Marketing Manager, Marketing Director, and Marketing Assistant Job Description

Marketing takes many forms and is all around us – from public relations and advertising, to packaging, sales and distribution – and works in combination to promote products and services, influencing our decisions on what to buy based on our needs and wants. Marketing serves as a bridge between the producer and the consumer, and represents all of the activities necessary to move a product from the producer to the consumer.

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Marketing Jobs According to Specialized Areas of Focus

Marketing jobs can be organized by category. Each category may require a number of different professionals with varying levels of responsibility, from assistant and specialist positions to management and directorial positions:

Marketing Jobs in Promotion and Advertising – There are four major types of advertising jobs:

Planning and coordination
Creative development and execution of advertisements
Choosing channels of communication that will distribute the advertising messages
Research

Marketing Jobs in Market Research – Market research involves the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data. Areas of market research include:

Market analysis—The study of the size, location, nature, and characteristics of the market
Site location—The analysis of potential sites for retail outlets
Consumer research—The research and discovery of consumer attitudes and preferences
Operations research—The development of decision models for marketing managers

Marketing Jobs in Brand Management – Marketing specialists in brand management oversee one or more brands, ensuring that the brand is well recognized and well-aligned with the culture and value system of the intended audience. Work includes planning all activities that influence the success of the brand, including:

Advertising
Sales promotion
Packaging
Development of new products
Distribution

Marketing Jobs in Sales Management – Marketing jobs in sales management encompass the promotion, distribution, and sales of a company’s products and services.

Marketing Jobs in Physical Distribution – Marketing jobs in physical distribution consist of ensuring that the right products arrive at the right location and on time. These jobs also include balancing costs and goals in areas such as:

Warehousing
Transportation
Inventory management
Customer service

Job Duties for Marketing Professionals in Various Specialty Areas

Marketing professionals help businesses identify and understand their customers and develop products and services that meet the needs of those customers. Marketing professionals create a strategy to help a company:

Reach their target audience
Boost their customer base
Increase their bottom line

Marketing professionals are creative, driven, and capable of matching the perception of the market with achievable plans of action. Depending on their job titles, marketing professionals may engage in a wide array of duties. However, general job duties often include:

Securing and negotiating contracts
Researching and organizing campaigns
Organizing market research studies and analyzing the findings
Presenting campaigns to clients
Providing promotional copy and package design
Overseeing press materials, including press releases, press coordination, and events
Purchasing advertising time and materials

Marketing jobs may fall into the realm of creative or analytical. Many marketing professionals work in product or brand management, while others choose to focus their careers on market research.

Senior-level marketing positions, generally reserved for those with extensive experience and higher education, include:

Advertising Directors/Managers – Create interest for products and services by designing campaigns for clients, preparing budgets for advertising campaigns, and overseeing the use of media in advertising campaigns

Public Relations Directors/Managers – Oversee programs that promote a client’s positive public image

Marketing Directors/Managers – Identify markets and develop pricing strategies for a product or service

Promotions Directors/Managers – Direct and plan programs through the use of various types of media to increase sales, including:

Social media
Direct mail
Internet
Store displays
Special events and contests

Brand Managers – Create and institute brand assets for a product or service

Market Research Analysts – Study market conditions in an effort to explore the potential sales of a product or service

How to Pursue a Career in Marketing

Even entry-level jobs in marketing sometimes require candidates to possess a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, advertising, or a related field.

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What Marketing Professionals Seek to Accomplish: Strategies and Goals

A great marketing strategy:

Tells a story about the business
Gives potential customers a reason to purchase the good or service
Attracts new customers
Focuses on satisfying the needs of potential customers
Builds long-lasting relationships

To be successful, marketing should influence customers’ perception of the company and their products to align with the customer’s sense of culture, quality, ethics and value. Therefore, marketing must include research and analysis that addresses the following aspects of a business:

Its position in the marketplace
Its target audience
The price of its products and/or services
The quality of its products and/or services

All effective marketing strategies begin with market research, a period of learning during which marketers glean information about the needs and wants of consumers. Market research provides marketers with the necessary information to formulate a marketing strategy and set it into motion.

All parts of the business model—production, transportation, advertising, packaging, and selling—are considered part of the marketing process. Each part of the marketing process relies on talented professionals serving in specialized roles.

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