Marketing Career Analysis: Skills, Trends, and ASDA Insights

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of a marketing career within the retail industry, focusing on the role of a marketing activity planner at ASDA. The student, having an MBA in marketing, explores general trends impacting the retail sector, such as increased competition and the adoption of new technologies. The report details the skills, knowledge, and experience required for the role, emphasizing communication, negotiation, computer proficiency (MS-Excel and PowerPoint), and the ability to influence. It evaluates the student's suitability for the position, highlighting relevant experience, planning abilities, and influencing skills. The analysis considers ASDA's market position and the importance of possessing both marketing and technical skills to succeed in the role. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of analyzing company needs and required skills for career development, using both primary and secondary data sources to gain insights into potential opportunities. The report is supported by references to academic literature and industry resources.

Career ViewPoint

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Analysis and application..................................................................................................................1
General trends which impact on retail industry..........................................................................1
Skills, Knowledge and experience required................................................................................2
Evaluation...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................2
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION
In order to make career bright, it is essential for individuals after completing academic
studies to chose a proper field, where they can show their capabilities. For this purpose, I have
chosen marketing field in retail industry after completing my graduation. The reason behind
choosing this field is to develop interaction with new people, influence them to buy products of a
company and enhance sales accordingly (Ford, Honeycutt and Joseph, 2015). This would help in
developing my career more bright in the field of marketing. Under this assignment, I have
described skills, knowledge and experience required for working in an established company.
Analysis and application
General trends which impact on retail industry
After completing MBA in marketing field, I have worked in many small firms in London
in the field of marketing. For making my career bright, I have always seek to get better jobs in
same field but in established company. For this purpose, I have used to search on indeed.co.uk,
naukri.com and other job portals to get job as per my interest. Currently through indeed site, I
have got information about job vacancy in ASDA Company as a marketing activity planner in
marketing operation team (Prescott, 2012). It is one of the best retailers in UK which operate
business in various countries. But due to globalisation, there is an intense competition in retail
industry. Therefore, in order to gain competitive advantage and increase sales performance,
every company seek to get high qualified and experienced candidates to work for them. But in
context with ASDA, through internet access, I have evaluated that this company mostly gives
opportunity to freshers and people having experienced of two to three years in same field. As it
believe that freshers come with new ideas to develop innovation in services and enhance
productivity of a company. Therefore, it would has given me a chance to show my abilities in
respective company and make my career more bright.
Through secondary resources like government census report, I have evaluated that from
last some years, sales performance of ASDA is not increasing as comparison to other retailers
like Tesco and H&M. The reason behind this low performance is emergence of new
technologies, where every organisation adopt latest technologies for running business more
successfully (Vande Zande and et. al., 2014). In this regard, ASDA wants to introduced new
marketers within marketing department who possess sharp technical skills in given field.
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Therefore, it currently give an advertisement for the post of marketing activity planner (as shown
in Appendix) with relatable roles and responsibilities. Along with this, to know more about
ASDA, I have talked with some its existing employees. By making some conversation with
them, I have analysed that there is a heavy work pressure in this company, where it is
compulsory for every worker to possess knowledge about latest technologies.
Skills, Knowledge and experience required
As activity management is considered as a central hub of marketing operations, where
managing and planning the activities can only be done by working in collaboration. Therefore, to
perform this role i.e. marketing activity planner, a person needs to have strong communication
and computer knowledge like MS-Excel and Powerpoint knowledge (Bozionelos, 2015). In
ASDA Company, for getting employment for given post (Marketing Activity Planner), it is
essential for a person having good experience in same field. Here some other skills that a person
need to have are-
 Communicate, negotiate and network: In order to perform given roles and
responsibilities for Marketing activity planner, it is essential for a person to have strong
negotiation skills and large network. Therefore, by improving this skill I can got this job
and enhance sales performance of ASDA as per requirement.
 Collaborate with marketing operations team: As in ASDA thousands of workers work
at same place, therefore, to work in collaboration I have to keep calm and share every
kind of information with marketing team.
 Strong communication and stakeholder management skills: For a marketer, it is
essential to have strong management skills to develop, manage and report on delivery of
marketing activity (Prescott, 2012).
 Ability to influence at a senior level: To drive delivery to critical path of point of scale
and manage all processes, it is essential for marketers to possess abilities to influence
team members to give contribution for completing the same.
 Strong Microsoft Excel & Powerpoint skills: For planning activities to enhance sales
and marketing the products, a person should have computer knowledge also.
 Legal knowledge about telemarketing campaign: For marketing planner, a person
should have legal knowledge also so that telemarketing campaign can be made in
successful manner.
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Evaluation
Being a MBA professional I am searching job opportunities that help me to achieve a
better career path in retail industry. After searching a lot in different websites, finally I got a job
vacancy which from I think is the most suitable one for me. The job vacancy is of Marketing
Activity Planner in ASDA Company. In this job profile, I have to plan about different marketing
activities which are carried over by the company and will further carry in future. The company is
providing grocery, general merchandise and financial services to their customers (Podnar, 2014).
The reason to choose this as the most suitable company is because of having good reputation in
the market and is also dealing in the same industry in which I am looking for a job. I am
interested in this job because of my particular interest in this industry.
Further I had also completed my studies in the same area in which the company is
recruiting employees. I am also having an experience of two years working in the same job
profile in some another company so this job will be an easy and adoptable one for me in which I
will not require much to ask and consult from others which I have to do in case I had looked for
another job in some other sector. Working in big organisations also increases the chances of
career development, personal and professional development which every individual wishes to
achieve in his career. I had clearly evaluated about this job profile and has also looked upon the
skills and requirements which the company is asking in their employees to get selected. These
are the marketing skills, information about the use of modern technology and I am also good in
influencing other people.
ASDA is also providing financial services to their customers for which the quality of
influencing other persons is necessary and I think than I can influence other people more better
than others do. My planning skills are also good as I can also prepare better plan for which I was
appraised in my last company in which I was working. The work of this company is totally based
on the marketing skills as for making the sales of the company it totally depends upon the
abilities of marketing manager (Strauss, 2018). So this skills will also help me foe getting
selected for the job profile posted by the company. The reason why should I be considered from
other regarding this job role is because of my own skills and abilities which I had developed
while working in other companies. As the company is looking for those candidates which are not
only good in marketing skills but also are better in technical works because the company is
making use of modern technology in its working. So I am having both the skills which are

