Marketing Degree

richard123

This is just a general question.

I was just wondering how usefull a marketing degree would be in a constuction job... maybe a high powered one??

skyhook

You could use your high powered marketing degree to get sandwiches and sodas for my construction job.

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Cole

In a field job, it would mean nothing.

In the office environment, it would be a helpful advantage but don't count on it being a major selling point.

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pcplumber

Do you mean you are considering hiring someone with a marketing degree to do your marketing?

If this is the case, I would not, unless you are General Motors. What could a marketer, with a degree, do for 40 hours a week?

Grumpy

If you are not in a very very large company it won't mean much. I mean you won't be hired as a full time marketeer unless you get hired at a rather large company.

woodmagman

I am sure there are a few big developers out there that could use a person with some certifications….Think Big, if you are going on your own, think bigger…if it is the degree you wish then partner up with a structural engineer or someone construction related.

concretemasonry

If you are interested in marketing as degree, do not rely on contracting companies.

Most contractors do not know the difference between marketing and selling. Their emphasis is on short term selling ( 1 to 3 years) and not on real marketing. For market studies and plans they definitely go outside to get a real perspective.

Large firms will generally go outside for real marketing and let internal people do the selling (advertising placement, brochures, etc.).

If you go for a marketing degree, experience and a general (not specific) knowledge of construction would allow you to work with construction firms and /or get into a large construction company.

When it comes to some types of projects (very, very, large), marketing is used to get projects with big profits.

We just had a local job ($235,000,000?) that was sold for $40,000,000 over the lower bidders and there was also a $20,000,000 + or - bonus in the bid documents for early completion and the actual bonus should be near that number. - The other (all lower) bidders were the typical figure, bid and construction types that just put in a bid. The winner made a presentation that was supperior, emphasized the the firm's history on similar projects, evaluated the community desires, researched the bidding requirements, ability to design the project, hired local professional personnel, had a schedule of proposed community meetings, tours and updates and obtained committments and guarantees from suppliers. - In other words, they out marketed and out sold the others and there was little public opposition, especially when a 13 month bridge job was completed 3 months early. I am sure they also used an outside marketing company to make it happen.

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active domestically and internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

silvertree

Not only that, I drove over that bridge this week and as a citizen I thought the whole thing was a good value. No delays, nice looking bridge and none of the usual damage control done by the low bidders.

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harrybusinessma

Hi,

I think marketing degree is not the only strategy to be followed by everyone to have good marketing skills.

First of all we should have a good strategic plan that contains marketing plan that is directly leads to the sales plan.So if every one develops thinking in this manner we can improve our marketing skills.


Thank you,

MALCO.New.York

Sales is the "Bacon", Marketing is a looooong drawwn-out "Sizzle".

America was formed and Nurtured by Marketing and NOT sales!

See the difference now?

Sales is fulfilling a need and Marketing is creating a need!

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Publisher1

You may not need a marketing degree to attain credibility in the industry -- consider the Society for Marketing Professional Service's (SMPS) Certified Professional Services Marketer (CSPM) designation. The 'course' is a lot more accessible than a regular university/college degree and links with on-the-job relationships and referrals. SMPS represents marketers and business development specialists within the AEC industry with chapters in most major U.S. cities.

Mike Finley

Well, if by high-powered you mean the owner of a small to medium sized construction company, I guarantee you it's invaluable. You're basically describing me. My marketing background eliminates the #1 problem almost all companies have which is getting enough work. Ask yourself if you could eliminate one thing in your business such as never having to worry about the phone not ringing what would that change for you? A marketing background would do that for you.

However, "High-powered" is still an ambiguous description, so I'm not sure what exactly you are referring to.

I just read a good article about construction companies and it said something along the line of

When you are working in the field in construction you have a construction job. When you own a construction company you have a job in marketing, sales and management that just happens to work within the construction industry.

What that means is business is business. Being in the construction field is irrelevant. Running a successful plumbing company should be no different then running a successful Subway sandwich shop.

richard123

..hgj

richard123

cheers for all the good replys guys, i was just asking on behalf of my friend who is soon to finish this degree and was just wondering if the construction sector would be good to look at.

i will send him the link to this forum as it will be really beneficial to him.

thanks again lads

Mike Finley

In that case, it would be a great skill to have if he is going to be an owner. If he is just going to get a job working for a construction company in a marketing dept, then it's no different then getting a job in the marketing dept for a car dealership, a ship yard, or a bus manufacturer. It's just a marketing job. There is nothing special about a marketing position in construction.

mickeyco

Are you saying plumbers should provide sandwiches to their customers, I agree and would call them more often if they provided sandwiches, I'd call one right now, I'm hungry and I have a dripping faucet.





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Mike Finley

Have you ever looked at a plumber's finger nails?

I'm not accepting any food from any plumbers.

Aggie67

I'm a licensed professional engineer, with an MBA in marketing, and a background in welding technology, industrial heavy construction and process equipment. All three (license, MBA, background) help me equally. I have a leg up with the client that wants something but can't design it himself, a leg up with clients who aren't familiar with their own processes, and a leg up against the competition in general. I can make decisions instantly and with confidence about my marketing strategy while standing right there in front of the customer. Marketing is all about how you can make a lasting connection between you (and your offering) and the client. Having a strong handshake and a line of bull $#!@ isn't enough in my market. Knowing human psychology, buying behavior, purchasing power, decision making models, value propositions, etc, is just as important as a quality product.

mickeyco

Another huge money making business idea shot down in flames. I may even have to rethink my pizza delivery/mason idea.

Excellent point, my old neighbor was a plumber, I wouldn't eat anything that from those hands, he actually got some type of bacteria doing a job once. Maybe we could have them were those sanitary gloves like the people at fast food restaurants.




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