Emmanuel Agu decries the dearth of qualified professionals
By Oghale Mafuru
Marketing is one of the most fundamental functions in any organisation. The success of an organisation is hinged on the viability and resourcefulness of its marketing team. Consequently, Emmanuel Agu, Group Marketing Director, Jotna Group, (the Lacasera Company) has expressed worry over the dwindling number of trained practitioners who can deliver optimally on their jobs.
According to him, most organisations are no longer training marketers as they would rather engage university graduates or employ from the creative agencies.
He said: ‘’the challenge, we as practitioners have in the industry today is that most organisations do not have the patience anymore to train people to work. There are very few companies today that are still recruiting management trainees. They want it already made. When they advertise for brand management roles, senior brand management roles, most times, they find solace in creative agencies and digital agencies.”
While speaking on what marketing entails, Agu noted that marketing goes beyond digital and online. he lamented the level of ignorance that exists among some practitioners who have no requisite knowledge or training in the profession.
“Unlike Two decades ago when before you join a business as a marketing professional, you will go through management/ graduate training and then taken through the rigours and fundamentals of marketing that will prepare you and give you a good grasp of the marketing industry and marketing communication. We don’t see that happening now”.
Speaking further, he said “People think marketing is all about digital marketing, influencer marketing, and online. It goes beyond that and that is why you see people struggling at work. For those who understand how to influence people at work, with zero knowledge, you see them climbing the corporate ladder until you get to the marketing director position and then you find out that you are empty. You don’t even know what you need to do and when you meet a very serious problem in the market space, you don’t have what it takes to survive. That’s what you see and when you start to interrogate such people, you find out that they are hollow”.
The marketing expert emphasised that marketing is not sales as often misconstrued and that marketing and sales staff should synergize for the attainment of the organisational goals.
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