Trendex would like to welcome our new marketing coordinator Nick Squires to the team. Nick graduated from St. Olaf College in May with degrees in philosophy and business. At Trendex he handles social media, blogging, email marketing, and our website. Today we will be asking him some questions so you can get to know him better.

You graduated from college just 6 months ago. Did you always know you wanted to get into marketing?

No. Going into college, I wanted to be a doctor like my father but got pretty bored by the chemistry classes and changed my major to philosophy. After adding business to my degree I wanted to work as a management consultant at a big firm like McKinsey or BCG. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out and I looked into marketing as an option. That’s where I am today.

What do you enjoy most about marketing?

I’ve always liked story telling and marketing is basically telling a story about a brand and how it is special or different from others. It’s especially fun how brands have taken on a life of their own by having unique personalities. A lot of our buying decisions are based on marketing whether we realize it or not, so it is a cool thing to be involved in.

What are some of its challenges?

Marketing is extremely competitive and it can be hard to differentiate yourself from a competitor in a commodity market. I know that a lot of the flashier brands like Nike or Chipotle can connect with consumers pretty effectively but it’s harder for a B2B company to have the same impact. My job at Trendex is to make us stand out to our customers in a way that is compelling and consistent with our brand. It can be difficult to create a campaign that engages the people you are targeting but also highlights your competitive advantage.

What do you like about working at Trendex?

I like that it’s a small family business with a tight-knit sense of community. It’s not one of those huge corporate headquarters where I get lost walking around and it takes 15 minutes to find a parking spot. Beyond that I’ve been impressed with how the owners have managed to survive the hard times and grow the business despite the changes in the economy. Every day I feel like I’m learning something new about how to manage a business.

What are your goals here at Trendex?

My most basic goal is to improve revenue at the company. I think that I can do that through increasing our presence online and interacting with customers in a more modern way. Trendex is a great company that does a lot of cool things but we haven’t publicized them and they’ve gone unnoticed. If we can do a better job of letting people know who we are and standing out then I’m very optimistic about the future.

Where do you see your career headed in five years?

Eventually I’d like to work at a top ad agency and create various advertising campaigns. I think the world has suffered enough through bad advertisements and I enjoy watching great ones during the Super Bowl. If that doesn’t work out I’d like to start my own business, either in food or digital media.

Thanks for the interview Nick and good luck at Trendex. We look forward to having you with us.