What makes a successful higher education marketing professional? In part II of our interview discussing marketing in higher education, our seasoned panel of marketing professionals offers their individual lessons learned, strategies for success and other advice on ways to enhance your marketing career on a college campus.

Hibel: In last month’s published discussion, we talked about the ways higher education marketing has changed in recent years and keys to effectively marketing your campus today. This month let’s look at what it takes to have a career in higher ed marketing. To start, can some of you share your professional backgrounds before your current job?

DeMauro, Rutgers: I arrived at Rutgers acarmed with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida and 15 years as a newspaper copy editor/editor.

Haggerty, MCC: My previous background spans across event marketing, brand management, direct marketing, PR/publicity, and external/internal communications. Coming to MCC and being able to integrate all of these responsibilities in to one role has been ideal.

Perry, Bentley: Before joining Bentley, I worked at Seattle Children’s Hospital & Research Institute, where I served as vice president of marketing and communications. I have experience in brand management, strategic marketing and communications across a broad spectrum of industries including healthcare, high-tech, and consumer packaged goods.

Hibel: What advice would you give to someone who is looking to enter the area of higher education marketing?

DeMauro: Find an institution with a mission you believe and trust to be true so that you can give your heart and soul to it and you will rarely feel like it’s work. Marketing Rutgers has been an exciting ride for me these past 20+ years! If you’re not challenged, you’re not in the right career. Three key pieces of advice I would give to someone new to marketing communications are:

  • Spend most of your time listening – and hearing – and then be clear and precise in your communications.
  • Never stop learning (as much as you can about as many things as you can)
  • Be open to new ideas and cultivate a network of relationships (not just people)

Haggerty: Be creative. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Differentiation and storytelling are keys to success. Do not always look at other [educational] institutions as your benchmark. Instead, look at organizations that have the most loyal customers and ask “why,” then “how can we do that also in this institution?” Be prepared to always provide rationale for your decisions. Ensure that your organization understands the marketing function and that there is support in place. Most of all, a successful marketing professional in higher education – or any market – must focus on building relationships first so that you can understand your clients’ needs and provide the best guidance to help move their efforts forward. We must think of ourselves as the internal agency of record to our institution and its many departments. Our role is to advise, support and guide efforts, all the while maintaining the integrity of the brand and its message.

Perry: It is a dynamic and changing market where marketing is becoming more important because institutions need to differentiate themselves and their offerings. I would recommend that someone explore higher ed marketing if they a) want to work in a market that will go through significant change over the next decade and b) are interested in being exposed to growing areas like inbound/content marketing that are sure to play a vital role in this space.

Hibel: When interviewing someone for a marketing communications manager position, what are the key attributes you’re looking for in a candidate?

DeMauro: I could tick off a list of the typical things to look for in a good candidate: excellent listening/hearing skills, a high degree of oral, writing, and editing communication skills; someone with sound judgment, decorum, and sensitivity; someone who has the ability to interpret and understand large amounts of complex information in order to identify appropriate communications strategies; someone who has knowledge of a wide range of public policy issues and trends and who understands the workings of various media. But a truly successful candidate will be someone who has all of these characteristics, but is above all flexible and diplomatic enough to persistently motivate diverse and sometimes disparate groups and personalities to work toward a common goal. Being able to think creatively and approach tasks with innovation comes naturally to candidates with these qualities.

Haggerty:

  • Creative thinker
  • Ability to perform successfully in a fast-paced and changing environment
  • Significant diplomacy
  • Strong interpersonal, collaborative and leadership skills
  • Dedicated to service excellence
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
  • Highly proficient in technology
  • High attention to detail
  • Ability to assess data to make strategic decisions
  • High proficiency in project management; ability to manage multiple projects/deadlines
  • Ability to think big-picture while keeping details in mind

Perry: At the high level I would look for intellectual curiosity and the ability to adapt to change. Regarding specific skills, I would look for someone that is best described as a digital native who will be able to bring new knowledge in areas like social media and marketing automation to the team.

Hibel: For current higher ed marketing professionals, what advice would you give them to enhance their career advancement and reach a more senior marketing position within their university?

DeMauro: Relationships. Relationships. Relationships. The backbone of everything I do at Rutgers is rooted in my ability to know how to pull together the right team for the job and then inspire each and every team member to bring to the table the best of whatever they do best. Building relationships is the only way to do this effectively. My husband tells everyone that I know the menu at every restaurant in town. He’s right, it’s because I spend my lunch hours building relationships the way my Italian grandmother taught me – over a good hot (or cold) meal!

Haggerty: Always engage in learning opportunities and professional development. Attend and speak at seminars and conferences, participate in leadership/advisory groups, serve on boards, etc. Also, have a champion at the senior level to support the marketing function and the growth of your particular role. Often times, other areas of responsibility may fit more neatly within the marketing group, such as enrollment management. This is also an opportunity to expand responsibilities leading to growth.

