Marketing is a crucial part to the business world. Marketing is the process of promoting and selling goods and/or services by providing customers with necessary information so that they are able to make an informed decision on whether to purchase what a specific company provides. Since businesses are always looking for ways to expand and new businesses are popping up around the globe, job opportunities in the marketing field will never become extinct. A degree in marketing will qualify you for positions in business that would otherwise be difficult or even impossible to obtain. So, how do you get that degree? How do you land those jobs? You concentrate on your studies and push yourself to that goal.
Difference Between Marketing and Advertising
Contrary to popular belief, marketing and advertising are not the same. They do have similarities, in that they both focus on the products and/or services a business provides, but they are also very different. If you are interested in exploring either field or on a broader scale if you aim to understand business, it is crucial that you are able to identify that marketing and advertising are two different concepts.
Marketing involves planning and implementing events and activities to unite buyers and sellers of products and/or services in order to promote business.
Advertising focuses strictly on the promotional aspect and often uses tactics like including celebrities in commercials or ads to appeal to the masses. It is a specific part of the marketing process.
Elements of Marketing
Marketing departments focus on 4 major elements of whatever a business produces or offers, and they are as follows:
Product – the result of designing and creating what products/services a business intends to offer
Price – the overall decision of the cost of the product/service; what the business plans to charge vs. what the product/service costs to create/provide
Place – how the final product/service will get into the customer’s possession (i.e., Amazon.com’s use of UPS to customer’s specified location)
Promotion – advertising strategies designed and created for the product/service
How to Get Your Marketing Degree
If you want to help design and implement ways to advertise a company’s products or services, then you should look in to getting at least a bachelors degree in marketing. The study of business offers many different options for bachelor degrees, but your best bet is to go straight for a marketing degree. Colleges and universities around the world are waiting for your applications, but how do you choose a good business school? Research. Look in your high school or public library, and even ask the librarians for help. Utilize the World Wide Web. Most schools have websites that explain the programs they offer and what courses are available for you to study in order to earn a specific degree.
The College of William & Mary ranks number 1 on Bloomberg Businessweek’s Top Undergraduate Business Schools for Marketing list of 2013. Founded in 1693 and located in the ever-classy Williamsburg, VA, this public research university offers the opportunity to cross multiple learning boarders. Instead of majoring in just one subject, William & Mary allows students to further explore their field of study by taking on a concentration. This means that in addition to your basic major, you can explore the option of another category in that field as well. For example, marketing majors may want to consider a concentration in advertising to help enrich their learning experience and better prepare them for successful careers.
The John M. Olin Business School located at Washington University has 9 different types of business majors in which you can earn your Bachelor of Science degree of Business Administration (BSBA), including marketing. Falling in at number 2 on Bloomberg’s list, this school in St. Louis, MO, also provides its undergraduate students with the option of choosing another major from one of the other schools within the university.
The Landon Undergraduate School at Florida International University (FIU) also offers an outstanding educational experience in marketing. Courses for an undergraduate majoring in marketing include but are not limited to Consumer Behavior, Promotional Strategy, Cyber Marketing, and Integrated Marketing Communication. The school also has an approximate student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1.
Careers in Marketing
With a degree in marketing, you’re sure to become a big part of a business in no time. The field of business is constantly expanding, so individuals with marketing degrees will always be desired.
Basic Marketing Careers
With a bachelors degree in marketing, you may find yourself in any of these career paths. What is listed below is merely a sample of opportunities for you to further explore.
Marketing Assistant
Marketing assistants have the potential to gain experience in order to become successful in the field of marketing. Job responsibilities include tasks such as keeping the databases in the marketing department up-to-date, assisting the marketing team with creating materials for marketing goods or services, and more. For this reason, it is important that a marketing assistant have good communication skills in order to best interact with marketing managers and team members.
Marketing assistants can make an average of $38,000 annually.
Business Development Representative
Business development representatives are responsible for developing business relationships in order to expand the presence of the goods and/or services offered by each business, so they are required to have excellent verbal and written communication and reasoning skills. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of business contracts.
Business development representatives can make between $32,000 and $45,000 a year based on education and experience.
Marketing Representative
Marketing representatives are responsible for pitching a company’s goods or services to potential customers. They are exceptionally persuasive and possess good reasoning and communication skills. They are also known to approach current customers with new or improved goods and/or services offered by the company. They can work in the field or in an office.
Marketing representatives can make around $50,000 a year, not including commission.
Advanced Careers in Marketing
If you earn a masters degree in marketing or higher, you are likely to increase your salary, and many more career opportunities will become available to you.
Brand Manager
A brand manager often takes control of the marketing team of a company in order to be sure the product or service is represented accurately and effectively. Brand managers provide marketing teams with agendas and decide what particular visual form of marketing to use (video clips, photos, etc.). Once marketing teams complete the research, brand managers are responsible for analyzing the data marketing teams present and then devise a marketing strategy. Brand managers should have good communication and managerial skills in addition to exceptional reasoning skills.
Brand managers can make anywhere from $70,000 to over $105,000 a year.
Public Relations Manager
Public relations managers are excellent listeners and very good at performing research. They design and implement plans to enhance a company’s image in order to increase their business. They need to be attentive to social issues in order to find ways to appeal the desire of company products and/or services to the majority of a population. Public relations managers can also be responsible for heading company newsletters and creating company events.
A public relations manager can easily earn $90,000 annually.
Companies that Hire Individuals with Marketing Degrees
Once you decide what school to attend and career path to travel and you finally earn your degree in marketing, it’s time to explore job opportunities. Below is just a sample list of some major companies that hire individuals with marketing degrees.
Expedia, Inc. – founded in 1996 with headquarters in Bellevue, WA; owns numerous online travel brands like Hotwire.com and Expedia.com; hires in public relations, marketing management, and more
Ralph Lauren – founded in 1967 with headquarters in New York City, NY; designs, markets, and sells Ralph Lauren clothing and handbags; hires in brand management, marketing management, public relations, etc.
General Mills, Inc. – founded in 1886 with headquarters in Minneapolis, MN; focuses on distributing quality food products; brands include Gold Medal Flour, Yoplait, Green Giant, and even Betty Crocker; hires in marketing management, public relations, brand management, etc.
Houghton International Inc. – founded in 1865, located in Valley Forge, PA; world leader in industrial fluids (i.e., oil); hires in areas such as marketing development, marketing and product management, etc.
Marketing careers are generally well-paying and provide good benefits. They are also nearly always available, so you will have plenty of opportunities to apply for positions at numerous countries around the globe. Don’t stop here. Feel free to further explore schools with excellent marketing programs and other career opportunities.
