"The key to professional success is to be authentic, positive and rigorous"
November 18, 2011
You are a professor in the Department of Marketing Management… Do traditional marketing methods still work in the current context?
For years now, various authors – both North American and European – have been aware that the traditional 4 ‘Ps’ of the marketing mix do not work as well for the service sector, in which employees play an essential role in creating a satisfactory consumer experience. This has represented a significant change in the world of marketing. Another change has been the awareness of the need to develop long-term relations with customers and that other agents and partners are required. However, the thing that I believe has been gaining importance over the last few years is the management of brand experience. Nowadays, people no longer talk about products, but rather brands, which help generate preferences among consumers. So, what a brand does it more important that what a brand says.
What role should social networks play in disseminating what brands do?
Social networks represent a major revolution. One of the great transformational elements that they provide is the capacity for recommendation. Of course, in the past this could also be done by word of mouth. But now these recommendations are instantaneous and reach a far wider audience. This in turn has a major impact on the brands, because the managers can no longer control what they mean. In this respect, the strongest brands are those that manage to be consistent. If they are not, the users complain and let others know how they feel, which then affects the brand’s reputation and sales.
Do these changes also affect the way you teach?
Yes, the fact that the group of students in the auditorium has such a high international component and that they are so skilled in ITC, as occurs in the ESADE Master in Management programmes, means that you have to modify the way you teach. What we try to do is to create a learning experience that is as integrated as possible, whether this be using PowerPoint presentations or through debates. We also try to illustrate everything with real examples. In this way, each student contributes their own opinion depending on their background, and this greatly enriches the class. We work with a large number of real case studies, which makes the learning process deeper and more intense. We also invite senior managers to come along and describe their personal experiences to the class. Moreover, the students can use our Internet platform to upload additional lectures, posts or notes and to make comments. On this basis, they can construct their own mental map.
And do they work on personal branding?
Yes, it’s true, the students must be aware that they too are a brand. Personal branding is important, but it is even more important for them to learn to be authentic, to develop their own skills and competences, to make the most of the interaction with their classmates from different countries, who sometimes have an opposing point of view. This allows the students to form their own scale of values and to grow in both their professional and personal lives.
However, the context of the economic crisis makes it more complicated for us…
The students are aware of the economic crisis, but they are also very excited about entering the job market. They are studying subjects such as Business in Society, in which they learn what their role is as managers in today’s world. Therefore, whilst they are fully aware of the context in which we find ourselves, they face it in a very positive manner.
What advice would you give them as to how they should face their professional future?
First of all, I would tell them that they should make the most of the privileges ESADE gives them, allowing them to study in an academic environment with students from very different contexts. This gives them the opportunity to learn that there is more than one way of responding to a given challenge, and that it is important to learn to listen to others and work in teams. Leaders of the future need to know how to work as part of a team, as well as how to motivate and learn from others… I would also tell them they should take the opportunity to learn about different areas, because a good manager must be trained in a variety of different sectors. They should take the opportunity to work on these points in order to go out into the professional world fully aware of what these values are, so they can apply them in the companies in which they work. In short, they need to be authentic, positive and very rigorous, because this will enable them to contribute to the future of the companies in which they work and the society in which we all live.
