How To Prepare For Placements In Marketing Firms?

By Prerna Raj

There are three major types of roles comprising of Brand Manager, Digital Marketing Manager, and Business Development Manager which are offered during both Summer and Final Placement at B-Schools by marketing firms. Let us try to understand them one by one, starting with the Brand Manager to prepare for marketing firms during the placement season.

Brand Manager: They are the ones in charge of giving a product its own distinct brand identity. BMs are usually assigned to a specific product. To understand better let us take the example of the Huggies diaper. A particular brand manager might be appointed for the Huggies Diaper only and not for the entire Kimberly-Clark firm.

Digital Marketing Manager: It promotes products and services using digital technology, such as the Internet, mobile phones, display advertising, and other digital mediums. It is one of the most popular. The job function has gained a lot of traction in the recent past. Firms like Asian Paints are looking for people who can work in this domain for them. Increased consumption of digital media has made this segment particularly important.

Business Development Manager: Business Development Managers oversee strengthening the company's market position and achieving financial growth. This position necessitates an all-rounder. They define long-term strategic goals for the company, build strong relationships with key customers, continually search for new business prospects, negotiate, and close transactions, and have a thorough understanding of current market circumstances.

Now that we have some understanding of the roles that the vital marketing firms are offering. The next step is how to prepare. Preparation is overlapping for these roles. Let us try to understand different components of practice one by one.

The Company: Understanding the company, you are applying for is a necessity. Do detailed research on the company's products from the beginning, attempting to determine how many products have succeeded and why others have failed; this is vital to know about new launches and case studies. 'Euromonitor' and 'CRISIL Reports' can be beneficial in doing all this research. Try to understand the target group and target market of the company.

The Concepts: Begin reviewing concepts from your textbooks, such as strategic marketing, the four P's of marketing, marketing communication, consumer behaviour, and digital marketing, to name a few. Demonstrating the applicability and connecting these concepts to the company's products is critical. Most marketing positions begin with sales. So, have a good grip on sales and distribution concepts and try to understand their applicability. 'Marketing Management' by 'Kotler' will go a long way in understanding these concepts. The interviewer might ask you about these concepts or give you a scenario and ask you to apply these frameworks to create a successful marketing plan on the spot.

The Competition: While preparing for a company, it is critical to understand their rival, their products, policies, and pricing, among other things. Keep yourself updated about the industry by reading newspapers daily.

Interpersonal Skills: This usually entails properly preparing your résumé, grooming, and maintaining the most excellent possible conduct during the placement days on campus.

Resume: In general, a CV has a shelf life of 6 seconds in the hands of a recruiter. It would help if you made your CV stand out among a stack of papers. Make crucial terms bold and write short, to-the-point sentences.

Essential questions: Almost all interviews begin with the question, "Tell me about yourself." This question, believe me, determines your fate. The following essential question may be, "Why marketing?" Prepare all these questions ahead of time.

Group Discussion: Try doing more group discussions on hot topics with your friends. Keep track of how much time you spent speaking. Being well versed in current affairs will go a long way both in group discussions and interviews.

Critical Reasoning: You'll be one step ahead of your competitors if you use critical thinking. Attempt to answer the general question during the interview critically.

The Parting Advice: On the D-day, try to remain calm and express yourself confidently. Sooner or later, the pieces will fall in place, and the sun will shine on you.

I have tried to be as exhaustive as possible. I hope that readers find it useful.