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How to Become a Marketing Manager

Neha Joshi
If you are wondering how to become a marketing manager, this story is a must read for you. From tips to suggestions, we have everything listed right here, to help you understand what exactly it takes to become a marketing manager. Read on, to know more.
A marketing manager is highly responsible for the profits a company makes, and this is an indication of amount of responsibility a marketing manager has to carry on his/her shoulders. Being a marketing manager is no joke as he/she is responsible for the marketing, sales and advertising of a particular service/product the company has to offer.
He/She doesn't only need the basic knowledge of marketing theories but also needs the business ethics and traits inculcated in him/her, to be a marketing manager. Today, the demand for marketing managers is on a rise, and is estimated to increase even more with time. This makes it important for us to know more about this designation, isn't it?
The job description of a marketing manager is very complex, yet very simple to understand. A marketing manager has to firstly understand, in detail, the product/service he/she has to market.
After this, comes the market research where he/she has to study the market for this particular product/service. Then, strategies are formed and executed based on the research done. This may sound simple to say and understand, but to actually execute the entire marketing plan takes a lot of study and precise execution.
The salaries of marketing managers are very lucrative and usually include a lot of benefits and incentives. Some companies also offer extra salaries on sales.
As of 2011, the salaries of marketing managers range between $35,000 to $85,000. A freshman may earn something starting from $35,000 while an experienced marketing manager may draw a salary of approximately $85,000 depending on the span of experience.

How You Can Become a Marketing Manager

First Comes Education

The first step you need to take to become a marketing manager is do an educational requirement check. Education is very important if you wish to pursue this career because a lot of marketing work is based on marketing and economic theories, without the knowledge of which your work might be hampered initially.
The minimum educational qualification required for this post is graduate degree in marketing. Some big companies also demand an MBA from applicants. This tells us how vast the knowledge of this field is spread.

Interns & Trainees

If you don't have the education specified above, it's not the end of your career in marketing. There are people who take up a particular job and excel in it gradually. If you have a liking for marketing, take up a job as a marketing intern, or as a trainee, in any company that offers you this position.
Even then, give preference to what you like. This means, choose a company that deals in a product you like or know a lot about, e.g computers, cell phones, food items etc. Since you don't have the required educational background, your knowledge of the product might help you progress faster.

Enhance Your Skills

To become a marketing manager, you also need to learn a few more skills, the knowledge of which is equally important today. For example, it is mandatory that you are aware of computer basics before you apply. Most of the work in most of the companies is done by computers.
Marketing involves the preserving of humongous data and this is done by different types of computer software. Marketing managers also need to deal with a lot of people and convincing plays a very important role in their jobs. Hence, the trait of charisma will be an added boon.

Knowledge of Traveling

When you take the responsibility of marketing something, you need to travel a lot in order to market it the most. Simple logic, isn't it? For this reason, marketing managers are required to travel extensively. Only in the case of local businesses will the travel be limited.
Experience in traveling and knowledge of diverse markets will help you a lot in becoming a marketing manager. Knowledge of a foreign language will also take you a step closer in this process. A person who is more experienced in traveling will undoubtedly have better chances at becoming a marketing manager.

Projects & Applications

Now that you know how to become a marketing manager, this one last tip might just make it very easy for you to get in. Take up a couple of projects on your own, on marketing topics that interest you the most.
With absolute sincerity, complete these projects based on the guidelines required. Try to bring in as much innovation as possible and fill them with as many new ideas and concepts possible.
Do your market research and form your own strategies. When you apply for any job, present these projects with your application. The employers will notice that you have a keen interest in what you want to do, and will surely consider you more suitable than the rest as you already have the experience of completing projects on your own.
The job of a marketing manager is one of the most important jobs in all the different types of marketing jobs today. The field of marketing has evolved a lot in the past few years and is still doing so at an alarming rate.
As we have seen, the job of a marketing manager requires skills such as forecasting, estimating and a need of traveling. With this information, you now know how to become a marketing manager and you can now give certainly more thought to this career option.