Marketing Manager Career Guide - Sales & Advertising Jobs

Marketing Manager jobs

What's it really like?

Sally Gatenby, 27, has worked as a Marketing Manager for the last four years. Prior to taking up this position, she worked in Project Management. In a recent interview, I asked her to provide me with a taster of the sorts of tasks her position involved. She currently earns within the region of ₤30,000 per annum.

”A typical day at work will often see me spending a lot of my time working on campaigns for launching new products. This involves a great deal of planning and the co-ordination of different groups, both internally and externally. I have to produce website and presentation material, provide industry marketplace actors with information about our new products and the benefits they provide over those of our competitors. This involves dealing with branding issues, checking facts about similar products available on the market and investigating market competition and liaising with the press.
I also have to ensure that the company website is kept up to date. This is a fairly laborious task as it involves chasing up product managers for details and checking text for accuracy. I work with an external agency to ensure the look and feel of new pages is consistent with the rest of the site and that obsolete data is removed very quickly. As part of my role, I also have to undertake trademark and new product name checks. I work with legal and internal product managers to think of new names, conduct global searches on potential names and bring together evidence to secure new trademarks or to continue current trademarks. Finally, events such as trade shows and seminars are an essential and particularly fun part of the job. I spend time talking to external contractors whom we hire to build stands, co-ordinate demonstrations and work on new collateral to support those events. Sometimes it's handled directly by the product managers, and in that case I provide support for branding and layout.

There are many aspects of the job that I greatly enjoy. What particularly springs to mind, however, is the buzz I get whilst working as a Marketing Manager. There's always something new happening and I have successfully implemented many new projects. It never fails to leave me with a very satisfied feeling.

Nevertheless, the position can be really demanding in some respects. I particularly dislike having to chase people up. It's really important to ensure the groups you work with are fully on board when it comes to understanding deadlines, priorities and why we request certain things. They too have their own priorities and you have to learn to work around them and deal with conflicting objectives and timescales.

The main bit of advice I feel I ought to give to anyone considering taking up this job is that it is essential to learn to manage all your activities in an efficient and organised fashion. A great way of gaining this sort of experience is by offering to run events at school or university and learning to juggle many tasks at the same time. Always bear in mind that not everyone has the same standards as you and you have to help them understand what a perfectly polished event, or launch can bring to the company.

There are a number of qualifications I’d like to acquire and jobs I’d like to undertake after I leave my role as a Marketing Manager. The position offers great opportunities for career progression. I'd also like to do my MBA and, if possible, I would like to move into a senior management role in the next five years.

If you’re looking for any kind of insider information to help you progress rapidly in this field, then the best advice I could provide you with would be to develop a tough skin and remember that there are people who will always be willing to provide you with helpful advice and constructive criticism. Having a mentor can be incredibly beneficial to increasing your profile within a company. Become known as someone who gets things done.

Marketing Manager

Also known as...

Account Manager
Brand Manager

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Marketing Managers are responsible for a wide variety of tasks within the complex and competitive modern business environment. A Marketing Manager will be responsible for everything from planning strategies to promoting a product or service to as wide an audience as possible by means of events, websites and advertising.

All Marketing Managers play an important role in the life of a business organisation. They usually specialise in a particular product or market, such as financial services, fashion or ‘fast moving consumer goods’. As part of the job, Marketing Managers are required to undertake tasks which range from the identification of target markets and the promotion of products and services. However, a Marketing Manager will have to carry out all these tasks whilst bearing in mind the budget and time scales available to the company.

Salary

Marketing managers typically start on a salary somewhere between £25,000 and £40,000. However, as with any career, the wage you earn will depend on experience and qualifications. Nevertheless, as one gains experience, the possibilities are endless. A senior Marketing Manager can expect to earn up to £50,000 per year.

Responsibilities

Typical responsibilities include:

Analysing and researching market trends
Identifying target markets
Organising marketing campaigns
Managing budgets
Producing or commissioning promotional material
Managing the productivity of campaigns
Delegating tasks to marketing executives
Communicating information with colleagues and market actors
Attending conferences, product launches and networking events

Qualifications

Most employers will expect marketing managers to have graduated in a business or marketing-related degree and to have completed a professional qualification such as a Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma or an Institute of Direct Marketing Diploma in Direct and Interactive Marketing. Competence in a foreign language will invariably be a welcome addition to your CV.

Skills

Marketing managers need to have an excellent knowledge of the product or service they represent. Other important skills include:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Good organisational skills
A willingness to meet deadlines effectively
A highly-motivated attitude when dealing with the tasks at hand
Excellent team-leadership skills
High confidence levels
The ability to thrive in pressured or stressful situations
The ability to solve problems as they arise
Astute budgeting skills
A committed and flexible attitude to the job
Strong interpersonal skills
Good networking abilities
Good attention to detail
The ability to multi-task

Experience

It goes without saying that experience is essential in order to succeed in such a competitive field. Prospective Marketing Managers will be expected to have significant experience working as a marketing executive or other related role. However, firms will look favourably on any evidence, which suggests that a prospective employee has thrived whilst working within a position of responsibility.

Working Conditions

Marketing managers typically work standard office hours, but during busy periods they may be required to work overtime, during the evenings or even at the weekends. You will therefore need to be willing to juggle your various commitments effectively. Additionally, Marketing Managers are expected to attend networking events, product launches and exhibitions which usually happen outside office hours. There may also be opportunities for travel abroad as many large firms have branches and offices overseas.

Employers

Marketing Managers are employed in a wide variety of companies and organisations. A Marketing Manager may be employed by any sort of body - from a charity or a small business to a large multinational company. The majority of Marketing Managers work in-house, focusing on the marketing of one particular product or service. As a Marketing Manager, you might also have the opportunity to work at the freelance level. This can be more lucrative. However, you should only undertake this version of the job if you have formed excellent contacts and have gained considerable experience.

Career Progression

As a Marketing Manager the opportunities available to you for career progression are substantial and you should make the most of these. Successful Marketing Managers often progress to senior management positions. With further experience one could then go on to become a marketing director who oversees the entire marketing department.