Perry: I would suggest three things:

  1. Take a strategic approach to marketing. Align your brand and positioning with the strategic plan. If you can translate marketing to reputation (brand perception) and to market position and value proposition, you are more likely to capture the attention of leadership (cabinet and board).
  2. Become an expert on the taxonomy and needs of your core audiences (prospects, alumni, corporate recruiters, etc). In most cases, you should be the voice of the customer and be able to translate your brand and program messaging to specific needs of these key audiences.
  3. Stay on top of marketing trends and technology that will improve results in areas like lead generation and increase efficiency by lowering marketing costs. A good example is use of inbound marketing versus outbound marketing.

Hibel: As the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20.” So, thinking back over your marketing careers, what are some experiences that you can now view as “lessons learned” or a professional growth experience?

DeMauro: Stop looking back and instead use the tools you have or acquire new ones to enable you to always move forward! I recently rediscovered Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now.” I first read it in the 1970s when I was in college. The book has been a good reminder of how to grow personally and professionally (the two absolutely go hand-in-hand). There have been plenty of creative detours along my career path; each of them provided an opportunity to see things in a different light, regardless of their outcome.

Haggerty: Over the years, I have learned to engage the right players/people early on in the process. For example, the sooner that you can enlist faculty members to help champion a campaign or support the team by providing information quickly, the better. This also speaks to the importance of spending time up-front on building critical relationships.

Perry: Lesson #1: Even in those roles early in your career (ones that might not be the dream job you wanted), try to learn as much as you can and add value wherever you can. There are many cases where you can develop transferable skills that you can demonstrate as attributes for roles of greater responsibility later in your career. Also, it is likely your efforts will be noticed by superiors and may position you for greater roles that you might not be aware of.

Lesson #2: I wish I would have taken “StrengthsFinder” or another form of aptitude test earlier in my career. These types of instruments can help you better understand your strengths and passions and then match them to potential roles or special assignments that will allow you to leverage your strengths and discover where you can make the most impact.

Hibel: Again, examining your years of professional experience, think of some outstanding leaders or mentors that have guided or influenced you and tell me two things they did to help shape you professionally into who you are today.

DeMauro: I’ve learned from so much from so many people that it’s difficult to choose!

My first newspaper editor taught me about understanding the value of exceeding expectations and recognizing that it’s the standard that I set for myself. I was a few minutes late for my shift on the copy desk one July 4 afternoon and the scolding was tough. I said, “I’ve arrived to work 15 minutes early every day for the past two years!” My editor quickly responded: “I don’t pay you to get here early, I pay you to get here on time.”

One of my colleagues was recently surprised to learn that I think of her as my mentor. She’s levelheaded, fair, smart, a talented manager, and a thoughtful, quiet leader. She is the sounding board that saves me from my worst self (we all have that side). Everyone needs to find a mentor who can be brutally honest about the things that really matter.

Haggerty: Put a strong emphasis on servant leadership. Have a team of talented individuals on board, create an environment of accountability and empowerment, recognize them for their accomplishments, and that makes your role so much easier.

Listening is the key to success. In our field, it is critical that we listen to others’ needs, then provide input and recommendations based on how we can solve their issue(s). Without first listening, we cannot build the trust with our clients that is so critical to providing service excellence.

Perry: One of my early mentors, the president of a very respected regional ad agency, had an old plaque on his desk that read “Maybe He’s Right.” He referred to it often and the message was that you needed to put yourself in the shoes of your client or the person on the other end of an argument and seek to understand their POV and rationale. I try to remember that when faced with a challenging situation.

During an early stage of my career in brand management, my boss was snowed in and could not make a big presentation to the division VP. In the first few minutes of the presentation (that was not going too well), the VP gave me some good advice. Always be able to outline or communicate your marketing plan clearly with objectives, strategies and tactics. This lesson is something I try to practice on a regular basis.

Hibel: Our final question–what aspect of working in academia are you most passionate about and why?

DeMauro: I love being surrounded by smart people of all ages from whom I can learn about new – and old – people, places, trends, research, medicine, arts, and humanities. I’m inspired every day – it doesn’t get much better than that.

Haggerty: As a marketing professional, you must believe in your brand. I am passionate about education and how my institution (MCC) impacts the lives of each student. Without an educated population, economic development and communities would struggle. Education is the best investment one can make – in themself and in others. I truly believe that, which is what makes it so easy to tell our story each and every day.

Perry: It all relates back to the mission of higher education. If we as higher education institutions are doing our job right, we are transforming lives. To be able to play a role in reaching audiences, engaging them and ultimately exposing them to an experience that transforms their lives is a very rewarding thing. I experience this first hand when we develop student, alumni and faculty profiles and it reminds me why we do what we do.


All opinions expressed by Christina Haggerty, David Perry, and Beth DeMauro are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of HigherEdJobs.



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