HOW TO BECOME A MARKETING MANAGER? CAREER, SALARY, EXPERIENCE.
If you are someone who has a great influence on people and has the traits of a good leader, then marketing manager is the right career option for you.
It not only helps to develop your managerial skills but also several other soft skills.
It is a vast field with massive scope in the near future and today as well.
The main concentric approach of this article would be about how to become a marketing manager. But before discussing that, it is important to know what exactly a marketing manager is?
WHAT IS A MARKETING MANAGER?
The term manager itself means someone who performs the task of managing or handling various things in any organisation. In a similar way, a Marketing manager is the one who handles the marketing of various goods and services produced by his company or firm.
A market manager is responsible for everything and anything from the research of a product to the promotion of that product in the market. One must keep in mind that it is not necessary that he is just responsible for a single product or brand, but he may be in charge of a broad array of products or services.
There are also other types of marketing available: Facebook Marketing, Online Marketing and CPA Marketing
WHAT DOES A MARKETING MANAGER DO?
Well, the goal of every firm or company is to increase its sales. The same is the aim of every employee. Similarly, a market manager ensures taking care of everything that results in an increase in sales for the company.
He researches the market, determines the demand for products in the market, then examines the quality of those products, and finally promotes the products to increase the sales of the company.
A job of a marketing manager is not just limited to the above-listed project. They also should have an idea about their customers, the needs of those customers and also ensure that the products they deliver are up to the expectations of their audiences.
He also supervises the process after delivering the product into the market which includes pricing strategy, package and designing, and advertising and campaigning for the product in the market.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A MARKETING MANAGER.
From the above paragraph, it is clear that a marketing manager has numerous tasks to perform.
To put it in a simpler manner, the main job role and responsibilities of a marketing manager are summarised below in the following points.
- supervising the creation of promotional content for the product
- Planning a marketing strategy
- Managing funds the company has for the marketing campaigns
- Maintaining healthy relationships with the media for a lively media campaign.
- Monitoring the SEO
- Thinking of ways to promote products
- Monitoring how the product campaigns are working among the audience.
- Ensuring that the campaign goes hand in hand with the company logo and values.
- Managing third parties
- Managing and looking into the work of the employees
- Looking into the customer feedback and addressing their problems.
- Negotiating contracts with vendors or with various forms of advertisers.
TRAITS YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BECOME A MARKETING MANAGER?
Due to the adversity of the tasks that a Marketing manager performs, it is important that you have various traits in you so that you can be compatible for this job. One should keep in mind his or her possessed traits so as to choose your expertise. Therefore, if you want to choose marketing manager as your career option then you must possess these skills for sure.
These are some hard and soft skills required to become a marketing manager.
- Leadership
- Project management
- Planning
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Organization
- Communication
- Budgeting
- Data analytics
- Writing
Other than this, one definitely requires some technical skills according to their role but no matter whatever role you go for, you must keep yourself updated with the new technologies and trends in the market. You should keep in mind that markets are not stagnant and the demands and trends of the market keep on changing. Hence, one must adapt to these changes and look out for what can serve best for the company and its customers.
HOW TO BECOME A MARKETING MANAGER?
The following steps are a pathway for people who want to make their careers in this field. These steps can help candidates acquire potential job opportunities in this sector.
This path mainly consists of a four-year degree, gaining job experience while working on an entry-level. One may also want to pursue a higher degree which will take additional two years of masters.
For a better knowledge of the field, one can also enroll in any course facilitated institute and then apply for jobs according to their choice.
STEP 1 – Earn a bachelor’s degree
The very first step in order to become a marketing manager is to earn a bachelor’s degree in marketing. This degree makes the students gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of how the market works. This also teaches them the use of advanced technologies such as interface and graphic designing, data analysis, SEO, etc. Research according to the Bureau of labor statistics, the US says that a company prefers hiring marketing managers who have completed at least a bachelor’s degree program.
STEP 2 – Job experience
After completing a graduation degree, getting a job experience of around one year or more is what helps to build a strong resume. Some employers appoint students who want these entry-level jobs and make them take on administrative or research jobs.
Some entry-level jobs can be;
- Account executive
- Media planners
- Client service managers
This job experience helps a person to get a basic understanding of target audiences, funds, and how to manage the organization effectively.
