I CHECK IN WITH...ANDREE BAXTER
#THESENSECHECK INTERVIEW SERIES 6 minute check-ins with smart, beautiful and interesting women who know a thing or two about what it takes to be successful.
ANDREE BAXTER Marketing Manager, WM Ritchie
What do you do and what does a typical day involve?
My role as the National Marketing Manager for WM Ritchie sees me manage the marketing activities across our distribution channels for our Women’s footwear brands Sandler, Easy Steps, Jane Debster & Alan Pinkus.
A typical day for me is analysing campaign sales data, working with our agencies across design, media and digital on current & future campaigns, working with my team on marketing plans for the current and next seasons.
As we are wholesale business as well a big part of my job is working with our key customers MYER & David Jones on our joint marketing plans for each season.
What sense do you use most in your role? Describe how you use it.
As our business is a product based business in my younger years as a marketer I would have said that sight was the sense I couldn’t live without in my role and one that I would need to utilise every day. However I have found that the sense that has become the key to success in this role is hearing. An extension to that listening. Listening to what our customers are saying about our brands, listening to the needs (and wants) of our B2B customers and listening to what our internal stakeholders require. The more I can listen and understand requirements the more successful any marketing executions become throughout any of our channels.
What does your morning routine look like?
A morning gym session is important to me as it gives me a bit of a boost to start the day (plus then after a long day I don’t have to worry about persuading myself to get to the gym!)
Then the half hour is spent going through our social media sites with my team and discussing engagements for the day before and then also what are competitors are doing. Spending time with my team is important to me in the morning as the rest of my day can have me in meetings all day and this morning time allows us to touch base on where everyone is up to and connect as a team
Then coffee!! And that’s the only predictable part of my day. Depending on where we are in a season we could be planning our campaign shoots for the next season, working on development product, developing budgets & strategies or developing content. With a multi-channel, multi customer, seasonal business like ours, the days are varied and unpredictable!
Who or what inspires you?
Passion. I crave working with people who have a passion for anything, for life, for what they do and for what they want to do. Surround yourself with people like that and you can’t help but want to find the same level of passion for yourself! It’s infectious.
How do you stay on top of trends in your industry?
A lot of web searching! As a business we also travel overseas 4 times a year which gives us a really good picture of what is happening in the market the following season. We are quite fortunate from a development point of view being in the Southern hemisphere in that we can see what trends are getting traction overseas in future seasons.
What is your no. 1 piece of advice?
Invest in relationships. A major factor in succeeding in my role is through the relationships I have developed with stakeholders across all areas of my role and career. Spend time investing in and nurturing your business relationships and they will reward you.