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 jobsaverage 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.
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.
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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marketing manager job description
Some of the tasks and duties of a marketing manager include:
- designing and managing marketing campaigns: as a marketing manager, you conduct market research and generate ideas on the best marketing methods. For instance, you study competitors, ensure the marketing campaigns address consumers' problems, and build hype around your products. When you implement the marketing strategy, you have to measure performance and adjust the strategy to optimise performance.
- implementing new marketing strategies: as a marketing manager, you need to follow the strategic plan set up by an organisation. The marketing director creates most of the marketing strategies, and you implement them by prioritising campaign activities with the best results on the marketing roadmap. When you implement the strategies, your company can achieve or maintain a competitive advantage in the market.
- overseeing the creation of campaigns and content: every business wants to deliver the best campaigns to gain a competitive advantage over its completion. As a marketing manager, you are responsible for the campaign creation process from idea generation to execution. Ensure every marketing effort aligns with the company's strategic objectives. You also set the content strategy, create the editorial calendar and review content created for marketing purposes. You should ensure every piece of content conveys the right message and tone and improves the company's visibility.
- handling external communication: as a marketing manager, you rely on external communication to build brand awareness and improve the sales of various products. You must build a relationship with the media to promote the company's message. You also need to engage advertising agencies, partners and vendors when building brand loyalty and expanding the market share.
- managing budgets and cross-functional teams: as a marketing manager, you manage budgets and reporting for the campaigns utilised by your team. You also coordinate cross-functional teams and ensure they understand their role in the marketing plans. You assist content creators and graphic designers or support the sales teams to move customers along the buyer's journey.
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work environment
A marketing manager works in an office environment most of the time. In large companies, the employer creates an open plan office arrangement for the marketing team to allow brainstorming sessions and free flow of ideas. You may work alongside your team or have a private office as a marketing manager. You have to organise product launches and marketing events outdoors to build awareness during marketing campaigns. Due to the dynamic nature of your role, sometimes you have to work in off-site locations to supervise content creation or production of marketing videos. Marketing managers also make TV appearances and talk to the press during product launches and other campaigns. While you can perform some of your duties from home, it is challenging to supervise marketing teams remotely.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer, your colleagues might include marketing executives, marketing coordinators, the head of marketing, brand managers, public relations officers, production assistant and social media manager roles. You may also work with sales promoter, sales managers, media sales executives and events managers, as well as other specialists that could include digital marketing managers, content writer position, product managers and programme managers.
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work schedule
The average work schedule of marketing managers is 40 hours a week. That means you can work the traditional office hours and fulfil your obligations without working evenings and weekends. However, deadlines and last-minute projects always create an unexpected schedule, and you may have to work evenings or weekends to accomplish your duties. Most marketing managers work full-time positions while others work on short-term contracts. The role also involves travelling to attend meetings and prepare content in off-site locations. Overseas travel is rare since you supervise a smaller team.
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job outlook
Most marketing managers join the role after working in sales or marketing teams and earning experience to lead the teams. The role is the first step into managerial positions, and you can progress further up the career ladder. For instance, you could be a branch manager, regional marketing manager, head of marketing or the marketing director. Some marketing managers specialise in specific marketing aspects like digital or social media marketing.
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advantages of finding a marketing manager job through randstad
Finding your marketing manager job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a marketing manager is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
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.
FAQs
FAQs about working as a marketing manager
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what are the duties of a marketing manager?
The role of a marketing manager is to develop marketing campaigns and build brand awareness for their employer. They also create and monitor outgoing communication from the company.
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what skills does a marketing manager need?
A manager needs leadership skills to manage cross-functional teams. The role also requires creativity and analytical skills to improve performance.
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is a marketing manager a good job?
A marketing manager is a rewarding job with attractive compensation packages and benefits. You also have a clear career progression path.
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is marketing a stressful job?
Marketing can be challenging since you have to juggle multiple tasks. Predicting customers' behaviour and measuring the performance of a marketing campaign can also be difficult.
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do marketing managers make a lot of money?
Marketing managers earn less in entry-level positions, but with experience, you can take home a salary of over £65,000 per year.
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how do I apply for a marketing manager vacancy?
Applying for a marketing manager job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our marketing manager job offers. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here!
