P.C.M. Should you bother becoming certified? I’m game for discussion by Tony Green

Miller Lite Logo

I was reading some postings and discussions on the merit of becoming a Professional Certified Marketer. I wrote a number of these entries myself.  Some state the certification being a worthwhile investment of time. Others find it silly to be certified as a marketer by passing a multiple choice test. Regardless of your standing on the topic the question always generates a response.

I remember as child growing up watching Miller Lite commercials on television. One version of these used retired football and baseball stars to argue in a 45 second spot over whether Miller Lite should be purchased and consumed because Lite had less filling or superior flavor.

If you wondering what this has to do with being a marketer the point of this commercial is while you and your drinking buddies were argued over the merits of Miller Lite you were focused on Miller and not any of the beers its competitors offered. Who cared which side you were on as long you went to your alcohol supplier and bought a 12-pack to sample so you could make the call for yourself?

Similarly with the P.C.M. question debate does make for thought provoking postings in the blogosphere.

What is the harm of talking? I thought marketers had the job of engaging discussion among its prospects and customers.  An interesting quote by Tom Hespos of Underscore Marketing comes to mind which states,”… What they don’t realize is that for communication to have credibility…, it needs to be a two-way dialogue between human beings, not a one-way message from a marketing department to a “target audience.” I think I my thinking should be finished for now, and a cold beer would be excellent at this point.

In the words of the commercial, “Tastes great, less filling”. Earning your PCM certification or not. I would think the reader would not decide on the basis of my blog posting. Maybe the marketing knowledge I learned studying for my P.C.M. exam was of some use.  Does this allow me to call myself a marketer? That is the topic for another blog entry, which I hope would lead to further dialogue. Conversation in the long term cannot be a bad thing for the marketing profession.

After my Professional Certified Marketer Certification by Tony Green

It has been a year since I passed my Professional Certified Marketer (P.C.M.) exam, therefore being certified to call myself a marketer. In the context of marketing what does the designation of a Professional Certified Marketer mean? If the words were to be dissected into their individual words you would have the words Professional, Certified, and Marketing. As for the meaning of professional and certified the definitions are straight forward. The definition of marketing is another matter. There are a plethora of definitions for marketing varying in their complexity and length.
The latest American Marketing Association definition of marketing reads “Marketing is the activity, conducted by organizations and individuals, that operates through a set of institutions for processes of creating , communicating, delivering, and exchanging marketing offering that have value to customers, clients, marketers and society at large”.
Internet Marketer Ben Hart defines marketing in his e-book Automatic Marketing as “Marketing is the process of putting bait in the water to attract leads and then putting these leads into a sifting and sorting system that will allow you to identify your most likely customers”.
Cynthia Holliday of Upright Marketing defines marketing as, “Getting the right product to the right customer at a profit to the business”.
In my view, the definition of marketing is a realization selling anything does not just happen on its own but needs a process to enable success for both parties involved. On one side is the seller your company or your employer and on the other side is the buyer who is your client or your customer. Marketing in my view is about that process on how the supply of one meets with the demand of the other. My certification has helped me to polish my tools to achieve a smooth process which in the long term ensures success for both parties. Who could argue with a win-win situation for both parties? It seems to me that one should not need to be certified to come to that common sense conclusion. In hindsight if that is what being certified means to me then perhaps I have been a marketer all along.

A view on the Professional Certified Marketer certification by Tony Green

I have been reading various takes on the American Marketing Association’s Professional Certified Marketer’s examination. Here is mine.

I agree with the questioning of the value of paying for the examination and the benefits of the certification. I made my own Google search when I was debating of whether I should take the examination and was unable to find much information. It is the only marketing certification that I have heard of that only requires taking a test to get the certification. The prerequisites to take the exam are either a bachelor’s degree with four years of relevant experience or an M.B.A. and two years. The P.C.M. folks assess whether you have enough relevant experience to take the exam once they review your application.

With that said, whether it is in someone’s interest to take the exam depends on your perspective.

Currently, I am the Vice President of workshops in the Silicon Valley’s chapter of the American Marketing Association (SVAMA) and most of my fellow board members either have degrees in marketing or at least 10 years of marketing experience. In their view getting the P.C.M. certification would seem like overkill and would not provide any additional value.

In my case, I have an engineering background and decided I wanted to get into technical sales and marketing after completing an M.B.A. With no direct experience to market I thought that completing the certification would prove to any prospective employer that I was serious about entering the profession due to the fact that I would make the effort to become certified. In preparing for the exam, which I passed earlier this year, I was able to learn a lot which I am sure will help me in the future. While becoming a P.C.M. does not provide benefit to everyone, I feel that in my case it will be worth it down the road.

What is on my mind? - By Tony Green

Now that I have had a few days to think about what I want to write on my blog I have determined that I was making much more of this than I should have. I will go with what comes to mind: I am still trying to find a job where I can use the skills I have spent the last three years obtaining, i.e., M.B.A.- Technology Management and P.C.M. (Professional Certified Marketer) But the important thing is that my family is fine. Professionally, I believe everything will fall into place, eventually , it is just taking some time.