Marketing

Every industry has a need for marketers. However, depending on the company, your specific role can differ. In broad terms, the two main types of marketing are digital and traditional.

Digital

Simply put, digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that take place on the internet or on digital technologies. A few examples of digital marketing roles are:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Marketing strategy that focuses on getting your business at the top of Search Engine search results (like Google).
• Content – Research what your target audience cares about and create content that attracts and informs them about your business effectively.
• Video – Use video to attract new customers and analyze video viewer data to see what works and what doesn’t work.
• Pay-Per-Click – Pay to get your advertising on a digital platform for potential customers to see and click²https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/what-do-marketers-do/

Traditional

Traditional marketing doesn’t exclude digital outreach efforts, but it’s less concerned with some of the main tools digital marketing relies on. One can think of traditional marketing as “old-school” marketing. Some examples of traditional platforms are:

• Radio
• Television
• Newspapers
• Taxi Tops
• Magazines
• Billboards
• Telemarketing
• Face-to-face efforts

For many companies, a non-digital approach connects better with their customer base. A couple traditional types are:

• Experiential Marketing – Creating relevant events that connect the business with potential customers (ex. pop-up shops)
• Local Marketing – Any type of physical advertising, like billboards, bus stops, bulletin boards, taxi tops, etc. ³https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/what-do-marketers-do/

Broader marketing roles that are included in both digital and traditional marketing:

Market Research 

This type of role involves researching the intended target audience. That target audience can be companies or individuals. In order for a company to successfully attract the target audience, it must understand who they are. Research involves the first process of understanding the consumer, what their needs are, what their purchasing habits are, and how they view themselves in relation to the rest of the world.

Market research is conducted by using surveys, focus groups, and reviewing studies. Doing this enables researchers to collect data on a specific brand’s target audience. Market research can be done internally, or a company may hire a specialized firm to conduct the research.⁴ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/exploring-careers-in-marketing-2294887

Brand Management

Brand managers are often compared to small business owners because they assume responsibility for a brand or brand family. They are always focused on the big picture. It is their job to create the brand’s identity, study their competitors in their brand’s category, find marketing opportunities, and communicate the unique benefits of their product or service effectively.⁵ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/exploring-careers-in-marketing-2294887

Advertising

Advertisers work with all aspects of marketing from strategy to concept to the execution of the strategy.

You will find that most jobs on the business side of advertising include Account Management, Account Planners, and Media Buyers.

• Account managers act as the middle-man between the agency’s various departments and the client. Their job is to manage the execution of ads by making sure that they are created within the allocated schedule and budget. 
• Account Planners focus more on the consumer. Their job is to conduct research on the demographics of the targeted consumers. They use that research to get to know what motivates their behavior in the marketplace.
• Media Buyers find media to place ads in. They use the demographic study that is done by the Account Planner to decide the best possible place to purchase ad space.⁶ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/exploring-careers-in-marketing-2294887

Promotions

This team creates programs that unite advertising to purchase incentives such as special discounts, coupons, samples, gifts with purchase, rebates, and sweepstakes. In order to promote these programs, the promotion team will often use direct mail, telemarketing, in-store displays, advertisements, product endorsements, or special kick-off events.⁷ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/exploring-careers-in-marketing-2294887

Public Relations

The Public relations department is essentially the spokespeople for the company. Their responsibility is to portray the company in a positive light and publicize its products and services successfully. Additionally, Public relations ensures that the company’s brand is perceived the way that they want it to be.⁸ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/exploring-careers-in-marketing-2294887

What is the difference between Marketing and Sales?

While Marketing and Sales have many similarities and often work closely together, the difference is that marketing is more focused on the strategy/plan of action behind attracting users (less direct interaction), whereas sales usually involves personal communication directly with the prospective user and focuses on the process of converting that potential customer into an actual customer.

Marketing encompasses the strategies you use to reach your target audience and generate interest in your business. It should have measurable aspects so that you can determine which marketing choices give the best results. Depending on the company, some marketing strategies are:

• Print, TV, or digital advertising
• Public Relations (PR)
• Social Media
• Relationship Marketing
• Brand Marketing
• Viral Marketing
• Cold Calling or Emailing

Sales is the process of actually convincing someone to buy your service/product. It often involves some level of interaction that convinces a potential customer (aka a lead) to become an actual customer. Most of the time, these leads have been driven to you by prior marketing efforts. Some sales strategies include:

• One-on-one meetings
• Cold calls or warm calls
• Cold emails
• Networking
• Promotional events or trade fairs
• Retail interaction
• Direct sales⁹https://www.thebalancesmb.com/marketing-vs-sales-what-is-the-difference-2294827

Real-Life Analogies

• You see a college baseball coach. You go up to them and say: ‘I am very good at baseball. Recruit me!’ – That’s Direct Marketing
• You’re at an event with your teammates and see a college baseball coach. One of your teammates goes up to them and pointing at you says: ‘He is very good at baseball. Recruit them!’ – That’s Advertising
• You see a college baseball coach. You go up to them and get their telephone number. The next day, you call and say: ‘Hi, I’m very good at baseball. Recruit me!’ – That’s Telemarketing
• You see a college baseball coach. You get up, tuck in your jersey to look sharp, walk up to them, and start making a good first impression. Then, at the end, you say: ‘By the way, I’m very good at baseball. Will you recruit me?’ – That’s Public Relations
• You see a college baseball coach. They walk up to you and say: ‘I know who you are. You’re very good at baseball. Can I recruit you?’ – That’s Brand Recognition

Business-To-Business (B2B) v.s. Business-To-Customer (B2C) Marketing:

B2B marketing focuses on attracting individuals who make a decision to purchase your product/service on behalf of their company/organization rather than for themselves. For example, a company like Slack, which is essentially a work-place messenger application, might market itself to businesses so that an individual that works for that business buys Slack’s product on behalf of the company. 

 

B2C marketing focuses on attracting the individual who decides to purchase your product/service for themself. This is the type of marketing most of us are accustomed to in our daily lives. For example, if I am walking down the streets of New York City and I see a yellow taxi cab drive by with a Starbucks advertisement on the top of the vehicle, that form of marketing is B2C.  

 

Typical Marketing Hierarchy:

While the titles vary a lot depending on the company you work for, an example of a common marketing promotional path looks as follows (often times coordinator is the entry-level position).

What are some challenges of this Career?

• Sometimes do not get fair recognition for their contributions to the success of a project.
• Entry-level marketers often get paid less than other business departments like operations and sales.
• The nature of marketing efforts includes being able to learn from what didn’t work, and making sure it works in the future. However, it can be difficult to spend a lot of time on a project that does not go as planned.

What are some benefits of this Career?

• Every industry and almost every company has marketing needs. This means, there is often a lot of demand for people with this experience.
• Can be a very creative and exciting role.
• Learn from very smart individuals who have different strategies.
• Usually a good work/life balance.

Typical Salary?

The entry-level marketing salary varies greatly depending where you work but on average tends to be around $50k-$55k, according to Glassdoor.

 

Should I go into Marketing?

If you enjoy learning about the customers’ needs/desires and how to best attract customers to a business, you should consider a career in marketing. Additionally, this career is a great way to work with a company that excites you, and allows you to play an essential role to their efforts to grow.

 

Furthermore, there is always demand for people with marketing experience and being knowledgable on Marketing strategy can prove to be very valuable.