Hire For Diversity – Of Experience
One of the most common mistakes I see B2C companies make when they are searching for a marketing executive is prioritizing industry experience. I’m here to tell you that unless your field is HIGHLY technical (which typically would preclude you from being B2C anyway), finding a generalist with a broad base of experience usually leads to the best outcome.
You’ve probably already read studies that show that executive teams with increased diversity of gender, ethnicity and age tend to solve problems and grow their businesses faster. Diverse executive teams have a wider variety of life and work experience to draw from. By extension, hiring a marketing executive that has worked in a number of industries (diversity of acquired experience) will yield greater adaptability, innovation, creativity and versatility, while reducing risk!
Finding this hard to believe? Throughout my career I have worked on both the advertising agency side and the consumer engagement side of client businesses. I have marketed brands in industries as diverse as banking, non-profit, luxury, industrial, technology, telecommunications, consumer electronics, apparel, tourism, professional sports, utilities, food & beverage and home goods. While each business required a “ramp-up” period - typically about 3 months to learn the fundamentals of what make that industry unique - after that ramp-up period I would say I knew 80% of what I needed to be successful. Less if I had access to R&D and product development teams who DID benefit from specialization. After all, consumer engagement by its nature is as much (or more) about understanding the prospective buyer as it is about the product itself. The X-factor I provided was that every single business I worked on benefitted from best practices I was able to bring from the other industries in which I had worked. I brought experience from the industrial sector to professional sports, from sports to apparel, from apparel to food & beverage, from food & beverage to tourism, et cetera.
Unconvinced? Bill Gates made the same argument regarding Microsoft’s success in his review of the book, “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World" by David Epstein here.
Quite simply, a marketing executive with diverse experience is better equipped to adapt to changing market dynamics and trends. They bring a broader perspective and strategies that can be tailored to a variety of business contexts. They are also more likely to innovate within the category, drawing upon a wider range of ideas, approaches and best practices. They are more likely to think outside of the box, exploring unconventional solutions and identifying opportunities for cross-pollination and leveraging successful strategies from one sector to benefit another resulting in unique and effective marketing initiatives.
Business environments are increasingly complex and unpredictable. COVID taught that in a big way. A marketing executive with a diverse background is more likely to have encountered different challenges, risks and market conditions, and their exposure to these situations equips them with a more nuanced understanding of risk management. They can identify potential pitfalls others may not see and are often able to navigate uncertainty with a more varied set of solutions. This versatility – the agility to switch gears by finding innovative solutions -- often results in first-mover advantage within an industry clogged with insiders.
But what about the old mantra “Jack of all trades, master of none”? Well, first, the “trade” in this case is still marketing. I’m not suggesting hiring someone for a senior marketing role with no (or limited) experience in marketing. This is someone who has been in marketing most, if not all, of their career. They have mastered it, they are just bringing a great deal more diversity of experience to the role.
The bottom line? When hiring for senior marketing positions, don’t stop at inherent diversity (race, gender, sexual orientation). Those are definitely important, but you should also look for diversity of acquired experience. Find smart, experienced marketers who have succeeded with multiple brands outside of your category; ones who have done so during up and down markets. Look for talent who can learn quickly, have proven their ability to adapt to changing market conditions and have a portfolio of differentiating work. After you’ve done that, do it again. Build an entire team based on that philosophy, a team with complementary skills and a flat culture where new ideas and innovation are embraced.
I promise you, your brand will be unstoppable.