Marketing is a PROFESSION!
Over my 24-year career in marketing and sales
, I have stumbled on two key beliefs and perceptions that make me CRAZY! One, is that salespeople have to be pushy to be successful. (Not true but I am not going to address in this post.) The other seems to be a belief or perception predominantly in the professional service firms that marketing is an administrative function without real discipline.
Because so many professional service firms were not legally allowed to market for many years, the professionals themselves were required to become "rainmakers" or bring business in the door. Those "rainmaking" professionals were compensated higher and put on partnership tracks faster than those who could not generate business. Unfortunately, though, as marketing has become more accepted in professional service firms, there is still a pervasive belief that marketing professional services is little more than taking someone to lunch or the golf course. Business development and marketing are confused as one and the same and marketing "professionals" are looked upon as glorified administrative assistants.
Here comes the soapbox...Marketing professionals went to school to learn marketing (which is an all inclusive category that includes advertising, sales, brochures, websites, strategy, planning, analysis, branding, pricing, etc.) Marketing professionals do more than take people to lunch, buy ads or design graphics. The marketing PROFESSION is one that combines the intricacies of psychology, the analysis of business, the knowledge of technology and trends, and the creativity of design. It is a complex profession that requires a variety of skills developed after years of practice and experience...not unlike other professional services.
It is insulting to marketing professionals when a partner or principal says in a meeting that only accountants or architects or lawyers can market the firm's services. A marketing professional knows that they are not going to handle accounting, design a building or write a brief. Why do these professionals think they can market?
First, it is because most professionals don't understand what marketing is. Many people confuse marketing with advertising, PR, or branding. Few understand the entire realm of marketing as well as the process and analytics that underscore a strong marketing effort.
Second, just like someone who buys a digital camera thinks they can pass on hiring a professional photographer, anyone who has viewed an advertisement on TV or taken a prospective client to lunch thinks they know marketing.
Third, marketing professionals have confused the world by not clearly defining it. They interchange the words advertising, PR, graphic design and sales all the time. Not good. It creates more confusion about the depth and complexity of the marketing profession.
So, a special plea to professional service providers. Please view your marketing professionals as just that...professionals. If they are not professionals, hire a consultant to help you understand what marketing strategy, planning, execution and analysis can provide your firm.
I am getting off my soapbox now.
ANDREA NORMAN, MBA
Andrea Norman is a seasoned veteran in sales, marketing and business development. Her background includes Director of Marketing and Business Development for architecture firms including Leo A Daly, RSP Architects, and Langdon Wilson. During her tenure at each firm, she was able to deliver results, and was a key participant in winning significant projects. After winning sales awards and generating measurable results at IBM, PriceWaterhouse, and a major pharmaceutical company, she writes and speaks locally and nationally about sales, business development and marketing.
Andrea completed her Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Southern California where she was a Simonsen Fellow. Other academic awards include: Tuohy Scholar for Academic Di
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Dumb kids on Facebook make $119,833.57!Marketing is a PROFESSION!
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