WorkJournalexample.docx

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Professional Reflective Essay

Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Instructor’s Name
Course Code
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Introduction

The past five weeks have been very significant for me. I work as a market assistant and a graphic designer at a plastic surgery clinic in Arcadia, besides being an MBA student. My main roles as the marketing assistant are advertising design, social media advertising design, email design and website content creation, promoter banner design, price list design, and brochure design. I also help our clinic marketing team in cooperating with our target clients who are mostly Asians and Chinese. My experience at the clinic has been exciting with a lot to learn in marketing and individuals to network with. In this essay, I document some of the lessons I have learned and some work journal experiences.

Reflection and Lessons

First, my job has challenged my interpersonal skills. Being a marketer requires interactions with not only coworkers but also current and potential clients. The job has therefore forced me out of my comfort zone to interact with the marketing team as well the clients we have as a clinic. For example, my advertising design role requires taking our clients’ photos before and after our services to publicize the services. Interactions with clients have hence enhanced my interpersonal skills. As the marketing assistant, I also assist our marketing team on how to satisfy our Chinese customers. Working closely with them has made me more social and interactive.

Second, my job has enhanced my marketing skills. Before I took the job, marketing concepts to me were merely theoretical. I knew about the marketing mix but did not know how to actualize what I learned into action. My job has offered me a platform to practice my marketing knowledge. I generally design the marketing strategy for the clinic. The marketing mix is, therefore, a significant part of what I do at the clinic. The mix consists of four major elements which include price, product, promotion and place (Othman, et al., 2019). My responsibilities entail designing a strategy for each of these elements. For example, I do price list design for our plastic surgery services. The prices vary depending on the kind of service a client wants. Factors such as the quality of the service also influence the prices. I have therefore developed a price list that we use as a clinic for our clients. Price list design has enhanced my product pricing skills.
The product element constitutes the most significant component of the mix and the others serve to only enhance it. Our main product as a clinic is plastic surgery. We offer services such as face lift, ear pinning and reshaping, nasal and hair replacement surgery. To feature these services in a tangible way, I do client photography before and after the service to document the transformative effect of our services. Besides, I have also learned the importance of a good design for our premises since they determine how our clients perceive the quality of our services.
Among my main roles as a marketing assistant is also product promotion. I advertise our services to potential clients. Among my best experiences in this role has been social media advertising. I have learned the importance of social media in the present-day business. A significant part of the global population has shifted to social media platforms for interactions and communication. We have therefore invested in social media campaigns and advertising to attract potential clients. Our client photography is among the tools we use to captivate potential clients to visit our sites and learn about our services. I have learned skills such as search engine optimization in publicizing our services on social media platforms.
My job has taught me that targeting and positioning are very crucial in the success of any business. The perception that both existing and potential clients have about a business influence whether or not they purchase its services. As a clinic, we have invested a lot in market positioning. Our specific target market groups are the Chinese and the Asians. We have studied these groups, and we know their tastes and preferences. We continually identify areas of improvement by asking for customer feedback concerning our services. I also help our clinic marketing team in understanding the market needs of the Chinese people which helps them to meet their needs better. Most of our staff in the clinic, including our doctor, are from China. This makes it easier for us to interact and attend to our Chinese patients. Being the marketing assistant has taught me the importance of knowing my clients and their desires, and the key role that customer research plays in that.
One of my most memorable experiences in the past five weeks was my interview with our manager, the clinic consultant. He talked about the challenges he faces balancing the two roles. The main subject he dwelt on the most was leadership. I learned quite several lessons from him. One of them is the importance of creating a good work environment and organizational culture. Such an environment enhances productivity amongst employees and organizational members. Despite the small size of our clinic, he noted the importance of teamwork for better performance. He, therefore, ensures that all the clinic employees work as a team to serve clients better.
Another lesson I learned from the interview with my manager is the importance of managers maintaining good relationships with their employees. He makes it clear to his employees that he is supportive of their work and they can always approach him for help. He also ensures that there is the mutual respect in the relationship. This makes employees loyal since they know that their employer values them. It also motivates them to work harder and to be more productive (Thokozani, 2017). He attributed the qualities of work ethic and dedication to his career growth in the company. He also noted some of the qualities of a good leader as integrity, dependability and communication. He emphasized that good communication with his team plays a key role in his job. The interview enlightened me a lot on the area of leadership, organizational culture and communication.
My job requires me to utilize a lot of concepts from my Master’s degree. I am pursuing a Master’s degree in business administration. It teaches me to manage a business organization. I have therefore borrowed a lot in my marketing assistant job. For example, advertising campaigns for our services require a budget and financial planning. I, therefore, ensure that we utilize the least financial resources possible by cutting costs. Social media advertisements have been a good way of minimizing our marketing costs. All that we require is an internet connection to avail of the information on our social media platforms. Concepts like capital budgeting techniques have helped me evaluate the viability of marketing projects in the clinic for maximum benefit. I also borrow from my theoretical marketing knowledge in formulating promotional and product pricing strategies.

Conclusion

The past five weeks have been great in my marketing and graphic design job. It has served to enhance my career growth in marketing. It has created a platform for me to practice my knowledge in marketing and business at large. It has improved my problem-solving skills and also made me a marketing strategist. Besides, it has also provided me with the opportunity to create professional networks. The most significant experience for me was interviewing the clinic manager and consultant. I learned from him that relational leadership is crucial in any organization. He also taught me the importance of good work relationships and a conducive work environment. These experiences from my job have enhanced my career growth and pursuit.

References

Othman, B., Harun, A., Rashid, W., Nazeer, S., Kassim, A., & Kadhim, K. (2019). The influences of service marketing mix on customer loyalty towards Umrah travel agents: Evidence from Malaysia. Management Science Letters, 9(6), 865-876. Retrieved from: http://m.growingscience.com/beta/msl/3121.
Thokozani, S. B. M. (2017). Strong vs. weak organizational culture: Assessing the impact on employee motivation. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 7(1), 2-5. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thokozani_Maseko/publication/343152582.