What Do Marketing Field Entails? An Overview!

Marketing in business terms is basically a management process through which, products and services move from concept to the targeted customers. Marketing is a very broad term that includes product, price, place and most importantly the promotional strategy. Great marketing is not everyone's cup of tea. It requires detailed research, strong decision-making ability, testing, tracking and analysing.

Today, competition is very high in every sphere. If you don't market your business, chances are more that you'll fail. Moreover, those businessmen who perform marketing on a guess work may either end up with less or no customers at all.

In order to capture a market share and start building your conversion rates, it is essential to build a brand. A brand is an image through which the customers recognize and associate with a particular business. The brand is more than just a name or logo. A strong and memorable brand will surely make you stand apart from your competitors and will augment customer loyalty. Building a brand requires a careful consideration of your business goals, creative thinking and a strong desire to connect with your potential customers.

After building a brand, it is vital to make a plan to get the brand across a large number of customers. For doing this, you need to develop a marketing strategy. Below are some effective tips for developing a strong marketing strategy:

• Analyze your last year's sales and revenue trends

• Analyze your marketing trends

• Determine your company's vision

• Set your priorities and goals first to achieve your vision

• Review and update your ideal customer base

• Analyze and gather information about your competitors

• Identify the important factors that make you different from your competitors

• Work on enhancing those factors

• Design your printed and digital marketing materials to attract your potential customers

• Review your website and make it more informational and attractive

• Be active on various social media channels to educate your customers regarding your products and services

• Track your progress and identify the gaps in your sales and marketing

• Review your progress on frequent basis and try to solve the issue (if any) in the initial stage only

Failing to develop a proper marketing strategy may waste all your efforts to attract new customers and manage the existing ones. Therefore, make sure to consider all the above-mentioned points in mind while planning and developing a marketing strategy for your business.

Marketing is perhaps the best career option for candidates with a creative mind and drive to excel. Although, a career in marketing can be demanding and may involve long working hours, however at the end, the benefits are rewarding and satisfying. Especially, the individuals who are self-motivators and have the ability to manage multiple tasks will surely enjoy making a career in the marketing field.

As far as educational qualifications are concerned, a bachelor's degree is usually preferred to enter into this field. However, those seeking for managerial positions in the marketing world must earn a master's degree or a Master in Business Administration (MBA). Those looking for marketing manager jobs can find enormous employment opportunities in almost every industry. Other top most rewarding and interesting jobs available for freshers and experienced professionals in the marketing field includes:

• Marketing executive

• Marketing assistant

• Product manager

• Brand manager

• Email marketing specialist

• Marketing studies analyst

• Assistant brand manager

• Market Researcher

• Marketing manager

• Marketing and communications specialist

• Marketing consultant

• Marketing director

• Associate marketing director

Possessing certain marketing-related skills and ability to present these skills in a proper manner is the key for success in the marketing field. Furthermore, there are two major areas available presenting good progression opportunities for marketers:

• Client side: It includes working in various organizations including business, non-profit and public organizations.

• Agency side: It involves working in an agency that provides marketing services to other businesses.

In general, marketing world offers plenty of opportunities to the talented individuals for both front-line and behind-the-scenes roles. There is a demand for skilled and professional candidates in nearly every industry. Marketing has emerged as the most important factor that often determines a businesses success or failure. Therefore, each and every business these days needs goods marketing to grab a market share. Marketing professionals in any organization are basically responsible for maintaining the brand image of that company. Thus, who are interested in starting their career in marketing, must be aware of the common job titles used in the marketplace. An awareness about these job titles will provide a clear picture of the skill set required and responsibilities associated with that particular job position.

Over the years, technology has changed on a fast pace, which has also changed the face of marketing. The expectations and responsibilities of today's marketing professionals have changed greatly from what it used to in some decades ago. Although, not all marketing roles require the same set of skills, certain skills that employers commonly look into their potential employees include:

• Excellent interpersonal skills

• Good communication skills both written and verbal

• Ability to work in teams to develop and identify creative ideas for a campaign

• Advertising skills

• Market research skills

• Adequate IT skills to perform marketing through online channels

• Good project management skills

• Organization skills

• Critical thinking

• Holistic approach

• Knowledge of current marketing trends

• Digital marketing skills

• Time management and decision-making skills

• Numeracy and analytical skills

• Influential and negotiation skills

• Highly ambitious and enthusiastic

As technology will develop, new marketing will also develop in the marketing world. To achieve the goals of a business, it is important to acquire particular tactical marketing skills. Further, identifying and anticipating the requirements of existing and potential customers and developing effective solutions to fulfill those requirements is indispensable.

Marketing trends keeps on changing with the change in the technology and customer's demands. In order to stay in the competition, marketers need to stay ahead of the trends. Below is the top most trends in the marketing field, which needs focus on to succeed in marketing:

• Make use of social media platforms: These days, a large number of people across the globe are using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to advertise their products and services. Therefore, in order to ensure both profit and efficiency for marketing efforts, in the vital for marketers to embrace social media for advertising purpose.

• Video sharing: Video sharing is one of the most effective ways to make your customers aware about your offerings. YouTube is the best source where the marketers can upload videos of all different forms to reach their audiences across the globe.

• Advertising through mobile applications: Nowadays, advertising directly to the engaged mobile users is growing in popularity. Marketers can get their organization noticed by the users of an app quickly and at comparatively low cost.

• Infographics: To get your customers visually engaged with your products and services, infographics is the best advertising tool. The colorful pictures and price information will be absorbed by the targeted audiences more rapidly than any other source.

These days, employers look for the candidates to can take the responsibility to manage the brand. Employers want their employees to work smart instead of working hard. Those who want to make their career in this field must acquaint themselves with the new strategies in order to enrich their knowledge and enhance their skills required in the marketing world. Also, keep your resume crisp and precise with all the relevant information that can instantly impress your recruiters. These days, online professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ecademy, and many more are the best way to get in touch with the potential employers.

Over the next 10 years, the careers in marketing are expected to grow more than average. As businesses are always on the outlook to hold onto their share of market and manage their position in the marketing at the same time expanding their business, they keep on introducing new products and services. For developing marketing strategy, there is a need for creative and enthusiastic marketers on an increasing basis. Furthermore, all these developments and innovations in the marketing world will generate more and more jobs for a large number of job aspirants in the coming years.