10
Chapter 1 Marketing and You
Marketing Professionals
You may have been talking all of your
life about what you want to be when you
grow up. Now the time is here, and you are
making career plans. It is an exciting time in
your life. There are many traditional careers
you could pursue. Are you a person who is
creative or is great talking with others? Are
you always coming up with new ideas? Then
being a marketing professional may be a
career choice for you.
Many years ago, a marketer was defined
as the person who promoted products in a
market or to a market. Today, marketing is
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a market. To fully define someone involved
in marketing today, a broader term and
definition is needed. A marketing professional
is the person who helps determine the
marketing needs of a company, develops and
implements marketing plans, and focuses on
customer satisfaction.
Marketing is taking on both the risks and
responsibilities of getting others to buy
products. Activities involved in marketing
include
¶ determining what type of research about
customers is needed;
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customers;
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products; and
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information.
Critical
Thinking
Key
Terms
Objectives
Web
Connect
Section 1.2 Careers in Marketing
After completing this section, you will be
able to
¶ describe a marketing professional.
¶ discuss the importance of planning for
your career.
¶ explore whether a marketing career
might be for you.
marketing professional
job
career
profession
career clusters
career pathways
goal
short-term goal
long-term goal
goal setting
SMART goals
There are community organizations that can
help you in your quest to become a market-
ing professional. Before you begin reading,
do an Internet search for marketing associa-
tions. Select one in your community. Read
about this organization and how it can help
you in your journey to become a marketing
professional.
Think of your future. Write about where
you see yourself in five, ten, or even twenty
years. If you were to become a marketing
professional, for which type of business
would you want to work?