The main objective of this report is to investigate and establish a sector in business that I can potentially be part of in the future by working in the sector in question. To achieve this, a particular business sector will be chosen its different aspects discussed. The aspects include the job opportunities available within the sector and whether they have been increasing or decreasing in recent years and the different types of skills an individual is expected to possess in order to qualify to work in the particular sector. Subsequently, in the report, an analysis of my strength and weaknesses will be done in a bid to establish the areas in which I should improve on in order to increase my chances of qualifying as a potential employee of the chosen sector. The analysis will be done through the SWOT analysis tool designed to inform one of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The business sector that the report will dwell on is retail. In business, the retail sector is characterized by selling goods and/or services to the end consumer for purposes of making profit. Retailing can be done through departmental stores, supermarkets, discount stores and warehouses. By definition of the sector, manufactures who sell their products directly to consumers can also be considered as retailers. The main motivation behind choosing the retail sector is its reach. Retailing is practiced almost in all industries in the business world which translates to more job opportunities hence raising the chances of employment.
Historical and Recent Trends Shaping the Sector
Historically, retailing has been in existence since the ancient times. The art of buying or manufacturing and selling goods and services can be dated back archeologically to 7th millennium BCE in turkey. The retailing carried out in those times involved primitive shops where goods were availed to customers n exchange of ancient currency. As societies became more civilized, the primitive shops were replaced with slightly sophisticated open air markets and town centers where retailing took place. In Europe, shopping centers where retailing took place had begun to provide employment by the 13th century. In England, large shopping arcades began to emerge by the end of 18th century where traders from different parts of the world sold their products to consumers in the country (Cox, and Dannehl, 2017).
The history of retailing as described above helped shape modern era retailing which is defined as the retailing that took place from the period of industrial revolution to present day. Since the beginning of modern era retailing, the sector has developed massively in terms of the goods and services offered marketing and delivery. Most of the development has been fuelled by technology that has enabled the manufacturing of new products to sell to the end consumer and broadcasting methods such as television to market the products. The most common products that have been constantly present through the history of retailing are food stuffs. This has however changed as currently, a huge variety of products and services are provided by retailers ranging from clothes, machinery, technology services among others. Throughout the history of modern era retailing, some of the most common and important jobs in the sector have included store manager and sales and marketing manager. To be a store manager, one requires skills such as communication skills for purposes of effectively communicating the procedures to be followed by the workers at a retail store, analytical skills for purposes of analyzing sales figures to determine the profit or losses incurred and excellent decision making skills to help him/her make critical decisions regarding the overall management of the store. Regarding the sales and marketing manger job, an individual is required to possess skills such as negotiation skills to ensure he/she gets the best deals for the organization in terms of prices, interpersonal relationship skills to help him/her build good business relationships with potential customers and strategic prospecting skills which helps him/her to identify prospective customers and their needs in order to establish the goods to avail to them (Peter, and Donnelly, 1998). The specific job role that I am interested in is in the retail sector is sales and marketing. This job involves marketing of products sold by retailers through different channels such as the digital and the mass media. Job opportunities in sales and marketing have been increasing exponentially with the increase in ways through which retailers can market their products digitally. Additionally, more retailers have embraced technology in a bid to increase sells and remain competitive. This has led to digital marketing departments in many retail organizations hence increasing the job opportunities in digital marketing.
Skills and Experience Required in the Sector
Essential Skills in Sales and Marketing
To work in the sales and marketing department of a retailer, one is required to possess essential skills such as the ability to understand the needs of the consumer. This skill is important as it informs the sales and marketing personnel about the specific needs of different customers either individually or as a segment. Once established, the needs of the customers then leads the sales and marketing personnel to tailor the products on offer to fit the needs of the customer hence make it easy for them to convince the customers to buy the products. Another essential skill in sales and marketing is the ability to understand the psychology of buyer engagement. This skill is crucial especially for the sales and marketing personnel that deal with the potential customers directly. This is because it enables them to interact with the buyer in a manner that maximizes the chances of selling the products. The psychology of buyer engagement involves understanding the desires and motivating factors that inform the buyers` decision making process and using them to convince them that the product fits the description they have in mind. Thirdly, expertise in product knowledge is an essential skill required in sales and marketing (Peter, and Donnelly, 1998). This skill is important as it equips the sales and marketing personnel with all the necessary information about the products on sale for purpose of handling any questions customers may have about the products. Additionally, describing the products in details enables the sales and marketing personnel to make the buyers develop interest in the products in question which leads to them buying the products.
Desirable Skills in Sales and Marketing
One of the key desirable skills in this role in the retail sector is interpersonal skills. Interpersonal relationships between the consumer and the retailer are important for both parties as they enhance smooth transactions. However, to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships requires excellent interpersonal skills on the sales and marketers part. Therefore, interpersonal skills create an environment where sales the job of sales and marketing becomes easier. Secondly, articulate is another skill that is desirable in sales and marketing (Peter, and Donnelly, 1998). This is because it enables the personnel in question to accurately describe the products without being misunderstood by the buyer in any form.
