What Does a Marketing Manager Do?
A marketing manager is responsible for brainstorming, designing, and strategizing to create effective marketing campaigns for a wide variety of businesses that sell products or services. Marketing managers are responsible for increasing sales and monitoring product supply and demand. They often supervise others whose jobs involve implementing the strategy designed by a marketing manager or a team of marketing managers.
Marketing management jobs involve the use of research and strategic planning to effectively place and promote products in the consumer market. Examples of specializations in marketing management jobs include:
- Global Marketing Manager
- Sales Manager
- Product and Price Manager
- Marketing Channel Coordinator
- Logistics Strategy Manager
- Marketing Communications Manager
Teamwork and creativity are essential traits for employees in the field of marketing as a whole, and especially in marketing manager jobs. Good analytical skills and instincts about ways to reach consumers are needed. While much of marketing management involves developing strategies based on data analysis of consumer research, there is also an element of uncertainty when creating ad campaigns designed to connect with consumers. Marketing managers must balance this fine line between analysis and instinct, and must be able to fine-tune marketing campaigns based on market research.
People Skills
Marketing management jobs require the ability to work with a wide variety of people, some of whom are more or less competent than others, and some of whom may have very different styles of communication from your own. Some employees are direct communicators, and work well independently with little assistance or supervision. Still others produce quality work but need a bit more handholding and direct one-on-one contact with the supervisors and mentors.
Marketing Skills
To succeed in marketing manager jobs, you will need to understand the process of creating idea concepts for selling goods and services. You will also need to understand how target market, pricing, and promotions will affect the sales of goods and services. This is a process that involves studying population demographics to understand the factors that affect the demand and competition for consumer goods and services. Marketing managers must be well versed in traditional concepts in sales, research, and advertising.
Education
If you are interested in marketing management jobs, you should combine education in marketing with a solid business management education. Some examples of college majors or areas of study within marketing include apparel and accessories, business marketing, tourism and travel, marketing research and management, and operations and distribution. As an entry-level degree holder, you could choose any one of these disciplines followed by advanced business training. If you want to focus on marketing management as your major coursework, you will receive broad training in general marketing and management principles, but will likely receive less-detailed instruction in marketing for specific industries. Your marketing education will likely include a breadth of topics such as:
- Apparel and Accessories
- Business Marketing
- Tourism and Travel Services
- Market Research
- Operations and Distribution
- Marketing Management
When applying for marketing management jobs, you will need to demonstrate to a prospective employer that you have certain qualities that will allow you to perform well on the job. These skills include the ability to do cooperative teamwork, creativity, understanding of consumer needs, and good data-analysis skills. If you are fresh out of school and have no job experience so far, be sure to highlight any volunteer or internship experience you may have gained. If you have held management jobs in other fields or have worked in related areas that gave you solid relevant experience, you may try a skills-based resume that highlights your abilities over your past job titles. Put your marketing skills to work in marketing yourself—the best strategy is to land the interview however you can, then dazzle with your knowledge and charisma. Be prepared to round up at least three professional references who can elaborate on how your past experience provided the necessary skills for marketing management.
Is Marketing Management Right for You?
If you are excited at the thought of working with others on a team to create high level, strategic ad campaigns, and if you have a good head for data analysis with a good gut instinct, marketing management jobs may be the best fit for you. People skills, marketing knowhow, and the ability to make good judgment calls after analyzing relevant data are all essential characteristics for performing well in a marketing management job.
