Jeremy Walsh – Marketing manager

Hi, my name is Jeremy Walsh and I’m a marketing manager. I’m 45 today.
My background was not in marketing. When I first left university I worked in the property industry; then after almost ten years I took a change in direction.  I went back to university and did an MBA and after that I started working in marketing seven years ago.

I am now marketing manager for an environmental science and research organisation in New Zealand. 

What I like about the role is the client contact - helping clients and solving their needs. Every client is different and presents a different challenge for us to meet their needs. 

I also like being able to create value for an organisation, by promoting its image and creating greater profitable activity. 

People tend to think that marketing is purely selling and advertising, whereas selling and advertising actually are two distinct sectors. 

You definitely have to have an interest in the industry you work in. For me here, I have an interest in science and innovation, which comes from always wanting to know how things work.  Anyone working here in marketing has to have an interest in what the scientists are doing, otherwise they would find it difficult to market it.

Marketing knowledge is something that can be applied to a lot of industries. Marketing principles are basically the same, no matter what industry you work in. The concepts are the same, but the way you approach those concepts and marketing channels is different. 

The advice I would give to people is that they should try to gain a real understanding of their customers. Marketing requires a lot of common sense and requires you to put yourself in the customer's shoes. 

You need to understand who your customers are and what their needs are, and be able to communicate with them in a way that will satisfy their needs. You also need to understand what benefits you provide to the customer and what is unique about your service compared to your competitors.