At an event hosted by the American Marketing Association, Nick Fryer, Director of Marketing at AFN, provides three simple strategies that can go a long way to help marketers survive and thrive in a one-person department:
1. THINK BIG
Act as though you have a full team at your disposal. For example, be hyper-responsive to the needs of the sales team and train yourself to always say “yes.” As a team of one, sometimes you’ll have to push the boundaries and act vs waiting around looking for permission.
Tip: Work on building external coalitions/partnerships to grow your network and use as resources for the future.
2. THINK LONG-TERM
Approach your role as though you’ll be at the company for the next 5-10 years! Think long-term with individual career goals and take the time to build and invest in relationships with coworkers.
Tip: Improve employees’ LinkedIn profiles across the organization. Having consistent messaging helps their brands, and in turn, the organization’s brand. As you do this, you’ll be able to learn your coworkers’ stories and build better relationships.
3. THINK RESULTS
Follow through and get the job done. As you train yourself to say “yes,” set expectations and deadlines appropriately. In addition, staying true to your word and producing excellent results will help build trust and reliability.
Tip: Ask yourself: What’s one quick win that will help the company immediately to show you have value? Updating the website blog? Building the company YouTube or Instagram channel? Whatever it may be: discover it, create a strategy, and execute it during your first months at the organization.
