Pros and Cons of a Marketing Education

Originally Published in Business North, March 2021  

I don’t recall when I first noticed that a lot of young people are interested marketing degrees. I'm an extrovert, so I frequently strike up conversations with people in grocery store lines. If I learn that the checkout person is in college, I often ask what they’re studying. It is amazing how many say, “Marketing.” 

Even before Mad Men marketing careers had some kind of chic mystique. And with the advent of online marketing, the field has become more interesting than ever. Maybe there’s something to be said for the thrill of sitting in an office here and influencing the behavior of consumers all over the world. 

As I thought about this subject and how to write about it, I felt it might be useful to pick the brain of someone who has been active on both sides of this matter, the academic side and “real world” activities in a corporate capacity. 

Over the years Parnell Thill has been an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Business Development at St. Scholastica where he taught courses in the MBA program on distribution, promotion, pricing, communications and so on. He’s also taught or co-taught classes at UMD, St. Cloud State and Fond du Lac Community College. He is currently a Senior Marketing Manager at AMSOIL INC. after previously serving as VP Marketing at Ikonics.

 

The Value of a Degree

How important is a degree in marketing? Thill began by stating, “If the program is solid and the instructors equally solid--it is possible to have one without the other-- then the study itself is utilitarian in the way that rigorous study of any given subject is. That is, like physical exercise, the intellectual demands of studying marketing, given the broad nature of the topic, is gray-matter inducing. In other words, no one makes a living doing pushups every morning, but doing pushups every morning is still good for you.”

He elaborated by noting that the manner in which consumers consume may be evolving, but the fundamentals of “consumerism” remain constant. Those who appreciate and respect these underlying fundamentals will have an advantage over marketers who do not.

The Downside of an Education

When it comes to landing a position in marketing today, employers are more concerned with getting a candidate with experience, Thill said. “Increasingly, the word ‘experience’ is code for, ‘The kind of experience we need for an immediate impact within our organization and market.’ A general B.S. or B.A. degree in Marketing (or anything else) is not synonymous with being qualified to meet that definition of ‘experience.’”

Another variable Thill underscores is the cost. A college education is more expensive than ever. In the old days it could be assumed that future salary opportunities would offset the costs associated with college and post-graduate degrees. These expectations may be suspect today for many.

A third weakness of the academic route to a marketing career is the textbooks. “While exceptions exist,” he said, “generally, marketing textbooks—especially those concentrated on the ever-evolving tactical landscape in an attempt at relevance—are outdated within hours of their publication.” 

I suspect that this flaw is what leads art students to neglect art history and philosophy students to disparage the Greek classics.

Misconceptions about Marketing

I asked Thill what he saw as the biggest misconceptions about marketing. He began by reiterating something I’d noted in a previous column, the tendency to confuse marketing strategy with tactics.

“For me,” he replied, “the most fundamental and ubiquitous misconception about marketing is that marketing is synonymous with advertising. Or social media. Or graphic design. Or events. Or public relations.”  He then compared it to equating a steering wheel or tires, engine or chassis to an automobile. “All of these elements are critical, but only in concert with the system as a whole.”

“A related misconception,” he added, “is that marketing is a cute and fun add-on to the ‘real business’ of running a business, and therefore anyone can do it.”

An Alternative Marketing Education

To have a future in marketing is not an either/or decision of whether to go to school or not. Thill shared that there are alternatives. One model hearkens back to the trades model in which you follow a graduated progression through apprenticeship, journeyman, master, etc.  “This makes a ton of sense,’ he said. “It ensures that practical experience accompanies theoretical education.”

All too often, though, young professionals are in such a hurry to get to the top that they fail to learn all the lessons that can be absorbed on each rung of the ladder. In the Twin Cities, executive recruiters make good money plucking the discontented from here and plugging them in there. I saw how it’s done because I worked for a executive recruiter for four months and saw firsthand how others did it.

If money is the only objective, I suppose one can play that game. The better play (my opinion only) is to hone your skills and become the best you can be. Stay for as long as it takes in your current setting so that you’re worth what the next company will pay you. If the culture is right you may even retire there.

Suggested Readings

I can’t say enough for the value of books to advance any aspect of your career. Thus, I asked Parnell to make some book recommendations. Here are three.

On Marketing by Phil Kotler
Every marketing pro should have this oldie-but-goodie on the shelf, he said. Just as every aspiring musician should listen to early 20^th century blue and classical superstars like Mendelson and Mozart, in order to know “where we came from,” aspiring marketers should know the classics. This is one. 

Good to Great by Jim Collins
Perhaps it’s become cliché now, “but I think it’s a good example of the breadth of influence good marketing has on successful organizations,” he said.

I Hate Your Bike: Marketing Fundamentals for Experts and Posers by Parnell Thill
Tentatively scheduled for release in June 2021, we just had to put this in here. When my own marketing book is ready I will keep you posted. 

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Related Links

No Silver Bullets and Four Other Things I've Learned About Marketing

Internet Marketing: Five Considerations

Why Print Still Matters for Marketers

10 Maxims That Helped Me Through Three Decades in Corporate America, Plus Seven More from the Ether

Illustration by the author.

I stumbled upon a web page with 70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries and it brought to mind my own article Nine Maxims that Carried Me Through Three Decades in Corporate America. The maxims--sayings I'd internalized over the years--are listed here, but the manner in which I applied them and thought about them are expanded on in the article via the above Friend Link (blue text).

I added a tenth to this list (#8), which is not included in the article.

