How to succeed as a marketer in the future

Recently I’ve come to realize (and accept) that I’m approaching middle age. I feel so old saying that, but it’s true: I’m almost 40. And if I’m lucky and get to at least 80, then that means I’m half way through my life.

With this realization comes questions, some of them hard. “Do I still want to be doing marketing?” is one question that I’ve certainly reflected on.

A career in marketing is not easy. It’s fun and creative, but as many marketers in B2B tech can attest to, it’s also stressful. Increasingly our jobs are tied to revenue (that’s a good thing), but with that comes more pressure to perform and show impact.

This reflection has reaffirmed my passion for marketing. Yes, this is what I like doing. It’s what I’m good at, and it gives me purpose. I want to keep doing it in the next 30 years of my career.

With that realization, I’ve been thinking about the future. What does it take to continuously succeed as a marketer? What are the principles that I need to get right to continue to find success and purpose in this career?

For me, it comes down to dedication to continuous growth. Regardless of your industry, marketing will always change because technologies progress and people's behaviors change.

As marketers, we need to keep an open mind. We have to remain curious. We have to be lifelong learners.

How to keep learning and growing as a marketer

1. Expose yourself to new ideas and perspectives.

While it’s important to master marketing fundamentals, it’s new ideas that fuel exponential growth. We can’t rely on our current knowledge alone if we want to remain relevant and effective.

Some ways we can expose ourselves to fresh perspectives:

• Going to conferences

• Listening to podcasts

• Reading books

• Analyzing campaigns from other industries

• Consuming art

There’s a lot we can do to “look outside” and gain inspiration. We have to make time for it.

2. Experiment.

The best way to grow as a marketer is to fail many, many times. But failure is pointless if you don’t learn from it.

We need to try new things frequently and regularly. Embrace failure and the opportunity to learn from it.

I’m a nerd, so I suggest a systematic and documented approach to experimentation. I’m not talking about a fancy framework. A simple approach could include simple documentation of the following:

• What are you testing?

• What are your assumptions?

• What is your hypothesis?

• What are the results?

This framework can be built out in the future, but I think these four questions provide a good start.

3. Observe and talk to younger people.

Kids these days know what's coming up. Their behaviors, attitudes and preferences may make you feel like a grandpa / grandma 🙃, but they can provide clues on where consumer preferences are going.

Ask them about their lives. Inquire about their media consumption and how they find out about new music or new artists. Listen to their concerns and where they think we’re headed in the future.

All of these can provide good insights on what trends or new channels you really need to keep a close eye on.

4. Talk to your customers regularly.

IMO, marketers tend to spend way too much time listening to other marketers and not nearly enough time listening to their own customers.

Other marketers can provide fresh, external perspective (see tip 1), but I think it’s through customers that we can validate whether our ideas actually have legs.

If you want to remain effective in your job as a marketer, then you need to be an expert in customer behavior.

You have to know what makes people tick. You have to understand what pains they’re going through. You have to know their aspirations and their hopes and dreams.

No amount of desk research can reveal these customer insights. You have to do the work of talking to your customers—and you have to do it regularly.

Marketers, I’m curious what you think? How do you future-proof your profession?