7 Keys To Make Your Mark In Marketing

By Thomas Murrell MBA CSP, International Business Speaker

A career in marketing is one of the most personally and financially satisfying.

The marketing profession has seen enormous growth in both size, status and remuneration in recent years.

But what can you do to make your mark if you have just secured a new job in marketing?

If you are either an aspiring or experienced marketer, making a difference in a new job in a competitive, crowded or noisy marketplace can be difficult.

So what should you do in the first 90-days in the new job when those who hired you will be judging your personal performance?

Here are 7 Tips For Success in Maximising Your Marketing Effort:

1. Clarify your mission

What is your role and responsibility within the organisation? What can you control and what is out of your direct sphere of influence? Focus on areas where you can make a difference!

2. Have a plan and set some goals and strategies for the next 90 days.

Make sure your goals are SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attractive, Realistic and Time-Framed and they are aligned with the vision, mission and objectives of the new company you are working for.

3. Know your strengths and build on these.

What are you good at? Branding, positioning, relationships, Public Relations, or sponsorship? Work to your strengths and focus on the 80/20 rule. Eighty per cent of your effort will provide maximum return on investment for time and money. Chasing after perfection and the final 20 per cent will be a waste of time, money and effort.

4. Identify and talk to your customers.

Everyone knows the importance of market research. But it doesn't have to be expensive. Many coaches and consultants use the following strategy and it is working well for me. Listening to an online interview with fellow speaker Matt Church CSP reinforced for me the impact of this simple yet powerful technique. Ask prospects three questions - what is keeping them awake at night, what is the cause of this and what is the solution? Make sure your marketing efforts focus on the solution.

5. Always provide three options when providing a solution.

One of the speakers I most respect, Alan Weiss taught me the value of this strategy. I've implemented it in my business and it has made a huge difference because it gives people a choice to suit their circumstances.

6. Market on value not price.

Again more wise wisdom from Weiss distilled into my own words. Never discount. Always look to add value as a key differentiator. Ask what value can we add to our customers?

7. Let people know about your product or service using consistent messages, symbols and branding in all marketing communications.

It is more important to be clear and consistent than original.

Put these seven secrets into practice and your marketing career will soon take off.

But don't forget to tell others of your success to increase your visibility within and external to the organisation you work for. Nothing builds a success spiral faster than telling others about the difference marketing has made to the growth of an organisation.

Want help with marketing skills, especially PR? Book here for our seminar Writing and Pitching Winning Media Releases in Perth on Wednesday June 28th.