6 Steps to Perform a Marketing Skills Gap Analysis for Your Team

6 Steps to Perform a Marketing Skills Gap Analysis for Your Team

A strong marketing team needs the right mix of skills to stay competitive in today’s fast-moving digital landscape. But as marketing trends, technologies, and consumer behaviours evolve, so must your team’s capabilities. Conducting a marketing skills gap analysis helps you identify the difference between the skills your team currently has and the skills they need to achieve your business goals. Below are six practical steps to help you perform a successful skills gap analysis for your marketing team.

1. Define Your Marketing Goals and Business Objectives

Start by clearly outlining your company’s short-term and long-term goals. Without this, you cannot determine the skills your team needs to succeed. Consider:

• Revenue targets
• Brand awareness goals
• Customer acquisition and retention goals
• Expansion into new markets
• Digital transformation initiatives

When your goals are clear, it becomes easier to identify the essential skills required to reach them—such as SEO, analytics, content strategy, advertising, customer journey mapping, or marketing automation.

2. Identify the Critical Skills Required for Your Strategy

Once your goals are set, outline the specific marketing skills needed. These can include:

• Digital marketing skills: SEO, SEM, social media marketing
• Data and analytics skills: Google Analytics, reporting, data visualization
• Content skills: Copywriting, content strategy, storytelling
• Technical skills: Marketing automation, CRM management
• Creative skills: Design, video editing, brand development

This skills list will serve as your benchmark when evaluating your team.

3. Assess Your Team’s Current Skill Levels

Now, evaluate the existing skills within your marketing team. You can do this through:

• Skills assessments or online quizzes
• One-on-one interviews
• Performance reviews
• Self-evaluations
• Reviewing past work, campaigns, and results

Be specific when measuring skill level—categorize them as beginner, intermediate, or expert. This helps you compare current skills with the skills your strategy requires.

4. Identify Skill Gaps and Prioritize Them

After comparing required skills with current capabilities, you will start to see the gaps. For example:

• Your team excels at content creation but lacks data analysis abilities
• They are strong in social media but weak in paid advertising
• They understand branding but need training in marketing automation

Once identified, prioritize the gaps based on urgency and impact. Skills that directly affect your business goals—such as analytics or campaign optimization—should take top priority.

5. Create a Training and Development Plan

Now that the skill gaps are clear, build a training plan to close them. Depending on the type of skill and time required, you may choose:

• Online courses and certifications
• Workshops or webinars
• Mentorship programs
• Cross-team collaboration
• Hiring new team members
• Outsourcing specialized tasks

Make sure the development plan is structured, realistic, and measurable. Set deadlines, assign responsibilities, and track progress continuously.

6. Monitor Progress and Reassess Regularly

A skills gap analysis is not a one-time task—it must be ongoing. Marketing evolves constantly with new tools, AI advancements, and shifts in consumer behavior. Review your team’s skills every 6–12 months to ensure they stay competitive.

Track progress through:

• Updated assessments
• KPI improvements
• Campaign performance
• Growth in proficiency levels

As your business goals change, your team’s required skills will also evolve.