Isabella Duncombe, Senior Marketing Executive at Traffi, sits down with us to discuss the four central attributes to successful marketing, alongside advocating for embracing change in these turbulent times.
Why did you choose to pursue a role in marketing? For example, has it always been your passion or was it pure happenstance?
I studied communication and media at Loughborough university, so it was always a route I thought I would end up taking. I love being creative and having the freedom to try out of the box ideas to make the brand stand out compared to competitors.
What personal skills or attributes do you think are most important in the marketing sphere? Why these skills/attributes in particular?
Strategy - I believe in constructing bespoke marketing activity to match the needs of a prospect or customer to my company’s capabilities. I work very closely with the sales team refining the marketing mix to help them win new customers.
Creativity - I think being creative is key. Within marketing, you are constantly having to think of new ideas and stand out ways to market your brand, to stay ahead of the game. Traffi have just launched the world’s first carbon-neutral work glove, this gives me tremendous scope to be creative.
Organised - Marketing often requires you to juggle multiple tasks. Whether it’s managing social media sites, to planning events, in order to keep on top of everything and make sure it is done to a high standard organisation and time management are crucial.
Writing skills - Content creation is a huge part of marketing. You need to be able to write content that is interesting and flows (with the correct grammar). No one likes to receive a boring email with spelling mistakes.
What sort of challenges do you face in your role? Is there a particular challenge that you experienced in the past that stood out?
When working in marketing being rigorous and double-checking every detail is key. One mistake can have a detrimental impact on your brand. I always double-check everything before it goes out and also get other members of my team to check it, as sometimes when you’ve read something so many times it can be easy to miss mistakes.
Also, I am very keen on measuring return on investment from marketing activity, sometimes it can be a challenge to identify specific marketing KPI’s to achieve this.
What one thing would make your working life easier?
Having my very own proofreader!
How is the role of marketing perceived in your organisation?
Marketing plays a crucial role at Traffi. We work extremely closely with our sales team to ensure everything we do is adding value to our customers in some way.
What do you think the secret of success is when working in marketing?
Don’t be afraid of change. Change is good, always be ready to adapt and be constantly thinking what’s next. Also a thorough understanding of your target markets.
At React & Share, we’re obsessed with helping our clients measure and report their efforts - what measurements do you think marketing teams should be presenting to internal stakeholders?
I think the most important measure of success is having a clear idea about what you’re trying to do and making a plan on how you’re going to achieve this.
Looking into your crystal ball, what do you think will be the next big thing in marketing?
I think in the future there will be a massive push on sustainability. Gone will be the days of sending merchandise out to customers which isn’t in some way sustainable or getting brochure after brochure printed.
