MEMO

DATE:
November 27, 2016

TO:
Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.


Professor

FROM:
Elise Van Blaricum


Student

SUBJECT:
Corporate Research Project

As you have requested, I have prepared a detailed paper that tells you about the field of
marketing, particularly about the position of the Channel Marketing Manager position at a
software company called Firemon.

Marketing Field

The marketing field focuses on promoting and selling products through different ways
including, but not limited to, advertising, promotions, events and campaigns. According to All
Business Schools, a day in the life of someone in marketing includes positioning your
organizations brand in a marketplace and competing for customers; researching trends in the
market; analyzing the research; and strategizing to create different campaigns using different
communication channels (allbusinessschools.com). According to the article Marketing
Careers, typical tasks in the marketing department include approximating the need for
products or service, distinguishing potential markets for products and services, monitoring
trends, developing pricing and sales strategies, and working with staff in public relations,
product development and sales departments (Monster). Many people believe that marketing
is a career that anyone can go into, however you must have certain qualities to be successful in
the marketing department.

Qualifications and Skills

According to All Business Schools, the qualities that are important are being data driven,
collaborative, creative, customer-focused, and forward-thinking (allbusinessschools.com). Not
everyone has these qualities, and when interviewed, Alex Morgan said:

Marketing is something that anyone thinks they can do because anyone can
come up with a good idea on how to market a product. But what they later
realize is that they dont have the skills to do the nitty gritty stuff, and they end
up failing (Morgan, 2016).

Qualifications for the position of a Marketing Manager may seem somewhat simple, but they
are complex. Many organizations prefer that these entry level positions have people with some

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

November 27, 2016

sort of degree. What is interesting about marketing is that candidates applying for these jobs
dont have to have a specific degree in marketing or business, in fact a lot of people that work
as Marketing Managers claim that they dont have a degree in either. The degrees that
executives want you to have vary from organization to organization based on what the focus of
the company is. An example is, an industrial company may prefer science-based degrees for
their marketing positions (Monster U.K.). Another thing that is important to note is that
experience is important and is often favored over academic background. Monster U.K.
mentions that many entrants have spent their careers to date in related fields of sales and
advertising (Monster U.K.). Academic attainment is secondary to experience and knowledge
that one has about that particular industry.

According to the University of Florida, in order to become a marketing manager, you have to
have great analytical skills. Marketing Managers need to be able to analyze data, pick up on
current trends and watch for patterns. They then need to be able to articulate why someone
would want to buy the product youre selling and convey those messages to consumers, using
the data you researched (Morgan, 2016). Another important skill one must possess is
technological skills. You have to know which channels to use to communicate with clients, as
well as with coworkers. It is also crucial that you know the products you are selling, so you can
answer any questions that consumers have and state things they would like to know.

Marketing Career Path

In order to go into a marketing field, you must have the skills and qualifications listed above. If
youre just starting out, you must have a bachelors degree. Monster states that careers in
marketing require knowledge of market research, consumer behavior, sales, visual arts and
general marketing (Monster). It also isnt a bad idea to start out in a different department
before entering marketing. Experience is important in marketing and Monster says, experience
as a sales rep or buyer, in advertising or public relations is a plus (Monster). For students who
just graduated from college, it is important to have previous experiences through things like
internships. Alex Morgan states that Although school is great framework, marketing requires
you to have experience working in organizations and with customers (Morgan, 2016).

Moving up in the ranks in the marketing field isnt easy and people dont just land executive
positions. Moving from an entry-level job, like a marketing coordinator, to a manager level and
on executive position, requires skill, dedication, knowledge and experience. In the article How
Two Marketing Pros Climbed to the Top, Rita Allen mentions that graduate school is essential
for the ambitious marketing professional, and that the MBA is almost the new bachelors
degree in business (Monster).

Anticipated Salary

Marketing Managers salaries vary based on the specific title of what you are managing in an
organization, however for most marketing managers that are just starting out, the average

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

November 27, 2016

salary, according to Pay Scale, is about $61,253. Marketing, like many other jobs, has the
potential for the salary to grow as you move up the ranks.

