May 19, 2020
About the guest:
Rick Saucier has been teaching in higher education for 28 years, including the last eight at Thomas College in Waterville. He was a first-generation college student, earning his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1982. He went into the retail management business with KMart Fashion, starting in Waterville, then to New York, and then back to Maine. Five years after graduation he decided to pursue his M.B.A. at UMaine. He was recognized by the program, In 1991, he pursued a career ambition of teaching business in higher ed - first with Eastern Maine Technical College (EMTC). While at EMTC, he pursued his D.B.A from California Pacific University. In 2001 he moved to central Minnesota to teach at St. John's University. In 2012, hearing the call of family, he moved back to Maine to teach at Thomas College. He currently teaches a variety of marketing courses, the business capstone class, and for the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation.
Along the way, Rick has published three books covering a variety of marketing topics on retail store design, marketing ethics, and the experience of teaching in higher education. He has also written on a number of topics ranging from the ethics of stealth marketing to the responsibility that marketers have for consumer happiness to curricular issues facing colleges. Rick is a member of the Marketing Management Association, and the Society for the Advancement of Management (S.A.M.) He has presented at several conferences.
Rick believes Maine's students can compete with anyone in the country which came to fruition in March 2019, when a team of Thomas College students he coached won 2 first-place honors at S.A.M.'s international conference in Orlando, Florida.
He resides In Etna, Maine with his wife of 35 years.
In the episode:
3:30 – After graduating from college, Rick describes how he worked in retail management before pursuing his life interest of teaching higher education.
7:53 – Rick tells about the success Thomas College students have had competing nationally at the annual Society for the Advancement of Management (S.A.M.) competition.
10:20 – Rick shares three pieces of advice that he likes to tell his students.
17:25 – Rick suggests viewing marketing as an investment and stresses the importance of measuring success because of how expensive marketing is.
21:27 – Rather than always focusing on sales, Rick recommends focusing on other customer behaviors in addition to sales as they are vitally important as well.
23:12 – Rick returns to his point about focusing on the fundamentals because of how fast the marketing landscape is changing.
26:50 – As a life-long learner, Rick shares some of the resources and thought leaders he learns from.
34:54 – While students today look to get a better job with their business degree, Rick describes how he tries to teach them how to communicate effectively, which is one of the top qualities employers look for.
39:14 – Nancy and Rick talk about building brands through storytelling.
42:09 – Rick describes how his childhood and being a first-generation college student is reflected in his work.
44:23 – Rick tells how his network grows, whether it is the students he teaches or the organizations he is a part of.
50:43 – Rick talks about the books that he has written about marketing and teaching higher education.
55:04 – To keep college education more affordable, Rick explains how he is creating course curriculums that do not require a textbook.
Quote:
“I try to tell my students that why I focus on fundamentals and basics in their class is that there's a good chance, whatever job that they're going to engage in after they graduate, that the same job may not even exist today. If you understand the basics, you can take those basics with you and apply them in whatever position that you'll be engaged in, going forward.” – Rick Saucier, professor of marketing at Thomas College
Links:
Thomas College: https://www.thomas.edu/rick-saucier/
PR Works! by Nancy Marshall: https://www.amazon.com/PR-Works-implement-leverage-relations/dp/1511641614
Grow Your Audience, Grow Your Brand by Nancy Marshall: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088JS6YL4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
Influencing Sales Through Store Design by Rick Saucier: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0773475982/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
Marketing Ethics by Rick Saucier https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0773451161/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Reflections on Life in Higher Education: https://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Life-Higher-Education-Saucier-ebook/dp/B0189BC1QC/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=rick+saucier&qid=1589574233&s=books&sr=1-2
Bernadette Jiwa: https://thestoryoftelling.com/
Seth Godin: https://www.sethgodin.com/
Jonah Berger: https://jonahberger.com/books/contagious/
Marketing Management Association: http://www.mmaglobal.org/
Saint John's University: https://www.csbsju.edu/
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Looking to connect:
Email: saucierr@thomas.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saucier-rick-b2203927/
Twitter: @RickSaucier