Reflective Self-Analysis on Marketing - Essay Example

?Reflective Self-Analysis on Marketing I took a in financial service marketing last semester that greatly contributed towards my assisting me to apply myself towards my goals. This course helped me to learn how to work as part of a team because there were exercises that called for students to work towards realising particular objectives as a group. Moreover, it was in my personal capacities that I observed the greatest changes. I tend to move towards courses that introduce me to new concepts and force me to re-examine any old beliefs that may not be authentic. This is why the course on financial service marketing was so intellectually stimulating for me. I found the group activities that were part of the course to be quite stimulating. I will admit that the ‘Functional Presentation’ part of the course provided a greater challenge for me than did the mainly theoretical part of course; however, both sections challenged me to find new ways of learning. I found out that most of the time, businesses in today’s world operate in an environment where customers not only have much more information regarding the available financial services, but they also have greater demands. Financial services have to be offered in environments that meet with the customers’ expectations. In the present banking environment, for instance, the way in which financial services are packaged can win a deal or lose it. In the past, how a service was packaged was deemed to be irrelevant; what mattered was the product or service being offered. In the present environment, however, nothing could be further from the truth. The marketing of financial services has come to be regarded as one of the most significant aspects of developing a financial institution. It is an investment that brings great proceeds when well managed. However, there are still many financial corporations that regard it as being something to be looked into when all the other more ‘solid’ objectives have been considered. Service marketing is usually confused with the function of advertising or selling. In reality, marketing takes many factors into account. Some of these include employer branding, corporate culture, reputation, corporate social responsibility, market research, ethics, distribution, price points, product development, new business prospects and communication with customers,. For service marketing to be successful, the main strengths of the firm have to be clearly articulated. In one of the groups I was a part of, which were formed to determine the factors that can result in the success of financial services marketing, we came up with some of the questions that are necessary for every team member to realise what will draw customers. Some of these questions included: What services set our financial services corporation apart from our business rivals? What are the services that make our company exceptional or unique? Which are the ‘behind the scenes’ abilities, or intellectual assets that make the success of our company hard to copy? Which technologies does our firm have that give it an edge over its business rivals? As a group, we came up with a strong brand for out service offerings. The brand included strong expressive messages that could capture the attention of potential customers. We decided to advertise this brand through smart campaigns and creative copywriting. Our company’s strategy was one that stimulated curiosity and enhanced our business’ image. We choose to market it through various communication mediums such as online exposure, business to consumer models, as well as business to business or business to consumer communication. To ensure that we benefitted from the talents of the best graphic designers for our digital campaigns, we, as a group, interviewed various experts within the student community. One big advantage of having an online business presence is that a company can receive feedback from all over the world. Gaining the attention of curious overseas entrepreneurs greatly inspired our group to try even more methods of seeking to draw customers and maintain customer loyalty. The environmental as well as social factors of theories are vital for the development of any financial establishment considering that not all of the establishment’s workers are going to be knowledgeable about service marketing expressions and terms. It is important for the higher ranking marketing experts to explain marketing concepts in precise terms to new employees or even those who have worked in sales before. In reality, marketing products is quite a different thing from marketing services. People who work in financial service establishments should have good communication skills as they will have to explain more to consumers than those who market products. Human beings are essentially social creatures. In basically every situation, human beings either unconsciously or consciously employ their communicative abilities to form close connections with other people. Some people may possess the ability to make friends quickly through this method through inborn cognitive ability. Others have to try and form this skill through the intentional use of reflective techniques. I count myself as being among the latter group. I tend to be more comfortable with books or in individual pursuits. Therefore, I had to make a conscious effort to contribute towards my group projects. The experience of the teamwork required by the financial services module proved to me that developing good communication skills was not really something that is optional. In the group work, I found that interpersonal efficiency would only be achieved if everybody took the initiative to contribute to the daily discussions. In fact, as a result of my experiences with my group, I have come to feel that reflective practice should be a pedagogical approach to the entire syllabus and not a mere subject. This does not mean that basic academic skills or subject knowledge is in any way less pertinent or is insignificant in the curriculum process. It does signify, however, that the facility to manage learning basics, as well as to demonstrate it through interpersonal development, has grown more important. In the group sessions that my group regularly held, i discovered that in an interactive learning environment, the efficiency of the curriculum was basically dependent on our willingness as learners to provide new knowledge as observation or insights. The changing quality of knowledge in this module served to shape its ultimate learning objectives. I feel that one of the most important objectives for this financial services module was the ability to form interpersonal working relationships which were a vital part of developing a group dynamic. The resolving of disputes, harmonisation of effort, and maximisation of personal abilities through designation were all transferable proficiencies, which added to the strengths of the official curriculum. Even though there is a requirement for the long-established facility of examining facts and engaging in critical thinking, there is also an increasing demand for skills such as better communication, problem solving and working harmoniously in groups or teams. This calls for careful planning, as well as the regular use of mechanisms such as group projects that will compel students as well as workers to develop these skills within themselves. Most of these traits are culturally formed. Every culture has behavioural norms that contribute to strategic thinking as well as group behaviour, in organisations such as financial