 Marketing Manager - Bloomingdale's DirectAmy was promoted to Director, Circulation Bloomingdale's Direct. "I think any year is a challenge to do better than the year before. Macy's, Inc. has strong people and will always have good people working for them, so they will continue to do well."
 | Why did you join Bloomingdale's and why have you stayed? |
Before I started with Bloomingdale's, I was working with a major consumer database company that housed some of Bloomingdale's databases. When the position opened up at Bloomingdale's, I realized I wanted to be a part of their team. I knew the people I would be working with, and I was interested in learning the other side of direct marketing. My department is a great place to work and learn. I've worked hard to shape my job and to continue to learn new things.
| What do you enjoy most about what you do and what are your overall job responsibilities? |
As the marketing manager, I work with many different people, vendors and Bloomingdale's departments. I help determine circulation quantities and help to plan which customers receive our catalogs. I also manage different insert programs. On any given day, I wear many different hats and have different responsibilities. I enjoy the challenges that each day brings and how my job differs from one week to the next. Each campaign brings new challenges, but because I can understand my responsibilities - I can organize my job to work for me as well as for everyone else. What I enjoy most is that Bloomingdale's trusts me and gives me great people to work with.
| What contribution do you make to your division and how do you feel you make a difference? |
I track to see how much business each of the catalogs generates and look for trends in different customer demographics. I then use that information to build the next mailing. Sending catalogs to our customers can be expensive. Because of my constant tracking and forecasting of expenses, I am able to cut costs and mail the catalogs to the most targeted distribution.
| What has been your most memorable moment since joining the company? |
Recently, I took over a program that had not been performing as well as it had in the past. After managing it for a couple of months, I turned it around. My boss and his boss called me into their offices and told me they were impressed at how much I had done with the program and how it had really made a difference. I walked out of there feeling like I had really accomplished something on my job.
| How has the training you've received since joining the company benefited you? |
I brought some technical skills with me when I took this job but realized that wasn't enough. Basically, working side-by-side with my supervisor, I've built up a whole new set of skills. I've also taken a few classes related to my work and participated in internal training. Our department is very tight and we go see each other for help and training. We've actually had tutoring sessions to learn new skills. Our department is one of the smaller departments here, so we work together and there is a lot of cross training so we can fill in for one another. We are constantly challenged and learn new things so we don't grow bored in our positions.
| Is community involvement important to you, have you been involved in any projects in your division and was this something you considered when joining the company? |
Following September 11th, our division threw a Christmas/holiday party for the firefighter's children. It was a powerful experience because you saw their families. It was tough to celebrate here. Although it wasn't something I had considered prior to joining Bloomingdale's, it was definitely important then.
| What do you like best about your work environment? |
I especially like the people that I work with. Because I have so many different responsibilities my workday is flexible enough to allow me to make my own schedule. Within our department, we have a very casual atmosphere and that makes it a comfortable place to work. I know that at any time I can walk into a supervisor's office and ask them a question. They never hesitate to answer or to help me with what I'm working on.
| What personal interests/hobbies do you have and how do you balance them with your work? |
I'm active on quite a few sports teams outside of the office. I try to balance those by playing games in the evenings and on the weekends. In addition to that, I do a lot of traveling and watch plays. I manage my work schedule and come in earlier if I need to leave early.
| What advice would you give to a new executive joining the company? What helped you establish yourself and move ahead with your career goals? |
I think new executives should spend a lot of time explaining what they expect from Bloomingdale's and learning what Bloomingdale's expects from them. Communication is very important. It is important to get feedback from people you are working with. What helped me with my career at Bloomingdale's was getting to know my job and not being afraid to ask how or why something is done. I think it is ok not to know something but it's not ok to stay ignorant.
| What do you see in the future for Macy's, Inc. and the department store industry? |
I think any year is a challenge to do better than the year before. Macy's, Inc. has strong people and will always have good people working for them, so they will continue to do well. Overall, the past couple of years have been challenging for the industry as a whole. I think that Macy's, Inc. will continue to shine within it as long as they have the same strength and caliber of working for them.
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