Transferrable Skills in Sales and Marketing
One of the skills that can be employed in sales and marketing as well as other business sectors is self motivation. This skill helps a sales and marketing personnel to be persistent in his/her quest to sell the products to the consumer even when they are not responding to his/her efforts positively. Similarly in other sectors, self motivation can help an individual pursue his/her business goals relentlessly without giving up when disappointed. Another transferable skill is work ethic. This skill in sales and marketing helps one to remain disciplined and strive to achieve the set goals. In other sectors, the discipline and determination as a result of work ethic also helps an individual deliver the strategic objectives.
Discussion and Evaluation of the Findings
Personal SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Regarding my strengths, I have a number of skills that will work to my advantage. One of them is the fact that I am competent in effective communication. This is a skill that I have developed for a long time and helps me communicate to individuals in an effective manner. Secondly, I possess interpersonal skills that have helped me form interpersonal relationships relatively easily with the people I interact with at school and outside school.
Weaknesses
One of my key weaknesses is my inability to accomplish tasks in time. In most cases, I tend to move slowly while working on tasks which affect the delivery of my objectives in terms of time. Another weakness is lack of confidence when interacting with new people. This is a weakness that will be detrimental to my performance as a sales and marketing personnel in the event that I am in a position that requires me to deal with consumers directly.
Opportunities
The biggest opportunity present is the fact that the job opportunities in the sales and marketing sphere of the retail sector in business are increasing with time. This is due to the introduction of digital marketing which provides techniques in sales hence the need for new personnel. Secondly, the number of retailers is increasing which makes the sector bigger and more productive in terms of income which in turn leads to the retailers gaining financial power of hiring individuals (Burt, and Sparks, 2010).
Threats
The main threat I face is competition for the job opportunities in the retail area. More students enroll in universities to take course that equips them with the knowledge required to work in the retail sector hence increasing the competition for the available opportunities (Wilton, 2011). In addition, some of the students in question possess some skills that I do not possess such as high computer literacy which will work to their advantage in the job market.
As illustrated by the above SWOT analysis, I already possess communication and interpersonal skills. These two skills are required to work as a sales and marketing personnel in the retail sector as aforementioned. To further improve them, I could take short courses in my free time that enlighten me on the professional side of both effective communication and interpersonal skills.
However, there are skills required for sales and marketing personnel that I do not possess. For example, I am not conversant with the psychology of buyer engagement. To acquire the above skill, I will have to seek opportunities outside the university such as internships. During the internship, I can acquire the above skills and sharpen then through practice as I will have an opportunity to engage with buyers on a personal level. Secondly, I do not possess the skill of understanding the needs of the buyers. However, this is a skill that my degree can help me learn without seeking opportunities outside the universities because the lessons incorporated in my course ensure that I will be able to identify the needs of buyers before I complete the course.
Conclusion and Action Plan
According to the findings I have made in this report, I can conclude that it is reasonable for me to proceed and pursue work in sales and marketing in the retail sector. This is because the opportunities in the sector, combined with the skills required that I already have can help me be successful in the area. To ensure that I am ready for the same job market after my studies, I will pursue two SMART goals geared towards developing my skillet regarding the essential, desirable and transferable skills as required in the sector. A SMART goal is one which is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound (Haughey, 2015). The first goal will be to improve my ability to understand the needs of the buyer. Following the smart model, I will first ensure the goal is specific. I will specify the goal to be “gaining the ability to establish the needs of the buyers by the time I complete my university studies.” Secondly, I will make the goal measurable by breaking it down into the different portions of the techniques involved and measure how many techniques I learn about after a certain period of time. Thirdly, this goal is attainable based on the fact that I have enough time left to learn about understanding the needs of the buyer before I complete my course whose lessons are in line with the goal. Fourthly, the goal is relevant as it is pursuant to my aspirations of becoming a sales and marketing personnel in the retail sector. Finally, it is time bound because; I will have a dateline which expires when I complete my course. The second SMART goal will be to study the psychology of buyer engagement. To make this goal specific, I will define it as follows: “To study and be able to employ the psychology of buyer engagement before completing my internships.” To make it measurable, I will segment the techniques involved in it and monitor how many I learn in a specific time. Given the time I have to go for internship programs, the goal is attainable. Regarding its relevance, the goal is relevant as its achievement will equip me with an essential skill in retail sector. Finally, the goal has a time frame as I have only until I finish my last internship to achieve it.
References
Burt, S.L. and Sparks, L., 2003. Power and competition in the UK retail grocery market. British Journal of Management, 14(3), pp.237-254.
Cox, N. and Dannehl, K., 2017. Perceptions of retailing in early modern England. Routledge.
Haughey, D., 2015. SMART goals. Project Smart. co. uk. Np, nd Web, 11.
Peter, J.P. and Donnelly, J.H., 1998. Marketing management: Knowledge and skills. Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
Peter, J.P. and Donnelly, J.H., 1998. Marketing management: Knowledge and skills. Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
Wilton, N., 2011. Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labor market? The case of business and management graduates. Work, employment and society, 25(1), pp.85-100.
