A Mechanical Engineer In A Marketing Management Classroom At IIM Sirmaur

“You can never relive the first day of college ever again”. With similar hopes, excitement, and thirst for knowledge as the fellow students, I stepped into the first classroom session of my MBA journey.

Back to college after working for 3 years as a marketer in an MNC, the ‘shikshak’ inside me felt at ease of having starting this journey from a prestigious institution. A day before the first class we received our timetable for the week from PGP office, and what do I see in it? My first-day first class is in Marketing! My eyes lit up and my excitement knew no bounds when I realized that I would be starting my MBA stint by learning on the area of my passion – Marketing.

You would be wondering how a Mechanical Engineer (myself) got into marketing (Product Marketing to be precise) after his under-graduation. Well that is how marketing happened to me. The company I was working with recognized that I would be better at marketing than at the production shop floor. In those 3 years, I discovered the marketer in me and decided to further enhance my knowledge on this new found passion of mine through MBA.

The Marketing Management class started, and the first thing we were taught was how modern marketing is customer-centered. As soon as the professor stated it, a wave of memories from my workplace gushed through my mind and I could totally relate to how most of the activities at work would begin and end with customers. Following that was the concept of ‘Marketing Myopia’ which I took back as one of the biggest learning from the day. That concept is the testimonial of the fact that having a narrow view of marketing is detrimental for businesses.

The professors then gave us examples of successful marketing strategies employed by different brands and also gave examples of companies which failed because of improper approach towards marketing. We were then taught the importance of integrated marketing in recent times and I could relate to one such occasion at my work where we launched a new product with much hype in the market but failed to precisely predict the sales before the launch and then ended up having stock shortage in many regions. By this time I had already found new reasons to love this field of study.

Summing up my experiences from the 1st day at class, it was indeed a memorable start to the roller coaster ride of an IIM, with the first destination of this ride being a place (Marketing) where I feel I belong from. So much of learning and insights from the first day has just accentuated my quest for knowledge. The next 2 years promises to be an absolute transformation for me, post which I would be fully prepared and ready to further pursue my passion for the benefit of myself and the society.

The ABG company I would love to work for

My interest lies in working at an FMCG company in the Sales and Marketing division. The reason being FMCG companies are very dynamic in nature and it requires one to be extremely agile, proactive and quick in data analysis, strategic thinking and decision making. These I believe will bring out the best in me and help in my passion for marketing. Hence Aditya Birla Retail Limited will be my dream company to get into.

I have a prior work experience in the field of marketing for 3 years at Saint-Gobain India Pvt. Ltd. I was responsible for carrying out demand generation activities across India in addition to agency and vendor management for content, PR and marketing collaterals for the product category.

During the stint I also had the opportunity to spearhead the launch of a new golden coloured glass in the Indian market. I was involved in market research for new products, devising marketing strategies for seeding and scaling up the new products, sales forecasting and co-ordinating with planning and production teams, and to organize and host the new product launches across India.

Hence at Aditya Birla Retail Limited I feel I can contribute to the fullest of my potential by coming up with sales and marketing strategies and solutions in the areas of need.