Starting a career in design is an exciting adventure, I have always been interested in design and branding. Studying with Salford university has certainly changed my perspective towards my approach and how I thought about design. With over eight years of working experience in design, studying marketing has certainly added into my experience profoundly.
I am currently on my third course for my masters degree in marketing management and it has been extremely rewarding to explore many different aspects of marketing in every course I have taken.
Here are my main takeaways from my time at Salford Business school:
Marketing is always evolving
One of my main takeaways with my time at Salford business school has certainly been about realizing the concept that there is always something new to learn, especially with digital marketing, as it’s an ever-evolving, ever-changing industry with new tools, technics and platforms revolutionizing the design and marketing industry on a daily basis. The best way to tackle these subjects is by always staying up to date with the new platforms while also maintaining clear objectives and vision to align them with. As design cannot exist in a vacuum, We always need to stay in touch and check the work of other professionals and marketers.
Being specific
Marketing as a whole is a wide subject which can include many categories. For me specifically, I have utilised the knowledge I have learned about marketing in regards to my career as a graphic designer and social media manager. Research is always important to discovering new social media trends, new platforms and targeting the right audience for your service or product.
Self-evaluation
The importance of planning ahead and analyzing cannot be stressed enough. It is not only important to analyze what your main competitors are doing but also our own work and approach. Constantly monitoring our social media presence to keep it in a constant state of evolvement and development is key to growth. In addition, with the constantly evolving trends and platforms, marketers must always self-evaluate as specific approaches which might have been successful months ago might no longer be impactful today. The creative element is very important, and strategies must be in a constant state of evolution to keep up and be ahead of trends.
Time management
Maintaining a balanced time schedule is also key to working as a successful marketer. One must always have efficient time management to tackle multiple aspects of marketing at the same time. As marketing is an expandable subject, it could revolve around more than one subject, it is beneficial for a successful marketer to ensure that they are always managing all these aspects from planning, monitoring and analyzing as well as evaluating if their marketing plans are as successful and are reaching their desired KPIs. There is always room to evolve and develop.
Plan ahead
Planning ahead is also another very important factor which I learned at Salford Business school. Creating a proper plan with clear objectives and steps to achieve them, including daily tasks which lead to the final overall result is important in accomplishing your goals.
One of the valuable lessons I have learned at Salford Business school is in creating marketing strategies and long term plans with specific goals and tasks explaining how to achieve them. This has helped me significantly in advancing my marketing strategy and planning process. These goals are always based on analysis and thorough assessment of my past strategies, competitors and forecasting future trends.
Recognizing international branding
One of the main benefits of studying with an international school such as Salford Business School is recognizing the importance and value of international subjects in relation to marketing in general. Understanding the role that international brands play is valuable and beneficial to creating successful marketing campaigns whether locally or on a global scale.
Marketing Mix
Salford Business School has helped me understand essential subjects in relating to marketing such as the marketing mix, which contains valuable information to any marketer. Understanding the marketing mix and utilising that knowledge is undoubtedly a valuable resource and
Cross Culture environments
As globalization continues to expand every day, It becomes increasingly important for any business to learn how to practice business with different markets but also how to attract and modify their marketing campaigns, technics and diversify their platforms to the required target market. An understanding of cross culture environments is a subject which all marketers must learn and understand to be able to achieve their goals in international marketing.
E-commerce
In addition, e-commerce has never been as relevant as it is now. It is now vital for any business not to only have an online digital presence but to also have the ability to conduct business online using e-commerce platforms to not only market and promote their products but to also generate sales, with ongoing competition daily, more and more brands now have complete online shopping experience which enables their customers to shop fully online from anywhere on the world. By utilising the newest technology and evolving as well to capture the customer’s interest and create a shop-like environment which can aid their customers into getting the shopping experience as well from a digital perspective. For example, many online shops now include videos of the products for the full 360-angle of their products and not just static images. Constantly staying up to date with market trends allows our marketing approach to always stay fresh and relevant. As marketing is fluid and not a rigid subject. What might have worked six months ago might not be as effective as it is today, with new marketing trends emerging daily. The same can be applied to platforms, for example platforms such as Facebook might not be as relevant as TickTock now which attracts more daily clicks and views especially among younger generations. Which is why it is important to understand our target market and understand which type of platform they can be reached on to maximize reach and views.
Marketing Development cycle
As marketing is a fluid subject, we must always pause and assess our performance after every marketing campaign we create. That way we can understand what is working and what is not working in our marketing plan.
The most efficient way to accomplish this is by planning our marketing strategy with clear tasks and vision, implementing it and then assessing it’s success and reflecting on how to improve and develop it further.
Social media and Digital
It is also very important to recognise that social media is only a part of digital marketing. As digital marketing in fact includes many other platforms and channels which are not only limited to social media. With the increase of engagement in social media, many brands now focus on social media exclusively to reach and engage with their target market. However, it is equally important to not overlook the importance of a full online presence, whether it was by optimizing the brand’s SEO in terms of search engine results and visibility. Or in creating a seamless online experience which mirrors the in-store experience by having a complete website with all the desired information customers might request, utilising attracting imagery or live-chat for easier communication with desired target market. This all assets in creating a strong online presence with powerful digital performance.
Humanizing marketing
A very important lesson for me was understanding that at the end of the day, despite the digital platforms we must realise that we are always marketing to other humans. Personalized marketing and creating a human element is very important. Despite the product or service that we are working with, what customers relate to first is the human experience or the emotional attachment to a specific product. Understanding this as a marketer can be very valuable. The approach of most successful marketing campaigns lies in understanding their customer, and relating a message to them in a personalized way which makes them in return relate to the product as a part of that message. This is very powerful and makes us rethink our marketing process and approach.
In summary, my experience with Salford business school has definitely improved my learning of marketing. As marketing in the design industry plays an important factor to succeed, it is equally important to succeed in creating a marketing mindset in reaching our target market. Marketing is definitely a subject in which is always evolving and changing, marketing strategies in return must always have room to adapt to the new marketing trends, evolve and in best cases be ahead of the trends and create them instead of following them. I am grateful for the time I spent at Salford Business school in which I learned a lot about not only marketing, but human behaviour, time management and many more valuable lessons which prepared me to embark on my career journey as a graphic designer.
GET IN TOUCH: To learn more or to work with me for any project, click on the link below: https://www.citystudiodesign.com/contact
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