6/13/2019 How To Answer “Why Marketing”? ⋆ InsideIIM.

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By Pratik Ranjan
September 22, 2018

As a B-School fresher, it is commonplace for one not to know which

specialization to pursue. In the first couple of months, however, we end up
developing our favourites. For those of you who have Marketing in your
consideration set for the summer internship, this article will help you structure the
most essential question asked in a marketing interview: ‘Why Marketing?’

There are two essential things that an interviewer gauges in a potential marketer:

The Art of Storytelling: Marketing entails you to ace the art of storytelling. As a
marketer, you would be required to pick up insights from consumer connects and to
crafting engaging propositions and communication briefs; all these activities place

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storytelling at the fore. Therefore, at all points of the interview, you need to sound
interesting. The best way to do this is to narrate personal experiences.

The 5 Standards Of Leadership (SOLs): As a prospective marketer, you are

expected to exhibit the following five SOLs. The interviewer tries to gauge these
through the what and how you answer to a particular question, case or situation. Here
are the SOLs:

1. Growth Mindset – competitive leadership.

2. Consumer and Customer focus – purpose-driven leadership.
3. Bias for Action – action-driven leadership.
4. Accountability and Responsibility – performance-driven leadership.
5. Building talent and teams – people-driven leadership.

Have examples and stories ready for each of the aforementioned SOL. Examples
that testify that you have exhibited these SOLs in your past undertakings and that
these are a part of your persona.

Having understood the core skills that need to be exhibited in a marketing

interview, let’s look at structuring the “Why Marketing” answer. The following
four points will help you drive your answer to this question. Frame your answer
around these four points, substantiate each point with an example. In short, add a
personal touch to each of the four points and there you have your answer ready.
Here it goes:

(a) An Open Arena:

“What interests me the most about marketing is that unlike finance or other
domains it has no set rules to follow, we have an open arena to innovate and pour
in all our creativity. It’s like a blank slate and it’s up to the marketer to employ his
creative genius and craft the most compelling proposition.”

(b) Demand Never Slumps:

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“The marketing industry has existed right from the time humans decided to brush
their teeth, wash themselves, wash their clothes, groom themselves, clean their
homes, and since then the demand has only grown. Talking of the FMCG industry
alone, the FMCG industry is growing at approximately 15%, with changing
lifestyles of the consumers and the untapped potential of rural markets, it is bound
to grow even more in future. This disproportionate growth opportunity intrigues
me.”

(c) Directly Impacts the Way People Live:

“There’s a constant interplay between marketing and societal changes. The

potential of marketing to adapt itself to the changes in the society at times, and to
change the society itself the others is what excites me to be a part of this change.
It enables you to directly impact the way people live, dress, communicate, among
so many other aspects. ”

(d) Constantly Innovate & Learn:

“Marketing entails immense learning opportunities as you get to work at the

grassroots with the customers, trying to feel their pulse and understand their
psyche. Moreover, the consumers and their consumption habits change
dynamically, therefore, it requires you to be on your toes always and keeps you
reinvigorated with constant change to innovate and change.”

While these are excerpts from the various Marketing Interviews that I have come
across, you can most definitely personalize your answer around these points and
add relevant examples and stories to make it intriguing. If you have any further
query or want to get your “Why Marketing?” answer reviewed, feel free to buzz
me. Let me know how you like the article in the comments section.

May Kotler be with you.

Good Luck!

Tags: IIM LUCKNOW , INSIDEIIM STUDENT TEAM 4 , MARKETING

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Pratik Ranjan 12
Pratik is an MBA candidate at IIM Lucknow. He is an ardent aspiring marketing strategist. His
passion for marketing multiplied multifold post his internship with Unilever, where he was conferred
with a PPO. Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug & seized by afflatus to read, write & explore, this
twenty-something believes in the power of dreaming with his eyes open. He is a columnist in various
newsletters and is up for any discussion that involves the nuances of marketing and strategy. P.S: He's
charged by the fuel of caffeine.

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