B2B technology marketers say "soft" abilities such as good communication and people management are the most important skills needed to succeed in the field, according to recent research from Spiceworks.
The report was based on data from a survey of 359 B2B technology industry marketers who live in North America and Europe. The researchers sorted the respondents into three generations: Millennials (born between 1981 and 1997), Generation X (1965-1980), and Baby Boomers (1946-1964).
Some 82% of respondents say soft skills are very or extremely important for B2B tech marketers.
Writing skills rank second (80% say they are very or extremely important), followed by content marketing skills (78%), digital media skills (77%), data analysis skills (77%), and email marketing skills (65%).
More Baby Boomer respondents say writing skills are important than do respondents from younger generations. More Millennial respondents rank email marketing and coding skills as important than older generations do:
Most B2B technology marketers say they have advanced writing and soft skills.
Less than half (46%) of B2B technology marketers say their content marketing skills are advanced, and only 38% say their digital media skills are advanced.
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Millennials are less confident about their writing and soft skills than are older generations, but they feel more confident about their social media skills:
Among those respondents looking to potentially switch jobs in the next year, most would do so in hopes of advancing their marketing skills (66% cite that as a reason for leaving). Looking for a better salary ranks second (58%), followed by finding a company that makes marketing more of a priority (41%):
About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 359 B2B technology industry marketers who live in North America and Europe.
