marketing manager

While some people might think that marketing managers have nothing to do with problem-solving, that’s not quite the case. For marketing managers, one of the essential tasks is solving problems without having all of the necessary information.

Another task is making sure there’s a procedure in place to prevent similar issues in the future. That’s why certain problem-solving skills are essential for marketing managers, and why they need to come up with various creative solutions when approaching problems.

At the core, problem-solving skills allow people to take note of an issue, identify what’s causing it, design a solution, and effectively implement that solution.

Aside from that, problem-solving also involves being able to evaluate whether a given solution achieved the desired results or not. Some of the best problem solvers are able to anticipate issues and take proactive measures to mitigate their impact.

Analytical Skills

The first step of problem-solving is analyzing the issue at hand and going beyond the surface in order to find what’s causing the problem. There are different analytical strategies that can contribute to problem-solving such as research, forecasting, attending to details, analysis, and fact-checking.

For example, if a company frequently overextends its social media budget, then with the right analytical skills, a marketing manager can precisely pinpoint what’s really happening and solve the problem.

The marketing manager might find that while the social media campaigns are being created the right way, the marketing team doesn’t have the right budgeting skills to help calculate the spending properly. Then, they could develop a training program for the team that will teach everyone about financial forecasting, losses, and profits.

Sound Judgments

Another skill that is beneficial to problem-solving is being able to make the right decision out of an array of potential solutions. Developing this type of sound judgment allows marketing managers to consider the core of a problem, the potential drawbacks to each solution, how to best implement the right one, and their costs and required resources.

There are several capabilities that fall under this skill, including leadership, critical thinking and deduction, prediction, discussion, and testing.

Organizational Skills

The next essential problem-solving skill for marketing managers is being able to organize everything neatly in order to carry out the solution for a problem.

That way, everyone will be taking the right steps to achieve the desired results, which also improves efficiency and work alignment for the team. Organizational skills also benefit from strategies such as recording and filing information, and creating schedules.

Creativity

Once the marketing manager has figured out the core of an issue, it’s time to figure out different ways to solve that problem, and that’s where creativity comes into play.

There are times when the solution to an issue isn’t straightforward and requires different points of view to get to the right answer. That’s why marketing managers should be curious, and thus able to brainstorm, plan, and execute.

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Ronn Torossian is the Founder & Chairman of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently owned PR firms in the United States. Since founding 5WPR in 2003, he has led the company's growth and vision, with the agency earning accolades including being named a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, a top three NYC PR agency by O'Dwyers, one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces and being awarded multiple American Business Awards, including a Stevie Award for PR Agency of the Year. With over 25 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America's most prolific and well-respected public relations executives. Throughout his career he has advised leading and high-growth businesses, organizations, leaders and boards across corporate, technology and consumer industries. Torossian is known as one of the country's foremost experts on crisis communications. He has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appears regularly in the media and has authored two editions of his book, "For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations," which is an industry best-seller. Torossian's strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, a Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider, Metropolitan Magazine's Most Influential New Yorker, and a recipient of Crain's New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Outside of 5W, Torossian serves as a business advisor to and investor in multiple early stage businesses across the media, B2B and B2C landscape. Torossian is the proud father of two daughters. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a board member of multiple not for profit organizations.