Marketing Myself - with the 4 P's

     Picture this, you've just graduated from college and you need to start working in the real world.  Now what?  You need to sell yourself to an employer.  One simple way to think about this is by using the 4 P's of marketing (Price, Promotion, Product, and Place).
     Since you know yourself better than anyone else in the world, it should be pretty easy to be an expert on the product.  You will know all about the great features, quality, support services, and all of the other important variables of the product.  For example, if I was trying to market myself to a desired employer I would start by explaining my most attractive features:

• I learn quickly
• I have experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Power Point.
• I am punctual and positive
• I am determined and hard working
• I have 5 years of customer service experience
• I am a good team player, but always willing to lead when necessary

     Your most attractive features may depend on what type of job you're actually applying for.  Meaning, that if I was applying for a management job, my experience in waiting tables isn't exactly a strong point.  However, my B.S. in management and above average G.P.A. would be very substantial.

     Next up after product is promotion.  Once you have a full grasp on the product it's time to promote yourself.  If you are like most recent graduates in this economy it is not that easy to just send a few e-mails and land a desirable job.  You need to promote yourself.  First you need to decide how you want to go about doing that.  Today, we have online engines (Monster, Southern Maine Help Wanted, etc.) on which, you can post a complete profile, attach your resume and post it up for employers to look over when they come to the site.  This would sort of be an example of advertising.  This is a great idea if you know that a company of interest uses the engine that you've posted on, but a lot of people use those sites and your application may not even be noticed.  If you're not interested in posting your resume and profile to an online engine there is the option of personal selling.  If this is your chosen course of action, you will need to be persistent.

     You will initially need to decide how you plan to promote, whether it be through mail, e-mail, or in person.  You will need to send out your resume/cover letter to companies that are hiring.  There is no harm in sending a resume to a company that is not currently hiring, because sometimes you may get lucky.  Personal selling as a promotion variable is my choice, because I think that it is much more intimate approach.  I think that it is best to bring resumes in person, and make phone calls over sending e-mails.  Although technology is a very helpful way of communication, I believe that the more formal/old fashioned means of communication can sometimes be rewarding.

     Once you know how you want to promote yourself.  It's time to decide where you want to work.  If you don't already have a place in mind there are a lot of variables to consider.

• Do you want to work close to where you're currently living, or are you willing to relocate?
• Do you have your own transportation, or will you be needing to use channels to get from home to work?
• Does it matter if the location is rural or urban?
• Would you rather work from home, or an office?

     Since responses to these would differ quite a bit from person to person, I will use myself as an example.  When I am applying for full time work I will be willing to relocate within reason.  I don't want to leave New England, but I would be willing to go a little bit further for the right job.  I do have my own transportation, because I don't like to have to rely on channel members to get me places, and I would prefer to work outside of my home.  These are all pretty important factors to me, but none of them are truly deal breakers.  If you have a spouse who is already working, or children that are enrolled in school, 'Place' could play a much larger role in your consideration.  Since my 'Place' restrictions are reasonably broad, I will be able to promote my product (myself) to a wide variety of companies in different places in New England.

     Finally, I will bring up price.  Depending on your limitations, price may not be a factor that you have a whole lot of control over when applying for jobs.  However, I know that once I graduate I will have higher expectations than I do now.  Without my degree I would be willing to work an hourly wage with no benefits.  Once I have graduated I will expect to make a salary with health benefits and retirement options.  There are certainly price variables when it comes to applying for jobs.  For example, if a job lists a salary at a certain price, sometimes there is room for negotiation; if there is not a lot of competition for the position.  Unfortunately, with such high unemployment rates in the United States there seems to be a lot of competition, even for some of the less desirable jobs, and not a whole lot of room for negotiation.  With that in mind, I may settle for a job that would pay less than I feel my skills are worth at first (discounted rate) if there was the possibility for advancement within the company.

Marketing...Advertising...Propaganda...

   To the left is an example of propaganda as I envision it.  To me, propaganda is almost always a way of advertising a negative opinion about a person, place, company, etc.  The animated t-shirt on the left is using a Wal*Mart advertisement "always low prices. always" and changing the words to represent a negative view on the Wal*Mart corporation.
   Wal*Mart is not a company that is going to go out of business because a couple of people shared negative stories about their wages, or opinions of that company's moral.  However, when it comes to rumors about an actual person, propaganda can certainly do more harm.  Propaganda is surrounding us when it comes time to vote for political figures.  For example, I saw a few commercials about a New Hampshire woman who was running for congress, comparing her to Nancy Pelosi.  With such a huge discrepancy surrounding the Healthcare Reform, Nancy Pelosi was not very popular with a lot of the general public.  Therefore, comparing the political views of the two woman is an example of propaganda; a negative advertisement, spread with intent to hinder the runner's chances of winning.

   Above I talked about "negative advertisement."  Advertisement, to me is the actual attempt to sell products/services by means of making those things look enjoyable, necessary, or useful.  To the right is an advertisement for the Apple Ipod. The advertisement does not say anything about the Ipod. However, looking at the billboard you can clearly see that the silhouette of the girl dancing is holding on to an Apple Ipod.  The Apple logo on the top left of the billboard is how you can be sure that it is for that particular multimedia player, but I guarantee that without that small addition to the billboard a very high percentage of the public would have been able to figure out what it was.  This billboard in particular looks as though it is targeting a young-young adult audience because of the bright green background, as well as the clothing on the silhouette.  However, the "Old Time Music" in the test of the ad may even attract an older audience as well.

    The marketing mix table to the left is exactly how I view "marketing."  To me, marketing is the beginning, middle, and end of all the pieces of business and the sale/advertisement of goods and services.  Although propaganda is a form of marketing an idea, I tend to separate the idea of marketing and propaganda.  I think of marketing as a company's way of promoting a product that they believe people are going to buy, in a place where it will be useful to the consumers, at a price where the seller can make a profit and the consumers can afford to buy the product.