A Marketing Major? How Easy!

I knew before I came to Ohio Northern University that I wanted to major in business because I thought it was an interesting field and would allow me to have an abundant amount of options for a job. I also knew before coming into college that I wanted to major in marketing because I thought it would be the best path to allow me to interact with people daily rather than sit behind a desk most of the time. The past two years have been an amazing experience; I have learned so much and have been blessed with great professors who are preparing me for the rest of my life. I have learned a lot about marketing and public relations in the past two years as well. There is a lot that goes into the field and it’s more than going door to door trying to sell unwanted products.

Through my two years of learning, I’ve been able to narrow down my interest to advertisement or sales. They are still broad enough to go different directions with, but I am more focused on a specific path. Whether I go into sales or analytics, though, all marketing starts out the same: define a goal. It is important to know what is trying to be accomplished before attempting to connect with consumers. Once a goal is set, an audience needs to be identified. What is the demographic that the advisement will most influence?

The next important step is to define a benchmark. This is where analytics comes in because it is important to measure progress and compare results to understand how to improve sales or continue making sales. Key performance indicators are the best way to identify strengths and weaknesses. Key performance indicators include statistics such as percentage of recommendations or quotes. With those statistics, a measurement tool can easily be selected. These tools are what will best help make sales and gather more data to analyze.

The steps to marketing don’t end there, but it’s the start every business must take to get started. The steps move in a cycle and don’t stop circulating. These steps are why it is important to have all sorts of different expertise in the fields of marketing: sales, analytics, advertisement, promotion, etc.

It offends me when people ask what my major is and tell me that marketing seems like an easy option. I didn’t choose marketing because it’s an “easy major” because it’s not; college is not easy. I picked marketing because it is so broad and I can take it in many different directions. I love the diversity of it and the process. I love being good at things and I feel like I will be successful in my life with pursuing a career in marketing. I am excited to continue learning and narrowing down my options in the next two years.