Marketing Management: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

Marketing management involves the strategic and planned creation and implementation of an organisation's marketing efforts. People who work in marketing management act as liaisons between a company and its target consumer. 

Marketing management is important because it allows companies to create target marketing efforts and measure outcomes to gain new customers and retain loyal ones. Individuals in marketing management work closely with companies to align goals with marketing efforts and use metrics and other tools to adjust as needed. 

What is marketing management?

Marketing management uses tools, strategies, and processes and analyses the organisation’s strategic approach to develop and implement marketing efforts. 

The meaning of marketing management can vary depending on an organisation's industry and marketing goals. As the name suggests, marketing management takes on managerial functions, including oversight of marketing campaigns and outcomes and planning and decision-making before, during, and after marketing plans are executed. 

Importance of marketing management to a business

Marketing management is vital to a business's ability to generate revenue, create a brand, and better understand its customer base. It ensures a company's profitability by gaining new customers, expanding its customer base, building its reputation, and improving customer interactions. Some essential marketing management functions include managing, analysing, and aligning with a company’s goals. 

Marketing management aims to provide cohesion and direction for campaigns or other marketing efforts. It’s a data-driven, strategically planned system supervised by professionals. 

Common elements of marketing management

Common marketing management elements include setting goals aligned with marketing efforts, conducting research to understand target consumers, creating campaigns based on analysis and goals, and maintaining a brand’s reputation and recognition by engaging with customers. 

Marketing management professionals work with a company and its customer base as a bridge between them. To function as this liaison, they must be able to understand desires and needs, which requires a fair amount of research and analysis. 

Goal setting

One of the foundational requirements for effective marketing is setting a goal. Here are some reasons why having a goal is important for marketing management:

• Helps plot and plan marketing campaigns

• Keeps a marketing team on track

• Makes it easier to create and assign tasks to individuals 

• Helps measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts

Marketing goals can range from increasing sales by expanding the customer base to finding a niche market to engage customers better. 

Market research

After you’ve set a goal that aligns with the company’s objectives, it’s time to understand the target market and the competitors. Market research involves analysing economic patterns and gathering customer information. Information like demographics and location can help determine who is buying a product or service and why. 

Some tools to conduct market research may be online surveys or web analytics using search engines like Google. Understanding the competition is sometimes more important than understanding the target consumers. If you find what makes a competitor successful or why customers purchase from them, you can replicate those efforts for your brand. 

Devising, launching, and coordinating campaigns.

Marketing managers use research to devise targeted and effective marketing campaigns. These managers execute, manage, and coordinate the campaign's elements. Having a concept, message, and call to action is important for gaining customers in marketing campaigns. 

After devising a campaign plan, it’s time to launch it. Marketing managers use analytics and data gathered during the research phase to find the precise day, even time, to launch the campaign. You'll base the timing on the type of campaign (i.e., social media campaign, print, event, etc.), the habits and behaviours of the target audience, and the channels used to launch the campaign. 

Coordinating a campaign involves tracking metrics, analysing results so changes can be made along the way, and having data after the campaign for future marketing efforts. Look for patterns, check in with the marketing team, and know when to make changes. 

Build relationships.

Building relationships is important in marketing management beyond closing sales and gaining new customers. A good relationship with customers can extend the life of a brand and build a reputation. 

Customer retention should weave into marketing efforts to create lifelong and loyal consumers. Create a buyer persona early in your marketing efforts, but understand that a person’s needs and desires may shift and change. Growing and shifting with desired target consumers is important for a business’s success.

Marketing managers use methods to build audience relationships, like storytelling, interactive emails, free content like blog posts or infographics, and social media polls. Engagement may lead to relationships in marketing, so marketing managers are always looking for ways to engage and connect with target consumers. 

Careers in marketing management

Marketing management jobs aim to attract interest in a product or service by promoting and advertising it strategically. You can find marketing management jobs in most industries that require marketing efforts to generate revenue and build a brand. A marketing management salary can vary based on job title, location, qualifications, and the industry in which they work. 

