Marketing has changed drastically over the past several decades, and that evolution is likely to continue.

It’s shifted from myopically developed promotions based on seasonal products to a broader-based understanding of the organization’s strategic business direction and the ability to monetize those strategies. This will continue to be the case over the next 10 years.

As organizations become more specialized, the marketer’s role will, too. This means that the singular-focused marketer will be transformed into a high-functioning team comprised of the strategic thinker, the data scientist, and a compelling storyteller.

We must be better strategic thinkers—not just in the deployment of resources and planning, but in our time and investment in new channels of the future. As digital media continues to explode with more options, we will need to be more strategic about where to invest limited resources.

Marketers will also have access to more data than any other area in the organization. That information must be curated in a way that marries the member’s purchasing behavior with the consumer buying journey and other predictive analytics.

This will require being a savvy negotiator so you can provide convincing evidence of how to position the credit union’s products and services within the consumer journey.

These insights will require operations and sales to refine the conversations happening in every aspect of the member experience. Business acumen will be critical as marketing collaborates with operations and sales to achieve the organization’s strategic goals.

As the competitive landscape changes, marketers must become experiential communicators: masterful storytellers who bring authenticity to content. We must ensure the brand has a distinct voice, tone and personality in social media, creating a persona that makes an emotional connection with our members.

While future marketers must be skilled in data analytics and digital technologies, they will not completely abandon traditional marketing strategies. A well-balanced approach of tried-and-true tactics integrated with new channels and opportunities will prove successful.

With these data and behavior-centric professionals having a keen understanding of the overall strategic vision and executing strategies to move the organization forward, credit unions will find their next CEOs rising from the marketing discipline.

MIA PEREZ is chief administrative officer for Louisiana Federal Credit Union in La Place, and chair of the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Executive Committee.