WHAT DOES BEING A MARKETING MANAGER DO?
... Rosemary
by Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling

Q. Hi, What does a marketing manager do? I took an aptitude test recently and the results said I would be good at being a marketing manager. I'm at a loss because I have no idea what a marketing manager does. Would you explain what one does?

Thank you,

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A. Rosemary, Your message did not say what previous business experience or education you have. I'm guessing that you have been laid off and you went to a career-counseling firm for help. Is that right?

There are, btw, many definitions of marketing:* the process of developing and product/service to delivering it to customers

* defining to whom and how products/services are going to be offered

* market research

* guiding a firm's marketing and sales departments

* a firm that does any of the above functions for other firms.

There are other aspects but these are the ones most often used when the topic of marketing comes up.

If you've no experience in marketing, then trying to find a job as a marketing manager would be like taking a first grader and putting them in a 12th grade class.

The way to get into marketing is to take any job you can find, even if it's sweeping floors or being a receptionist, in a marketing firm or the marketing department of a firm that has one. Work your way up the ladder, watch what's going one, listen, make notes, and learn. Many marketing managers got to their positions this way.

If you've the funds to support yourself for a while, I suggest you take some classes at a nearby community college and/or get some books on marketing so that you can, when you go ask for a job, have some idea of what you're stepping into and they will know you've more skills than sweeping floors.

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