You’ve probably heard that “marketing” is a major part of any business model. You may have even considered a career in the marketing field. Even so, you may not be quite sure exactly what “marketing” is, or what a marketing job might involve. If so, you’re not alone. Even many experts have a difficult time defining “marketing”—although most recognize that it involves a number of disciplines, any of one which can offer a promising career path.
Marketing is often described as a combination of four “Ps”: Product, Pricing, Placement and Promotion:
- Product means designing a product or service to meet the needs of a specific group of customers. Product specialists are often heavily involved in customer research, including studying consumer psychology and motivations.
- Pricing involves establishing the best price to sell a product or service for. Pricing specialists need to consider the costs of development, production and distribution as well as customer demand and, of course, the competition (if any).
- Placement, which asks the question, “How/where will this product or service be sold?” Today, there are many “places” to sell goods and services, including high-end retail stores, off-price or discount stores, specialty shops and boutiques, through catalogs and, of course, the Internet. (For the past decade, online retailing has grown rapidly while traditional “brick and mortar” stores have declined.)
- Promotion covers a wide range of activities, all designed to inform customers about a product or service’s availability and to get them excited about it. Jobs that fall under the category of promotional marketing include advertising, public relations, direct marketing, internet marketing and promotional event management. Branding and brand management are additional activities central to promotional marketing, activities that may be the most important of all to a company’s success.
Beginning Your Marketing Career
In the marketing industry, entry-level positions often go by such titles as “marketing assistant,” “marketing coordinator,” “account coordinator” or “junior account executive.” Specific duties may include research, working with vendors (printers, production companies, freelance writers or artists, etc.), scheduling and day-to-day client communications. Later, as you work your way up the career ladder, you may be more and more responsible for developing strategies, tools (brochures, promotional emails, events, direct mail, etc.) and high-level client contact.
Salaries, benefits and other compensation will vary by the size and nature of the marketing company, organization and government agency you work for, its geographic location and your personal qualifications.
To increase your chances of landing a great entry-level marketing job, consider a business degree with a marketing concentration from Everest College. For information on program availability in your area, contact Everest today!
