what is a marketing manager?

As a marketing manager, you promote a brand, service or product. You ensure the company communicates the right message to retain and attract prospective customers. A marketing generalist who intends to oversee and plan various activities fills the role. Your job will be to launch marketing activities like social media campaigns, events and email marketing.

Marketing managers lead marketing teams to ensure their efforts are fruitful. Your job is to estimate the market demand for your employer's products or services and develop a creative strategy for driving customer interest through multiple channels. Most companies develop a marketing process to simplify and ensure the strategies align with the company policies.

As a marketing manager, you work in various industries. If you are interested in financial services, you could supervise financial services sales agents and insurance agents. Alternatively, you can work for retail businesses or manufacturing and focus on finding big clients for bulk purchases.

With the dynamic marketing industry, most employers prefer marketing managers with expertise in digital marketing techniques. You don't need specialised qualifications or expertise in the business sector, but you must adapt to the changing consumer needs to keep up with the competition.

Would working as a marketing manager suit your people skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a marketing manager role.

marketing manager jobs
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average marketing manager salary

According to National Careers, the median salary of marketing managers starting their career is £27,000 per year. You take on complex responsibilities with more years of experience, and your compensation package increases to £65,000 annually.

Most marketing managers receive bonuses or commissions for attracting big clients to the company. Employers also provide multiple benefits and allowances alongside the base salary.

what factors influence a marketing manager's salary?

As a marketing manager, your salary depends on your educational qualifications and experience. A marketing manager with a master's degree is likely to earn more than a manager with an undergraduate degree. Your qualities also improve your performance and boost your salary prospects. Hence having additional transferrable skills increases your compensation package.

The business sector and company size influence your compensation prospects. For instance, marketing managers in the finance sector are likely to earn more compared to those working in retail businesses. Large organisations also have unlimited marketing budgets and can afford to pay more compared to smaller companies. The responsibilities of marketing managers in large companies are also complex, which warrants higher salaries and better benefits.

The location also determines the salary prospects of a marketing manager. When you work in a major city, you are likely to earn more due to the high demand for marketing managers than in smaller towns.

smiling female typing on laptop keyboard
smiling female typing on laptop keyboard
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types of marketing managers

Some of the types of marketing managers include:

  • brand marketing managers: as a brand marketing manager, you build a company's brand awareness. You find marketing strategies that positively market your company, highlighting the benefits of choosing the brand compared to its competitors.
  • content marketing managers: as a content marketing manager, you supervise the creation and publication of content. Your job is to drive traffic to the organisation's website and provide value to customers with useful content.
  • digital marketing manager: as a digital marketing manager, you develop and implement marketing campaigns for online channels. You improve social media advertising and search engine rankings of the company to improve visibility and the company's online presence.
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working as a marketing manager

The work of the marketing manager is to get the word out and improve the visibility of a company in online and offline marketing channels. Let's explore the specific roles and duties of a marketing manager.

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education and skills

Some of the educational qualifications include:

  • university course: a career as a marketing manager is open to candidates with any degree course or a higher national diploma. However, an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject increases your chances. Before joining a graduate marketing management scheme, you can pursue a marketing, advertising, psychology or business management degree programme. With a degree, you can improve your job prospects with professional qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
  • apprenticeship: marketing assistant and marketing executive advanced apprenticeships are available for those with the right qualifications. If you have post-secondary qualifications like Level 3 in marketing, you can pursue a marketing manager degree apprenticeship.
  • hands-on practice: to become a marketing manager, you need to practise your marketing skills through internships and entry-level sales or marketing roles. You could become a marketing executive or sales representative role.

marketing manager skills and competencies

Some of the marketing manager skills you need:

  • analytical skills: as a marketing manager, you rely on data and metrics from market research to make decisions. Analytical skills help you sort and analyse data for evaluating the success of various campaign activities.
  • creativity: as a marketing manager, you need a fresh supply of new marketing ideas daily to improve the performance of marketing campaigns. Creativity helps you create compelling content and build a robust marketing strategy.
  • project management skills: as a marketing manager, you follow the marketing process, which requires project management skills. You can set goals, plan, track progress and manage teams using project management skills.
  • technical skills: as a marketing manager, you need technical skills in email marketing, SEO and presentation software to complete tasks efficiently.
two males having a meeting
two males having a meeting
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FAQs

FAQs about working as a marketing manager

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