Professor Sin: improve your industry knowledge

With advertising expenditure down and salaries feeling the pinch across Hong Kong, the outlook for marketing is bleak, right? Not according to Prof Leo Sin, director of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)'s MSc in marketing, Department of Marketing. He says that the recession actually represents a window of opportunity for the discipline, as practitioners are now forced to upgrade their skills to add value to their corporations.

One of the first reactions by companies faced with declining revenues is to slash costs, with marketing activities usually earmarked. This generally means reducing advertising or firing salespeople, although this is usually counterproductive, according to Prof Sin.

"This mindset somewhat overlooks some of the inherent advantages of operating in a recession and could actually be damaging long term," he says. "Very often, a firm's overall results are closely linked to its marketing expenditure. Companies have to get away from the perception that marketing is a cost and [should] view it instead as an investment. They should look long-term and see what benefits they can derive from a campaign."

He explains that advertising does not necessarily produce short-term benefits, but contributes to a company's product differentiation and its brand and image building. Educating top-level business decision-makers about the strategic importance of marketing therefore remains a priority.

Indeed, making a knee-jerk decision in the face of recession could have serious ramifications for companies. "Scaling back marketing has the primary effect of instantly reducing [the] visibility of the brand which will, of course, affect sales," he says. "This will lead to a negative effect on the company's image and undo much of the work put into building its brand."

Adding value Indeed, Prof Sin says that the discipline is alive, well and even thriving, if student participation figures are any indication. "People increasingly recognise the importance of marketing," he comments. "Of the seven or eight concentrations available to undergraduate students at the Faculty of Business, finance and marketing are the two most popular. This indicates that students can see what the market demands of them and make their choices accordingly."

Confidence among the current batch of undergraduates is good and Prof Sin says that, generally speaking, all students find work within three months of graduation. "Although many marketers have recognised the need to become more competitive, achieving this requires a total overhaul," he continues. "Taking courses to upgrade their skills is a good first step, but they must also improve their industry knowledge by attending seminars and reading the latest journals and textbooks. Marketing is no longer just about common sense and practitioners must make sure they learn from their on-the-job experience."

He adds that marketers should be sensitive to the overall economic situation and tailor their role accordingly. This means devising marketing programmes to budget and adopting innovative initiatives that can leverage support from other departments. "Creativity remains as important as ever," he says. "Whatever the product, marketers must establish uniqueness, differentiation and consumer value. Originality is an important and rare commodity and marketers must not be afraid to come up with something different. It's really not possible to copy someone else's ideas."

Academic rigour

Prof Sin is chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing's educational committee for Hong Kong and notes that membership has increased significantly in recent years, emphasising the importance of professional networking. "Student membership especially has increased, up 50 percent over the past few years," he notes. "Total membership is now about 2,000 to 3,000."

At university level, the nature of marketing has also gradually changed, with the CUHK's MSc now incorporating modules in subjects such as China marketing, Internet marketing and customer relationship management. Prof Sin, who became a lecturer back in 1982, says that the number of courses has increased substantially.

"Students were less demanding then," he recalls. "[Today], it isn't enough to be a good teacher, [you] need to be in touch with the real world. To maintain high academic standards that are also relevant to the workplace, the onus is on us to constantly conduct new research. Apart from publishing research papers, the department also achieves this by doing research for private enterprises."

Course information

Back to school At least 90 percent of companies will look to reducing their marketing budgets in the current harsh operating environment, expects Prof Leo Sin, director of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)'s MSc in marketing. This paints a somewhat pessimistic view of the industry, although he believes that the economic downturn has not eliminated marketing from the equation. What is therefore required is a change in mindsets, so that practitioners can adapt to the times. "With reduced budgets, the need for professionalism among marketers has been greatly emphasised," says Prof Sin. "Previously, many marketers didn't really possess proper knowledge or experience in their discipline. When the economy was doing well, that didn't matter and a marketer could have had a science or engineering background and muddle through quite easily. Now that the employment market has become increasingly competitive, companies are demanding higher standards." Many marketers have gone back to school - now is the time to upgrade their skills in order to survive or progress. Prof Sin says that the CUHK's part-time MSc in marketing has seen a 40 percent increase in applications this year. The two-year taught degree, now on its fourth annual intake, has grown in popularity each year, with a concurrent improvement in applicants' academic credentials. "The marketing world has changed quite significantly in recent years," he says. "Marketing professionals are under no illusion [about their] need to add value, which has led to this increase in demand for courses." Companies are still hiring marketers, but are more discerning. They generally demand a recognised qualification, either certification by the UK-based Chartered Institute of Marketing or a degree in the discipline. "There is also a growing need for qualified marketers among mainland Chinese companies, who are eager to raise their brands' profiles in the post-WTO era." Prof Sin recommends MPhil and PhD programmes for research-minded students. Apart from being the usual routes into teaching positions at universities, these degrees are also greatly sought after by research firms and marketing consultancies. An MBA with a concentration in marketing might prove more suitable for graduates looking for a postgraduate qualification with a practical leaning.

Taken from Career Times 2003/05/30