Let’s be direct about the future of digital marketing

Enormous opportunities are developing for Direct Marketers

by Greg McKinnon

Direct Marketing
May 2010

It's exciting to see entirely new sources of income emerging for the Direct Marketing industry, especially in view of the pressures it has been under.

In our recruiting business in the last year, we have seen the need for people with Digital Direct Marketing skill sets increase by 200 per cent.

Data mining and relationship marketing is the domain of the Direct Marketer. Marketing to social media users is pure Direct Marketing - with significant budgets being allocated to this effort.

Sites such as Facebook and Plentyoffish, among others, are beginning to commercialize their data and the trends gleaned from it. This is creating new opportunities for Direct Marketers to apply their skills in entirely new media. It also opens up a vast source of new data.

At McKinnon Targeted Recruiters, we have recently had conversations with several senior marketers regarding their intent to apply sophisticated analytical techniques (eg. segmentation, predictive modeling, etc.) to tap these rich new data mines.

As a result, we are seeing increased demand for people with Digital Direct Marketing skills.

New job categories are emerging. Some of these positions include: Social Media Strategists, Email Marketers, and eCRM marketers. Direct Marketing professionals can increase their own marketability by beefing up their knowledge of web analytics, search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).

In general, with digital work accounting for an increasing percentage agencies' income, the ability to market in this everevolving digital environment is a task that even the largest data-driven marketers find challenging.

In April, Google announced plans to hire in excess of 500 staffers. According to Google officials, the reason for the staff increases is "to deepen its strength in burgeoning segments like mobile and video'to keep pace in a rapidly changing digital marketplace."

Many of the positions that Google is hiring for appear to be aligned with quantitative research and customer profiling. Google seems to be fortifying its analytics and CRM capabilities.

Hiring talent that can demonstrate digital expertise, alongside a strong direct marketing ability, should give companies a competitive advantage as new data streams and information sources add value to customer profiling and targeting activities.

However, without the right talent, the way forward will be difficult, if not impossible. The rapid rise of digital has led to a skills shortage in both agencies and corporations, as demand outweighs supply for talented digital direct marketers.

Digital Direct Marketing is creating terrific opportunities for career seekers in marketing. Digital Direct Marketers are leading the way for the future of digital and direct marketing. The direct marketing industry needs to realize the importance of positioning itself at the forefront of digital marketing to take advantage of these burgeoning and lucrative opportunities.

Digital Direct Marketing is here – are you ready?

McKinnon Targeted Recruiters provides mid and senior level executive recruiting services with an exceptionally high rate of candidate retention for organizations of all sizes — from start-ups to global giants. McKinnon specializes in the direct, targeted recruitment of professionals from within their clients' industries. Areas of specialty include sales; marketing and marketing communications; analytics; research; consumer insights; professional services; retail management; natural resources and mining; and life sciences. For further information, visit www.mckinnon.com.