Q: You work with clients across a number of sectors. What’s exciting right now?
A: Fintech is a massive growth area if you’re a ‘disrupter’ and want to transform the world of FS. It’s definitely the industry bringing the most exciting opportunities for marketers. It’s product focused, big on social media, you’ll have a budget. It’s exciting because it’s about finding a way to connect with your customers. It’s a great way to stay cutting edge.
Equally exciting is the IT, pharmaceutical and healthcare industry who are rapidly coming to terms with digital. As new tech companies enter the market the older players are playing catch up.
Patients are demanding access to their own healthcare records so the patient journey is primed for digital disruption. As a marketer the industry will be looking to you to own that journey; portals, apps, online communities are just the tip of the iceberg as to how you’ll be instrumental in transforming the customer journey.
Q: What are the main marketing roles employers are looking for?
A: Digital dominates, so digital marketing manager, executive, product managers and CRM specialists are all very attractive to employers right now.
That doesn’t mean that the traditional marketing roles aren’t also in demand. PR roles have seen a spike of activity over the last few months, especially with a lot of PR professionals re-branding themselves as content specialists.
In fact many PR professionals are moving into the social space. A PR manager can make a lateral move across to Social Media Manager or Community Manager as long as they have a good grounding in the scheduling tools and analytics required to be successful in the role.
Q:What are the big trends happening in the marketing space?
A: With the advent of the Gig Economy, there’s a real shift in a desire towards home working and freelance work. My advice to employers is that as the workforce evolves, adapt your hiring strategies to attract quality job seekers.
I’ve had many conversations with candidates over the last few months who will not look at companies who aren’t prepared to be flexible with the location and hours worked. The workforce hasn’t just changed, its transformed dramatically!
Q: What skills are employers struggling to find and why?
A: The biggest challenge is finding strong marketing influencers at a senior level. These individuals need to challenge the Board and have a proven track record of influencing across teams.
What you’re looking for is a transformational mindset. Someone who can operate in an era of uncertainty, take risks, collaborate but also drive customer acquisition and growth. It’s no easy task!
At Morgan Philips Group, we’ve developed an online psychometric tool, PULSE MINDSET™ used for talent selection, assessment and development. It measures the mindset of an individual in terms of what motivates them and their preferred working styles, by looking at five core mindset categories. If you incorporate this into your hiring process you can learn more about whether the candidate has was it takes to succeed and really disrupt and innovate at the highest of levels.
Sarah Tapley is Associate Director for Digital Marketing, Marketing and Communications in the South of England.
Contact Sarah:
sarah.tapley@morganphilips.com
t: +44 20 7187 6199
m: +44 7931 585 481