Ireland must foster marketing talent, says Institute

Ireland needs to foster a bank of experienced marketing and sales talent in order to become a global centre of marketing excellence, according to the Marketing Institute.

Responding to the recommendations of the Enterprise Strategy Report Group, the Institute’s chief executive Ed McDonald said his organisation would be an enthusiastic partner in developing this capability for Ireland.

He also welcomed the Report proposal to establish “Export Ireland”, as a dedicated structure within Enterprise Ireland.

“We believe there is a need to restore the specific focus which the former Córas Trachtála (Irish Export Board) provided, as it gave a very clear lead on emphasising the vital need to understand markets and customers, and how they work in practice”, said Mr McDonald.

The Marketing Institute boss said that businesses in Ireland need to appreciate that “everything must start and end with the customer, and it requires having a customer-orientated outlook along with putting in place in each business a structure to organise and manage that".