The profession of marketer, or marketing manager, is quite young. But at the same time it is very promising and dynamically developing. The essence of this profession is to manage value (as it is perceived by consumers of a product) to increase sales or profits.
Large companies divide the marketing profession into various specializations: analyst, marketing specialist, brand manager, marketing research specialist, marketing director, BTL manager, art manager, product manager, etc.
Story
Marketing is a fairly young specialization. However, this does not prevent it from developing dynamically and quickly.
At first, marketing was not an independent direction. In most cases, it has been interpreted as advertising that is based on consumer needs, as opposed to conventional slogans.
But the speed of development of marketing was so high that in 1902, lectures on marketing began to be given at US universities. About 20 years later (1926), the first marketing association arose. After some time, similar associations began to be created in Europe and other countries of the world. Marketing reached the USSR in 1970 - the first marketing chamber appeared. It was from this time that such a specialty as a marketer began to actively develop in our country. Due to the fact that the marketing profession is new for our country, the functions continue to vary. And in each company this position may be interpreted differently, which means the responsibilities may be different. But there are general standards established by the Russian Marketing Association.
Where and how long do you study to become a marketer?
As mentioned earlier, training in this profession is presented in two options:
- Courses – both online and classical.
- Universities.
The duration of the training will depend on the option chosen. In the first case, from a couple of weeks to a year maximum. The second option is considered longer - from 4 to 6 years, but this is a more prestigious training.
To obtain a position in this area, you can choose a suitable specialty. This could be innovation - a rare field of activity where innovative concepts are taught in the advertising campaign of various products. Management (from marketing to small business).
Where do they study to become a marketer? This specialization is present in almost all universities in the country. The most popular are:
- MGIMO. Management. The price of training is 348 thousand rubles per year.
- National Research University Higher School of Economics. There is a very wide range of directions and training options. From quick courses to diploma completion.
- B&D. The training program is aimed at training specialists, Brand and Product managers. The university is faced with the task of forming a prof. skills and competencies, encourage the development of a personal, unique approach to business.
Duration of training is 4 years. Cost 150 thousand rubles per year.
Market analysis
The most important function in marketing. A marketer must constantly monitor any changes in the market and be able to quickly adapt to them.
If, for example, a plant producing certain iron products does not quickly respond to market changes (does not replace machines with newer ones, etc.), then it risks losing in the competition. This means that the company will lose not only time, but also a lot of money.
Among the specific tools, the main ones can be identified: tracking periodicals, consumer surveys, analysis of information from competitors, public opinion, social surveys, etc.
Collecting the necessary data is the responsibility of a marketing analyst. He must be able to process this data, conduct a thorough analysis, draw conclusions and propose solutions.
Is it easy to get a job?
In many areas, there is now a situation where there are many specialists on the market, but companies cannot find the right one. This is typical for industries that require good education. A fresh university graduate is in a vulnerable position: it is difficult for him to compete with experienced specialists.
Having a prestigious diploma solves this problem. This is a significant advantage in the labor market, which will allow you to find a well-paid, interesting job.
Important!
Large foreign companies prefer to hire young specialists to lower positions in order to “grow” them on their own, so a young specialist with a diploma from a European university has a good chance of employment and career growth.
Working with clients
Communication with clients is the direct responsibility of the manager. Only by interacting with consumers will you be able to answer questions such as:
- Why does he buy this product?
- Why in your company?
- Why this particular product?
- How does he like it?
- What additional services is he interested in?
- What does the client not like?
Having found the answers to these questions, the marketer will discover many secrets about the market, competitors, customer expectations, etc.
A marketer must always know how his company differs from its competitors. But here it is important to pay attention to one feature: what makes you stand out in the eyes of clients, and not in your own eyes. Perhaps this is a complete trifle (free Wi-Fi in a cafe always increases the flow of customers).
It is necessary to communicate not only with VIP clients, but also with ordinary, small ones. Your speed depends on the latter.
What to face
Advantages:
- High salary.
- Career prospects regardless of city size.
- An interesting field that requires a creative approach.
- Remote work option available.
- You can work on two projects at once.
- It is not necessary to obtain a higher education, courses are enough.
Flaws:
- Painstaking work.
- Small salary at the start
- The need to consistently analyze the market and monitor competitors.
- Continuous learning and development.
- Irregular working hours.
- The actions taken do not always achieve the expected result, and you have to put up with this. It is extremely difficult to predict customer behavior 100%.