establishments. Hofstede defined these decisive factors into power distance, uncertainty avoidance, gender, i.e. femininity and masculinity, long/short term orientation, and collectivism/individualism (Carroll and Buchholtz 2003). What may be deemed to be more revealing is the concept that all these factors are a mere component of a tripartite design that includes universal human values, traits and behaviours. I think that the identification of personal weaknesses and strengths is an important factor in recognising the contributions of individual team members as well as in successful team building. While I was not the team leader of my group, I saw the difficulties that could be experienced in forming a group. My friend, who is also somewhat reclusive, discovered the hard way that simply forcing people who happen to sit near each other to form a group was not an easy thing to do. Team building is an actual skill in itself. My friend was forced to consult differently with each team member in order to learn the needs and desires of everyone prior to making any decisions. He had to ask for the support of other members of the team who were proficient in team building skills even though they did not wish to be the group leader. I learnt the importance of teamwork when I saw our group realise objectives that could not have been accomplished by each of us as lone individuals. I also learnt that for different people, interpersonal dealings have different meanings. For instance, I once unintentionally caused a standoff in the group because I was uncomfortable with confronting the person I was working with his reluctance to work on some incentives. At one stage, every other person in the group had finished their proposals and my partner and I were the only ones left with unfinished work. To prevent a misunderstanding, I wrote some incentives and passed them off as my partner’s incentives. At the group meeting, my partner was furious, while I was angry because he was not grateful that I had saved him from embarrassment. I only found out once the issue had been aired that he had wanted to express his incentives verbally to the group, and so viewed my work as an attempt to present myself as the ‘leader’ of our two-man team. I also found out that some group colleagues put a high value on straightforwardness in relationships, and felt that a deferred approach to solving issues was somewhat underhanded. Conversely, other people in the group preferred to hold back any final action until all the necessary materials had been gathered. Some individuals in the group, such as the group leader, were of the view that a relationship can only be formed with others after trust has been gained. This means that the group experienced some delays as the group leader wished to develop trust in each member of the group prior to moving on to the particulars of the issue at and. This caused some consternation among other group members who felt that developing trust was a waste of time. These individuals wished to remain focused on the reason why the group was formed in the first place; and felt that the interpersonal dynamics of team building should have been left to take their natural course. When I realised that people perceived things in a different way from me, I sought to try and reach them through the ways they were comfortable with. The results of this astonished me. I was able to comfortably relate with people I previously avoided, having perceived them to be too raucous or arrogant. This changed my whole way of viewing group or team dynamics. I learnt that the different characteristics exhibited by different people not only have to be accepted, but they also have to be included in team building. No person conforms completely to a particular behavioural type; nevertheless, their dominant character traits will most likely be the ones that surface at important moments where decisions have to be made. For groups and team members to feel comfortable enough to contribute their best, they have to feel comfortable in expressing their views through their personalities. How This Learning and Skills Will Help My Future Employability The service marketing field has a diversity of challenging as well as interesting career opportunities like advertising, marketing research, packaging, product development, retailing and wholesaling. Additionally, many people who are employed by non-business establishments regularly take part in service marketing activities. Service marketing abilities can be used by business capitalists, financial institutions, or in cultural, political, civic, church, or even charitable settings. Whether an individual earns a living through service marketing operations in a financial establishment, or performs them freely in non-business localities, service marketing skills are important assets. As a student that took the financial service marketing module, I learnt how to design effective marketing programs through employing promotional levers, appreciating the dynamics of customer behaviour, and how to exploit market research in the vibrant global environment. As a member of a group that sought to create a financial establishment, I not only learned of the methodical skills that are essential to creating service marketing plans and proposals, but also learned of the communication skills that are necessary to assist in the successful execution of a service marketing plan that uses the four Ps: price, place, promotion, and product. Through the formation of field placements as well as a professional portfolio after this course, students get experience as well as insight into the inner workings of the financial market. The students who study service marketing can find employment as financial advisors in financial establishments such as credit unions, retail banks, insurance companies, financial planning offices, or even brokerage firms. Employability is basically about generating graduates who are competent and able to carry out the necessary tasks. The most esteemed graduate qualities include intelligence, the ability to learn, the presence of good communication skills, and having creativity and a good imagination. Most employers wish to hire workers who work well in teams, are problem solvers, and can communicate effectively. These are qualities that can be acquired in group experiences such as that which was a requirement of my module in service marketing. Employers usually feel that a good degree as a necessary entry requirement to any skilled position. However, in these times of recession, graduates also require additional skills such as a keen understanding of personality types to balance their academic achievement. Workers who understand the basic personality types are less likely to start problems and more likely to contribute towards solving them when they do arise. Through the course on financial marketing, I have learnt that it is vital to form a strong relationship with team members in any working circumstance. I have learnt that having or forming professional relationships, or co-workers who have an affinity for you, is the best way to move forward in the business career world. The information that a supportive employee can garner from friendly co-workers as well as superiors can be priceless. Other people with less skill in relating with others usually have to pay to get the information that others who relate well with their co-workers are given freely. Reference Carroll, A.B. & Buchholtz, A. K. (2003) Business and society: ethics and stakeholder management, Thomson South-Western, Australia. Read More