Literature Review
Being that communication skills are fundamental in almost every aspect of human interactions, the business world is no exception. Perhaps, it is through communication that one can adequately persuade the other to engage in whatever business he or she wants the other to engage in. As a matter of fact, every marketing executive must have effective communication skills so as to be able to convince consumers to settle for their products and services. To effectively advertise their brands and even stamp their authority in the marketing industry, they not only need to have these communication skills but also technical ones so as to be able to form an attractive base of loyal clientele (Moorthy, Munz, Sarker, & Darzi 23).
The Technical skills as effective tools for digital marketers
As technology continuously fuels the business industry, marketing approaches are likewise developed. While it is important to have the know-how of developing leverages for specific business opportunities, marketers are advised to acquire some specific tactical skills to go about their normal business operations (Whiteside 31).
Marketing has seen tremendous changes over the recent past and marketers are forced to adjust if they are to survive this wave of transition. Businessmen have to add technological skills onto their existing creative talents if they have to take advantage of the spiralling wave of digital marketing. It is worth noting that the traditional marketing methods will no longer play a role in this digital era. This, therefore, calls for a complimentary marriage between the creativity and technical skills that will see to it that progress is attained in the marketing environment (Michaelidou, Siamagka, & Christodoulides 13).
The current technological advancement dictates that the marketing departments be more forward thinking in a bid to prepare them for the ceaseless marketing demands and also equip them with such things as agile employment expertise with appropriate skills for the job. Technology has seen myriad changes in the marketing industry to an extent that job descriptions, responsibilities sand expectations have seen remarkable disparities with those found a decade ago. It has gone beyond just issuing press releases and updating of the company websites (Bak, Vogt, George, & Greentree 19).
The marketers of today need to keep their game atop, keeping to trends and technology. They need to have such emerging issues as video, search, media, analytics and conversions in the marketing mix. Fortunately, there are critical skills that can never fall out these marketing demands. The following are five a must have skills for every prospective marketing executive:
Critical thinking
Every successful marketing company requires employees with solid critical analysis and thinking skills. It has been established that the current pools of employers either do not have them or have not sufficiently developed them (Alliance 15). Critical thinking is viewed as the ability to adequately analyse statements or situations that validate their situational determinants and form the basis for careers among the modern day professionals.
Project management
The modern day business requires that all and sundry that partake business have the necessary project management skills (Albro 13). Even so, the future marketing managers are supposed to have sharp project management skills so as to be able to lead their teams and also be able to accomplish their mandates and objectives.
Analytical skills
The marketing managers ought to have analytical minds. They are supposed to have the knowledge of available data and are thus able to determine what constitute consumer behaviours. A good manager should look beyond the pickup and data analytical trends.
Holistic approach
Managers are supposed to have effective and technical skills as marketing tools so as to oversee the successful running of their organizations and corporate institutions. For effective marketing, having certain skills is the first and foremost consideration that one should ever think of. Firstly, interpersonal and communication skills have proven to build the understanding of client as well as consumers (Marketing-schools.org 17). This also brings forth an expression of team members thereby enabling them to have a translation of the marketing needs into the marketing campaigns. This, therefore, calls for good and effective communication skills. One would also require having some creativity, but this should be dependent on someone’s role in the marketing field (Wordstream.com 15).
Marketing images are mainly built on assumptions, both modern and vintage. These are scenes that are mainly informed by human experiences as the marketers in earlier times did not make use of data, information nor research tools. Effective communication skills are very critical when it comes to seeking for successful public relations which is also known as marketing. The effective marketing and public relations professionals seldom make use of those with expertise in communication. Marketing professionals often specialize in communication skills and also continue the pursuit of extra training, education and experience that are critical in improving the areas that they feel less confident in. Of notable significance are writing skills, public speaking, non-verbal communication and keys, leadership and research skills (Castillo 20).
