What’s the Most Important Marketing Skill?
February 17th, 2009 by Bob Bly
Let’s say you could become an expert in only ONE marketing discipline. Which of the following would you pick — and why? Which would serve you best either as a business owner, Internet marketer, or marketing professional?
A–Search engine marketing.
B–Online video.
C–Viral marketing.
D–Copywriting.
E–Graphic design.
F–Flash.
G–HTML.
H–Computer programming.
I–Social media.
J–Metrics and analytics.
K–Branding.
L–PR.
M–Direct marketing.
N–Planning and strategy.
O–Other (please specify).
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 7:26 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 17th, 2009 at 8:11 am
[…] What’s the Most Important Marketing Skill? 17 February 2009 1 views No Comment Let’s say you could become an expert in only ONE marketing discipline. Which of the following would you pick — and why? Which would serve you best either as a business owner, Internet marketer, or marketing professional?A–Search engine marketing. B–Online video. C–Viral marketing. D–Copywriting. E–Graphic design. F–Flash. G–HTML. H–Computer programming. I–Social media. J–Metrics and analytics. K–Branding. L–PR. M–Direct marketing. N–Planning and strategy. O–Other (please specify). See the original post here: What’s the Most Important Marketing Skill? […]
February 17th, 2009 at 8:14 am
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February 17th, 2009 at 9:33 am
I was going to say copywriting, since most of the other items are more mechanical and can be outsourced. But in retrospect, I think that (N) Planning and Strategy would be my answer. Even copywriting can be outsourced, as you do so well for your clients, Mr. Bly.
February 17th, 2009 at 10:14 am
The most important skill is knowing your market, discovering its unresolved problems, and solving them
February 17th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I’d say (N) planning and strategy as well because they’re a prerequisite for everything else and they have to be done in-house. Only you know your business so you have to plan and develop your strategy. And you can’t do PR or direct marketing or copywriting without a strategy in place. With a stratey in place you can outsource most of the other tasks on your list.
February 17th, 2009 at 10:40 am
[…] expletive-filled tirade delivered by Christian Bale to the movie’s Director of Photography What’s the Most Important Marketing Skill? – bly.com 02/17/2009 Let’s say you could become an expert in only ONE marketing discipline. Which […]
February 17th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I’d be an expert at K – Branding, because a strong Brand is the font from which all marketing/PR blessing flow.
February 17th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
A business owner who owns websites, a list of customers he serves out a brick and mortar store front or a marketing consultant blessed with expertise in direct marketing would be the person I’d bet on.
I say this because someone well versed in direct marketing can maximize every single one of those other options on the list because they know the purpose of being in business is to get a customer, not make a sale.
They can sub out stuff they don’t choose to be experts about and they’ll always be able to critique the results by asking the question “Is this strategy or tactic raising the lifetime value of my customers or is it purely a waste of time and money.”
Knowing the purpose of marketing is what makes maximization of everything else possible.
Note Taking Nerd #2
http://www.mynotetakingnerd.wordpress.com
February 17th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
[…] See more here: What’s the Most Important Marketing Skill? […]
February 17th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
TIE (I know it is against the rules!)
D – Copywriting
AND
M – Direct marketing
If I could use simple words to sell a product or service, then turning my hand from selling one item to another, even across different industries would, I feel, be easier and much more profitable than the other areas.
But Direct mail, if incorporating the cpyrighting above, and ‘finding’ or ‘growing’ the list would be a very close second.
Now…I am off to practice writing promational pieces to build my list.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Listening
February 19th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Bob: Not sure if it should be obvious to the rest of us, but I’d be curious to hear your answer!
February 19th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Jason: there is no right answer. If you want a high-paying staff job, I would sasy A or I. If you want to make your marketing make more money, I go with M.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I’d agree with Paul, you can’t really do any marketing until you’ve completed (research), planning and strategy in which you pinpoint your ideal client, the pain that they suffer from that causes them to need your services, what makes you different and better than your competition and what results people just like them get from doing business with you.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:46 am
It’s gotta be D, copywriting!
The essence of marketing is to develop a persuasive message that will prompt your target audience into recognising their need for your product or service.
So if the business owner, Internet marketer or marketing professional you referred to in your question could develop just one skill, it would have to be copywriting.
Research, planning and strategy are best outsourced, because the business owner is likely to be too close to her/his business to be truly objective.
Good question, though, and it’s interesting to read what others have to say.
February 22nd, 2009 at 8:12 am
My answer is D, Copywriting.
I figured out how i can enjoy with that field.
Juri Saragih
http://www.BisnisAir.com
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I think copywriting is the most important and something not on you list is selling. Nothing that is manufactured or created for profit lasts very long in the marketplace if it can’t be sold.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I would go with…
D–Copywriting.
M–Direct marketing.
Then some other bits and bobs can come later.
February 27th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Listen closely Grasshoppers of all disciplines-
The one marketing discipline I choose covers A, B, C, D, E, I, K, L, N.
You can outsource F, G, J, to another top expert who is a pioneer in his/her field.
Why is this the best answer, you ask?
Like most of you reading this blog, I too am a business owner, Internet Marketer and lifetime student of the craft of marketing. Perhaps the difference between you and I is my forty years of experience. In my humble opinion you need to be all three to be at the top of your game.
I chose the ONE discipline, which encompasses advertising through any medium, designed to generate a response by any means (such as email, mail, phone, fax) that is measurable and accountable (by using a simple coding system) and best of all, delivers BANKABLE results!
Okay Grasshopper, you’ve been a good listener so here is your reward:
Do you want to know what really makes successful Direct Marketing the right answer and encompasses all the other disciplines? Why business owners and Internet marketers must learn everything there is to know about Direct Marketing?
The basic answer is: you offer the right products or services (making sure you have the right mark-up where the major selling benefits outweigh the price) via the right targeted media with the best persuasive offers to overcome human inertia, positioned with the most dramatic formats, proved profitable as a result of the right marketing strategy, testing, and analysis.
If response can’t be measured, if cost and income can’t be precisely recorded and verified, it’s not Direct Response Marketing.
If this sounds pretty simple, it isn?t. But that’s another Grasshopper story to be continued?
Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D.,The Copyologist®
Founder-Copywriters Council of America
cca4dmcopy@att.net
March 7th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I´d say planning and srtategy as well becasue they are the cradle of all.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:48 am
As to me, I see my list in this order:
1.Metrics and analytics
2. Search engine marketing
3. Copywriting
The better your skills in above areas, the better results you get! At least this helps me a lot.
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