1. An Idea is only as good as its execution.
2. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
3. The butler who folds his hands spills no tea.
4. A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
5. Small companies don’t win by spending like big companies.
6. Listen to the quiet people.
7. A stitch in time saves nine.
8. Don't major on minors.
9. There are no silver bullets
10. Slow & steady wins the race, so keep that slow and steady pace.

You can find the amplified version here.

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You can capture the flavor of the 70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries by the seven I've pulled out here. I was tempted to change the name to 70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Machiavellians which also plays off the "M" alliteration without significantly altering the intent.

The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

12. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head.

21. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Take his fish away and tell him he's lucky just to be alive, and he'll figure out how to catch another one for you to take tomorrow.

30. A little trust goes a long way. The less you use, the further you'll go.
(The essence of modern Machiavellian politics in a nutshell.)

33. If you're leaving tracks, you're being followed.

42. "They'll never expect this" means "I want to try something stupid."

43. If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.

66. Necessity is the mother of deception.

68. Negotiating from a position of strength does not mean you shouldn’t also negotiate from a position near the exits.

See All 70 Here.

The book these were extracted from was originally called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates, but in January 2011, Howard Tayler received a cease and desist letter from Franklin Covey, stating that Franklin Covey has a trademark on the phrase "7 Habits". Tayler then edited all dialog in the strip that mentioned the book's title or its rules, in what he called the Great Retcon of 2011. (I share this last anecdote in the event you were planning a book that begins with the words "7 Habits.")

PARTING SHOT
The inspiration for my original 9 Maxims article was Colin Powell's Leadership Primer. You can go to this page and download a great PowerPoint.

No Silver Bullets and Other Things I've Learned About Marketing

According to military historian David Chandler the campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte consistently rose above the expected. For more than 20 years Napoleon showed genius and skill as a general on the field of battle. To what did Chandler attribute Napoleon's great string of successes? First, he was a master of translating theory into action. And second, in addition to being a man of action Napoleon was not concerned about being original. He borrowed from history, developing and perfecting the ideas of others.

Napoleon made no secret of this secret of his success. "Read and meditate upon the wars of the great captains," said he. "This is the only means of learning the art of war."

Success in marketing is precisely the same. There is no need to re-invent the wheel, the chariot, or the smart bomb. Marketing successes and failures are well documented. Books on marketing are abundant. Those who read them, and learn what is valuable through trial and error, action and evaluation, will become increasingly powerful.

THE SEARCH FOR SILVER BULLETS

In my two decades of experience thinking about marketing related problems, a number of observations have impressed themselves upon me so that they have now become personal marketing principles. Among these I include the well worn maxim, "There are no silver bullets."

I know that a lot of business people wish there were indeed a silver bullet, a top secret marketing tip that they might be privy to. This would help them find relief from having to do any further homework, any further study or thinking or work.

When you stop and think about it, virtuosity in any endeavor is the result of a hours of practice, preparation and sweat equity. Some people have natural abilities, but unless sharpened and honed the most gifted musician, athlete or sales professional will falter. Applying oneself to think from a marketing point of view is not natural to many of us. It is a skill, however, that we can learn.

Unfortunately, most books on marketing are an attempt to chronicle universal truths that apply to all businesses. They do not and can not necessarily address all the particulars of our specific situations. Each of us in a different set of circumstances. Thus we must each do our own homework and think through how this principle applies to one's unique place.

Rod Johnson, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Eventis Telecom, once observed that successful people do the things that are necessary, not just the things that are enjoyable. "It is interesting," said Johnson, "that by doing these necessary things routinely and developing skills in those areas, they become enjoyable or at least not unpleasant."

So it is with finding business and marketing solutions. We must invest time to think, to gather information, and do our homework.

Read the rest of this article here. (Originally posted online in the 1990's)

OTHER LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED

1. Nothing stays the same forever
This applies as much to business as to life. Situations change. One of the best books I've ever read on this subject is Andy Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company.

2. Don't overthink it.
Charles F. Kettering, founder of Delco and head of research at General Motors had this statement placed on the wall of the General Motors Research Building in Dayton: "This problem when solved will be simple." Decision making is a critical function of leadership, but when there's something at stake, many people begin to overthink things and make them complicated. The result is analysis paralysis and indecision.

3. Does it ring true with your inner tuning fork?
What does your gut tell you? The computer age is quite amazing when it comes to providing information and data. We now have ways of knowing how many people are reading our websites at any moment, what pages they go to and what actions they take. Advertisers can, by means of cookies, track what we're looking for on Google and send us ads directed to these interests. Google tells them exactly how many people looked for this gizmo this past month. Email marketers know exactly how many people opened the emails that were sent and what actions, if any, they took. Our access to all these numbers has made us almost obsessed with numbers so that we almost can't make a decision without reliance on the numbers. Instead of being happy with the information we've got we want still more numbers to be absolutely sure.

It can be argued that numbers don't lie. But sometimes the numbers can be misleading. At the historic Battle of Thermopylae a small force of 300 die-hard Spartans held off the massive Persian army led by King Xerxes who was determined to overrun Greece.

4. Sometimes solutions are counter-intuitive
Pilots learn to trust their gauges because in certain situations what feels right is actually wrong. In short, there is value in teams, or in having a circle of people with whom you can openly discuss ideas without personal agendas getting in the way.

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Whether you're selling ideas, products or services, understanding marketing is as useful for employees and individuals as it is for businesses. Think about it.