Marketing: The Forgotten Element of the Business Acumen Competency
By Robert S. Brodo, Executive Vice President
October, 2010
In a typical day, the average human living on planet earth is exposed to 18,000 different brand images and messages. From the logo on my coffee cup 
to the computer I use to write this document 
to the phone I use to call my clients, 
the messages are everywhere.
As prevalent as these messages are, the skills of marketing are too often left out of the conversation when it comes to business acumen training. Business Acumen – the ability to think strategically, understand financial management and statements, and understand the operations of a business – is critical to making the best business decisions that support the execution of an organization’s business plan. On the brink of 2011 – at a time when the globe has become smaller and opportunities for business expansion have become bigger – why isn’t marketing considered an important part of that equation? Many Talent Development leaders have given up on developing marketing skills because “marketing” has become so overwhelming that only specialists with years of training can be effective in this environment. I think this is a big mistake! The skills of marketing need to be included in Business Acumen training, and no matter whether you are an engineer on a New Product Development team or an experienced sales person, having a strong understanding of marketing will help in the execution of your business strategy.
This month’s edition of the AdvantEdge™ shares insights and tools about the basics of marketing from a skill and competency development perspective. Trained as a standalone skill or integrated into a larger Leadership Development program, Marketing is important and should be a basic element of business acumen for all organizations.
Defining Marketing in 2011
Marketing is a complex process by which organizations develop and create buyer interest in their products or services. Successful companies create an integrated marketing strategy that supports the sales force by creating awareness and need within a defined customer segment or base. An effective integrated process ties together corporate strategy, product management, and marketing tactics that build strong customer relationships and create the perception of value, both internally and externally. Marketing is the essential component of the Customer Value Creation Equation because it influences the perception of value, benefits, and costs.
Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer’s needs, and to maintain the customer relationship. With the customer as the focus of all marketing tactics, it’s easy to see why marketing is an essential part of successfully executing a business strategy.
Examples of best-in-class overall marketers:
Marketing Strategy Skills
In 2011, having the skills to design and deploy an effective marketing strategy is critical to business success. The following competencies are all needed to do so:
- Interface with product development to provide product strategy direction and priorities.
- Develop product marketing strategy including management of product intros and ongoing marketing programs.
- Implement research discipline to support product strategy work including:
- Developing feature sets
- Establishing pricing
- Developing introduction schedules
- Assessing competitiveness
- Assessing marketability (target markets, business proposition, channels, support requirements).
- Achieving global penetration.
- Define product line strategy including product and company positioning, pricing, and distribution plan.
- Guide and drive new product support and service strategy direction.
- Oversee, monitor and measure the effectiveness of tactical marketing programs.
- Provide senior leadership with return on marketing investment (ROI).
Examples of best-in-class marketing strategy organizations:
Product Management
Within the context of an effective Marketing Strategy, the ability to develop and deploy an effective Product Management strategy is also critical. Below are some of the competencies needed to be an effective product manager in 2011:
Examples of best-in-class product management organizations:
Execution of Marketing Strategy through Marketing Tactics
An effective Marketing Manager takes the marketing strategy and executes it through a set of integrated tactics. The following are the competencies that are needed to execute a marketing strategy through marketing tactics:
- Develop and review sales and marketing materials:
- Advertising
- Application notes
- Articles
- Benefits documents
- Company promotional data
- Customer presentations
- Customer requirements documents
- Graphics designs
- Key messages
- Mailings
- Packaging
- Press releases
- Product documentation
- Product evaluation/demo kits
- Product reports
- Promotional documents
- Road maps
- Sales training materials
- Spec sheets
- Technical white papers
- Enhance trade show presence.
- Develop customer retention/relations materials.
Best in class tactical marketers:
Online Marketing
Clearly, online marketing is a hot trend these days, and its use and popularity are growing quickly. It is so critical right now due to the fact that it offers a direct connection to existing and potential customers, it is cost effective, and it can be easily launched and modified. Here are some of the competencies needed to be an effective Online Marketer:
- Create and manage a company's Web-site
- Translate traditional marketing materials for use on the Corporate Web Site
- Direct e-mail campaigns
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is a way to capture attention and create awareness for your message using the connectivity of people with technology.
Examples of best-in-class online marketers:
Based on more than 25 years of experience developing business acumen skills, we created our Marketing Skills Competency framework to put into perspective the skills needed to be an effective marketer regardless of your function in the organization. Professionals with strong marketing skills as part of their business acumen arsenal are more readily able to see the big picture and make effective strategic business decisions.
To really grasp the competencies needed to understand marketing better, professionals within organizations need training. If you or anyone in your organization are interested in learning more about marketing skills and what it takes to be more successful in 2011, please feel free to join us (at absolutely no charge) on