Alex Morgan

The person I chose to interview on October 19, 2016, at 11:00 in the morning was Alex Morgan.
Alex works as the Channel Marketing Manager for Firemon. Her duties in this position include
being a strategic marketing planner, she also handles any relationships the company has with
their partners, and she analyzes data and figures out a creative and effective way to sell and
promote their products. Alex said I basically handle anything that has to do the channel
(Morgan, 2016).

Originally, Alex didnt know she wanted to go into marketing, in fact she thought she wanted to
go into the Public Relations field. She went to school for Business Relations and Public
Relations, and got an internship right out of college in a marketing department for a company.
Through that internship, she learned more about the tactical and strategic side of marketing
and fell in love with it. She mentioned that there are so many paths you can take in marketing,
and there are so many opportunities to grow, which is why she loves it so much.

Qualifications for being a marketing manager at Firemon are similar to the qualifications listed
above. Obviously, having a degree and internships are important, but Alex also mentioned
during her interview that the most important skill you must have is the ability to work Excel.
She said that all work is done in Excel, and it is important that you know how to do
organizational things in it, as well as be able to read and analyze data in it. She said, in school
they teach you how to use things like formulas, but that isnt something you use (Morgan,
2016). She also mentioned that you must have great communication skills, and that you have to
use those skills to communicate to people why they should buy the product youre selling, and
you have to be able to effectively convey messages and articulate why someone is going to
want your product (Morgan, 2016). The last important skill to have is the ability to research
the markets you are trying to reach out to, and know about those consumers. Research is
important in the Business to Consumer aspect.

Firemon Overview

Firemon is known as an enterprise security management company with branches located all
over the world. It is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Firemons goal is to help
organizations find, correct and ultimately avoid gaps in their existing network security
infrastructure (Firemon). The current Chief Executive Officer is Satin Mirchandani, but the
company was originally founded in 2004 by Jody Brazil who is currently the Chief Product
Strategist for Firemon.

Firemon has roughly 200 employees worldwide, and has an annual revenue of about $45
million. The company has branches in North America, United Kingdom, Germany, Europe,
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, India, Korea, and Latin America. Their customer base is

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

November 27, 2016

located all over the world and their products and solutions have been used in many different
industries including, financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, and energy and technology.
A few of their big clients include CVS Caremark, DISH Network, Hertz, Marriot, Disney.com,
American Airlines, Nordstrom, and EBay, just to name a few.

Firemon Products

Firemon has a number of products to keep their clients network secure, and I will provide brief
information on a few of the larger products that they sell. The Firemon Policy Planner is a
workflow module that dramatically improves the efficiency of the firewall change process,
while improving security by integrating security and risk analysis directly into the process
(Firemon). The Firemon Policy Optimizer is a module that automates key elements of the
process necessary to adapt network security device policies to respond to changing conditions
(Firemon). Policy Optimizer also:

dramatically advances the identification and improvement of firewall configurations in
relation to evolving threats, business demands and maturing compliance requirements,
providing centralized workflow allowing security teams to interact directly with other
network access stakeholders, with integrated risk analysis (Firemon).

Two other main products Firemon provides are the Firemon Risk Analyzer and the Network
Data Security Manager. Firemon Risk Analyzer reduces risk by analyzing your network
infrastructure proactively and comprehensively, then simulating how attackers might gain
access through vulnerabilities (Firemon). The Network Data Security Manager is a:

web-based firewall management platform that provides continuous visibility
into and analysis of your network security policies and underlying IT risks. The
platform proactively delivers the intelligence IT security, network and
compliance teams needed to address the three biggest challenges of firewall
management: cleanup, compliance, and change (Firemon).

According to Alex, roughly 90% of Firemons products are sold through 3rd party resellers, so an
important job in the marketing department is coming up with different ways to promote their
products to sell to these organizations.

