CAREER SEARCH TIP

One of the most important aspects of marketing a product is conducting market research.  Learning as much about a “customer” and the “market” is essential to developing an effective marketing strategy.  Whether it’s for a job interview or networking or pro-active approach to a company, the more knowledge you have the more successful you will be.

For many, researching a company can be overwhelming.  The internet gives us access to huge amounts of information about industries and companies.  However, you can make this process less intimidating and difficult by following a few simple rules:

• 1. BEFORE you begin to research, be sure to identify the specific information you want to retrieve.  There are two categories of information you should gather: first, is general information about an industry and/or company; secondly, information specific to your functional role.
  2. When developing your questions, put on your ‘functional role’ hat; that is, if you are a marketing specialist, what questions do you need to answer related to marketing that will help you identify the company’s challenges and, therefore, your value to them.
  3. Remember that in addition to the internet, there are numerous other resources to look into:  professional and trade associations, business journals, local newspapers, people in the industry are all good resources for information.

With advanced planning, identifying the required information based on your professional experience and knowledge and a little patience, you will be well prepared to develop a strong and effective strategy that will move your career in the right direction.