Modern marketers must be part artists, part sellers; do you fit the bill?

Imagine a bustling kitchen in a high-end restaurant. The chef, our marketing maven, meticulously crafts exquisite menus, each one a work of art. Meanwhile, in the dining room, the charismatic maître d', our sales virtuoso, engages with patrons, recommending dishes and ensuring a seamless dining experience. For decades, the business world has operated much like this restaurant, with marketing and sales as distinct entities, each playing a crucial role but rarely crossing into each other's domains.

Picture, if you will, the scenic world of 1960s advertising portrayed in Mad Men. Don Draper and his team of creatives brainstorm catchy slogans and eye-catching visuals for Lucky Strike cigarettes, while across town, an army of salesmen in crisp suits and fedoras pound the pavement, pitching the product to shopkeepers and distributors. The marketers create desire; the salespeople close the deal. Never the twain shall meet.

But in the world we live in now, this once-clear division is dissolving faster than a sugar cube in hot tea. The internet, social media, and e-commerce have shaken up the traditional model, creating a new paradigm where the lines between marketing and sales are increasingly blurred. It's as if our chef and maître d' have suddenly found themselves working in a food truck, where creating the product and selling it to the customer happen almost simultaneously.

This shift is reshaping not just how companies operate but also how they hire and what skills they prioritise in their marketing professionals. Gone are the days when a clever slogan and a firm handshake were enough to succeed in the world of marketing and sales. Today's professionals need to be part artist, part data scientist, and part soothsayer.

The convergence of marketing and sales

Nimisha Das, senior director of HR at Kellanova (formerly Kellogg’s) South Asia, explains the root of this change. She says, "The shift in business models has emphasised data, digital channels, and consumer experience, merging sales and marketing roles. Digital channels now require a unified consumer journey across both activities."

Traditionally, sales teams were responsible for direct customer interactions, while marketing focused on identifying target segments and developing brand propositions. However, the digital revolution has dramatically altered this dynamic. Das elaborates, "Today, digital channels and CRM systems provide abundant consumer data, enabling marketing to understand individual behaviours and preferences, creating targeted campaigns previously managed by sales."

This shift is not just organisational; it reflects an underlying change in consumer behaviour. "The act of comparison and evaluation of products that traditionally used to happen before purchase is today happening on the go while the consumer is shopping thanks to the internet explosion," Das points out. "This happens simultaneously on mobile phones, internet searches or, by scanning a QR code. This fundamentally blurs the line between marketing and sales, which were traditionally influencing the 'path to purchase' for the end consumer."

Evolving skill requirements

As the nature of marketing work changes, so too do the skills required of marketing professionals. Das notes, "Marketing job descriptions now emphasise digital technologies, data analytics, and customer-centric strategies. Traditionally focused on creativity, branding, and communication, marketing roles now require data-savvy, tech-literate professionals who can adapt to the digital landscape."

However, this doesn't mean that traditional marketing skills have become obsolete. Das emphasises, "It is not a move from the former to the latter because the focus on creativity, branding and communication still rules paramount. But now, it is a must to be able to use tech and data to get it done better and faster."

The modern marketer must be adept at synthesising information from a variety of sources. "Earlier, multiple consumer visits and syndicated research studies were used to tell us everything we knew about consumers," Das explains. "Now, marketers need to do this and also analyse customer data, generate shopper insights, do social listening, follow Google searches, go through reviews and ratings and assimilate it together to concoct the best marketing strategies."

The rise of retail media

Karan Bhagi, founder & CEO of Altera Institute of Management, highlights another crucial factor driving the convergence of marketing and sales—the rise of retail media. "These lines are increasingly blurring because retail channels and media channels are converging," Bhagi states. "Platforms like Nykaa, Amazon, Myntra and D2C websites are not just destinations where people shop from but are very important touchpoints in the decision-making process."

Advertising spend reflects this shift, with retail media becoming an increasingly significant portion of digital media budgets. Bhagi notes, "Retail media is already 22.5% of digital media spends which in turn is ~45% of the total media spends in India. For context, that is ~50% of print media in the country."

A new lexicon, curriculum, and upskilling

As the roles of marketing and sales professionals evolve, so too does the language used to describe their work. Bhagi explains, "This has given rise to an entirely new lexicon in marketing – integrated media campaigns are now consumer journeys, trade marketing is now omnichannel marketing, on-shelf visibility is now performance marketing, and many others."

The rapid evolution of marketing roles has created a challenge for traditional educational institutions. Bhagi points out, "Unfortunately, traditional education is unable to upskill professionals on these skills." 

The data-driven marketer

Shan Jain, an independent director, brand strategist, and marketing transformation advisor, emphasises the central role of data in modern marketing. "Data is the new oil," Jain asserts. "It's valuable, but if unprocessed, it cannot truly be used. It needs to be transformed into something meaningful."

This focus on data represents a fundamental shift in the marketing approach. Jain elaborates on the evolution of marketing roles over the past decade, saying, "If one analyses job descriptions of marketing roles from 10 years ago to today, you'll notice these key differences: Modern marketing roles demand a balance of creativity and data-driven decision-making, with a strong emphasis on technical proficiency."

As marketing continues to evolve, professionals in the field will need to adapt constantly. Nimisha Das summarises the ideal modern marketer as having "a blend of the old world marketing magic touch well integrated into new world marketing logic framework."