From mass communications to Mazzella Companies’ Marketing team, Mike’s journey reflects diversity. As the Corporate Marketing and Communications Manager, he coordinates strategies, innovation, and collaboration to enhance Mazzella’s brand and engagement.
What led you to a career in Marketing?
With a degree in mass communications, and having taken different courses like media studies, website, and graphic design, Mike says that he ended up finding his way into Marketing through the backdoor. “What appealed to me about Marketing as a career is that every day is a little bit different and you get involved in all kinds of different things – traditional advertising, website design, internal communications, and communications directly with the customer.”
What led you to Mazzella Companies?
After eight years in a previous role, Mike was brought onto the Marketing team as a Content Specialist to help kick off Mazzella Companies’ use of the touted They Ask You Answer method from Marcus Sheridan. “I didn’t really see anywhere to go in my current company and was looking for something new and challenging. After interviewing with the Marketing team at Mazzella Companies, I really fed off of their passion and energy to help build that program from the ground up and wanted to be there from the start.”
How has your role changed over time?
Things changed for Mike when the team was restructured to add more layers between management and staff, which meant a promotion for him. “I started as a Content Manager, writing our blog articles that covered different functions of our lifting business. As we added more people to the team, we realized the structure needed to change. I was then able to jump into a management position and help guide the strategy for the rest of the team.”
Related: How Can I Advance My Career at Mazzella Companies?
What professional development has Mazzella Companies offered you to be successful?
Beyond just a Learning Management System (LMS) that offers courses any Mazzella Companies team member can take at their own pace, Mike shared that he was provided leadership training that transformed him and his career. “I was fortunate enough to be selected to be part of a leadership training program that was a kind of a sprint course. It was five weeks with an online cohort, and we went through a program that helped me understand my role as a manager, how to work in a group dynamic, and tools for conflict resolution.”
How would you describe the overall function of the Marketing department within Mazzella Companies?
“Whether you’re customer facing or you’re an internal team like our Human Resources or Quality, Safety, Transportation, Reliability (QSTR) team, we’re that resource to help get the message out to the masses.” Building a team of specialized roles, Mike and his team are ready to write an article or technical manual, design a trade show booth graphic or website, or shoot and edit a video.
“Anything that is a challenge in terms of how a business would want to communicate to their customers, the Marketing team can help facilitate that.”
How do you foster creativity and innovation on the team?
Mike feels it’s important to give his teammates creative liberties with their content, making it clear that he’s not interested in telling someone how to work their craft, but rather here to help them move the ball down the field. “We have all that talent on the team. I feel it’s my job to help them eliminate roadblocks, stay organized, be a sounding board, and offer advice. I want to help them see the best in themselves and encourage them to create the best work they can.”
While the team is organized into sub-teams with a focus on the lifting and metals businesses, Mike is adept at acknowledging the distinctive viewpoints and varied approaches of others. He actively involves them in projects, valuing the richness that diverse perspectives contribute to the creative process. “We’re a very collaborative group, so you have your role and focus, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t want to specifically bring people from the team into other projects to lend their expertise.”
What is a challenge facing the Marketing team today?
As the department has grown to support the organization’s growth, one of the biggest challenges facing the team today has been onboarding. “We have to make sure that we’re onboarding new people consistently so that we’re still maintaining the same level of quality we expect, but also what the business expects from our team.”
With help from the Human Resources team and Marketing team members, First Year Experience plans have been created, and in turn a more comprehensive onboarding program has grown from that. “We want to make sure that we’ve got a structure that’s going to support the scalability and growth of the department.”
Related: What Are the Steps in the Mazzella Companies’ Interview Process?
What skills and qualities do you look for when hiring new members to the Marketing team?
More than just technical skills and creative aptitude, any candidate looking to join the Marketing team at Mazzella Companies will need to embody the company culture and, in turn, their core values. “We always tell everybody upfront that if you get to the panel interview, understand that we think you can do the job, and want to make sure you’re going to be a good fit for the team.”
On top of being a good fit within the team, whoever chooses to join the team will need to enjoy the fluctuations in what the day-to-day looks like. “You’re never doing the same thing each month, each quarter, each year. We break down a lot of our big projects into 90-day project plans with milestones and deliverables, and those change every quarter. That change is something you’ll need to find exciting and fulfilling.”
What tools and technologies do you feel are essential for a modern Marketing team to succeed?
As someone who enjoys strategy and prioritization, Mikes’ favorite tool the team uses is The Meeting Advantage from Patrick Lencioni’s Table Group. The system allows the Marketing team, as well as other teams within Mazzella Companies, to set an agenda for weekly staff meetings. “Their system allows us to focus on our priorities and check in to make sure that everything’s moving forward and that we’re all aligned each week and month to the overall company goals.”
How does the Marketing team collaborate with other teams within Mazzella Companies?
Always trying to help educate and raise the bar, the Marketing team at Mazzella Companies is not a traditional one. “We’re a shared service that’s available to every business unit and think of ourselves as an internal advertising agency. While we do handle logoed apparel and trade shows, we’re really here to help with any part of a sales or business process. We want Mazzella Companies to stand out as the experts in their own space.”
Driving Marketing Initiatives Forward
How the Marketing team at Mazzella Companies prioritizes challenges underscores the fluctuating nature of modern marketing. As Mike continues to help the team coordinate, strategize, and collaborate to meet these challenges, the team continues to drive the company’s marketing initiatives forward promoting Mazzella Companies’ expertise across diverse marketing channels and business sectors.
