Some people choose a clear path into marketing, but not Wayde Nelson. He began his career as an electrical engineer with a keen interest in stats and measurement. Not satisfied with two degrees, he later received an MBA to round out his qualifications. Read on to learn more about this fascinating member.
Where are you based?
I work from my home in Butler, Pennsylvania in the USA. Butler is an hour’s drive north of center city Pittsburgh.
What do you do in real-life?
I am a Business Advisor for my own company, b$olutions. I am an accredited associate of the Institute for Independent Business, an international non-profit based in London. It’s the largest organization of its kind with over 3,500 accredited associates world-wide.
Tell us about your company.
I formed b$olutions about 15 months ago. Presently, it’s only me. I have plans to eventually add up to four full time business advisors and have up to four co-op students working in the company. I help owners of small to medium businesses who need to increase sales, improve profits, raise cash for a special need, or just find some time away from the business to have a personal life again. The assistance ranges from marketing, accounting, operations and manufacturing, human resources, quality, and almost any other aspect of business. The nice part about being accredited by the Institute is that if I don’t have the expertise, I can find it within the Institute. I provide for my clients the cost advantage of a low overhead, single provider consultant, but the resources of one of the Big Five! In fact, according to the Code of Ethics by the Institute, I cannot misrepresent my expertise; I must bring in someone who is expert in just what is needed by the client.
How did you find KHE?
About a year ago, I ran into a business problem for which I was going research and one of the “hits” from my on-line search was from MarketingProfs. I am a curious person by nature so after I read the very good article pertaining exactly to what I needed, I looked around. And I found KRE. I felt this was a great resource to draw on and a place in which I could utilize my knowledge and experience to help people.
What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most?
I am pretty selective on the areas in KHE to which I contribute. First of all, any research/metrics is an area in which I can contribute much. I have an MS in Applied Statistics and can provide guidance in any area pertaining to marketing statistics. Also, I contribute to the Strategy category. If you were to read all my answers in this area, you would see that most are “fundamentals” and are basically the same. Start with understanding your customer, your competition, and your own core competencies. Then structure your strategy and marketing plan. I find most people start at the end of the process and need to be reminded of the homework they must do to get there. The other category in which I contribute is branding. I’m not one of the “creative people” who can come up with the clever tag lines or compelling logos. I approach branding from a strategic standpoint, deciding who you want to be and then how best to portray that to the target audience.
Describe a specific KHE discussion you learned something from.
A student living in France – Babac (babacdadon) - asked a question about a survey she was conducting for her degree dissertation. The subject was viral marketing. She taught me so much about viral marketing and marketing to the “Gen Y” population by sharing with me her research! Babec is a very bright young lady and is going to be a great marketer and the discussion we had “on forum” and off was very enlightening for an old soldier like me.
What is your favorite marketing book? Why?
The book on which I draw the most is Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore. I learned a lot from this book concerning adoption of high tech products and how to create value for customers.
What networking or professional organizations do you belong to?
I am a member of the American Marketing Association – in fact, the chair of Research and Client Care for the local Pittsburgh chapter. Also, I am a member for two chambers of commerce in the area and of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Along with my premium plus membership in MarketingProfs, find that these organizations keep me in touch with my community and my craft. As a professional, I find keeping up with the latest very important in my career.
How many years have you been in marketing? How did you get started?
I have been practicing the marketing craft for about ten years now. My undergrad was in electrical engineering and I had earned an MS in Applied Statistics and while working for GE, a general manager came to me one day and asked me to head a project to commercialize a product at the time sold only to another GE component. I had to conduct primary and secondary market research and build a business plan to launch this product. With that project, I fell in love with marketing. I made it my goal to earn an MBA – which I did from Duke University. After earning the degree, I managed a couple of development engineering organizations – but doing a lot of marketing work from those positions. Finally, with Harris Corporation, I moved into a full-fledged product marketing manager position.
Have you made any offline connections with people you met in KHE?
While I have never met KHE people in person, I have had phone conversations and many e-mail discussions with several of the experts. I admire Randall (W.M.M.A.) for his knowledge and experience in integrated marketing. We have developed a deep mutual respect and a friendship on the forum and off. In fact, being from Texas and me having lived in Florida, we had a wager on the NBA finals and he owes me a crisp, new dollar as a result! I am in awe of Michael (mgoodman). Every time I move into a B2C answer, Michael’s answers remind me who the real expert is! Chris (ASVP/ChrisB) brings a mix of theory and an all-around practical from “Down Under.” If you want to know anything concerning telemarketing, Dave (telemoxy) is your guy. For the inside on the Indian market place, Puru is the expert. I have learned much from them and I feel a genuine kinship with each of them. I believe that if you got us all in the same room, the mental energy would be too much and it would implode! Hahaha.
Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
The forum contains a wealth of knowledge. Best use of the forum is to research your question first, formulate your thoughts, share them with us, and ask for our opinions. Asking a generalized question will net you fairly basic and generalized answers. The more specific you can make your question, the more valuable it will be for you. Also, “givers gain.” Be willing to answer questions too. Mixing your answers with theory and experience keeps you at the top of your game too.
