As the Marketing Manager at Senior Move Managers, Tina Stanke is constantly working on campaigns that grab consumer’s attention and introduces the brand to a large number of potential clients. Stanke has been a Marketing Manager since 2021 and has worked closely with clients since the beginning. This, she says has helped her in becoming a successful marketer who welcomes feedback. We chat with Stanke about her favourite moments being a marketer, the challenges, and where she sees herself in five to 10 years.
How or why did you get into marketing – what sparked your interest?
The reason I have always been intrigued about marketing is that it is a combination of a lot of my interests. Psychology, analysing and understanding human behaviour coupled with creativity and strategic thinking.
Getting the opportunity to establish the Senior Move Managers brand and be part of the success and company growth in the last year has been an amazing challenge that I am extremely grateful for.
Briefly, give details of your marketing career to this point.
I have done a few internships while I was at university and then after I started working for Senior Move Managers I volunteered to do some social media marketing on the side before I became the Marketing Manager in March 2021.
Working with our clients and helping them during their move for many years has given me a unique perspective to really understand our customers, their journey and also Senior Move Managers USP’s. I believe that this has contributed to the success of our marketing strategy in the past year.
What do you love about marketing? Is there a specific type of marketing you particularly enjoy, or specialise in, and why?
I really enjoy top of funnel brand campaigns. This is where we can introduce the brand to the largest number of potential customers in a creative way that grabs people’s attention. To get attention in a short amount of time is difficult but is personally very rewarding as we see them move down our funnels and convert to paying customers.
What do you think it takes to be an award-winning marketer?
A great service or product, a hardworking and supportive team, and a clear vision. Also collecting and analysing customer data to base decisions on and seeking out brutally honest feedback from customers, team members and other stakeholders is crucial.
Is there a specific project you’ve worked on that stands out for you?
Creating our very first brand video and airing it on live TV was a highlight in the last year.
Being the executive director, producer and even starring in the ad as well, was a lot of fun and to top it off the results of the campaign exceeded our expectations.
What do you think has been your most significant achievement throughout your career?
Building the brand for Senior Move Managers and increasing brand awareness in our B2C market. We were able to 3x our revenue in less than 12 months by having a focused approach and communicating with our customers in a cost-effective way.
What are some of the biggest challenges you as a young marketer face in your role?
Having the confidence to make decisions when you have a small marketing budget can be daunting. As I was the first marketing manager appointed to the company, there was no previous marketing data to see what did and did not work, so I had to start from scratch. This is a great opportunity but at the same time also a big challenge, however in order to grow it is important to embrace it and learn fast from mistakes that you inevitably make. I learnt to not be too hard on myself during failures and rely on my team to assist with coming up with new ideas.
What advice would you give to other young marketers newish to the industry?
Put yourself out there as much as possible, work hard and always do more than what is asked of you. Find yourself a mentor that can give you insights and guidance and supports you through difficult challenges.
If you are trying to get experience, it can be beneficial to volunteer or intern in order to gain as much experience and knowledge which will undoubtedly serve you in the future.
Where do you see your career headed in the next five to 10 years?
In the coming years there is the opportunity to grow the Senior Move Managers brand into other regions across New Zealand and Australia. SMM currently has nine locations with the intent of having 12 locations in New Zealand and two locations in AUS by 2026.
As I enjoy challenging myself, I am open to any opportunity that will help me grow and that will expand my skill set. I am excited to see what the future holds as the current state of digital marketing is evolving so rapidly due to some amazing innovations that there will be lots to learn, experiment with and optimise.
