Why Companies Need a Marketing Manager

For any company, small or large, marketing is one of the key factors as to whether a business will be successful or fail. Marketing is the process of creating strategies that promote the business’s products or services, and the key features and benefits it provides its customers with. This ultimately generates sales by satisfying the needs and wants of the target audience. As marketing is a large component of the success of any entity, there are many elements to a successful campaign.

There are several different ways to develop a demand for your business and attract customers to your offerings. Marketing efforts such as promotion, advertising, public relations, and digital marketing are all part of any good marketing strategy. Ultimately, with so many responsibilities within the marketing field, it is a good idea to employ a marketing manager to help your company navigate through this. There is an endless amount of work to be done on any marketing campaign, so businesses need to hire a highly experienced marketing specialist to oversee the smooth running of the marketing plan. Hiring a marketing specialist will be a good investment for the long term. Better yet, having a team of passionate, creative and experienced marketing professionals will ensure that the company has every chance of succeeding.

What does a Marketing Manager do?

Essentially, the marketing manager plays a fundamental role in driving business growth. Predominantly, the job’s roles and responsibilities involve promoting a brand, business product, or service. They are in charge of making sure the company is communicating the right messages so that they can attract prospective customers or retain existing ones. These marketing managers generally plan and oversee a broad range of activities. This could include anything from brand launches, to email campaigns, events, digital strategies, or social media. Understandably, a marketing manager at a smaller company has different responsibilities to those at a larger scale organisation. For example, at a small company, the manager usually takes a ‘do it all’ approach. This approach is unlike that of a large-scale organisation, which often has a director leading teams of digital strategists, content creators, social media specialists and campaign managers.

No matter the size or type of organisation, marketing directors, or marketing managers, need to know how to build campaigns that generate sales. These employees must also be able to collaborate with other departments within the company, such as the finance and sales departments. Together, marketing and sales metrics can be analysed. From this, products that are in high demand can be determined, or campaigns that saw excellent engagement can be identified. Furthermore, a clear vision can be formed regarding who makes up a company’s target market. The audience purchasing an industrial air compressor, for example, differs largely from an audience who wants to buy makeup!

Responsibilities of a Marketing Manager

A marketing manager must have an extensive understanding of the addressable market or target audience of a business’s product or service. Through market research and figuring out who the target market is, the marketing team can then formulate a plan to best engage and connect with customers. The duties of a marketing manager vary by industry and by company, however, most managers share the same basic responsibilities. This includes creating promotional material to attract a specified target market, coordinating different advertising channels and marketing strategies, managing budgets for marketing campaigns and building brand equity.

With a department as broad as marketing, the finer details still need to be managed. Where there is no public relations department, a marketing specialist is also responsible for the planned and unplanned perceptions of employees. This means planned images including print or video advertisements, endorsements, or public speaking engagements. Unplanned images, on the other hand, can occur when a company’s representatives speak or interact with the public and require immediate damage control. This can also occur when a company is attacked by an outside source, such as when someone tampers with products, or if there is a fault with the product well after the it has been in circulation. A lot of skilled marketing managers can deflect unfavourable comments on social media, and further reassure the public that the company is doing all they can to investigate and correct any product line issues. This is normally conducted through carefully worded statements or advertisements, where marketing managers can calm public fear or outrage if something goes wrong. For example, in the case that air compressors sold in bulk are later found to be faulty, the organisation would then have to release a statement or take appropriate action. Aspects of digital marketing services are also often incorporated in the role. More technical features of a marketing campaign, such as search engine optimisation, are also handled by an appointed marketing specialist.

Qualifications for a Marketing Manager Position

No doubt, the education and experience of a candidate is a very important consideration when hiring. Statistics have demonstrated that 49 per cent of marketing managers have at least ten years of experience, and 28 per cent have more than twenty years of experience within the industry. This data showcases that less experienced candidates will have more success in lower-level positions, such as working as a marketing coordinator. Smaller businesses and younger companies are usually more flexible with experience requirements and issuing promotions, as opposed to those of a larger scale. Experience in digital marketing at a specialised SEO marketing agency is something that can differentiate a potential candidate.

The position of a marketing manager is not easy and involves constantly reassessing strategies to identify any emerging opportunities. A high performance team at any organisation can produce powerful results and ensure their initiatives drive business, and ultimately increase sales. Advertising and marketing efforts also play a huge role in generating brand awareness and brand equity. It is for all of the reasons listed that businesses need a marketing specialist, or team of specialists. This individual or team will ensure a company stays on track and will help to direct the team accordingly with their skills and leadership abilities.