marketing and technical which is a plus point for me and that is why I should be considered for
this job profile than others. However this not an emerging or new job role in this industry but this
job role is very demanding because this quality of influencing other people are found on very
rare basis and it is very hard to influence others in a way which will benefit the company and
individual. I am capable of influencing other people easily and in a good way.
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There is scarcity of skilled employees in this profession so there are greater chances of
career and scope development. Working in big organisations also help in personal and
professional development of the individuals as they provide pools of opportunities to their
employees which help in their career development (Koc and et. al., 2014). Good performance of
employees can also provide them a chance to work on international level as the company is
globalised. So the same reason is also for me and I also want to achieve and make my future safe
and secure and that is the reason why I an wishing to work with this company.
CONCLUSION
From the above assignment it is concluded that for the development of career it is
essential to analyse the needs and requirements of the company in which an individual wishes to
work with the help of both primary and secondary data for getting known about possibilities of
development. Further it is also concluded that for different job profiles different skills are
required which hare mandatory to have by an individual which will also contribute towards his
own growth and development.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Koc, E. and et. al., 2014. Are internship programs encouraging or discouraging?—A viewpoint of
tourism and hospitality students in Turkey. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport &
Tourism Education. 15. pp.135-142.
Strauss, A. L., 2018. Professions, work and careers. Routledge.
Podnar, K., 2014. Corporate communication: A marketing viewpoint. Routledge.
Bozionelos, N., 2015. Social capital and careers: Indisputable evidence and note for
caution. Handbook of research on sustainable careers, 6782.
Vande Zande, R. and et.al., 2014. The design process in the art classroom: Building problem-
solving skills for life and careers. Art Education. 67(6). pp.20-27.
Prescott, J. ed., 2012. Gendered occupational differences in science, engineering, and technology
careers. IGI Global.
Prescott, J. ed., 2012. Gendered occupational differences in science, engineering, and technology
careers. IGI Global.
Ford, J. B., Honeycutt, E. D. and Joseph, M., 2015. New Zealand Students’ Preferences for
Careers in Sales: Implications for Marketing Educators. In Proceedings of the 1995
Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 312-316). Springer,
Cham.
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Appendix
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