Brian Norris, a popular Marketing Consultant defined marketing in a very simple way by breaking  it into four processes, to wit :

“Marketing is a four step process that begins with analyzing and defining a qualified universe of potential users or buyers.  After this first phase in the marketing process, a true marketing effort succeeds in capturing the attention of the intended buyers within the targeted universe.  Third, systematic effort must be put into getting the prospects to accept the concepts or propositions offered via the marketing effort.  Finally, with all three of the previous steps achieved, the marketer must convert the prospective buyer into an actual buyer by getting them to take the desired action (purchase, rent, call, download, subscribe, refer, sell, follow the law, become a member, etc.).”

Alright, thanks to Brian that was an almost accurate definition. However, folks I am not really concerned about that here. I am more concerned about choosing a career path in marketing.

The marketer or marketing specialist is one of the most crucial roles in any business. For a freelance consultant myself, I devote half of my time doing marketing efforts to source, draw or get new clients. Much more, as the US economy nears an imminent financial meltdown, a marketer’s role is much needed. A business needs to sell more in a recession, otherwise it will follow suit with others who already closed shop.

In extreme cases where a business decides to streamline its organization to cope on any external or internal financial crisis, usually the marketing people go last on the list; for they are very important in the selling process. Everyday we make our buying decisions based on what marketers made us to perceive about a particular product or service.

Have I sold you yet? Grab a job classified ad or search over the internet, and you’ll see how in-demand marketers are.  Better yet, check out the marketing jobs in California.