5 Must-Have Marketing Skills for Small Businesses

Marketing skills are critical for any organisation. In fact, marketing is essential for small businesses as it generates revenue and drives growth. Yet, many small businesses have underskilled marketing teams or no marketing staff at all.

A skilled marketing team can be the difference between a struggling business and a thriving one. While many marketing skills are valuable, there are a few must-have skills that every small business team should prioritise.

As strategic marketing management consultants, Evolve & Adapt regularly works with small and medium enterprises to upskill marketing teams and provide training in marketing frameworks and digital marketing skills.

This post will discuss 5 essential marketing skills that small business teams must have.

  1. Communication and Interpersonal Skills
  2. Copywriting
  3. Email Marketing
  4. Data Analytics
  5. Overall Understanding of Digital Marketing
Must Have Marketing Skills

#1 - Communication and Interpersonal Skills: The Foundation of Effective Marketing

The most crucial marketing skills required are effective speaking and written communication skills.

Marketers must be able to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely to both internal and external stakeholders.

This includes communicating marketing strategies, content ideas, campaign results, and insights to team members, executives, and clients.

Strong interpersonal skills are equally important. Marketers must be able to build and maintain relationships with industry professionals, clients, and potential customers.

This involves active listening, empathy, and the ability to build trust. By networking with other marketers, attending industry events, and participating in online communities, marketers can stay up-to-date on the latest trends and opportunities.

Our Tip: Ensure the marketing head or team leader has strong spoken and written communication skills and is experienced in marketing copywriting.

#2 - The Importance of Marketing Copywriting

Copywriting is the art of using words to persuade and engage an audience and is an extension of effective communication skills.

Strong copywriting marketing skills are essential for the success of any small business, whether it is writing product descriptions, crafting email campaigns, or developing social media content. By mastering the art of persuasive communication, marketers can effectively reach their target audience, build brand loyalty, and drive sales.

A critical aspect of copyrighting is crafting a strong call to action (CTA). A compelling CTA is essential for directing the reader’s attention and encouraging them to take the desired action, whether purchasing, signing up for a newsletter, or scheduling a consultation.

Our Tip: Use free AI-powered tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to assist in crafting persuasive copy for specific marketing material.

#3 - The Power of Email Marketing

Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that leverages email to connect with potential and existing customers. It is a direct marketing channel that enables businesses to share news, promotions, and updates with their audience.

Email marketing will continue to be a powerful tool for both B2C and B2B businesses. Its ability to facilitate direct communication, personalisation, and measurement makes it a highly effective channel.

By cultivating an email list of interested individuals, businesses can send targeted messages and track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and more. This data-driven approach allows businesses to gauge the success of their campaigns and make informed decisions.

Our Tip: Learn how to create and run a short-term email marketing campaign here.

#4 - The Need for Data Analytics

Data analysis is the cornerstone of effective marketing.

Marketers can gain valuable insights into website traffic, user behaviour, and campaign performance by gathering data from all marketing channels, such as social media, email, and digital ads.

This data can be used to identify trends, measure the effectiveness of marketing initiatives, and make data-driven decisions.

Acquire Technical Skills

By utilising tools such as Google Analytics, marketers can analyse website traffic data, identify traffic sources and popular pages, understand user journeys, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

They can also track key metrics such as bounce rates, time on site, and conversion rates to gauge the overall performance of their website.

Learn Analytical Skills

While the technical aspects of data analysis are undoubtedly important, a marketer’s ability to interpret data and translate it into actionable insights is equally crucial. This skill set involves a blend of technical knowledge and soft skills.

A curious mind is the foundation of effective data-driven marketing. Marketers should constantly ask “why?” to delve deeper into the data and uncover underlying reasons for trends and patterns. By challenging assumptions and questioning the status quo, marketers can uncover valuable insights that may not be immediately apparent.

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential for making sense of complex data. Marketers should be able to identify patterns and trends and use these insights to solve marketing challenges such as declining sales or low engagement.

Our Tip: Take a course in a relevant analytics software or tool such as Google Analytics and ensure the course covers soft analytical skills.

#5 - Understanding Digital Marketing Strategies and Tactics

In today’s digitally driven world, a grasp of traditional marketing tactics is no longer sufficient. Marketers must have a deep understanding of the digital landscape, even if they do not have technical skills in all aspects of digital marketing.

Marketers must understand the digital marketing flow and how strategy drives traffic that leads to conversions.

A digital marketing overview by Evolve & Adapt is captured below. 

Digital Marketing Overview by J C Sum | Evolve & Adapt
Learn More of this Digital Marketing Overview Here

Besides copywriting, email marketing and data analytics, the digital marketing skills and tactics that marketers must be familiar with include the following:

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is essential for improving website visibility in search engine results. This involves optimising on-page elements such as website content, meta tags, and headers, building high-quality backlinks, and promoting brand awareness through online directories and social media.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is crucial for building brand awareness, engaging with the target audience, and driving website traffic. By sharing valuable content, running targeted social media ad campaigns, and building a strong online community, businesses can connect with their audience on a deeper level.

Digital Advertising

Digital advertising or Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising offers a fast and effective way to drive immediate traffic to a website. Businesses can reach specific demographics and interests by running targeted paid search campaigns on Google Ads and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Graphic Design

Visual or graphic design is a crucial skill for small business marketers to create images for social media posts, digital ads and blog post images. With tools like Canva, it is possible to create visually appealing graphics; marketers can capture attention, convey messages effectively, and leave a lasting impression.

Our Tip: For managers or team leads, take a course that provides an overview of digital marketing that covers the abovementioned topics. Hire marketing staff trained and experienced in at least two types of digital marketing.

Evolve Your Marketing Skills

By mastering the essential marketing skills shared in this post, small businesses can effectively reach their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales.

However, navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape can be challenging.

To help your marketing team stay ahead of the curve, consider working with Evolve & Adapt, an award-winning strategic marketing consultant.

We work with businesses to assess and identify gaps in their core marketing capabilities and marketing skills. Subsequently, we consult and provide training to equip marketing teams with the latest marketing strategies and tactics.

To learn more about how Evolve & Adapt can help your business, please contact us today to schedule a complimentary no-obligation consultation.

J C Sum

J C Sum is a certified management consultant (TR 43:2015), an American Marketing Association Professional Certified Marketer (PCM®) in marketing management as well as a certified digital marketing strategist (SSG-WSQ accredited) with 14 years of experience specializing in search engine optimization, content marketing, and analytics. J C holds a Bachelor of Arts from National University of Singapore and is the author of "Evolve, Adapt or Collapse". He has been featured on The Straits Times, Business Times, Channel News Asia, The Edge Singapore, CNA938, and Money FM 89.3.