How can I start my career in marketing management?

The marketing function has become a core operation for businesses all over the world. Starting from pharmaceuticals to educational institutions, organizations rely on marketing management to boost their business performance. Within today’s digital age, it has become easier to reach a larger audience through online platforms. Combining ease of access with well-structured marketing strategies, the final outcome can be a huge success. This has led to more students opting for a marketing management program. If your career goal is to become a marketing professional and you want to find out more, this blog is for you.

Why should you choose a career in marketing?

• Diverse career: the marketing profession brings together business acumen, creativity, and a range of different activities. It includes social media marketing, branding, email marketing, content marketing and affiliate marketing, to name a few. Furthermore, each of these marketing techniques contribute to achieve the same end goal. The varied branches of marketing needs professionals with a specific educational background and skill-set, making this field a hotspot for opportunities. Since you will be working towards achieving a particular goal using a mixture of strategies, this field gives your brain the exercise it needs.
• Wide range of opportunities: with businesses moving to the online sphere, traditional marketing and online marketing have become equally important for an organization’s progress. This has led to the creation of many jobs, encouraging students to take up marketing as a career. This field is booming with opportunities and allows you to take up a specialized job role (social media assistant) or a job role where you can dip your toes in different avenues (marketing assistant). While the entry level job role is that of a marketing assistant, with diligence and commitment, your career can see you climbing the career ladder.
• Demand: since the marketing department is an integral part of businesses, the need for marketing professionals is increasing rapidly. Organizations have a pressing need to hire skilled marketing professionals who can steer the company in the direction of high profits. The right marketing campaign can make or break an organization’s image, and hence, it is essential that marketers are skilled in accordance to the demands of the customer and the vision of the organization.
• Strong professional network: as a marketing professional, interacting with people will be a major part of your work. This will give you the chance to connect with other professionals and contemporaries, giving you a wider perspective of the business and its ways. Moreover, you can build a strong network that will contribute to your professional growth over the years.
• Rewarding career: due to the increasing demand for marketers, marketing jobs are known to be rewarding in terms of growth as well as remuneration. A marketing assistant, which is an entry-level job, can earn about C$38,226 on an average per annum, a marketing manager can command an annual average salary of C$61,755.

Skills needed for a career in marketing management

• Communication skills: you know a marketing strategy or technique is successful if it appeals to the right (target) audience. A crucial part of marketing is clear and transparent communication, more so because marketers use visuals, text and oral skills to promote their brand’s products and services. Additionally, marketing professionals need to interact with clients are colleagues on a daily basis, making effective and exceptional communication skills an important asset to have.
• Creative skills: in order to create campaigns that appeal to a large segment of audience, marketers must have a knack for creativity and a vivid imagination. With every campaign and strategy, marketing professionals need to come up with interesting, never-seen-before ideas that can create a positive image for the brand, consequently boosting the products’ or services’ sales. Hence, creativity is one of the essential marketing management skills.
• Strong business sense: the marketing field demands strong business acumen as it’s essential to understand the business in order to tend to its needs. Apart from understanding the marketing essentials, it is important to understand the practical and intuitive factors of the business and industry you are employing your expertise in.
• Analytical skills: success in this field is largely dependent on how well the implemented strategies are doing. This can be appraised based on the conversion rates, statistics, market trends and traffic results. However, in order to assess these factors accurately, a marketer must have strong analytical skills.
• Ability to influence: the mark of a good marketer is in their ability to convince the target audience to believe in the product or service. Hence, it is important that they have the ability to persuade people and influence them into availing the brand’s products and services. They must be capable of transferring their influential abilities into the campaigns and strategies they develop.

Marketing management career options

PositionAverage Salary*

*Average salary as advertised on payscale.com for Canada

In order to assume senior level jobs, such as Digital Marketing Manager, you must have the required experience and skill-set in the industry. However, if you are planning to enter the marketing field and wondering where to start, here’s a quick guide for you.

How can I start my career in marketing management?

Step 1: Since marketing branches into a number of specializations, it is important to select the one you are most interested in.

Step 2: Once you have narrowed down the specialization, research the college that has the best prospects in that particular field. If you prefer the idea of getting overall training in marketing management, University Canada West’s (UCW) MBA program is the best option for you. The course structure not only helps you understand the intricate concepts of marketing management, but also helps you develop skills that are relevant to the business world today.

Step 3: Apart from pursuing a degree, you should also look for internships in the marketing field. This will help you get on-the-job experience and understand the way of the trade.

Step 4: Once you have earned a degree in the field, prepare a resume that highlights your strengths and work experience. Apply for jobs that are in line with your expertise and calibre.

The marketing career is filled with exciting challenges that can help hone your industry skills. If you are interested in pursuing a management career, enrol for the Master of Business Administration program offered by University Canada West (UCW). The program structure is designed to equip students to deal with real-life business scenarios. Enrol for the program today!