{"id":43763,"date":"2022-12-19T10:26:34","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T09:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hybridagency.be\/blog\/analysis\/performance-marketing-het-nieuwe-knelpuntberoep\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T11:50:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T09:50:51","slug":"performance-marketing-the-new-shortage-occupation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hybridagency.be\/en\/blog\/digital-marketing\/performance-marketing-the-new-shortage-occupation\/","title":{"rendered":"Performance marketing: the new shortage occupation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nurses? Teachers? Construction workers? Each of these are well-known shortage professions<\/a>. If we’re not careful, performance marketing will soon join that list as a shortage occupation. As the economy stalls and companies are turning every euro twice, performance marketing has become more important than ever. So important that demand now far exceeds supply.<\/em><\/p>\n

The successive lockdowns over the past two years have given e-commerce a turbo boost. To support this growth and win the fierce online competition, companies have been heavily investing in marketing. However, things are no longer growing endlessly. The war in Ukraine, skyrocketing energy prices, scarce raw materials… these have made businesses more cautious. They’re turning every euro twice. And the euros they spend must deliver greater results than ever.<\/p>\n

This makes marketing less optional. A campaign is no longer considered successful just because the CEO sees three billboards along the highway or a cool video passing by on their Facebook timeline. Companies now tie clear objectives to their marketing investments. Every marketing action must deliver a proven return on investment.<\/p>\n

Enter performance marketing. Businesses don’t pay for effort, they pay for results. Measurable results. Performance marketers test and experiment, eliminate what’s ineffective, and focus their time and their clients’ money on actions that work. On actions that impact the bottom line.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Performance marketers are the elite forces among marketers<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n

Performance marketers are like the elite troops in the marketing world. The Special Forces. But performance marketing is at risk of becoming a shortage occupation.<\/p>\n

We notice with many of our applicants that marketers are still being trained in a fairly traditional way. A lot of emphasis on creativity, but not enough focus on data and revenue. We\u2019ll never claim that creativity isn\u2019t important; it remains one of the foundations of any successful marketing action. But in this digital age, data is essential to get those actions to the right audience, through the right channel, in the right way. Without data, you\u2019re serving pearls to swine.<\/p>\n

This lack of focus on data and tangible results is backfiring. Clients are no longer impressed by advertising awards and prizes alone. It\u2019s about more customers and higher revenue. Hard numbers, hard results. Data. The gap between marketers\u2019 expectations and their clients\u2019 expectations is growing. Could this be why 60% of marketing students change direction entirely after a few years?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy the scarcity? You can just hire an experienced marketer from another company, right?\u201d Weren\u2019t we in the era of the Great Resignation? Performance marketing is a different skill. It\u2019s a discipline in itself. Bashir Abdi and Usain Bolt are both runners, but you don\u2019t just turn Abdi into a sprinter overnight, and you don\u2019t turn Bolt into a marathon runner. It\u2019s the same with marketers. Digital marketing evolves rapidly. Knowledge from two years ago is already outdated by new trends and developments. Performance marketing is not something you can just brush up on; it requires continuous learning and growth.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>

Our own university: The Hybrid Academy<\/h2>\n

This is not a complaint. We mainly want to have a constructive conversation to build bridges between all these islands. Let\u2019s join forces and break down the wall between business and education to bring the classroom and the workplace closer together.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, a few years ago, we founded our own university at Hybrid. In our Academy<\/a>, we train performance marketers ourselves. Young talent is groomed by experienced team leads, who dedicate 50 percent of their time solely to coaching (and are therefore only half of their time \u2018billable\u2019). Our academy is also a great opportunity for experienced, motivated talent<\/a> to further deepen their performance skills.<\/p>\n

Why wouldn\u2019t the government support such a model? Sometimes it seems like you can only learn something outside of the company. Subsidies are almost entirely focused on external training and courses. But companies know best what the needs of the labor market are. Why not reorient part of that massive training budget so businesses can train, coach, and develop talent themselves to quickly get up to speed?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div>
\n

\u201cTell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.\u201d<\/p>\n