Next steps

Marketing is a fascinating and challenging area of business to work in. But like any profession, you need to continue to develop your skills. When I give career advice, I remind people to never let a year go by without developing some part of your professional skillset. So here are some tips on how to continue mastering your marketing skills. First, decide where you want to focus. I think of a marketing career as a continuum over three phases: The early opportunity phase includes things like new product development, innovation, design, and marketing research. In the strategy phase, you’re involved in activities like marketing strategy, brand development, and market expansion. If you work in the execution phase, you’re involved in activities like sales, advertising, pricing and retailing. Next, dive deep into that area and study the classic as well as the new academic research about it. Always think of yourself as a student of marketing. Read about what other companies are doing. Stay on top of new technology and watch for new trends. Hey, that really builds your marketing muscle. If you consider yourself a marketer, then I advise you to join organizations like the American Marketing Association or the Product Development and Management Association. Hey, there’s a professional society for just about every aspect of marketing, and they’re a great way to network and learn new skills. And, finally, be sure to practice your craft. Learning is a process of taking an action, reflecting on what actually happened, learning from it, and then improving for the next time. You want to learn at a rate faster than the rate of change. That means you need to experiment, practice new techniques, while perfecting the old ones. If you do this on a continuous basis, you’ll find a career in marketing even that much more rewarding.