Hiring a marketing director can free up your executive team and offer more guidance and support to your staff. Here are four common mistakes to avoid.
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Your marketing initiatives and team have grown. Your company’s CMO or VP of marketing needs to focus more on executive-level tasks and less on day-to-day management. It’s a common point in an organization’s trajectory and an exciting moment to grow your team. Yet it’s easy to hire the wrong person into the role of marketing director. Here are four common challenges companies make and easy steps you can take to avoid them.
Not focusing on management skills: One of the most important roles a marketing director has is setting the tone for and managing your marketing team. Evaluate candidates on their past management experience, management skills, and interests in leading a team. Often, this is a critical part of the day-to-day components of this role—and choosing someone who loves to be part of a team, mentor colleagues, and take a leadership role will set your new director up for success.
Not understanding their career goals: When moving into marketing directors’ roles, it’s a step on their career trajectory. It’s important to understand what their objective is. For example, is their goal to be a CMO in a couple years? Or are they looking for more hands-on leadership experience and more responsibility? There’s no right answer, but make sure that their plans, your long-term vision, and your immediate needs align.
Failing to test the larger vision: Marketing directors need to take a creative leadership role in your organization. It’s important to make sure they have the larger vision needed to make that a reality. Would you put this person in charge of the launch plan for a new product or revamping your approach to social media? Look for a blend of creativity, innovative thinking, and good judgment. If it’s all there, you’ll be in great shape and well on your way to hiring a marketing director who can lead your firm into its next phase.
Not focusing on their project management skills: A director-level role often has multiple balls in the air. From responsibility for marketing multiple products to managing several campaigns at a time, it’s important that the individuals you promote or hire are detail oriented. In many cases, they’ll be outsourcing some of their management to admins or project managers. Yet these roles require the ability to focus on different streams, multitask, and more. Take the time to ensure your candidates have experience handling different marketing initiatives simultaneously.
Filling a marketing director role can free up your senior staff, provide important guidance to junior team members, and bring a fresh perspective to your marketing team.