From Customer Service to Marketing Director: How Allison Kemp "Accidental-ed" Her Way Into Leadership

Most people probably don’t picture themselves building a long-term career at the same place where they picked up a part-time college job. 

Allison Kemp definitely didn’t. 

What started as a flexible position while attending college eventually turned into a big leadership role overseeing marketing strategy during one of the most unpredictable periods the automotive industry has faced in years.

I interviewed Allison Kemp, Marketing Director at Rich Ford, over the phone on May 22, 2026. She previously managed me during my time working in social media and marketing at the dealership, so hearing more about how her career developed felt especially relevant to both this assignment and my own professional interests in communications and digital media.

What stood out most during our conversation was how naturally her career evolved over time. Allison began working at Rich Ford shortly before she started studying international management at the University of New Mexico (UNM). At that point, she simply needed a job flexible enough to fit around her school schedule, so she attended classes during the day and worked evenings at the dealership.

Her first role was in the dealership’s customer relations center, where she made outbound service calls to customers after appointments and helped escalate complaints when issues came up. Even though it was an entry-level position, it introduced her to customer communication, relationship management, and the fast-paced nature of dealership operations. Looking back, it’s easy to see how those early experiences helped build the foundation for the leadership role she eventually stepped into years later.

(Allison Kemp, left, and Crystal Switzer, right)

As Allison continued working at the dealership, more responsibilities gradually landed on her plate. She eventually took over management of the customer relations department and oversaw both sales and service communications. Over time, she also began handling CRM campaigns, website management, operational tasks, and digital communication projects. Instead of staying limited to one department, she kept expanding her skill set based on whatever the dealership needed at the time. 

One thing she emphasized several times during the interview was the importance of saying "yes" to opportunities, even before feeling completely prepared. That mindset honestly connects to ideas we’ve discussed in this course about career adaptability and professional identity. Careers seem to rarely follow perfectly planned paths anymore; people often grow professionally by learning new skills in real time and adjusting as industries evolve around them.

What I found most interesting was that Allison never described her career as a carefully calculated plan. She didn’t focus on chasing titles or climbing a ladder as quickly as possible. Instead, her growth came from consistently being dependable, learning as she went, and stepping up when the dealership needed someone capable of handling more responsibility.

Honestly, that makes her career path feel much more relatable than a lot of polished success stories people usually hear. Allison didn’t enter the automotive industry expecting to become a marketing director someday. She started as a college student looking for a flexible job and gradually built a career through adaptability, curiosity, and experience.

I'm so beyond proud of her. 💙

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When the World Shut Down, Allison Kemp Helped Reinvent Car Sales Overnight

Image
Some people talk about adaptability on their resumes or in interviews, but very few actually get thrown into situations that force them to completely rethink how they work in real time.  For Allison Kemp, that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic... Almost overnight, the entire automotive industry had to figure out how to operate during shutdowns, restrictions, and complete uncertainty. Instead of freezing under pressure, Allison helped Rich Ford completely shift how it communicated with customers and sold vehicles during one of the strangest periods modern businesses have ever experienced. During my interview with her, this part of her career stood out the most because it felt like the moment everything changed professionally for her. Before the pandemic, she already handled customer relations management and had slowly taken on more operational and digital responsibilities over the years. But once COVID hit, those responsibilities multiplied fast. The dealership suddenly had t...
Read more

Becoming the Person Everyone Calls When Things Get Complicated

Image
By the end of my interview with Allison Kemp, it was obvious that she had ultimately succeeded because she never stopped evolving alongside the industry around her. Now, Allison serves as marketing director for the  Rich Ford dealership , and her role extends beyond what most probably imagine when they hear the word “marketing.” She oversees digital advertising, website management, SEO strategy, customer engagement, online reputation, vendor coordination, and marketing operations for multiple dealership locations. Several times during our conversation, I found myself wondering how one person manages that many moving parts at once. What stood out to me most in this final part of our conversation was how realistic she is about the current state of marketing. She never described the industry as glamorous or easy. Instead, she talked about how quickly everything changes and how difficult it's become to keep up with every platform, trend, and communication strategy at once. (Allison K...
Read more