For instance, the Bureau of Labour Statistics predicted that a total of 22.8 percent growth of employment on the part of the software developers seen a remarkable increase between the years of 2012 and 2022. Many companies rely on the sale of their products that range from simple to advanced online visual products. Many prosperous companies base their success on skilled and highly competent professionals. The key to the success of most companies relies on the marketing tools that the companies in question have come with (Wordstream.com 15).
Communication as a marketing tool
A marketing communication is intended to inform and persuade any targeted audience in the business industry with the aim of influencing the group’s behaviour. The behaviour of any business group is often defined by elements that come from the business environment from which they interact.
Companies use myriad communication tools in delivering desired company positions to the target markets. These companies also employ effective communication strategies in delivering company targets through digitalized platforms and campaigns, communication mix and other advertisements as well as public relations and sales promotions. For instance, Cadbury used one of the most elaborate and sophisticated marketing strategies regarding communication skills and other advertisement messages that are modified into attributes defining the new values and company brands. Through these, consumers are given new insights and reasons to stick to the company (Khor 15).
Not all and sundry believes in the necessity of promotion in any business organization. Effective marketing tools like communication make everything in the business industry worthwhile as with them; consumers can get insights and be reliably informed about the services and products that they need (Collis 11).
The objectives of effective communication as a tool for marketing are as follows;
To provide information about products and services
To simulate demands
To differentiate services and or products
To underline value of products
To regulate sales
As noted earlier, marketing communication takes the form of sales promotion, publicity, personal selling and advertisement. The forms are to be formulated with some coordinated marketing plan based on communication.
For a better plan, there need to be some operational objectives aimed towards developing the volumes of sales. There are steps that should be proposed in an attempt come up with marking communications. The steps include identification of target marketing segment, determination of the behavioural change that is to bring forth and the decision that needs to be arrived at to bring forth in a bid to change the behaviour (Hennig-Thurau 17). An advertisement that is coupled with good communication skills brings forth a message that contains emotional appeals to clients since it creates some sense of a creative antidote that arouses the moods and gloom of customers. Despite the fact that consumers traditionally stack to persuasion model, some companies such as Cadbury is of the belief that less direct commercial creates some sense of curiosity (Alliance 15).
The other important aspect of effective communication tools is sales promotion. This entails some good skills on persuasion such as convincing customers to purchase certain products as produced by company X. this also involves a change of tact where a company can resort to marketing the product character rather its brand. (Berry 13).
For an effective marketing strategy, it is important for any organization to come up with the necessary understanding of the strategic constraints that are likely to come in the way of implementation. It is always important to come up with creative ideas that would see the realization of the company marketing objectives and goals. Of essence is the fact that all the necessary tools are taken into considerations and that every stakeholder has the grasp of all the necessary aspects of external environment that include economic, political, legal and technological aspects (Kaynama, & Keesling 19).
There are some simulations like models that define the lifetime value of customers that can help company marketers in conducting the “what ifs” in an ideal business environment. Strategies often tend to specify and give insight on the adjustment of the marketing mix and this can include the use of marketing mix models that help in allocating the scares resources available for different media and other portfolio brands (Collis 21).
Factors that influence communication mix
There are some key factors that affect communication mix and thus promotional techniques in a market segment. These include such things as the market nature, product nature, the stage of the product cycle and the available funds as well as prices of the products. For instance, an organization should strive to reach their target audience (Carliner 14). Notably, the target is often thought to be influenced by communication mix. In cases where buyers are few, there are reasonably low product-service flows. To overcome such a scenario, it would be wise to encourage personal selling so as to be able to fulfil demands of the economies of scale.
It is also of great value and importance to determine the nature of products. This is based on the fact that highly standardized products that have minimum servicing requirements are not likely, if any, to have some dependence on personal selling of products that are designed or custom-made (Alliance 18).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the establishment of communication channels that tend to exist between the buyers and sellers is a prerequisite of excellence in all aspects of marketing. As noted, marketing communications are both persuasive and promotional and thus, have some mix of advertisements and sales of products and services (Castillo 20).
