There is a saying that battles are won in the trenches. For brands, battles are won at the shelf. This is the zero moment of truth, when shoppers pick the winners. And to win this battle, you need fighters on the ground. But what are the traits of a brand gladiator and how do you become one? This is our view on why Field Marketers are a breed apart.
If asked to take a job requiring to move your office from the headquarters to your car, to do over 10.000 steps a day, and to take calls while checking merchandise and talking to store staff at the same time, few people would sign-up for the job. Except for the crazy ones, who do it for a simple reason: they love it.
Field marketers are most probably known as the people who get things done. The ones who many times go over the last mile to make sure your campaign starts on time, even though all odds seem to be stacked against it. The ones who spread the word to the whole town about that cool event that’s just about to happen or the ones who are always able to fix things up when the Unexpected meets the Improbable and both run into the Impossible.
In our tribe, there are thousands of people who share the same passion for an active and relationship-based work life. Adaptability, grit, and sharp negotiation skills make the foundation of a true field marketer. Fast decision making, organizing everything on the go, flexibility, and lots of adrenalin are the only predictable things in the life of a field marketer who never has a minute to get bored.
“Every time a client congratulates our team for the job we’ve done or asks our input for making their brands the customers’ favorite, I feel rewarded and fulfilled. Every campaign is different, every event has its own sweet & sour hazards, but I just can’t find another job to match this feeling of freedom, full ownership of my work and impact. You can instantly see you’ve done a good job.” says Ioana Hojda, g7’s National Field Director, who got the field marketing “virus” more than 13 years ago.
Just as in Ioana’s case, if you are a field marketing passionate, in childhood you might have been the kid who always found a good reason to get out of the house and explore the world. You might enjoy the thrill of action while organizing an event, you might like traveling through various towns to spot the best locations, or even might not be bothered by just a short 1-hour sleep in order to be sure you’re in the middle of the action before a large event, like Ioana used to do.
Being a field marketer surely is a challenge. And like any good challenge, it has rewards to measure it. It’s not only about the freedom you have around your schedule or decisions. It is about seeing live the impact your contribution has on the projects you develop. And most of all, it’s about the people. You work side-by-side with teams of active individuals, colleagues, clients, suppliers. And some of them become in time your friends for life.