STEP 3 – MBA (optional)
Well, it is not mandatory to go for an advanced degree in order to become a marketing manager but pursuing a degree such as an MBA, will surely get you more opportunities and diverse options. It will also boost your career both professionally and financially. Moreover, doing MBA after a relevant job experience makes it easier for a person to understand the trends and tactics of the market. It also helps a person to know their expertise and accordingly choose a job title.
MBA is all about studying consumer behavior, SEO, etc. These all attributes will be a ladder to your successful career as a marketing manager.
STEP 4 – Join a marketing association
One needs to remain informed about the latest trends of the markets, for this a person can join any professional association. These are generally available through memberships and scholarships. This will also help you gain more working opportunities across the globe.
Some marketing associations to join are, along with their websites links are given below
- Association of international product marketing and management
- The American marketing association (AMA)
- Sales and marketing executives international (SMEI)
MARKETING JOB TITLES
Most people in this sector have been generalized irrespective of the work they do. Generally, a person who performs the task of planning and inspecting the market activities is known as a Market manager. This is a highly common role and job title in small or medium-sized organizations.
But in large companies there are various people who perform different roles, hence depending upon their roles they get allotted with various job titles. These are mainly dependent on the field of mastery and skills that a person possesses.
Some common job titles include:
- Chief marketing officer
- Marketing analyst
- Marketing consultant
- Marketing coordinator
- Marketing specialist
- Promotion manager
- Content marketing manager
- Content marketing producer
- Brand strategist
- Brand manager, etc.
There are also other types of marketing available: Affiliate marketing, Email Marketing, Pinterest Marketing, Instagram Marketing.
WHAT IS THE SALARY OF A MARKETING MANAGER?
Well, with new industries and companies emerging every now and then, trying to set their foot in the market, there is no doubt that careers in marketing are still among the top careers across the globe.
The average salary of a general marketing manager is about $43,000 to $150,000.
The reason for this huge range is that the salary of a marketing manager is dependent on a lot of things such as experience, skills, location, company name, etc. Let’s take a brief look at how the salary fluctuates as per these factors.
Experience
An experienced person would be valued more in a company. It is generally the main reason that influences the salary of a marketing manager. A relevant job experience with a good job title and position will result in a good pay scale.
In some big companies, people may get the chance to step into senior roles at a much earlier stage of their career.
Location
The location has a major influence on the salary of the marketing manager. In cities like New York and San Francisco; which are a hub for technologies and companies, a Marketing manager has a probability of earning more. In the same way, in cities that have a higher cost of living the salary of a marketing manager tends to be more.
Industry
The salary of a marketing manager can also depend on the industry they choose to be a part of or have expertise in. For example, the salary of a marketing manager in industries such as transportation and manufacturing is more because of the large size and established name of the industry.
The average salary depending upon the industry a person works in is listed below
- Business services : $61,000
- IT sector: $66,000
- Insurance: $60,000
- Transportation: $65,000
- Manufacturing:$66,000
- Retail: $58,000
The range of a general marketing manager salary in some large companies is given below;
- Amazon – $83,000
- Apple- $113,000
- Google-$111000
- Microsoft-$140000
Education
Similar to almost every career, education level will surely impact your salary as a marketing manager. A Master’s degree or MBA will automatically result in a higher pay scale. Skill sets also play a major role as some skills have a higher demand in the market for example;
Marketing managers with the following experiences will have a greater Salary
- Brand marketing – $66,000
- Digital marketing- $66,000
- Social media marketing- $57,000
- Market analysis- $64,000
CONCLUSION
Making a career in marketing is a highly common career option but yet has a lot of scopes. Since it is a job title that is required in every sector from IT to transportation.
Depending upon the skills and education level one can surely climb ladders of success even at an early stage. It gives you a good pay scale on average and most importantly one has ample growth opportunities in this field.
One should also keep in mind that this field demands to be updated with the technologies and trends introducing in the market and thus requires a constant learning approach. This field is itself a vast field with numerous job titles and expertise. Thus, this is a field of massive scopes.
FAQs
Some countries with the highest cost of living in Europe are Switzerland, Norway, and Luxembourg.
The average salary of a marketing manager in Australia is A$82,000.
A CMO generally has to report to the CEO of the company.
Marketing managers use tools such as marketing automation and customer acquisition.
The three ways of organizing a company around divisions are :
● Product division
● Customer segment
● Geographical division