Marketing strategies are very fundamental goals that are meant for an increased sale and achieving one of the most sustainably competitive advantages. Marketing strategies include among other things, the long term and short term as well as basic activities that would lead to the eventual realization of company goals plus the attainment of their marketing objectives (Castillo 23).
Marketing communication mixes are drawn from a good marketing plan that must also be consistent and blends well with the target market. The advertisement is a very strong strategic marketing tool. It has effects on the relatively longer horizon that lags between the desired evidence and the advertisement campaigns. While designing promotional messages, it is advisable for the marketers to have a wide selection of propositions that are unique to services or products that bear importance to the target audience (Khor 15).
Lastly, communication should be more just an exchange of information. It should entail understanding intentions and emotions behind the given information. An effective communication is two-way. More than the spoken word, effective communication wraps up sets of skills that include nonverbal keys, stress management, assertive communication ability, engaged listening and the capacity to understand and even recognize one’s emotions plus that of the person with whom one speaks (Berry 19).
References
Books
Carliner, S., 2001. Emerging skills in technical communication: The information designer’s place in a new career path for technical communicators. Technical communication, 48(2), pp.156-175.
Kaynama, S.A. and Keesling, G., 2000. Development of a Web-based Internet marketing course. Journal of Marketing Education, 22(2), pp.84-89.
Berry, L.L., 2005. Services marketing is different. Business, 30(3), pp.24-29.
Hennig-Thurau, T., 2000. Relationship quality and customer retention through strategic communication of customer skills. Journal of Marketing Management, 16(1-3), pp.55-79.
Moorthy, K., Munz, Y., Sarker, S.K. and Darzi, A., 2003. Objective assessment of technical skills in surgery. Bmj, 327(7422), pp.1032-1037.
Whiteside, A.L., 2003. The skills that technical communicators need: An investigation of technical communication graduates, managers, and curricula. Journal of technical writing and communication, 33(4), pp.303-318.
Collis, D.J., 2011. A resource‐based analysis of global competition: the case of the bearings industry. Strategic management journal, 12(S1), pp.49-68.
Collis, D.J., 2001. A resource‐based analysis of global competition: the case of the bearings industry. Strategic management journal, 12(S1), pp.49-68.
Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N.T. and Christodoulides, G., 2011. Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(7), pp.1153-1159.
Bak, C.A., Vogt, L.H., George, W.R. and Greentree, I.R., 2012. Management by team: an innovative tool for running a service organization through internal marketing. Journal of Services Marketing, 8(1), pp.37-47.
Websites
Alliance, U. (2015). Five Essential Skills for Marketing Manager | Leadership Skills. [online] University of Florida Executive Education Business Program Online. Available at: http://essentialsofbusiness.ufexec.ufl.edu/resources/marketing/five-essential-skills-for-the-future-marketing-manager/#.VoD_BVLMhwg [Accessed 28 Dec. 2015].
Albro, S. (2013). Marketing Skills: The 11 Skills Essential to a Successful Marketing Career. [online] TOPO Blog. Available at: http://blog.topohq.com/marketing-skills-the-10-skills-essential-to-a-successful-career/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2015].
Marketing-schools.org, (2015). Technical Marketing | What is Technical Marketing?. [online] Available at: http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/technical-marketing.html [Accessed 28 Dec. 2015].
Castillo, S. (2015). 5 Content Management Tools Marketers Can Use: No Technical Skills Needed | Visually Blog. [online] Blog.visual.ly. Available at: http://blog.visual.ly/5-content-management-tools-for-marketers/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2015].
Khor, C. (2015). The top 7 skills needed for marketing in 2012 – Marketing Magazine. [online] Marketing Magazine. Available at: https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/top-7-skills-needed-for-marketing-in-2012/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2015].
Wordstream.com, (2015). 14 Marketing Skills to Add to Your Resume in 2015. [online] Available at: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/04/07/marketing-skills [Accessed 28 Dec. 2015].