How to Become a Marketing Manager

As a marketing manager it’s your job to manage a team of employees. You’ll need the people skills and managerial skills to make sure your team is operating well together. You’ll also need the skills to delegate responsibilities.

As marketing manager, you’ll be dealing with clients who need your know-how to market and sell their product. Whether that product is soap or dog food, it’s your job to make that product sell.

It may also be your job to report between the client and your team of marketers. You’ll need communication skills to convince your clients that you understand their product and the different marketing option. You may even need to arrange focus groups or design polls to best understand how to market or brand a given product.

Marketing Manager’s Profile

Most marketing managers have college degrees. Many graduate with majors in psychology, marketing, or journalism. Some managerial jobs require a master’s in business administration with a focus in marketing.

Of course, the requirements for each job differ with the job responsibilities, and many managers start as marketing assistants. If you’re a college student and interested in becoming a marketing manager, it’s in your interest to take marketing classes.

Job Outlook for a Marketing Manager

In 2002 there were 203,000 marketing managers nationally, according to the Department of Labor. Depending on the job responsibilities, marketing managers averaged between $65,000 and $96,000 a year. However, the competition to get these jobs is stiff, and it may take several years to reach a managerial level in the profession.