If you are a hiring manager or entrepreneur running your own company, it can be a hassle to hire the right people into your company. After all, you want to make sure you are making the right choice and not putting someone into position that could wreck the great results you have in your market. But how do you decide which marketing managers are worth their salt? Here is what you should look at before you make the jump:

Marketing Management 101

The basics of marketing management dictate that the employee should be a self starter who is able to stay focused on the key directives that your business is facing. They should also have a strong grasp of the fundamentals of marketing and be able to offer creative ideas that improve your brand instead of detract from it. Thirdly, they must be able to guide and lead others in different roles from designers, to programmers, to copywriters to ensure that the overall marketing system is running smoothly.

Your marketing manager should have a grasp of these basics, in addition to overall strategy marketing management. After all, your business plan is a marathon, not a sprint. Great marketing managers have an ability to see the future and plan ahead.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most powerful ways of reaching your audience. While different social media platforms may come and go, it seems that email is here to stay. In the old days of marketing is was about having the home address of prospects. Today is all about having the email address and building a "list." Any marketer worth their salt will begin planning how to make the most out of this email list, so make sure your new hire has some understanding of it or is seeking to gain this understanding soon.

Social Media

if one piece of marketing has changed the way companies do business recently, it is social media. Social media allows customers and businesses to connect faster than ever. With this instant communication, you also need to protect the downside. Your new manager should understand how to create content and manage a community effectively.

SEO

With Google's recent changes in how it ranks sites, SEO is more important to understand than ever. It is still possible to rank on the first page of competitive fields but it is much harder. Your marketing lead should know how to get results without breaking the bank.

Sales Funnel Anatomy

A sales funnel is a fancy name for a customer buying process or online sales process. Sales funnels have always existed, but they function differently with new media online. Your marketing manager is the person in charge of building this funnel in a way that brings leads into your company and converts them in an automated way. They should be utilizing all the technology that is available such as testing and automation.

Reputation Management

Your reputation is what determines your success in today's world. The two things that are in short supply are trust and attention. You can get attention by spending money on ads. But the only way to build trust is through a smart marketing campaign that puts you in the best light. Of course, you need to deliver on your promises and your brand, but don't forget that appearances are reality to most people. Your manager must be skilled at "optics" in this regard.

When it comes to hiring the right marketing manager, it can be confusing. Luckily, it doesn't have to be. If you use the right metrics and lens through which to hire your next manager, you can have someone in place that understands the strategy from a higher level. That way, every dollar you spend on marketing can bring back more revenue in return. The end result is that your company starts seeing massive growth like never before.