The Four Key Marketing Principles and How They are Playing Out in My Life

When I first began applying to masters programs, I struggled to find the best way to market myself. It can sometimes be difficult to look introspectively and market ourselves. This is especially true as a prospective student when you are trying to market yourself to a room of marketers, and your competition is (you guessed it) more marketers. At the time I was applying, I was enrolled in the University of Tennessee's capstone course for marketing majors. This course was an in depth analysis of the four key marketing principles. Finally it hit me, what better way to make myself stand out and show my knowledge than using each of the principles on myself?

Spoiler alert, I was accepted to the MS in Marketing Program at the Haslam College of Business. This essay is one of my most proud pieces of writing and I want it to live forever in blog form. I hope you enjoy reading how the four marketing principles are playing out in my life, and that you consider how you can apply them to your own!

1. All Customers Differ

 The first key marketing principle is that all customers differ: each person that applies to this program is going to be unique, as will their core motivation for applying. I am motivated by success: while, with my undergraduate degree, I could go on to find traditional “success” (good pay, recognition, power) in marketing, this program would allow me to pursue success on my own terms. To me, success looks like developing innovative solutions, leading a strong team, and producing quality work that is based on a customer-centric, data-driven approach. I do not want to settle in my career but to instead set a goal and exceed it, pushing not only my own boundaries, but the boundaries of marketing itself. The MS in Marketing program at the University of Tennessee (UTK) appeals to me because it will allow me to more deeply explore the subfields of marketing to better make an informed plan for my future. The personalized career coaching and advising that is given from day one would help me to achieve my definition of success as I move from my education into my career, and would help me set myself up most confidently for the ambitious goals I have for my future. 

2. All Customers Change

The second marketing principle is that all customers change. Having work experience as a tutor for the Writing Center, a barre fitness instructor, and a retail employee at a local boutique has allowed me to apply knowledge gained in my business courses and practice managing customer dynamics. I have learned that the most important tactic for managing customer dynamics is to be an active and receptive listener who can communicate clearly with diverse audiences and personalities. As a tutor, it was necessary to become comfortable with constantly changing my approach to help students. All students come with different needs, and those needs also change over each appointment. A student that came in last week is more knowledgeable now and will need to be served in a different way for them to be satisfied. One must be able to carefully listen to a customer in order to decipher what their true needs and wants are to provide them with a product or service that truly delights them. I am able to read people and manage conflict and disagreements peacefully and productively. As a tutor, there are occasions where your own personal beliefs need to be set aside to best serve the needs of the student, such as when student papers argue points that you fundamentally disagree with. I have also experienced the extent to which customers change in my work as a fitness instructor. I have been teaching classes since the pandemic and had to manage the changing needs and feelings that clients had: some clients were uncomfortable with physical contact and required verbal direction to fix their form. Barre sessions are run in thirty-second intervals, requiring me to quickly adjust both the clients’ bodies and sometimes my own course plan based on the actual experience in the moment. As a retail worker, I have to consistently and carefully revise product pitches in the moment to appeal to the individual’s specific desires and constraints. To work effectively with diverse populations, actively listen to viewpoints different from my own, and quickly discern when it is necessary to adjust the approach to the task at hand are not skills that can be acquired and practiced in a traditional classroom.

3. All Competitors React

The third marketing principle is that all competitors react, and you must manage sustainable competitive advantage. My competition is the fellow students that apply, but so far, I have already developed several sustainable competitive advantages that set me apart from other students: most importantly, my work ethic, which is unwavering and consistent even when faced with challenging or daunting tasks. I welcome opportunities to challenge myself and to push my boundaries knowing I will be better for it in the end. As a fulltime student, I have spent most of my time working three jobs while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. It has been no easy task to wake up at five am, teach a fitness class, go to a full day of classes at school, and finish the night working at my retail job. Many choices I have made in my academic career have been influenced by my work outside of school. I have proudly been an assistant manager and leader at several of my jobs which influenced me to choose Leadership as my collateral in my undergraduate studies. I am extremely passionate about leadership and understand the responsibilities that come with it. I think of leadership as not simply directing people, but an accumulation of small, consistent actions that inspire creativity, foster trust, and light the way for others to grow. This program appeals to me because by giving me the experience of working together with other students in the program toward common goals, it will help me achieve my goal of leading a diverse, creative, and communicative team to success in my future career. I have the lofty goal of leading a successful marketing team by age 30 and this program’s directive to “Rise Faster. Go Further.” is perfectly aligned with my objective.

4. All Resources are Limited

The fourth marketing principle is that all resources are limited. There are both a limited number of spots available in the program and a limit to the availability of the exceptional professors who staff the Haslam College of Business. To prepare to enter the workforce, it is crucial to maximize my opportunities to learn from such experienced leaders in marketing and business, and there is no better way to do so than by pursuing an MS in marketing here at UTK. During my undergrad, I was unable to take any classes with Professor Alex Zablah due to scheduling conflicts. His class on data visualization and storytelling would allow me to hone in and build on skills learned in Marketing 360. To be able to learn, with practice, the vital skill of data communication from an expert like Professor Zablah would allow me to confidently share, explain, and use data to achieve my career goals in marketing. I would also be honored to study under Professor Kelly Hewett. Her leadership skills as a senior vice president in a corporate marketing group are inspiring and the opportunity to learn about the corporate leadership setting in marketing from her perspective would be invaluable, as I hope to find myself in a similar role one day. The client based consulting project she leads would challenge me and push my boundaries as both a student and a professional. While researching the program, one phrase that stuck out to me was “Think, speak, and write like a CMO,” and I can think of no better person to help me achieve that goal than Professor Hewett. Additionally, I would love to take more classes with Professor Mark Collins, specifically his course on marketing innovations. I wish to be a prepared leader of a modern marketing team and learning about artificial intelligence and other technologies will ensure an ability to respond to the rapidly changing landscape of the field. Through this MS, I would be able to develop skills and learn to use technologies that I have not yet been exposed to in my time as an undergraduate, giving me a competitive edge on applications to full time positions. Access to this level of education and experience is limited, and being able to immerse myself in marketing for 10 months under the guidance of professors like these is how I can also make myself a limited resource as I further my career.