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Why career diversity drives martech team success


Diversity and inclusion in marketing it can improve business results. Just as bringing together a team from diverse personal backgrounds yields positive results, a team with diverse career backgrounds can benefit the martech team and its broader organization.

Fortunately, there are many aspects of an individual’s career that can be used to provide different insights.

The Growing Complexity of Martech: Why Different Expertise Matters

As the martech field continues to evolve, it increasingly includes practitioners from a variety of disciplines, including:

  • Creatively.
  • Product management.
  • Strategy.
  • Data.
  • Programming.
  • Enterprise architecture.
  • Platform management.
  • Enabling users.
  • Channel experts.
  • Privacy.
  • Legally.
  • And many others.

As a result, martech practitioners often collaborate with a wide range of partners. After all, martech is a team sport. The project of establishing a robust cross-channel orchestration requires contributions from individuals from different parts organizational chart.

Building effective martech teams with a wide range of skills

This highlights the importance formation of martech teams with practitioners from different career profiles. For example, understanding data and how it flows between systems is essential when working on orchestration and personalization. A martech practitioner with significant experience in data management and analytics will be invaluable for such initiatives. Including individuals with data-centric experience in the martech team is a prudent strategy.

Dig deeper: By the numbers: Diversity and inclusion are good business

Martech teams can take on many different roles, from evaluating platforms to coordinating work across multiple streams. The roles played by the team may vary from project to project. This can vary by organization and can be influenced by factors such as size, sector and culture.

A team with broad expertise is invaluable in being able to effectively support the many stakeholders involved in any martech initiative.

Generalists and Specialists: Finding the Right Balance for Success

Another important consideration at the team member level is their skill profile. No one can truly master everything, so viewing individuals through the lens of a generalist or specialist is helpful.

This concept comes from the Agile software development community, which defines I and T shaped practitioners based on the key skill sets the team needs.

T-shaped team members are generalists. They are versatile and skilled in multiple areas, but tend to excel in only one or two. They can contribute to a variety of tasks, although they usually do not produce exceptional results in any single area. Generalists may have gained experience through martechsuch as Paid Search Manager, Website Content Manager and Scrum Product Owner.

I-shaped team members are experts. Their expertise is focused on a narrow subset of skills. They excel in certain areas, but may not be as useful when the team needs support outside of their specialty. Experts often come to martech from a specific career, such as data analysis.

Both generalists and specialists bring valuable strengths to the team, and the combination of both is very useful. This is another reason why career diversity is key.

Leveraging product and ecosystem knowledge

It is also worth considering the diversity of careers in relation to martech products and ecosystems. Two prominent companies with competing ecosystems are Adobe and Salesforce.

Martech’s product experts have advantages and limitations. They may take full advantage of the product’s capabilities, but may miss out on broader developments within their category. Also, a product that is best for an organization at one point in time may no longer be the best fit as the product category evolves. Teams must stay on top of these shifts.

Even if an organization is not currently considering migration, it may still benefit from having an expert in another product ecosystem. They could offer valuable, fresh perspectives that enhance the team approach.

How other work experiences enrich martech

Due to their diverse work experience in different companies, individuals bring a wealth of skills, perspectives and tools. For example, some organizations use the Waterfall framework for project management, while others rely on Agile methodologies such as Kanban and Scrum. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and team members familiar with different approaches can provide valuable insights for any initiative.

Moreover, organizations pursue different goals to meet their unique needs. Some focus on developing interpersonal skills such as coaching, while others offer professional development programs or provide cross-training opportunities through job exchange programs. These skills and training are invaluable and should not be overlooked — especially since other organizations have already invested.

Dig deeper: The war on DEI is hitting marketing and hurting business

If organizations are concerned about investing in individuals who might leave, they should also consider the cost of not investing in those who stay. These are key factors to consider when reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and engaging with team members in day-to-day interactions.

Expanding the talent pool: The value of non-traditional backgrounds

So far, the variety of careers considered has focused on fields closely related to marketing technology. However, individuals from very different careers – such as chemistry, teaching and forestry – can also bring significant value.

This diversity can be seen not only in careers but also in educational data. For example, during college I majored in international relations.

Such individuals offer a fresh perspective, often outside of marketing or related technology fields, which can be incredibly valuable.

Training and empowerment in martech

While variety is beneficial On their own, teams and organizations also need to create an environment where people feel safe speaking up and providing different perspectives. This requires a joint effort at multiple levels.

It takes courage to challenge tenure and organizational inertia by saying, “The way we’re doing this isn’t working—let’s consider something different.” I know I can speak better in such situations and I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

Embrace diversity

As the martech field continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly important for practitioners and teams to collaborate with a growing number of stakeholders. Building a diverse team is challenging, but embracing that diversity is an entirely different task. The effort is worth it because it can lead to greater success.

Contributing authors are invited to create content for MarTech and are chosen for their expertise and contributions to the martech community. Our associates work under supervision redaction and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. The opinions expressed are their own.



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