Throughout 2013 we saw a rise in the number of marketing roles being created. Previous to 2013 in both SMEs and multinationals, marketing had been seen as an extra cost to a business, however in the past 12 months the trend has been to increase the size of the marketing team. Marketing is beginning to be seen as a revenue generating aspect of the business with more long-term goals in mind. Marketing teams have been growing and we have noticed many companies creating new roles within these teams. For smaller SMEs this may mean hiring the first person solely to look after marketing or for larger companies that have a central marketing function, this may mean that a marketing team is established in Ireland. This shows a move away from Ireland being thought of a second rate market. Companies are now investing in marketing strategies that are specific to the Irish market in order to maximise their revenue.
Now more than ever there is a stronger need for marketers with strong digital knowledge, including online marketing and social media. Many have re-skilled in this area as companies have become heavily reliant on their online presence and are moving away from print media altogether. One online specialist is no longer enough for an increasing number of companies who now require digital marketing teams where there are positions such as Social Media Specialist, Online Marketing Specialist and Digital Marketing Manager.
Another skill that has become highly important is measuring return on investment so marketers need to be highly commercial and analytical. Each project that they carry out, they must be able to prove how it has influenced the bottom line and so analytical skills have become extremely important.
Contact Sarah Brennan for further information.
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