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What is a Marketing Manager?

A marketing manager is a critical position in any organization. While the day-to-day responsibilities of a marketing manager can be fast-paced and challenging, there are many advantages to the role. This makes it a rewarding career path to pursue.

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is a private, Lasallian Catholic university offering a range of online programs for undergraduate students and adult learners, including our business administration degree completion program. It provides students with knowledge and skills they can apply to a wide range of roles in the business field, including marketing manager. Here, we offer additional insight for those wishing to pursue careers as marketing managers and detail why Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is a great place to get started.

What Does a Marketing Manager Do?

A marketing manager creates and oversees marketing campaigns for an organization or a company’s product or service line. While the exact duties of a marketing manager often depend on the organization that employs them, basic marketing manager roles include:

  • Identifying target market to base marketing plans or strategies around
  • Collaborating with other members of the organization, such as advertising or promotional managers
  • Developing pricing strategies and monitoring market trends to maximize the company’s profit or market share
  • Working closely with the organization’s creative team
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of marketing campaigns
  • Adjusting strategies as necessary to satisfy company expectations
  • Analyzing data regarding marketing campaigns to make informed decisions
  • Considering various financial aspects of marketing strategy, including budgets, expenditures, return on investment, and profit-loss projections
  • Creating timelines for product launches
  • Determining which product features to highlight in marketing materials
  • Conducting meetings to ensure deadlines are met and marketing campaigns remain on schedule

Skills Needed to Be a Marketing Manager

To pursue the role of marketing manager, individuals should possess certain technical and soft skills. These skills are leveraged every day and include:

Leadership Skills

Regardless of the industry, managers are expected to lead a team and motivate them to accomplish an established goal. Marketing managers must guide their teams by facilitating marketing activities and ensuring all team members stay on track.

Interpersonal Skills

Being a marketing manager often requires working with several department heads at once. Strong interpersonal skills such as active listening, teamwork, and conflict management help marketing managers successfully collaborate with different departments.

Analytical Skills

Much of the role of a marketing manager is based on understanding marketing trends and future projections. This knowledge is gained by analyzing meaningful information from raw data. Marketing managers must use their analytical skills to predict marketing outcomes, evaluate current market conditions, and more.

Technical Skills

To be a marketing manager requires industry knowledge and experience. That’s why most job openings will require applicants to have a certain number of years in a marketing role to qualify. Marketing managers often rely on their understanding of the industry to utilize specialized design tools, equipment, software, and other important elements needed to manufacture and distribute marketing materials.

Job Outlook and Compensation

One of the many benefits of being a marketing manager is the strong job outlook. Marketing managers are needed in just about every industry, including healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, finance, education, and technology. The need for qualified marketing managers ensures the role will remain in high demand.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers is projected to grow 6% through 2032. In addition to the positive job outlook, another advantage of being a marketing manager is compensation. The median annual wage for marketing managers was $140,040 in May 2022. Choosing to pursue a career as a marketing manager can lead to several other high-paying positions, as well.

Begin Your Journey Toward a Marketing Manager Career

The world of business is ever-changing and includes several rewarding roles, such as marketing manager. Pursuing the role of marketing manager requires the proper skills and knowledge, which can be acquired through the online bachelor’s degree in business administration offered at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. The accelerated bachelor’s degree program features a carefully crafted curriculum that involves in-depth teaching of crucial business topics.

Our institution is pleased to accommodate adult learners who are already in the working world with online classes. Individuals can further their understanding of vital business practices and enhance their skills without disrupting their lives. To begin your quest to become a marketing manager, request more information today. And when you are ready, you can apply online.