Communication at Firemon

Firemon uses many channels of communication throughout their organization. Internally, the
most used channel of communication is by phone, which is closely followed by email. The next
top channels of communication they use are WebEx or webcams, as so many employees are
dispersed all over the world.

Communication externally is slightly different. To communicate with those outside the
company, especially consumers, the company uses email and in person events. Firemon puts on

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

November 27, 2016

over 200 events per year, making this their number one way to reach out to consumers. After
events, the other popular forms of communication are through emails and digital
communications such as webinars and banner ads.

Communication Issues and Solutions

Alex mentions that one of the biggest challenges at Firemon is getting everyone together at one
time because the company is so dispersed. She said there is no natural way of communicating
and hashing things out, you have to either send an email or get on the phone, so its hard to
build relationships with the coworkers you arent around every day. She said, there is no
replacing break room talk (Morgan, 2016). Another issue that they face is that executive
management has a vision, but they have issues communicating that vision to their teams.

Alex mentioned some solutions that could help with the communication problems they face.
The first solution to the problem of communicating with others internationally is using
webcams and video because it simulates face-to-face interaction. She also said that a good
solution for the executives would be to have them learn how to take their vision and wrap up
their messages up in a way that is consumable to their team and disperse that message
(Morgan, 2016). She also said that the most important thing is transparency in an organization.

Presentations

During the interview, I asked Alex about what she does to prepare for presentations, and I
asked her for advice on how to prepare for them. Presentations are given all of the time in
business, especially in marketing because there are always new ideas and strategies that come
about. Alex said she prepares for presentations by practicing them out loud. She mentioned
that:
Practice is especially important when youre giving a presentation someone else
wrote because when you write your own you know the meaning behind it, but
when presenting someone elses work you dont know all of that, so you have to
practice, or it will just look like youre reading the slides (Morgan, 2016).

She also said that when she is preparing slides she prefers to use graphics because it is more
effective and keeps peoples attention rather than having a bunch of words on the screen. She
advised me to tell narratives during my presentations because otherwise the audience will be
bored. She said, Our team just told this same advice to our executive team because we ripped
them apart for how boring their presentation was (Morgan, 2016).

What I Learned

I learned a lot from interviewing Alex, and I realized that I need to gain as much experience in
marketing as possible. I also realized that I should probably find a course in Excel because I
havent used it a lot in school, and after previous internships, I learned that it is important to

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

November 27, 2016

know the ins and outs of the program. Doing this project was eye-opening, and it has me
excited to graduate and start my marketing career.

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

November 27, 2016

Works Cited

Customers Using Our Firewall Monitoring & Security Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26,
2016, from https://www.firemon.com/about-us/customers/

Firewall & Network Security Software - FireMon. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2016, from
https://www.firemon.com/products/

Location , B. (n.d.). Marketing Career Path | A Career in Marketing. Retrieved October 26, 2016,
from http://www.monster.co.uk/career-advice/article/what-can-my-next-marketingmove-be

Marketing Careers - Career Path Information | Monster.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26,
2016, from https://www.monster.com/marketing-careers

Marketing Career Guide and Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2016, from
http://www.allbusinessschools.com/marketing/

Marketing Manager Salary (United States) United States Home Change Country Don't see what
you are looking for?Get A Free Custom Salary Report . (n.d.). Retrieved October 26,
2016, from http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Marketing_Manager/Salary

Marketing Qualifications. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2016, from
http://www.monster.co.uk/career-advice/article/what-qualifications-are-important-inmarketing

Morgan, Alex. Personal Interview. 19 October 2016.

Rossheim, J. (n.d.). How Two Marketing Pros Climbed to the Top. Retrieved October 23, 2016,
from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/move-up-in-marketingadvancement

University Alliance. (n.d.). Five Essential Skills for the Future Marketing Manager. Retrieved
October 23, 2016, from
http://essentialsofbusiness.ufexec.ufl.edu/resources/marketing/five-essential-skills-forthe-future-marketing-manager/#.WA_-4qOZOSN

11-2021 Marketing Managers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2016, from
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes112021.htm