Ken Wong (Queen's University)
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On this episode of Marketing News Canada, Ted Lau interviews Ken Wong, Professor at Queen’s University.
Experienced Advisory Board Member with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting industry. Skilled in Business Planning, Analytical Skills, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, and Team Building. Strong business development professional with a DBA (ABD) focused in Marketing Management and Business Strategy from Harvard Business School.
Ken began the conversation asking “are marketers born, or are they made?” He stated that business has always been something that he was interested in since a young age. This stems from the fact that his family started a business that is now Canada’s biggest seller of Chinese produce.
He stated that a true family business has about 365 meetings a year, but they call it dinner. A true marketer is always thinking about what is to come for the business and how they could better it. He believes that part of his understanding about business is how he was raised, and the other part being the influential professors that taught him throughout his education.
Ken believes that social media is the new word of mouth marketing. It is the most powerful and efficient way to have a product exposed to a large audience. “There is nothing more powerful than an unsponsored advertisement,” says ken.
The biggest change to marketing right now is due to technology and analytics, and we can now do things that we could never do before. Marketers tend to be drawn to new things, and forget the quality that the old things offer. “It seems as if everyday there are new products being introduced to the market and marketers have to be aware and keep up with them,” says Ken.
Post pandemic, Ken does not know what predictions to make. He said it could be similar to the roaring 20’s when post pandemic the economy was thriving. He said some sectors of the economy will obviously go up such as travel and dining, however some sectors may stay the same or even decline.
There are many different ways these days that you can make your mark in the marketing world. It is now easier than ever to be creative and be involved thanks to tools such as social media. Something that will never change is that the quality of your work is what will make you successful.
People buy products and services for a purpose. As a marketer one of the most important things that can be done is communicating that purpose to your target audience. Strong advertising helps buyers discover their “why.” This is their reason for buying, their need that is not being fulfilled.
Ken Wong has grown up surrounded by business-minded individuals his whole life. His education combined with his experience makes him a very captivating professor at the University of Queens.
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