Do you know, what is the problem with us engineers? We engineers have a mental block, we are biased. We think, we know exactly, what the customer needs and hence build stuff, presuming that the customer will love it and buy it. So, we feel there is no need to sell the stuff that we make, and it will sell by itself because it is sooooo very good.
1. But do you know how much companies spend
But do you know how much companies spend on advertisement and marketing to make their stuff sell. The advertisement spend in India is going to be around 1. 5 lakhs crores. (₹1,46,450 crore) for 2023 and is growing around 15.5% and the total global ad spend for 2022 was a staggering 738.5 billion USD. So, if we engineer’s, thought that we built such great self-selling products, why are people burning cash on advertisement and brand building. Think about it. I am Gp Capt Ranjit Isaac an Air Force veteran, join me as we understand the importance advertising in building your personal
2. According to a Harvard Business School brand, “Brand You”.
According to a Harvard Business School study, there are over 30,000 new products introduced every year, and 95% of them fail in the market. Not because they were bad it was because nobody new about them. Thus marketing spend becomes a necessity, as customers will not come and buy just because you have built it. They need to be convinced to buy it.
This mental bias of engineers on the futility of marketing continues into their personal life too and effects their career. Most engineers fail to see themselves as a product that requires marketing. Engineers are sceptical of branding, advertising, and selling themselves because it seems superficial and irrational as Marketing is a combination of art and science. Branding, Advertising, and Selling are part of marketing and marketing is defined as a multifaceted discipline that connect the products with their target audiences, and create value for customers.
With a product failure rates of nearly 95%, making a product sell is harder than it looks. So is the case with young engineers. In today’s hyper competitive world it becomes even more important for engineers to market yourself to reach your dreams. That is why young engineers need to learn how to Brand themselves, Advertise themselves and Sell themselves.
So guys and gals remember developing Your Personal branding is the first requirement and it works wonders. It works on nerds, and it works on geeks and works on you and me too. You may think that you are an exception and Branding and advertising yourself is not your cup or feel that it is not needed. That thought, that false confidence that we have nurtured in our minds is what we need to erase. Remember personal branding and advertising doesn’t exist to make one buy a product immediately, it exists to embed subtle impressions, that will drive your sale later. That’s why building your brand matters”.