|
What is marketing and why am I good at it? It is my fundamental belief that you can only be truly excellent doing something you love. I have a love for the planning and creativity that is marketing. Every time I embark on a new project it feels like I'm planning a huge party. You decide on the theme, you make all the arrangements, send out invitations and then finally the big day arrives and there is a moment when you just hold your breath secretly praying that people will show up! As people leave, full of fun and excitement you can relax content that all the preparation was worth it.
This is how I view my job as a Marketing Specialist. Your business is my party. The guests - your target audience. The invitations - comprehensive marketing tools and a dedicated campaign. The outcome - sales results. My contentment and job satisfaction sits hand-in-hand with your businesses success. I have always said that I could do marketing for potato chips, though I have no experience in this industry. This is simply because the rules that govern marketing are largely the same regardless of industry. Marketing is about understanding your audience that is comprised of people just like you and I. If you don't buy potato chips - then buy some, or talk to 100 people that do. What do they like, what do they dislike? What did they buy yesterday, last month, last year? What are they telling you is often as important as what they are neglecting to tell you. Conduct thorough market research and gain an in-depth understanding of both the product and/or service you are marketing and the people you would like to attract to it. You can never be complacent in marketing. Trends and buying patterns change quickly and suddenly. I make sure that I keep on pulse of an industry I am working with. I look to other districts or countries, trying to get an indication of what might happen in the future. From industry publications, web casts, conferences and other experts - I never profess to know all the answers, but can find out. I pity the new marketing graduates, rich with theory, and poor on practice, expecting to be able to concisely and completely conduct the text book 10 steps to a successful marketing campaign! What a luxury. In my experience it is far more likely that while in the middle of one marketing campaign the need for another suddenly takes priority. "How soon can we get that done" is the throbbing question and I have to deliver in order to be first to market and support my team and my company. That is when experience, knowledge and the willingness to work all weekend make the crucial difference. This is probably best highlighted through my recent position as Director of Marketing for Technotel Data Services. A group of 5 companies with completely different branding, objectives and campaigns. The epitome of multi-tasking. Every campaign I embark on consists of these primary components:
The teams I refer to can be other marketing personnel reporting to me, sales staff, graphic designers or printers. I have learned that being a friendly professional and earning rather than commanding the respect of those I work with results in a sincere loyalty that makes all the difference. Marketing is so closely related to sales that I believe it is necessary to gain the insight and support of the sales team you work with. Although a marketing strategy can look good in theory, sales often has intricate details of why a plan will fail or encounter difficulties as well as valuable feedback from buyers. I have managed from 1 to 15 people, always striving to create a pleasant working attitude, employee buy-in to corporate goals and taking care to recognize and reward an individual's hard work and dedication. |