I wrote this paper with my good friend Carlos Hidalgo who is passionate about the topic

1. 5 Steps for Closing the Skills Gap
Focus Research ©2012 All Rights Reserved

2. 5 Steps for Closing the Skills Gap
The 2012 Marketing Skills Gap survey conducted by Focus and the Marketing Automation Institute and
sponsored by Eloqua and Bulldog Solutions revealed a significant issue: marketers are struggling to acquire
the right skills to do their jobs effectively. Furthermore, the study revealed the impact that these lack of skills
are having on revenue, the sales and marketing alignment gap, and how little organizations are doing to
change the dynamic within their organizations. In other words, there is a skills gap issue in marketing and
fixing this problem has the potential to drive a company’s revenue growth and bottom line.
Organizations must make a commitment to closing this gap. In today’s B2B environment, marketing is more
important than ever and the longer this issue goes unaddressed, the longer organizations will struggle to see
a significant impact on their revenue from marketing activities.
In response to the data that was received by close to 500 respondents, these are 5 things that organizations
should do immediately to address the skills gap and begin educating, equipping, and enabling their
marketing personnel.
1. Get commitment from the CEO 75% of all
Imagine if a CEO of an organization was approached by the head of
respondents in the
a business unit or a VP and told that the company had an issue that
more often than not was having a negative impact on revenue. In fact, Skills Gap study
the issue was so severe that in looking at the problem, 75% of the
organization agreed that this issue was limiting the ability to generate stated that their
more revenue.
skills gap has an
In all likelihood the CEO would assign a task force to the issue, would
allocate the necessary resources to fix the problem, and perhaps even hire impact on their
an outside team of consultants. You can be sure that it would be “all hands
on deck” until the issue was solved and the necessary heads had rolled. corporate revenue
The truth is that problem exists today in most organizations and the
CEO has either turned a blind eye or is unaware of the depth of the issue. It is key that marketing raise this
issue and paint the picture for the CEO that shows there is a problem, i.e. just how profound the revenue
impact is.
5 Steps for Closing the Skills Gap Focus Research ©2012 2

3. In order for marketers to acquire the necessary skills, they need the commitment of the CEO to provide the
necessary funding and make it a priority; otherwise, this will not get the necessary attention.
2. Allocate funds to address skills development
46% of organizations spend less than $500 per year on skills training
Every marketing budget should have a line item that allocates funding for education of the marketing
organization. This should not come at the cost of some other program, but should be part of every marketing
budget in their next budget cycle.
How much should be allocated? That will depend on what skills need to be developed and where the biggest
gaps exist. The allocation should truly enable those in the marketing organization and educate them. This is
not accomplished by sending marketing employees to a half-day seminar at the Ramada hotel. This will be
accomplished over time but with advanced training.
If a baseline is needed for how much should be spent, use the following:
In analyzing the data from the research, more than 25% of large companies spend more than $5,000 per
year on skills training; this is a good figure to use as a baseline.
Organizations that fail to invest in the proper skills development will consistently see poor results from their
marketing and more often will fail to see improvements in their marketing ROI.
3. Develop a long-term education strategy 63% of respondents stated
The wrong answer to the skills gap problem is to say “go take they receive no formal skills
a class.” The right answer is to create a long-term plan that is
focused on constant, progressive learning. The education plan training or receive skills
should strive to make employees not just marginally better, but
great! training on an “ad hoc” basis
With the rapid change of the B2B marketing environment, the goal for education should be to stay ahead
of the game. A long-term educational strategy will enable this. Much like how HR departments develop
leadership plans for employees that are identified as having potential for future organizational leadership,
marketing should take the same approach.
5 Steps for Closing the Skills Gap Focus Research ©2012 3

4. Equipping teams with the key basics and then allowing them to advance in their learning will be essential to
the long-term success of any organization.
Understand that the skills acquired will be honed with hands-on experience, which takes time, but allowing
individuals to put these new skills to work will make them better at their jobs and ultimately will enable
marketing to deliver more value to the organization.
23%
4. Support skills training for specific roles
The optimal marketing organization is not made up of “jack-of-all- of respondents
trades” marketers but specialists who own specific responsibilities
in the organization. The types of roles depend on your stated that demand generation
organization’s goals, but some examples are: content marketing,
demand generation, web marketing, and marketing operations.
is the most important
Each role requires specific skill sets and therefore requires skill-
specific training.
contributor to revenue, while
While there are many general marketing seminars and workshops
available, this is not the kind of training that is needed for 14% chose demand generation
marketing personnel. The training must be specific to what they
need to do their day-to-day job most effectively. as the skill most lacking
If there is no clear understanding of which specific skills are lacking from each marketing team member,
conduct a personnel review and align the training and long-term plan to the role of each individual.
5. Offer multiple channels for development
More than 50% of respondents stated they are self taught via online content,
blogs, on the job learning, and marketing books
While marketers should be applauded for trying to acquire the necessary skills independently, they should
not be left to try and figure it out on their own. Rather, effective marketing organizations should develop a
multi-channel training plan. The mix can include some or all of the following:
• In-person training • Online written curriculum • Gamification
• Video • Podcasts • Online classroom type learning
5 Steps for Closing the Skills Gap Focus Research ©2012 4

5. The truth is that people learn in different ways, and to provide the training in only one format may not benefit
a good portion of the marketing team. Providing multiple channels will be more valuable and allow individuals
to acquire the skills that suit their learning style best.
Summary:
There is no doubt that today’s marketer is far behind in the acquisition of the skills needed to do their job
most effectively. If organizations are going to demand more from their marketing teams, the must provide
them every means necessary to succeed. By not investing in the development of their people, organizations
are limiting success and reducing the overall value of their marketing spend.
Below is a list of recommended resources that provide the type of skills training needed for today’s
marketing personnel.
• The Marketing Automation Institute: www.marketingautomationinstitute.com
• The Content Marketing Institute: www.contentmarketinginstitute.com
• MarketingProfs: www.marketingprofs.com
• Online Marketing Institute: www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org
• Sirius Decisions: www.siriusdecisions.com
• MarketingSherpa: www.marketingsherpa.com
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