Lack of Analytics and Online Skills

Promo Magazine posted an interesting article last week titled, “Lack of Analytics And Online Skills Concern Marketers: Study.” The article reported, “Marketers need to acquire new skills necessary, especially in the areas of analysis, measurement and search engine optimization, which are becoming more important than traditional marketing competencies, such as branding and product promotion, a recent study found.”

If you work in marketing and you do not understand the basics of search engine marketing, blogging, Myspace, podcasting and RSS, you are behind the marketing eight ball. Marketers need to be able to forecast how consumers are buying products and how they want to be contacted.

Branding and product promotion are important, but as I have stated regularly in this blog, marketers need to find fresh ways to break out of the clutter. The also need to devise strong ROI marketing plans. Companies want to see how marketing is helping the bottom line.

John Squire, VP-product strategy and general manager, marketing services at Coremetrics stated, “A divide is opening up between those organizations that have the resources and expertise to optimize their online marketing and those that haven't, with the former gaining the competitive edge. Marketers that acquire such skills are becoming the new heroes in their organizations.”