How do you evaluate a potential senior marketing hire?

Marketing is a such a crucial function in any business and yet so many firms fail to correctly resource it. The following are a few questions you should be asking before you select a candidate for a senior marketing role.

Do they have the right skillset?

A potential candidate might have a great CV or resume and an impressive work history, but are they really right for your organisation? Marketing is a broad, heterogeneous discipline, covering everything from traditional and digital advertising to analytics and brand management. Your chosen candidate must be able to contribute in the context of your organisation’s specific marketing mix.

Do they understand your business?

This is all about brand positioning and awareness. Your marketing team needs to constantly drive home your brand’s message. So, one of the most important things your candidate needs to demonstrate is an in-depth understanding of the sector. They should be able to explain what you do and for whom in the context of your customer / client base. They should be able to name your principal competitors. Related to this is whether they fit with the ethos of your company. For example, are they the ‘out of the box’ thinker that you need for your innovative, disruptive start-up or a more ‘by the numbers’ marketing professional who may clash with your way of working?

Can they implement a marketing strategy and measure its success?

A solid understanding of marketing principles is one thing. A track-record of developing and implementing successful marketing strategies is another. So, make sure your potential hire has practical experience of running or contributing to successful campaigns (ideally within your sector). You might also ‘test’ a candidate by giving them a hypothetical budget and asking them to outline a strategy they think would work for you. Of course, implementing a strategy is only the first step. Your new hire also needs to be able to roll up their sleeves and get to grips with metrics to make sure that the strategy is working and to make changes where necessary to ensure it achieves optimal results.

Ask which KPIs they believe are important and how they track their inbound marketing progress. How do they update their colleagues on lead gen programs? How effective are their current programs versus their quarterly or annual targets? Their response to these questions will demonstrate their awareness of the importance of owning, measuring and communicating key marketing and lead gen metrics.

Can they ‘fill in the gaps’?

While it’s not realistic to expect a new hire to be an expert in everything, you do need someone who can identify and effectively fill in any gaps in expertise. This is especially true if you are hiring a marketing team leader. For example, one skill that is often overlooked is writing. Whether you have in-house copywriters, work with an agency or hire freelancers directly, you need to make sure that your new hire understands great writing and can harness the best talent to translate ideas into words. Strong writing skills also indicate the ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders. So, consider having a written component to your hiring process that can also be used to indicate candidates’ understanding of your business and sector.

Of all the teams within your organisation, marketing is arguably the one with the ability to make or break your business. So, don’t be swayed by a gold-plated CV or a blue chip employment history alone. Dig deeper and evaluate potential candidates in the context of your market and business model.

For more advice on hiring senior talent for your software startup or scale-up, book an intro. phone call with Gary Reeman, Managing Director at AlpinaSearch via https://alpinasearch.as.me/talent