Interviews with Real-World Professionals about Workplace Experiences

Interview
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code and Name
Professor’s Name
Date
Interview
Section 1: Summary of Thoughts
The information obtained from my secondary analysis and professional interviews will help me improve my career at the University at Buffalo. First, I will implement a plan for making smart go-to-market decisions, which are determined by how well I understand my customers (Hutt & Speh, 2010). The primary focus of a good marketer should be to know what the clients want since it is the only way that an individual can meet established goals and objectives. Second, I will ensure that I practice how to advertise products and services and present companies on the Internet. I have realized that many graduates make mistakes by thinking that they know how to use social media from a business perspective, which is not the case. Third, I will engage in numerous team activities to ensure that I acquire relevant interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
The two most significant things that I need to focus on are communication and a proper understanding of new trends in marketing. After researching what makes senior marketing managers in European football clubs renowned and the best, I noted that these individuals know how to communicate well with their target audience (Nessel, 2021). For example, they advertise their products or services on social media platforms that are mostly used by their target population. Their eyes stay on their clients, and they study everything about football fans. That is why these European football matches have more fan attendance in the stadiums. People are willing and know where to get the tickets due to the good job done by marketing managers. Additionally, a proper understanding of the marketing trends is crucial since the marketer knows exactly where to get customers regardless of the dynamic technological changes.
From the three interviews conducted, some of the common things that my interviewees emphasized include verbal and writing communication skills and responding to clients on time. A good brand manager, promotion manager, and web marketing manager should listen actively to the company’s customers (Indeed.com, 2022). That way, it becomes easy to know which products need to be upgraded and if a firm should launch a new commodity. Moreover, something else I have learned is that marketers and brand managers should admit when there are mistakes affecting the product quality. If the company comes forward and owns its mistakes, clients trust the firm, and they cannot go away to competitors since they know that all problems are solved well when they occur. Besides, denying mistakes pushes customers to competitors.
When starting to handle this assignment, I was skeptical that it would help me understand crucial things about my career from real professionals. I thought it would have been better if I just researched the knowledge and skills required in marketing and brand representation on the Internet instead of conducting interviews. However, after I conducted the first interview, I realized how important the exercise was and was motivated to go on and do the next two interviews. In the end, I have learned more essential lessons that would have been difficult to obtain from my studies. The best thing about interviews is that one interacts with professionals, asks questions, and obtains immediate feedback. Individuals say things that they have experienced, and a person gets first-hand information that has not been manipulated. If the interviewer wants clarification, the individual has the chance to ask probing questions and get a proper understanding of specific concepts. Overall, I liked conducting these interviews with professionals in my career field. They enabled me to learn crucial things that will make me the best marketer, advertiser, brand manager, or promotion manager in the near future.
Section 2: Key Takeaways
The following are the most significant points I learned from the interview and secondary analysis:
* Effective communication – the ability to know how to reach, communicate, and get appropriate responses from the target audience.
* Verbal and writing skills – involves communicating in writing or verbally with the target population. The skill is crucial since it enables an individual to climb the corporate leadership ladder without issues.
* Interpersonal skills – the ability of a person to interact with others formally and informally.
* Teamwork – entails working with teams without conflicts to achieve specific goals and objectives.
* Creativity – ability to think outside the box and innovate. For example, one should think about how to upgrade specific products and services to gain a competitive advantage.
* Internship – involves training as a new employee to master relevant knowledge and skills professionally while still at school.
* Marketing trends – changes in marketing, such as technological advancements, which marketers should know to ensure that they undertake their duties and responsibilities effectively and efficiently.
* Visual development – entails creating visuals or images to pass a specific message to the target audience.
* Practice – involves practicing how to do things instead of relying on theoretical knowledge.
* Social media knowledge – entails the knowledge and skills of using social media from a business perspective. Many graduates ignore this since they think that personal and business usage of social media is the same, which is not.
References
Hutt, M. D., & Speh, T. W. (2010). Business marketing management: B2B. Cengage Learning.
Indeed.com, (2022). Marketing manager job description: Top duties and qualifications. Retrieved from /hire/job-description/marketing-manager.
Nessel, K. (2021). Career patterns of marketing managers in top European football clubs. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-05-2021-0104.
Appendix A – Interview Transcripts
Interview with Wu Ming
Position: Web Marketing Manager at Sinopec Group
Contacts: email – wuming4@gmail.com; cell – (86) 54748349658
College: Peking University
Major: Marketing
1 What core skill sets, knowledge, or experiences do you feel will best prepare a current college student interested in pursuing work in your field?
* A good marketer should communicate effectively. Besides, marketing involves communicating to a specific audience and ensuring that the targeted people understand the message clearly.
* In addition, a marketer should know how to come up with precise and concise messages without omitting any details.
2 Are there specific experiences, training, content you wish you received in college that you think could have helped further your career?
* One of the things I w...