I studied marketing because I love people, and to me, marketing is all about understanding people. Identifying and understanding the trends driving their behaviours and of course how to communicate effectively with them to meet business goals. That is marketing – well to me anyway!
The marketing environment is in flux and degree courses struggle to reflect this
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Cape Town (South Africa). My degree did teach me some things, but in determining their syllabuses, university degrees are typically too slow to react to the latest innovations. Completing one six-month course on digital marketing in my entire degree was sufficient at the time, but when the world’s digital environment we live and work in is always evolving – how does this prepare me as a graduate?
Marketing has become a largely digital field
Knowing the customer touchpoints of your brand has always been imperative to creating effective integrated marketing campaigns. And, I personally first come into contact with brands through online research and search. If the online presence is a brand’s first touchpoint, then putting your brand in front of the customers searching for your product or services online should be of primary importance. Overlook it, and you will likely to lose your customers.
I would be the first to leave any webpage that doesn’t work properly
Poor user experience on any website is a critical failing in today’s digital-first world – and all brands should be creating a website which offers a seamless customer journey. As a frequent web user, I am always put off poorly designed pages, especially if they don’t work properly on my mobile.
It was time to get the skills I needed to get into web development
My goal in the future is to be able to integrate the branding elements of marketing with the user experience and user interface (front end development) of brand’s websites. Before joining _nology I used website building platforms and dabbled in online coding courses, but I ended up confused and frustrated. Intent on pursuing the possibilities of tech, I found myself signing up for the 12-week coding course here at _nology.
Often, it feels like the tech industry is a closed door with a giant ‘do not enter’ sign to deter anyone who doesn’t fit the stereotype to enter. But _nology interested me because it openly encourages anyone from any background with a passion for tech and the motivation to learn how to code. So far on the course, I’m yet to feel out of my depth. The support from the trainers has been amazing and they encourage us to apply our learnings to projects which interest us. Every day on the course is different, and I am honestly so excited to build more knowledge and skills and see where they take me.