Consultant Weighs in on Differences between Aviation Marketing and Other Industries

Marketing is an increasingly popular field of study. But some question whether a degree in marketing in one field qualifies a person to work in another. Aviation marketing is a particularly specific. An aviation marketing consultant has published an article with the key differentiators and success factors for the industry.

The Department of Education reports that nearly 400,000 students graduated with a Bachelor in Business last year, and marketing degrees are included in that number. For those with degrees in other areas of business, marketing is usually a required subject of emphasis.

"Most of the university programs I'm familiar with focus on retail marketing. The case studies almost always involve Coca Cola and Apple," said consultant Paula Williams."Those companies have accomplished amazing things with their marketing, but they had a very specific mission and set of resources that is very different from what we encounter in aviation," she said. "They find themselves really frustrated if they follow rules that are supposed to work in the 'rest of the world' that don't work at all in aviation."

One of the biggest factors is a limited pool of prospects. Three more are outlined in the article "What is Aviation Marketing" on ABCI's website, including the specialized vocabulary and culture, the complexity of transactions, and the length of sales cycles.

About ABCI

ABCI is owned and operated by Paula and John Williams. They pride themselves on using the "right tool for the mission" from an array of options, which might include trade shows, magazine ads, digital marketing, social media, website optimization, and content writing. The choice of tools depends on a thorough understanding of the client's customers, short and long-term objectives, budget and competitors.

ABCI also operates a sales training course for salespeople who need to sell to aviation industry decisionmakers.

They can be found on the web, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. Their weekly video podcast of aviation sales and marketing advice is available on YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play.