Tracy Reese CM, a Marketing Instructor at New Brunswick Community College (NBCC), discusses her passion, sharing experiences and three values young marketers need to know.
For the last seven years, I have been a marketing instructor at NBCC. My leap into marketing was born out of necessity when I started a boutique fitness business in 2003. I embraced all facets of marketing and scaled it into a franchise system in the early days of digital to grow the business. The journey from being a business owner on Myspace to today's social platforms and digital advertising methods has been an incredible learning experience. Over the last twenty years, sharing knowledge and teaching the next generation of marketers has been my passion. I'm still an entrepreneur, but I hope to continue to be in the classroom for many years.
The marketing profession is fun, but also competitive. I always advise my students and mentees to develop the following skills:
Critical thinking is one of the essential skills future employers will expect you to demonstrate. This skill will also play an important part when working through the creative process.
The ability to prioritize tasks and pivot when needed will keep you ahead of the competition. As a marketer, you will also need to be flexible to keep up with technological advancements, especially regarding social platforms and evolving customer needs.
I always tell my students their marketing journey has just begun. Since marketing is a multi-faceted, evolving profession, they will need to be committed to lifelong learning to keep up with the profession.
At the beginning of my career, I learned to pivot to accommodate client requests or evolving business conditions. The most valuable lesson I learned was not to panic when projects don't go according to plan. My advice to marketing students and recent grads is to invest time in networking and nurturing professional relationships. The best networkers share helpful information, offer to make introductions, and stay in contact. Even though you may be in the early stages of your career, you can add value to conversations through networking.
Today's marketers must stay on top of the target audiences preferred pathway and journey. Consumers want to interact, communicate, and conveniently make purchases with brands through multiple channels. The organizations that thrive in the marketplace consistently engage consumers through their preferred channels.
I was truly blessed to hit many milestones in my career. First, I launched a business celebrating its 20th anniversary next year. Second, I have spent the last seven years sharing my marketing experience in the classroom. My most recent accomplishment was earning the Chartered Marketer designation with the CMA.
Transitioning from business owner to educator has been the highlight of my career. Sharing my experiences and helping set marketers up for success has been my most rewarding experience. It is incredibly satisfying when former students reach out and share how well they are doing in their careers.
I'm in my ideal marketing role as an educator. This role allows me to research new marketing trends, network with industry partners. I believe all seasoned marketers should find a way to share their experience with the next generation of marketing professionals through teaching, mentorship or as a guest speaker.
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