Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Whilst not entirely on topic, what is the purpose of a marketing manager? To communicate what your business does with customers, and bring new ones in.

So: find out what your customers like, what they are interested in, and make sure that they are kept happy. If you can discover what your best customer likes, this can then be the source of some really effective advertising campaigns - which will meet the mark because it speaks their language.

Hope this helps. M

if I were in your situation, one thing I would certainly do would be to look at the websites of as many competitors as possible, and pick out a couple dozen websites for detailed study.

I would try to find industry related blogs, and begin monitoring several of them. I do not suggest that you attempt to comment on any discussions until you get a feel for the types of discussions and the character of each blog.

Do you have a Linked-In profile? Linked-In can be a very good way to meet other people in your same industry.

Do you have an account with twitter? I would be willing to bet that there are a number of people who are regularly sharing helpful information about your industry on twitter. Find and follow them.

Are there any trade shows in your area? If you have a chance to attend the free exhibits portion, I suggest you do so.

You might want to visit the library to look through industry related magazines. I've always found it helpful to look at the ads in such magazines to quickly become familiar with the major players and the kinds of things people are promoting and buying.

Are you continuing your education? In addition to asking questions on this forum (and I hope you come back with many more questions) I would also like to recommend that you find and read marketing books (available at no cost from your library), watch YouTube videos on marketing, take free online courses, and so forth.

congratulations on your new position. If you have any questions about how to do any of the above, please feel free to e-mail me. Good luck.

My first step in this situation would be to get to know the target audience really well. What's important to them? How do they make decisions? What benefit are they seeking? What benefit do you provide? What are they doing now (before you enter the scene)? What will you displace?

I see the primary function of a marketing manager as understanding the target audience and positioning the company's offering to meet (or exceed) what the target audience is going to need. Once that high-level strategic stuff is resolved, then you create detailed marketing plans and implement them. But without the strategic work up-front, you'll just be flailing as you try to figure out what to do. Your efforts will lack direction and cohesion.

This is especially important in start-ups and small businesses, because you can't afford to do it over or throw more money at it if you get it wrong the first time.