By NDA columnist Tom Ollerton, founder, Automated Creative
When marketers spend time analysing, reflecting on data and preparing a future strategy
for clients, they often neglect doing the same for themselves. According to Miguel
Magalhães, IPAM lecturer and Brand Manager at P&G, this is just like the saying, “the
shoemaker’s son always goes barefoot” – and it’s his top marketing tip to help those in
the industry work on their own development.
It’s important to take a step back and assess how your own marketing career is developing,
says Miguel. For the beginning of the year, looking at their own brand journey and
considering whether all is going as they would wish is a key to personal and professional
success for marketers.
Miguel says: “We work in marketing, we work in strategy, we work on thinking things for the
future… and many times we lack that kind of thinking for ourselves.” His advice is to step
back and consider what you’ve accomplished this far, if your current position is actually
what you want to do, and perhaps start with a blank page.
Most marketers probably understand their consumers better than they understand
themselves. However, by being introspective every now and again, they can use this to their
advantage and ensure they are in the best place for them.
Speaking of analysing where you are and taking those insights to forge a better path for
yourself, Miguel also believes that most marketers are not sufficiently market oriented. By
this, he doesn’t mean simply understanding consumers and delivering to their expectations.
It’s also about gathering insights from the market, including information on competitors and
on how your products compare to what others are offering.
Ultimately, simply thinking about market orientation is the first step towards having it.
Miguel’s advice is to analyse your practices, look at your market, then start strategy building
based on what you can offer to your consumers, that others cannot. Finally, putting it all in
practice while continuing to take in the feedback from the market is what makes a brand
truly market oriented.
Listen to more advice on how to use introspection to be a better marketer, as well as
Miguel’s views on a successful career and on being market oriented, on the full podcast
here.
The Shiny New Object podcast is a production of Automated Creative, an adtech platform
that turns brands’ media impressions into marketing intelligence. Find out more
at www.automatedcreative.net.
