Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Dear Keerthi.Ragupathy,

Everything you've learned in IT and CRM, all those things to do with hardware installation, software application, file management, systems management, networks, relationships, meeting needs and exceeding expectations? Apply all of it—ALL OF IT—to marketing.

It's not what these things do that matter, it's what they allow people to do that are the true key, it's the problems, aches, pains, itches, and frustrations that they solve, salve, cure, and ease that are the glue that holds the bond of customer and supplier or vendor together.

With your experience in IT and a shift in your thinking you'll be ideally placed to offer an employer a great deal of value.

As in IT, marketing is about positioning and conditioning. As the next decade unfolds we'll see more companies and suppliers paying even greater attention to five key areas of interaction between them and their prospects and customers:

1. product transparency and simplicity, which will link to
2. customer values and benefits, which will link to
3. brand positioning and anchoring, which will link to
4. Customization and personalization, which will lead to
5. Enhanced experiential interaction.

Combined with the desire to remark on these features to other people, these five elements will drive loyalty.

It's your thinking that will make you stand out, so don't be shy about telling your story. You bring to marketing a unique set of skills and abilities that have practical applications.

You offer employers great strategic and analytical understanding and your background in CRM is a key that many businesses need to make use of.

I've spent the last two years transitioning from graphic design into marketing and along the way I've learned a great deal and had reinforced how much I already knew but simply took for granted.

You know more than you give yourself credit for, so don't sell yourself short. You are far smarter than many of the people currently working in marketing and advertising, so don't be shy about making your presence known.

Take what you know and apply it literally and laterally; break rules; challenge industry norms (the norms are normal because they are mundane and average), and speak your mind on issues you are both passionate and knowledgeable about.

I hope this helps. I know your 2010 will rock, the secret is to take action. Stop talking about it and do it. Good luck to you and Happy New Year.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA
Follow me on www.twitter.com @GaryBloomer

There are a number of KHE Experts that have successfully made the transition. Your expertise isn't really technology - it's the process for figuring out a problem methodically. When you're troubleshooting a complex system, you create hypotheses, test, analyze, and repeat until you solve the problem.

So too will this serve you in marketing (or other endeavors). Instead of simply thinking something is a good idea, you'll create concrete systems to measure, analyze, and improve business results. Your analytical mind will serve you quite well.

The extra bonus you'll get is that you'll be able to talk to two camps equally well: IT and business. That makes your "bilingual" skills quite valuable for your clients.