What Is A Marketing Executive And Is The Role For Me?
Some would refer to the role of a Marketing Executive as a necessary 'middleman' of the marketing world. In essence, it is a role that seeks to control the relationship between a product or service and it's target audience.
During my time at university, as part of an extra-curricular award I was challenged with conducting an occupational study centring around the role of a Marketing Executive. This proved invaluable when it came to evaluating my career options, and pinpointing what sort of career I wanted to pursue in the future.
This article explores the different responsibilities, sectors and other tangential aspects of the role of a marketing executive. If you are considering a career in marketing - I hope that this Hub helps you to make an informed decision and gives you some useful information about the job role and the marketing sector itself.
What is a Marketing Executive?
Marketing executives develop marketing campaigns and strategies that promote a service or product (or even a concept) in order to increase sales and/or consumption of that product or service.
The marketing executive will research the needs and desires of target markets and attempt to deliver desired satisfactions so as to achieve organizational goals. Development of segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies are integral to the role, along with the development of the marketing mix and also product innovation and development.
Being a marketing executive (sometimes called marketing officer or marketing coordinator) is largely about discovering or even creating a need within the consumer market, and then coming up with ways to effectively satisfy that need and achieve business growth or generate revenue.
What Does The Role Involve In General?
Responsibility
| Description
|
|---|---|
Communicating with the target audiences and managing customer relationships
| The marketer will liaise with employees or suppliers for example, and maintain a high level of communication so that the needs and desires of clients may be easily determined and then satisfied.
|
Analysing the market and determining appropriate segmentation and targeting strategies
| Collect data and perform analysis, then from this data the marketer will determine appropriate segmentation variables, in order to separate the market so that the right people can be targeted by the campaign
|
Contributing to and coordinating the planning and implementation of marketing strategies and campaigns
| Developing the marketing mix once the consumers have been targeted. The marketer will go through an extensive planning process to effectively position the product.
|
Working with advertising and promotions managers/personnel to promote the firm or organisations’ products and services
| The marketer will decide on the most appropriate channels of distribution and work with the media planners to determine the most effective way to communicate the marketing campaign and concept.
|
A summary of the responsibilities that a marketing executive will generally undertake
Should I Work In Marketing?
Now that you've read a summary about the role and what the specific duties and activities of a Marketing Executive are - you need to ask yourself 'is this role for me?'
Obviously I recommend doing a lot more in-depth research as you consider this question, but right now I suggest considering what transferable skills you have that would make you suited to the role. I have outlined some of the skills that I think would be useful - take a look and see how your own skills compare;
1. Creativity. The marketer must be creative and able to generate new and innovative ideas so as to constantly meet the evolving needs of the consumer. Often the marketer will be involved in all stages of the design process of a campaign - so it helps to have an artistic eye as well as a creative flair.
2. Communication and interpersonal skills. The marketing executive must be able to communicate both to the consumer (via the campaign and distribution channels) but also with other members of the organisation, such as the creative team, in order to ensure operations run smoothly and the plans are followed correctly. They must be able to give clear instructions, and also be able to take note of feedback.
3.Numeracy. The marketing executive must be able to analyse quantitative data and interpret it in order to effectively analyse the customer and consumer needs. Numeracy skills are also required when budgeting for a campaign
4. Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure. During the entire process, the marketer must be able to consistently meet deadlines so as to sustain competitive advantage. During the product development stage, for example, the marketer must be able to work quickly so as to ensure the product is ready for launch by a specific deadline, or risk being second to competitors releasing a similar product.
5. Teamwork. Throughout all activities within the role, the marketing executive must be able to work well as part of a team, both following and giving instructions.
How Can I Get Into Marketing And Advertising?
Obviously there is no straight forward answer to this question. All I can provide is advice. If you have the ambition, the drive and the relevant qualities then there is no real reason why you can't achieve your goal. I know that does sound rather ridiculous in today's economic climate - but this leads me to my one most important piece of advice:
Be Tenatious!
By this I mean, purely and simply - do not give up. Keep on trying in the face of failure, and arm yourself with your mistakes. If you go to an interview and get a rejection email, write or call back to ask for feedback. Employers are generally happy to provide you with constructive feedback - as it reflects well on them to act in a professional manner, and also to justify their choosing not to move forward with your application.
Take note of what employers are looking for, and arm yourself with it when you show up to your next interview, or when you're writing your next cover letter for a job application.
I cannot stress enough the importance of tenacity in today's climate. It was through refusing to give up that I landed my current role as brand manager at a global alcoholic drinks company. I initially interviewed for the role in November of 2012 - and got knocked back. It stung, I'm not going to lie.
Then, in June 2014 the role was being advertised again - with the same company - and I went for it. My tenacity showed how keen I was, and because I'd obtained constructive feedback the first time around, I knew what they were and were NOT looking for.
I was invited back for a second interview, and three days later I was offered the job. It just goes to show that there's validity in the old saying 'If at first you don't succeed, try again'.
Are you considering a marketing role?
What Qualifications Do I need?
If you've taken a look at the transferable skills listed, and think that they match your own, then you might be wondering what other barriers may be stopping you from pursuing a role as a Marketing Executive.
The answer is open to interpretation; entry requirements for this role are not too specific, and the role is generally open to all graduates/diplomats. However, formal qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) are accepted (in the UK) – at entry level this stands as an ‘Introductory Certificate in marketing’ or, in some cases, this plus a ‘professional Certificate in Marketing’. Also, a degree in business, marketing or management would generally be accepted.
Further Research
In the wider context of things, the above information is a very brief outline regarding the role of a marketing executive and the marketing sector as a whole. If you are seriously considering pursuing a career in marketing, further your research by either investing in a good book, visiting the prospects.com website, or attending your local job centre to get some professional advice.
Another way to get some hands on experience of the role is to work for free - see if any marketing agencies near you are willing to take on some unpaid help (I'll bet they are!). It's not ideal, of course, but if you are still studying this might give you the extra edge you need when you've completed your studies to land you the job that you want.