Marketing manager

Marketing managers develop strategies for companies and help identify target markets based on a product or service. They oversee campaigns and other marketing efforts, use metrics to measure marketing plans’ effectiveness and work with individuals from a marketing department, ad sales professionals, financial department, and more to coordinate and finance marketing campaigns. 

Average annual base salary in India: ₹13,77,168 [1]

Social media manager

Social media managers create content for social media networks based on a company’s marketing goals. They may use social media metrics to target efforts while monitoring and measuring post-performance. Social media managers are responsible for engaging with customers and maintaining a company's brand via social media networks.

Average annual base salary in India: ₹14,65,428 [2]

Director of marketing

A marketing director is an executive position tasked with making high-level decisions regarding a company's marketing efforts. This position manages all ad campaigns and measures metrics like return on investments (ROI) to determine the effectiveness of marketing efforts and make changes as needed. The marketing director typically works above a marketing manager and other roles within a marketing department. 

Average annual base salary in India: ₹26,20,769 [3]

Chief marketing officer 

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are corporate executives who develop marketing plans and strategies that will boost a company’s sales. This role focuses on a company's future and how and where to place marketing efforts to benefit a company now and in the long term. A CMO typically reports to a CEO or COO. 

Average annual base salary in India: ₹26,40,000 [4]

How to work in marketing management

To work in marketing management, you’ll need to earn a degree in marketing or a related field and gain professional experience in marketing, business, advertising, or similar. Since careers in marketing management are upper-level managerial positions, you may need to earn a master’s degree and gain extensive professional experience in marketing to move into some positions like CMO. It is also possible to reach this position through apprenticeships.

Earn a degree

Most jobs in marketing management require a degree in marketing or a related business field. While earning your degree, consider taking modules focusing on consumer behaviour, public relations, computer science, and marketing research. Depending on your course, you can specialise in a particular marketing area. 

Some students complete internships while earning a degree, which provides hands-on learning opportunities that enhance their CVs. Companies may sometimes hire interns after graduation, so it’s a great opportunity to consider if your degree programme does not require it. 

Build relevant skills

Your degree programme or apprenticeship should equip you with the technical skills you’ll need to work in a managerial position in marketing. These skills will likely include using content management systems (CMS), digital ad management skills, search engine optimisation (SEO), A/B testing, and web analytics. 

Personal skills necessary for marketing management include communication, project management, creativity, organisational skills, and problem-solving. You can build these relevant marketing management skills in a few ways: 

• Attend networking events and seek networking opportunities online and in person.

• Find a mentor who works in marketing management.

• Join a professional organisation like the Academy of Indian Marketing (AIM). 

• Complete an internship in the marketing department of a local company 

• Enroll in online courses on building marketing skills, like Introduction to Marketing or Marketing Strategy Specialisation, offered on Coursera. 

Gain experience

Consider applying for an entry-level marketing job right after graduation. Employers want to see first-hand experience handling all aspects of marketing, advertising, and managing people. Experience demonstrates proficiency in technical and personal skills. Having professional references may also help you land a job in marketing management. 

Consider getting a certificate 

Certificates can improve your chances of getting hired in marketing management by demonstrating proficiency in some key skills employers seek. Certificates are available for many different job titles within marketing management. You can find general marketing certificates or specific ones tailored to a particular industry or speciality in marketing. 

Optional: Join a marketing association

If you’re getting certified in marketing management, you’re likely earning certification from a professional marketing organisation. Note that certifications differ from certificates and are typically standardised credentials that certify your work in the industry by an exam or education. 

Many of these organisations require membership if you earn certification from their programme. However, even if you are not certified, joining a marketing association can have many benefits. 

You may get some help finding a job, as many associations hold events and conferences that connect eligible candidates with potential employers. You may also receive guidance for building skills with free resources, like webinars, other training materials, and the latest marketing trends and news. 

Next steps

If you’re ready to start marketing management, take the next steps and build the relevant skills needed to succeed in marketing. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been working in marketing for years, the marketing management field is growing with many job opportunities and an attractive salary for most people. Get started today by enrolling in an online course like those offered on Coursera: