Seerfest 2020 Recap #3: Marketers of the Future are Generalists

Seerfest 2020: Worldwide Recap

Our 3rd annual digital marketing conference, Seerfest, went virtual this year for the first time!

For those who missed the event, check out the recap of key takeaways below and keep in mind you can still purchase the full session recordings through the end of this year here. As always, 100% of sales are donated to Coded by Kids!

Business Intelligence is More Accessible Than Ever: Visualizing large data sets in simple dashboards can surface insights that fuel decision-making across your organization.
You Are Not Your Audience: Get to know who your people are so you can cut through the noise when marketing to them.
Marketers of the Future are Generalists: To survive and thrive, marketers must be able to connect the dots between multiple channels, stakeholders, audiences, and technologies.

Takeaway #3: Marketers of the Future are Generalists

We learned through multiple conversations at Seerfest that the future of marketing belongs to the connectors, the experimenters, the ego-checkers -- the Generalists.

“So often we want to get better at the things we’re already good at. Because sucking at something new, well… sucks!” Wil Reynolds, Founder of Seer Interactive, explains in his presentation: "Revenge of the Generalist - Why Growth Jobs are Gaining Influence While Channel Specific Are Getting Boxed In".

Reynolds tells a story about two different roles on the team he hired to help him and his family build their new home:

The Architect: Asks questions like ‘what makes you and your wife fight?’ and ‘what makes you happy?’. Connecting to the family’s goals, dreams, and vision enables the architect to make decisions like: 'we'll give you two vanities so you don't have to deal with your wife's hair in the sink' and 'we'll build a courtyard in the middle of your home with lots of windows so you can see your sons playing from anywhere since that’s your happy place'.
The Bricklayer: Comes in to get the job done. Lays the bricks per usual and then punches out. That's the job, right? But what happens to bricklayers that don’t expand outside of their specialty? This does.

Connecting the Dots

In addition to his presentation on generalists, Reynolds also sat for a Fireside Chat with Chief Marketing Officer of Skyscanner, Joanna Lord to dig into this further from a C-Suite point-of-view.

Their conversation focused on revenue growth being the driving force of marketing. If you have a PPC specialist who’s campaigns aren’t meeting goals, do you think they'll get budget for SEO even if it’s the best thing to do for the business? Probably not. You have to connect those dots.

The Broader the Better?

The future belongs to those with a holistic understanding of how businesses make money and how different tactics combine into a single user experience to support that bottom line.

To survive and thrive, marketers must be able to sit between multiple channels, stakeholders, audiences, and technologies. The more empathy and experience they have in each of those areas, the better.

I don't know a marketing leader today that isn't thinking full funnel.

Lord herself has held roles from CMO, VP of Growth, Director of Customer Acquisition & Retention, Paid Media specialty, and even an Assistant Professor. This range lends itself to a multitude of experiences that allows her to zoom in and out when approaching business problems.