As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Today, people are consuming more content from their mobile devices, which means that content has to be easy to visually digest.
Marketing is the lifeblood that runs through the veins of all successful organizations. Without marketing, no matter how good the product or service, the organization will fail. It’s marketing that defines the distinctive features and benefits of the product or service, it’s marketing that sets the price, it’s marketing that communicates those features and benefits to the appropriate audience, and it’s marketing that delivers the goods to the consumer.
Strategic marketing planning for job-seekers
As with any business, a job-seeker without a plan will simply not optimize his/her job search. Job-seekers should consider answering these questions in relation to their job history and career.
For instance, Where have I been, where am I now, and where will my career be if I do nothing? Or Where do I want to go with my career?
Career market research for job-seekers.
It’s important to uncover and comprehend the trends in your career field as well as gather detailed information about the companies you would like to work for — and using market research is essential to your success.
Working on the 4P principal
The 4 P’s include product, promotion, place, and price. The marketing mix elements are the controllable factors that are used to achieve the organization’s objectives — or as it relates to job-seekers, the controllable factors that are used to achieve your job search success.
Product.
As mentioned above, you are the product. You need to examine what characteristics, features, and skills make you unique — and thus stand out among competing job searchers — in the eyes of employers. These features can include work experience, leadership experience, professional memberships, and, of course, your education and training. We use an advertising term here called the Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What is the one thing that makes you different than any other job-seeker applying for the same job
Price
Price is what always determines how you will market yourself. Having come up with the right product, the right price is the next important tool. An understanding of the competitors, of the ongoing buying patterns and of the target audience is a must.
Promotion.
In some ways, the strength of your promotion tools may be the most vital piece of your career marketing mix. Promotion — as it relates to job-searching — includes cover letters, resumes, phone calling, and interviewing. Promotion tools include anything that you can use to get a job interview and ultimately get a job offer. How much time have you spent.
Place
Just as distribution is often the underutilized gem of a company’s marketing strategy, so too is distribution often overlooked in the job search. Your distribution channel — just as in marketing — consists of a “set of individuals” who will help you distribute your product (you) to the consumer (the employer). In career counseling terms, your distribution channel includes all the methods you are using to disseminate your promotional tools in your quest for a new job.
