Hiring Great Marketing Talent

Hiring great marketing talent is often misunderstood.

I don’t think great marketing talent is about being the most creative person in the room.

Creativity matters, but it’s not the core.

So what actually defines great marketing talent?

In my view, it comes down to a few fundamentals.

First, they need to understand the customer really well.
Second, they need to understand the product really well.
Third, they need to be able to use data really well.

The key phrase here is “really well.”

Understanding the customer really well means more than knowing who they are on paper. It means understanding how they think, what they care about, what frustrates them, and what actually drives their decisions. It means knowing what problem they are trying to solve, even when they can’t clearly articulate it themselves.

Understanding the product really well means more than knowing the features. It means knowing where the product genuinely creates value and where it doesn’t. How it fits into someone’s life. Why it’s chosen. Why it’s ignored. And how it compares to alternatives—not just competitors, but the option of doing nothing.

Then there’s data.

Great marketing talent knows how to use data properly. Not to justify opinions, and not to hide behind dashboards, but to learn. They know which numbers matter, which ones don’t, and when a metric is actually telling the truth versus when it’s just noise.

Simply put, if something works, it usually means there is real understanding behind it.

The next question is how long it works.

Short-term results can come from tactics, trends, or timing. Long-term results usually come from understanding. When someone can keep something working over time—while conditions change—that’s a strong signal they understand the customer, the product, and the system they’re operating in.

On top of all this, great marketing talent has a knack for execution.

Relentless execution.

Ideas are easy. Execution is not.

This shows up in attention to detail, consistency, and follow-through. It’s the ability to ship things properly, not just talk about them. To test, learn, adjust, and keep going. To care about the small things, because small things compound.

Great marketers don’t just think well. They execute well.

When hiring marketing talent, I don’t look for the loudest voice or the most creative pitch.

I look for people who understand deeply, execute relentlessly, and let results do the talking.