How to Become a Marketing Manager

As a manager, you have dual responsibilities to your fellow departmental employees and the supervisory chain of command. You support your manager and the marketing team in their efforts to promote a business or product. The following responsibilities are typical of the position:

• Overseeing all campaigns, setting budgets, and assigning staff
• Promoting a business, service, product, or point-of-view
• Making certain that the company's marketing team members communicate the same message to attract new customers while retaining existing clients
• Writing and editing various marketing communications like emails, product pamphlets, and social media communications
• Interacting with customers, staff members, and supervisors and attending critical marketing meetings
• Organizing documentation to ensure accessibility by sales staff, customers, and other stakeholders
• Coordinating multiple sales channels
• Building long-term relationships with media outlets
• Testing new marketing strategies, including A/B testing
• Directing overall social media strategy

Marketing managers use all types of computer equipment and software applications in their jobs, which depend heavily on keeping the line of communications open and accessible. You keep your team together and working toward common goals, and the following apps help you keep the team working cohesively:

• Buffer: This app helps you share and schedule social media updates among your team members.
• Canva: Using Canva to find compelling visual content is important if you don't have knowledge of graphic design.
• Google Alerts: You can set Google Alerts to monitor the internet for mentions of your company.
• Google Analytics: Successful managers learn to use Google to monitor your customer's responses to all types of website content.
• Google Keyword Planner: Choosing the right keywords maximizes marketing results.
• Mozbar: Becoming familiar with Mozbar helps you plan and develop critical SEO strategy.
• Open Site Explorer: Managers use this tool to monitor all the pages linked to any given URL.

Marketing managers work in office settings with climate controls aimed at making spaces comfortable for customers and employees. Most managers spend lots of time at their desks or computers, but they also attend meetings in conference rooms and meet with clients in a variety of social settings. More and more marketing managers work part of the time from their homes. Many managers travel to job sites and other companies when marketing a strategic partnership or becoming deeply involved with production.

Your colleagues as a marketing manager often include executives of client companies and members of your company's advertising and sales departments. You typically deal with sales account managers. It's also important to nurture a relationship with computer technicians because they often have discretion to prioritize any requested repairs. As a marketing manager, you work closely with cyber security engineers to devise security protocols and teach your team about security issues and prevent hacks.

Occasionally, most managers do some of their work at home over the weekend, at night, and during the holidays to support the company's interests. The job might involve attending social functions with clients. Managers often come to work early to prepare for an early customer meeting or work late for similar reasons. You will also likely work on holidays to finish a project or supervise marketing employees at critical times like Black Friday. Job flexibility is a hallmark of the career, and as such, many managers work a good part of their time from home.

Most managers work reasonable work weeks with occasional overtime when required. This might include eight to 10 hours per day. The hours you work vary based on working with different companies that partner with your own. Hours also vary based on the type of project you're working on at any given time. One reputable source reported the work habits of typical marketing managers. The results of the Search Engine Journal survey include:

• 38% of respondents reported that they worked a standard work week of eight hours a day for five days a week.
• 33% of marketing managers reported working between nine and 12 hours per day. 
• 15% reported working almost constantly in what many consider to be a stressful job.
• Most “stressed-out” marketing managers admit that they generate their own stress level to compete effectively with other managers doing the same.

Your work history will help your job search by confirming your experience in managing people. Ideally, successful marketing managers average about 10 years of marketing and business experience.

Marketing managers use time wisely, set priorities, and multitask. Success depends on superior time management, and you can research the topic online and discover effective strategies for managing your time.

Learning more about computer tech always provides an edge. Your company might require learning different software, but the most commonly used programs include:

• QuickBooks or other accounting software
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Microsoft Outlook or other messaging programs
• Google Workstation
• Slack and other communication programs
• Dropbox or other data-sharing programs
• Video conferencing using Zoom or Google Meet

Key skills include leadership, organization, and creativity. You also need strong communication and technical computer skills. You benefit if you have people skills and motivational skills as well.

Having a marketing degree qualifies you for a range of opportunities in advertising, product branding, and sales management. You will have the opportunity to pursue jobs at small "mom and pop" shops, global marketing companies, and industrial manufacturers.

Marketing manager jobs will grow faster than other industries — approximately 10% in the decade between 2020 and 2030.

Applying for a job as a marketing manager is easy with Spherion. You can search for marketing manager jobs on Spherion.com by job title and location. If you don’t see the perfect role, you can submit an open application. Once you submit your contact information and resume through Spherion’s open application, a recruiter from the office closest to you will reach out with details about potential marketing manager roles that fit your skill set and professional goals.