akin to a dagger to the heart. “When
you hired a marketing expert, what did
you know? Nothing. You couldn’t predict
what he or she could do, or if he or she
could do anything.” (I’ve removed product
developer for the purpose of this article).
Ouch! That’s what’s written just next to
these words on my copy of ‘Shoe Dog.’
Because marketing professionals draw
from different knowledge pools in order to
develop creative, implementable solutions,
it’s difficult to claim a ‘speciality.’ This, in
addition to the need to be very flexible
in acquiring knowledge and skill. In the
lifespan of the marketing professional, he
or she would have to unlearn and relearn
possibly more frequently than any other
professional.
In 1978, when Phil Knight was looking
to hire one who’d run the apparel line
that Nike was introducing, the truth
of the marketer’s flexibility and ability
to understand different disciplines
probably wasn’t so overt. Additionally,
Phil was apprehensive about the need
for marketing initially. He had a product
orientation, believing people would buy
good quality, and through word of mouth,
Nike products would be known.
Mutua also stated in his article that the
marketing profession is porous in terms of
admitting every type of business person.
This to an extent is being corrected
through the insistence of professional
qualifications, most popular, from the
Chartered Institute of Marketing. But
In the end, I real-
ize, to get a sense
of fulfilment from
my career, I must
focus on adding
value. In spite of
everything, within
me still lies knowl-
edge and the ca-
pacity to apply it
that will benefit
many organiza-
tions.
68 MAL31/19 ISSUE
Studying marketing with CIM allowed me to
appreciate the discipline of marketing on a
whole new, much deeper level. The demands
however, were also grueling and so, upon
completion, I was beyond thrilled. This com-
bined with working in consultancy made me
feel an abysmal sense of fulfilment. I loved
being able to apply what I was learning to
real client problems and see positive results
thereafter.
still, even then, in this country, stating
that you’re a marketing professional
is likely to invite someone who’s been
struggling to sell his wares… “Oh, so
you’re in marketing eh? You know there
are these kitchenware I’ve been trying to
sell even online. Si you can help me and
then I’ll give you a commission, ama?”
Statements like this make me grit
my teeth. It’s not a lot of people who
appreciate the scope of the marketing
profession. So I’m back to my dilemma.
Why am I questioning the marketing
profession? What is the beauty of the
marketing profession to me specifically?
Perhaps I feel overwhelmed by the
knowledge expectations. Or perhaps I
feel left behind by the rates of change
that leave my head spinning. Perhaps it’s
because Kenya is a developing country
making it difficult to fully grow, express
and exploit my competences. Or perhaps
it’s because stating that I’m a marketing
professional doesn’t seem to elicit as much
respect as with other professions. Or
perhaps it’s the money. I wouldn’t mind
more money….
All this soul searching…. Anyway, I
figured, the first step I needed to make was
to go back to certain roots. A reminder, if
you will, of the genesis of marketing as a
discipline and my career in marketing. The
term marketing is a derivation of the Latin
word, mercatus meaning market-place
or merchant. The practice of marketing
began as far back as trade began. We can
therefore say that marketing is as old as
civilization itself.
However, the very obvious and refined
efforts towards marketing date back to
the Industrial Revolution. In the early
days, marketing efforts were rudimentary
but with the Industrial Revolution came
mass production and thus the need to
match products with consumers. Due to
technological advancements, it became
easier for consumers to purchase goods
than to make things for themselves. The
infrastructure for transportation as well
as mass media took hold. This catapulted
innovation in terms of communicating to
consumers and availing goods to them.
The increase in the number of products
and producers meant that goods in
the market had to be differentiated. In
order to do this, producers began to
refine their products as a way of proving
superior quality. This was accompanied
by improvements in communicating with
the public about products. The aim was to
persuade consumers that the goods and
services provided by company X were
better than those of company Y offering
the same thing. It no longer sufficed to
make functional products. Competition
intensified and drove the need to increase
production outputs and market shares
within all industries.
As the 1900s approached, to properly
equip their students for the new demands
in the market, universities began to
teach marketing as a discipline. Prior
to the emergence of marketing courses,
marketing was not recognized as a
discipline in its own right; rather, it was
treated as a branch of economics and was
often referred to as applied economics.
`In 1902, the University of Michigan
offered what many believe to be the very
first course in marketing. It was during
the 1920s and 1930s that the principles
of marketing were postulated. With time,
of course, came the refinement of the
discipline and marketing as we know it
today is much more sophisticated than
when it was first recognized as a trainable