- Gender inequality. The male team often does not always sensibly and objectively evaluate the ideas and schemes proposed by the lady.
The pros and cons of the marketing profession have been discussed, let’s get to know the specifics of getting an education.
Watch the video “Professions we choose – Marketer”:
Competitor analysis
Communication with clients is, of course, good. But you need to know your competitors even better. Marketer responsibilities include:
- control over the pricing policies of competitors;
- knowledge of their strengths;
- knowledge about their additional services;
- understanding why some clients switch to them.
Research into these issues needs to be ongoing. Because the market, as mentioned earlier, is constantly changing.
In some ways, it's easy to keep track of your competitors these days. Almost all companies have their own blogs with customer reviews, official news on their websites, and press releases. If necessary, you can use a mystery shopper. All legal means are good.
If the market in which you provide your services is small, then most likely all the business leaders know each other. Conferences, seminars, exhibitions - these are the places where everything often intersects. Sometimes you can learn a lot of useful information at such events. The main thing is to try to monitor what you say (especially about innovations, large-scale advertising campaigns, rebranding and other drastic things).
Marketer's tasks
The main goal and task of marketing activities is to increase the consumer value of the product, that is, with the help of a whole set of measures, mainly the right advertising campaign, the need to convince the buyer to pay as much as possible for the product. The specific goal is profitability, sales and profit growth.
The task of marketing activities for market analysis and selection of target markets is the regular collection of primary information about competitors, market dynamics, key drivers (parameters for evaluation) of the market. The goal is to increase sales volumes outpacing the growth rates of the markets in which the company operates.
Marketing objectives also include working with consumers to increase the volume of purchases, their frequency and growth in the number of customers; developing a strategy for promoting the company’s products and increasing their competitiveness; assortment management, pricing and profitability control; organizational, management and control functions.
Looking for new clients
The functions of a marketer also include finding new clients. In small companies this can be done by a marketing assistant. He is looking for new niches where the product can be used. This can be either a new segment or an entire market.
The job of a marketer is to check everything. It often happens that a product that was previously used by one group of customers becomes very popular among another group.
A good marketer is well versed in advertising and knows how to do it. Therefore, the effectiveness of advertising campaigns should be analyzed periodically. When launching a new product, different strategies should be developed to conduct advertising campaigns. And then find the best one based on the research done.
Search for new interesting offers
Looking for new opportunities is not an easy job. A marketer must always look to the future and improve his customer care.
An example is home delivery of bottled water. Most organizations that do this, for some reason, deliver water exclusively during working hours. That is, many potential clients simply cannot use the company’s services, because they are at work at the time.
Almost any service area can be improved by adding a range of improved customer service options.
A marketer can find, analyze and highlight what will be economically justified and beneficial for the enterprise.
Not all services directly bring profit, but the quality of service and customer loyalty always increase.
Internet marketer - differences and prospects
Everything is actually simple here. A marketer works with all channels for attracting potential clients, and an internet marketer works with Internet channels.
Today, most often, companies work equally actively both offline and online (or with a greater preference towards online). That is, it will not happen that you get a job as a marketer, and you will not have to work with the website, with groups on social networks, with contextual advertising.
Today marketing is a plexus of all kinds of channels.
A man left his house and saw an advertisement for your services in the elevator. Naturally, he did not immediately rush to call you, even if the offer was strictly limited in time.
A couple of days later, the same person is sitting on VKontakte, “having fun with memes,” and your advertising offer is again shown to him on the side. Then he remembers you, clicks on the ad, and maybe even orders your product.
But more often than not, the recruitment process lasts for months.
And you, as a modern marketer, are responsible for all the threads in this web. You came up with a leaflet in the elevator, drew a portrait of the target audience, and selected the right words for advertising.
Thus, today the question is no longer whether you will engage in marketing or Internet marketing. The only question is whether it will be ONLY Internet marketing, or something else will be added.
By the way, it is on the Internet that it will be easiest for you to take the first steps towards the position of “elite marketer”.
Financial analysis
The last major responsibility of a marketer is handling money. A competent marketer is able to calculate the approximate turnover of the company, competitors and the market as a whole. Particular attention should be paid to:
- Market dynamics, ups and downs. Do your business's growth cycles generally coincide with market growth? If not, your company is in trouble.
- Dynamics of competitors.
- Revenue by various segments. Perhaps there is something worth giving up.
- Revenue/profit per unit in different segments and markets.
- How competitors respond to your price manipulations.
