1.02 Understand career opportunities in marketing to make career decisions.

PROGRESS OF MARKETING

• Activities of marketing have changed & grown through the years

• Marketing was first only thought of with distributing a product/service

• Then it grew to include: – Selling– Promotion– A variety of other business activities (all 7

functions!)

Identify types of businesses that offer careers in marketing.

Marketing careers include all the activities required to plan, develop, promote & distribute goods/services to consumers.

Almost all businesses have marketing careers; manufacturing, retail, wholesale, transportation services, community/social services, education, etc.

Marketing knowledge and skill can be applied in many types of industries----- apparel, health care, financial services, manufacturing, travel and tourism, food services, sports, retailing, etc.

Marketing jobs can be found in businesses located all over the world. In your community, all over the country, and internationally.

Marketing Careers vs.

Medical Careers• Marketing Careers are a lot like careers in

medicine. Some doctors are general practitioners, while others specialize, such as surgeons.

• Marketers can also be generalists or specialists.

• Some marketing jobs require the knowledge and skills of several marketing functions. (generalist)

• Examples:

department store managers, marketing managers, and product managers.

• Other marketing jobs are based on one function. (specialists)

• Examples:

real-estate agents focus on selling, while advertising agents focus on product promotion.

Marketing vs. Medicine

Both Marketing and Medical Careers :

– Have many different areas to work in and good pay

– Require training and professional level skills– Patients = Customers– Marketing Concept applies to both

Explain why jobs in marketing provide career potential

Marketing is one of the fastest growing fields with approximately one third of the U.S. population employed in some marketing-related occupation. It offers exciting opportunities for dynamic, creative people.

The great thing about marketing is it is a function that is needed in every company in every industry, so career potential is unlimited.

• Careers in marketing are unlimited! They are very diverse and offer many possibilities.

Explain why jobs in marketing provide career potential (cont.)

Marketing skills are useful in any career because they involve understanding business, as well as relating & communicating effectively with others. These are basic skills that employers expect from all levels of employees.

Explain why jobs in marketing provide career potential (cont.)

About 33 million Americans earn a living in marketing – (that’s 1/3 of the US workforce!)

• Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment in marketing & sales to be DOUBLE DIGIT!

• Above Average Income!

Career Areas in Marketing

• Marketing Research• Advertising• Product Management• Distribution/Warehousing• Sales• Retailing• Service Marketing• Customer Service• Public Relations

Describe the following marketing careers:

Marketing research – (the “Sherlock Holmes” of marketing. These investigators look for clues to what customers need and want as well as why customers do what they do. They accomplish this by targeting a specific group of people and collecting information about their attitudes, values, needs and demographics.Researchers tools include- questionnaires, phone surveys, interviews,etc.

Advertising – Inform consumers about products, companies, and/or ideas.

Catching the attention of the consumer in such a fast-paced environment is an exciting challenge for advertisers. But catching their attention is only part of the job.

They also need to persuade consumers to buy their products over those of the competition.

Advertisers use a variety of media to communicate with customers:

Newspapers, magazines, billboards, catalogs, television, internet, and radio.

Product management –

Product managers use the information gathered by researchers and advertisers to “give life” to the final products.

They create, test, and decide how a product will be packaged.

This must be accomplished in a timely, cost-effective manner by directing and coordinating all aspects of the product.

Distribution/Warehousing –

Otherwise known as Channel Management.– Physically links products with

consumers.– Distributors plan and direct the

transportation of final goods.– Examples:– The latest teen magazine getting to the

local stores, CD’s going from the producer to the store shelves.

Distribution/Warehousing Continued

• Often, consumers do not want to buy items at the same time they are produced.

• Therefore these goods must be stored for future use.

• Warehousing jobs determine where to store goods, how to process orders, and how to fulfill customer service needs.

• Inventory control is also part of distribution.

Sales – The “relationship managers” of marketing.– Professional salespeople are expected to

understand customers’ needs and assist in marketing those needs.

– They explain the benefits of products or services, provide further information, answer questions, and/or help customers set up accounts.

– To do this successfully, they must be experts in the goods/services they sell and be able to develop long-term relationships with customers.

– There are different types of sales people:– Some sell raw materials, parts or equipment to other

businesses that will use them in making products– Others provide finished products to businesses– Some salespeople sell directly to consumers

Retailing – • Retail professionals provide products directly to

the ultimate consumer.• They order, inspect, price, and track goods in

the store and determine what needs to be ordered.

• They may also measure profits and losses by observing and recording sales acitivity.

• Retail employees also develop intriguing merchandise displays to attract customers into their stores.

• Retailer examples: Walmart, The Gap, TJMaxx, etc.

Service marketing – – Services are acts that satisfy wants and

needs. – They are intangible items. You cannot

hold, see, smell or take them with you after purchase.

– Most of us use service marketers everyday: hospitals, postal services, beauty salons, athletic clubs or gyms, hotels, airlines, bus rides, employment services and schools

Customer service – Excellent customer service professionals provide the competitive edge that makes for a successful company.

They process orders, respond to customer questions on product availability and delivery, handle complaints and returns

Customer service professionals work in many different areas of a company:

sales, order processing, credit, marketing, or product/service development.

Public relations – Public relations professionals are the “advocates”

for a company.

They strive to build and maintain positive relationships with the public- including other businesses, employees, and people outside the company.

Tasks include: anticipating problems, handling complaints, communicating with the media, and building a company’s image.

Public relations professional must be able to speak and write clearly and persuasively.

Well-recognized traits and skills needed for success in marketing

careers• People Skills• Communication Skills• Decision-making Skills• Creativity• People Knowledge• Math Skills• Technological Know How

Describe well-recognized traits and skills needed for success in

marketing careers.– People Skills- Show respect and interest in others, recognize

and appreciate peoples differences.– Communication Skills- The “center” of all marketing activities.

• Verbal- talking in meetings, phone conversations, sales presentations, and speeches.

• Non-verbal (body language)- gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, distance from others.

• Written- letters, e-mails, reports, advertisements, press releases, and other materials

– Decision making skills-Marketers need to be independent thinkers who can solve problems and think fast on their feet.

• Examples of decision-making skills– Determining what customers need, solving customers’ problems,

and resolving complaints.

• Creativity- It takes all levels of creativity to work in marketing

• Being able to use imagination and intellect to generate new ideas, create new products, new ways to transport materials, implement new sales programs, and construct consumer questionnaires

• Artistic creativity in designing advertisements and creating displays

• People Knowledge-

the “customer” is the foundation of marketing.

From determining what makes consumers tick, to understanding their buying behavior, marketers need to know how people behave. You can gain some of this knowledge through studies in psychology and sociology.

• Math Skills- – used in different areas and all levels of

marketing.

It takes math skills to:– calculate the amounts of orders, make

change, handle expense accounts, determine costs, make purchases, track inventory, forecast sales, and analyze results.

• Technological know-how-

– With the technology explosion, jobs in marketing require employees to understand how to use a computer.

– This includes basic keyboarding skills and working with a variety of computer software programs such as word processing, databases, and spreadsheets.

What Public Relations Managers and Specialists Do

• Public relations managers and specialists

create and maintain a favorable public image for their employer or client. They write material for media releases, plan and direct public relations programs, and raise funds for their organizations.