What’s it like working as a Marketing Executive?

Marrying goods and services produced by a company with the needs of clients, both existing and potential, puts Marketing Executives at the cutting edge of a business’ operations. Without the valuable research that a Marketing Executive provides, maritime companies would be ‘blind’ to their customers’ requirements.

Good Marketing Executives have a flair for strategic and creative thinking, coupled with commercial understanding of the business, and are able to put excellent communication and presentation skills to use. In the maritime industry, they are often also fluent in a second language in deference to the truly international nature of the shipping business.

What kind of work can I do?

The everyday work of a marketing executive is often varied and can include advertising, promotion, public/media relations, product development, sponsorship and research. Marketing executives will also need to liaise and build relationships with a range of people, including customers, suppliers and colleagues, and often are required to contribute to long-term marketing strategies and successfully manage budgets.

The work will often involve developing an overall marketing plan, identifying target markets and marketing opportunities. The role will also require an emphasis on writing proposals, reports and promotional briefs, giving presentations, monitoring campaign progress and developing new strategies and ideas. To lay the groundwork for that work, Marketing Executives undertake market research to find out what clients want, and will then work with communications, design or production teams to develop services and products in line with their findings.

Where can I work?

A Marketing Executive’s employer options are as broad as they are wide, as practically every maritime company requires marketing expertise. Insurance, Ship Broking, Ship Managing, Chartering, Freight Forwarding, Shipping Line, and Port companies, to name just a few, could all potentially be in the market for Marketing Executives. Of course, Marketing Executives with experience of the maritime industry and marketing-specific training will find it easier to get a job in this industry.

While training is often on the job, there are professional marketing organisations that organise training and graduate and post-graduate courses are readily available. A good Marketing Executive that can demonstrate proven successes will be sought after by maritime companies that want to progress their businesses.

Starting a career as a Marketing Executive puts you on the path of a varied and competitive role.

Katty Teo, Senior Sales Executive, (Corporate desk)

To build a new ship may take up to 5 years or more, from planning to launch. Shipowners often wish that they had a crystal ball to forecast trade demand years down the road, so that they would have built the right sized vessels at the right time to meet demand in that route.

Whilst many people forecasted that ships would not be full in 2007 due to the many newly built mega container vessels coming onstream, shipping lines were pleasantly surprised to see strong trade growth globally, which even resulted in a shortage of cargo space on certain tradelanes.

Katty Teo, Senior Sales Executive (Corporate Desk) at Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd, shares that they have been facing similar challenges since May, despite being in tune with their customers’ shipment cycles.

And how did she cope with her customers’ requests for cargo space during the crunch? ”It was really a concerted effort by all in the company to address the situation. We managed to add adhoc sailings to provide additional cargo space. We even re-routed cargo and realigned our vessel schedules to ensure quick connectivity of our customers’ cargo. But most of all, we kept our promise to deliver and that matters most to our customers.”

Katty is also an avid wakeboarder. ”I liken my trials as a wakeboarder at sea with the challenges in my job. In wakeboarding, I have to be alert and adapt to the erratic sea conditions or sudden wind turbulence. Being able to think on your feet and resolve problems keeps you ahead of any competition,” Katty stresses.

The marketing graduate from Central Queensland University worked in an Australian shipping company for two years before settling back in Singapore. The reason why she has remained in her current job for six years is obvious. She succinctly puts it, ”The Singapore
maritime industry provides the right blend of flexibility and excitement.”

Excitement in her job comes from her meetings with clients. ”Customers do have challenging requests. But it’s a huge sense of satisfaction when you not only meet their demands, you exceed their expectations. Moreover I get to interact with culturally-diverse individuals with different temperaments and expectations, which makes my job even more interesting!” Katty divulges.

She treasures the memorable experience of handling the loading of a 12 0-foot catamaran onto one of PIL’s container ships. It was the first time the company undertook such a project and her team had to consult experienced contractors, operations and port personnel to come up with a suitable proposal. Katty recalls, ”We ended up using two gantry cranes to lift the catamaran up onto our vessel. It took more than a month’s study and preparation, but just 15 minutes to carry out the lifting.”

Sounds like a challenging industry? Katty is quick to affirm. ”It certainly is. As a sales executive, I look for the big challenges in my career, just as a wakeboarder looks for the big wave out at sea. In both cases, anything can happen and you will come out stronger!”

Riding The Waves
Katty is on a constant lookout for the big wave that will enable her to try out wakeboarding tricks. When it comes to tricky moves, Katty prefers to execute them one step at a time, rather than rush haphazardly into flips and somersaults. For example, she took almost a month of conditioning before attempting the 360 (a spin where the rider does a 360 degree rotation while in the air). While she does not shy away from challenges, she always ensures that she feels comfortable and confident before attempting any fancy moves.

Wakeboarding has changed her entire outlook on her career and life. ”In shipping, I’ve learnt that change is the only constant. In the face of new challenges, I do not panic or rush headlong into them. Instead, with proper planning and preparation, I move forward fearlessly, knowing that I can successfully overcome them.”

SOURCE: Singapore Maritime Careers

How big is this sector?

Marketing is recognised as one of the most important activities in manufacturing and service industries, and with so many potential maritime employers the prospects for a Marketing Executive are extensive. However, not all companies can afford to have a dedicated Marketing Executive and the services needed to support them, such as designers and production teams. Here, companies may prefer to employ Marketing Executives on a per project basis from an agency or consultancy, or on a freelance basis.