- Do you need VIP clients (big discounts and high requirements).
Financial analytics is not the main task, but you need to spend some time and effort on this process.
Job and functional responsibilities
The main responsibility of a marketer is to study and analyze supply and demand in the market for goods and services. Then he forms the company's development strategy.
The main goal is to satisfy consumer needs. Therefore, the primary task of a marketer is to study and identify needs. And only after this can you create a product that best suits the buyer’s various characteristics.
If you are going to work as a marketer, you need to know the functional responsibilities:
- tracking prices for the offered goods, competitiveness analysis;
- search and subsequent analysis of data on potential competitors;
- preparation of analytical reports;
- market research (or market segment) for the sale of a certain type of product;
- analysis of the purchasing power of various regions and population groups;
- media planning, development of advertising campaigns;
- development of measures to improve sales efficiency.
Functions of a marketer
A complete list of professional marketing functions in an enterprise cannot be contained in any job description for a marketing manager. Functions are divided into four groups according to types of activities. Job descriptions for a marketer vary depending on what industry the company operates in and what the specifics are src=»https://businessman.ru/static/img/a/39075/217331/19043.jpg» class=»aligncenter» width= "647″ height="450″[/img]
Information and analytical activities consist of studying market conditions, consumer behavior and possible ways to influence it, the potential of the enterprise and its competitiveness; selecting target markets and their segments, developing recommendations for selecting markets; formation of consumer demand, forecasting sales volumes; analysis of the competitive environment.
Commodity production activities include the development of ideas for the creation of new goods and the organization of their production, proposals for the formation of an assortment of goods.
Sales activities consist of developing sales strategies, determining product and pricing policies, and creating a marketing communications system.
Economic and managerial activity consists of participating in the financial and economic analysis of the enterprise; ensuring investment and risk management; participation in the development and economic justification of current and long-term plans for the enterprise’s activities and increasing its efficiency; management of the marketing activities of the enterprise.
Writing a resume
Marketing is a profession that is difficult to teach, since professionalism comes with experience. Educational institutions offer only a theoretical framework that allows one to navigate the basic concepts. Every marketer must develop independently.
Writing a resume for a marketer is a labor-intensive process. It must be approached with special care. Experts point to 9 key competencies that a marketer must have. Of course, they may not be fully expressed, but each of them must be improved.
- Analytical skills: analysis of sales dynamics and management of this forecast; managing the advertising budget, calculating the effectiveness of investments; comparison of a number of solution options, choosing the best one; setting priorities for projects; search for a cause-and-effect relationship in customer behavior.
- Professional competence. The resume of a marketer can include knowledge of: modern marketing techniques; about how you can develop and manage your company’s brand; about sales techniques and methods; about the basics of economics and finance; about the basics of sociology and psychology; modern trends in design (understanding of aesthetics).
- Initiative. The ability to independently formulate tasks and understand how the business can be improved.
- Responsibility, no job can do without it. A marketer must be able to manage the advertising budget and product profitability. Therefore, he must understand that he has a great responsibility.
- Perseverance and effectiveness in the actions of a marketer. He must be ambitious in his goals.
- Creativity – creating new ideas and searching for alternatives to solve a problem.
- Quality of communication: competent written and oral communication; effective interpersonal communication; public speaking skills.
- Flexibility at work. A marketer must be able to find different approaches and be open to new technologies and views.
- Self-development and erudition. In any business you need to constantly improve. Increasing competence and expanding horizons is something that a marketer should constantly do.
Job responsibilities
Every newcomer wants to reach such a high level that everyone will say about him: “He is a first-class, unique marketer!” The responsibilities of every marketing manager are outlined in their job description. Among others, it includes forecasting the dynamics of important indicators for the company, as well as developing recommendations for their improvement.
It is the ability to evaluate and give the correct forecast that distinguishes a professional analytical manager from a beginner. And if you learn to predict changes in the situation before your competitors, you will become a unique expert. But the path to this goal is very difficult. The level of knowledge should be constantly improved, and it is best to focus on the latest achievements in statistics and information technology.
The job description for a marketer contains all the points related to the progress of work. This document spells out what a marketer should know and be guided by, job responsibilities and functions, rights and responsibilities. It may also indicate that in case of vacation or illness, he is replaced by a marketing assistant.
In some cases, it may be specified to whom and when the marketer's reports should be transferred. These reports indicate the results of research conducted in a particular market segment: numbers, graphs, comparative characteristics. As well as a forecast and recommendations for further actions.
