Becoming a Marketing Manager can offer you a rewarding and exciting career. Every day is different, you can express your creativity, and you have the opportunity to influence the way a brand presents itself and how it communicates with the world.

But… how do you actually go about landing that position? Being a managerial position means you can’t just jump into it with no experience, but what do you need? If you ask a handful of marketing managers about their career history, you’ll likely get a wide range of answers from those who have taken a linear approach, to those who have made a career switch from another field.

The good news is that it is entirely possible for you to become a marketing manager – you just need the right roadmap. In this article, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know to become a marketing manager, including the skills, qualifications, and experience you will need to get yourself where you want to be.

 

What Does a Marketing Manager Do?

A Marketing Manager, in a nutshell, is the person responsible for taking charge of the marketing within a company in order to develop a solid customer base for the company.

Although the exact duties of a Marketing Manager will vary with different industries and the size of a company, they have many responsibilities. Working alongside the market research team and the product development manager, the Marketing Manager holds responsibility for the marketing plan of the company, both in the design and implementation of marketing campaigns. They then analyse their campaigns in order to report on how successful they were and move forward towards further growth.

Some examples of Marketing Manager duties are:

• analysis of trends in marketing
• keeping track of the competition
• identifying and engaging target markets
• creating campaigns for general marketing purposes and social media
• managing a marketing assistant team
• sticking to budgets
• meeting with clients
• going to events
• keeping records of how effective marketing strategies and campaigns were

 

It is important to note that responsibilities of a Marketing Manager will be vastly different depending on whether you are working for a large corporation or a small business. If you are a Marketing Manager within a big corporation, you are likely to find that you will specialise in a particular area, and so there will be more than one manager in the marketing department, such as a Digital Marketing Manager, a Product Marketing Manager, a Sales and Marketing Manager, or a Content Marketing Manager. Conversely, if you are a Marketing Manager for a start-up or small business you will oversee all aspects of marketing with more generalised skills.

 

What are the Marketing Manager Requirements?

Marketing manager requirements will depend largely on the company you are applying to work for, but most companies will be focusing on your relevant experience, qualifications and whether you have the skillset for their role.

 

Marketing Manager Qualifications

Although there are no specific marketing manager qualifications you need to get for the position, it is recommended that you get a bachelor’s degree in either Business, Marketing, Advertising, Communication, or another relevant subject. Some employers may also look for  a Master of Business Administration (MBA), though relevant experience will usually outweigh additional qualifications like these.

However, it is not imperative to have a degree. Many employers will consider you for a position if you have a lot of good quality, relevant experience, so look to gain as much experience and education you can around marketing to land these high level marketing positions.

 

Marketing Manager Skills

There are a number of skills you need to have in order to become a Marketing Manager:

• strong communication and presentation skills
• a head for sales
• high levels of creativity
• the ability to manage a number of projects at one time
• the ability to understand the needs of consumers
• specialist knowledge of marketing trends
• excellent motivational and leadership skills
• budgeting skills
• the ability to hire and train new marketing team members
• solid IT skills, including the use of analytics software and the ability to make the most out of social media
• the ability to execute high quality marketing strategies, on time
• the ability to collaborate well with other members of staff
• the ability to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of marketing, including new trends, updated tactics, and the latest tools
• critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills

 

What Experience Do I Need to Become a Marketing Manager?

You can’t become a marketing manager without first gaining workplace experience within the marketing sector. If you’re not yet in a marketing role – even a basic one, you should start looking for one.

Once you’re certain marketing is the career for you, it will be well worth your time shadowing a Marketing Manager if you are able, as it will give you vital experience and allow you to get your foot in the door. You might find that you are mainly making photocopies or answering phones, but you will be able to learn simply through observation, and any time spent in a marketing department is valuable to your CV, especially when you get the opportunity to work on campaigns. It will also allow you to make contacts and network with people who may be able to give you a leg up in the future.

Entry-level marketing positions you can look for are as an advertising assistant, a marketing assistant, social media assistant, or in any related sector. A sales position can also often be a strong start, as marketing and sales must work hand-in-hand for a company to succeed. From there, you can start to specialise in the areas you most enjoy, and work your way up the ladder.

If you’re serious about working up to your role in management quickly, you should be proactive about asking for feedback, what you can improve, applying for promotions and open positions above you, and prepared to move to a new company if you find you’ve hit your ceiling in your current one.

If you want to improve your management skills specifically, you should think about joining a management-training program which will show potential employers that you are serious about a role in management. While marketing managers are responsible for major marketing decisions, they simply cannot be effective without good managerial skills, so it’s important you don’t neglect this on your path to marketing manager.

 

How Long Does It Take to Become a Marketing Manager?

Depending on the level of job you are able to qualify for initially, and how aggressively you pursue upward movement, it will take anywhere from 3 to 10 years to be promoted up to Marketing Manager.

 

How Much Does a Marketing Manager Make?

The average Marketing Manager salary in the UK ranges from around £34,000 to £55,000. However, it does vary depending on the company sector, where the job is based, and how large the company is, so salaries can be higher or lower than this.

 

Becoming a Marketing Manager can be a long path to follow, but is an extremely rewarding career that allows for constant personal and professional development. It also puts you in a strong position for other high-level positions in the future. If you are looking to develop your marketing skills in order to work your way up to becoming a Marketing Manager, you can find out more about our digital marketing courses here which are the perfect first step on your journey.