Why T-Shaped Marketers Hold the Key to Success in the New Marketing Age

The benefits of being a T-shaped marketer and utilizing expertise from different digital fields to stay on top of this rapidly changing marketing landscape is crucial.

We are witnessing unprecedented levels of digital disruption in marketing. AI is also assuming more marketing responsibilities and raising concerns that human marketing roles might become obsolete. 

This will most certainly not be the case. At least not anytime soon. But the ability to embrace new technologies quickly and implement marketing experiments independently can make the difference between success and be made redundant. This is where T-shaped marketers come in. 

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By nature, T-shaped marketers are self-starters and doers. They do not confine themselves within the limits of their specialization but seek to understand all facets of digital marketing while achieving expertise in one. 

Building a team of T-shaped marketers can be highly beneficial because it will ensure everyone understands the bigger picture while filling expertise gaps in different marketing specializations. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of being a T-shaped marketer – for yourself and your company. 

Benefits of being a T-shaped marketer

Generalists are capable of many things but do not excel in any. I-shaped marketers are specialists in one area of expertise. They carve their corner in a single space. On the other hand, T-shaped marketers are skilled in different marketing facets but experts in one.  

Thus, one would easily say that T-shaped marketers are an excellent fit for agile, fast-paced environments and startup cultures. Here’s why:

1. Cross-Disciplinary Knowledge

T-shaped marketers can identify opportunities for collaboration with other teams across multiple disciplines, such as content marketing for lead generation and social media for community building. This can lead to more effective teamwork, increased efficiency, and reduced marketing costs.

For example, a T-shaped marketer conversant with digital and traditional marketing can use a digital advertising campaign to complement a more extensive print advertising campaign. 

Furthermore, T-shaped marketers help companies manage diverse workloads, preventing them from hiring separate full-time marketers. They also understand how different marketing elements fit together and can allocate resources to guarantee the success of marketing campaigns.

2. Ability to Work in Any Industry

Most marketing initiatives or activities are industry agnostic. Being a T-shaped marketer makes handling various tasks in any company or industry easy. For context, you can seamlessly pivot and fit into a new market, technology, or industry without compromising quality service delivery.

Moreover, companies are looking for flexible marketing professionals who can bring new perspectives and deliver results no matter the industry. 

Similarly, the versatility gained from being a T-shaped marketer makes you well-suited to meet such demands. You can get your feet through different doors because of the diverse marketing skills you bring to the table.  

3. Better Chances of Getting Hired

Skills are the bedrock of your expertise, and companies hire based on skills, not roles. 64% of experts claim that skill testing is vital for hiring the right candidate, much more critical than traditional hiring methods. 

Likewise, having various skills that cut across different niches increases your chances of employability. So no matter how competitive the job market is, you can be confident of landing your dream job as a T-shaped marketer.

4. Helps You Develop High-Value Soft Skills

Being a T-shaped marketer gives you a holistic avenue to develop in-demand soft skills that could boost your career prospects. Handling diverse responsibilities and working across several departments requires you to wear several hats simultaneously. 

Consequently, you can build a robust stack of soft skills applicable to any industry. 

You can become a critical thinker, an effective communicator, a collaborator, a leader, and a great negotiator, to mention a few. Additionally, you learn to adapt quickly to technological changes, customer behavior, and market trends. 

Benefits of Having T-shaped Marketers on Your Team 

Having T-shaped marketers on your marketing team is akin to fixing round pegs into round holes. They fit perfectly. On that note, let’s look at some benefits of having such perfect fits on your team.  

1. Valuable Assets to Any Company 

The experience and unique blend of soft and technical skills T-shaped marketers possess make them invaluable talents to any company. They are also referred to as marketing demigods capable of taking a marketing framework from zero to a hundred, single-handedly or collectively.

Who would treat someone who is basically good at everything and can deliver effectively as a liability? Except, of course, they are ignorant of the competitive advantage T-shaped marketers offer or are terrible at managing human resources.  

2. Complete Perspective Over the Digital Strategy

From sales to customer relationship management to analytics, T-shaped marketers provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to digital marketing strategies. 

For example, a T-shaped marketer with experience in UX and CRO could bring a unique perspective on self-reported vs. traditional marketing attribution across different customer touchpoints. This could help you make more sense of the customer journey and invest in the channels that are truly bringing results. 

T-shaped marketers also bring a data-driven approach, evaluating the effectiveness of their campaigns on the go and making informed decisions by running many small-scale experiments.

3. Provide Creative Solutions to Problems

T-shaped marketers are great creative thinkers because they are exposed to and understand different marketing domains. It enables them to proffer feasible solutions to problems as they arise. 

Additionally, they can identify marketing loopholes that could potentially risk the company’s growth. 

4. Ability to Deliver Well-Rounded Results

Being knowledgeable in different areas of marketing makes T-shaped marketers all-rounders. They can think beyond the boundaries of their expertise and consider the bigger picture when developing marketing strategies. 

This means they consider broader business goals, external factors, and how to thrive in the competitive landscape.

5. Experienced Collaborators

T-shaped marketers can take on small responsibilities and assist colleagues across different departments while keeping sight of the company’s goals. 

They are flexible and can adjust their approach and strategies based on input and feedback from others. In addition, they are open to new ideas and are willing to work with others to find the best solution.

6. Organizational Integration

Everything is omnichannel or multi-channel today. Thankfully, T-shaped marketers can integrate multiple organizational functions—such as branding, product development, and customer relationship—leading to better marketing results. 

They provide organizational integration by creating a synergy between different departments to achieve common marketing goals. And they do so by establishing clear communication channels and creating cohesive marketing strategies. 

7. Work Better in Teams

Working in silos is fast becoming outdated in today’s business world. Fortunately, having T-shaped marketers in your workforce can help you foster teamwork and achieve the company’s goals more quickly.

Furthermore, T-shaped marketers can mentor and share their knowledge with other team members, helping to build a stronger, knowledgeable marketing team.

The Benefits of T-Shaped Marketing Extend Beyond Just Being a “Jack of All Trades

The first step towards leveraging T-shaped marketing is having a basic understanding of what a T-shaped marketer is. Besides being a jack of all trades, T-shaped marketers are great fits for the fast-growing business ecosystem. This is because their expertise goes beyond the marketing spectrum.

So, if you want to expand your craft and become a highly sought-after marketing personnel, consider becoming a T-shaped marketer. Likewise, an organization looking to stand out from competitors must focus on creating a versatile marketing team that also includes T-shaped marketers.