The director or marketing director also called marketing manager in small structures, and in its English version, CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), occupies a strategic position in constant evolution in the company.
According to an American study carried out in June 2019 by McKinsey, a consulting firm with general management, 83% of business leaders would consider marketing as a key driver of their growth.
We offer you the job description of the marketing manager, his missions, training, and opportunities, with a bonus, a toolbox for practice.
Job description:
The role of a marketing director: definition, missions, responsibilities
The marketing director faces two major challenges:
- adopt a cross-channel strategy through trade advertising, particularly with digital marketing,
- work in cross-functional collaboration to ensure consistency between the brand and customer expectations.
But who is this marketing manager?
The Marketing Director works directly with the General Management. She/he steers the company’s marketing policy and teams.
Able to evolve in any sector of activity, whether production or service provision, she/he can nevertheless specialize in a field (sport, luxury, automotive, cosmetics, IT, etc.).
Her missions are at the crossroads of the company’s objectives, she/he is therefore at the same time creative, commercial, analyst, and communicator.
☞ In small and medium-sized structures, his role is sometimes similar to, or even merged with, that of a communication manager. This is referred to as the director of communications and.
☞ In larger structures, several positions correspond to well-defined skills, for example, a digitalmanager will be dedicated to setting up a strategy from a brand strategist on the web.
What are his responsibilities?
- market analysis (trends, competitive intelligence or benchmarking, technological intelligence, customer needs, and expectations),
- the definition of the marketing strategy (targets, objectives, mix, channels),
- budget management (acquisition, communication, etc.),
- the development of the plan (emailing campaigns, acquisition of SEO traffic, SEA, SMO),
- development, engagement, and retention of communities on social networks.
- measurement and analysis of the impact of each action.
The objectives of the CMO
- the construction of the brand, its notoriety, its support in innovation,
- reflection on the development of new products and communication channels,
- traffic acquisition (physical and digital),
- the generation of qualified leads,
- customer loyalty,
- increased sales.
Skills required
In addition to mastering traditional and, digital prospecting, and monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs or Key Performance Indicators), the international context requires him to have a good knowledge of English and world markets…
It is necessary, to understand the market and the customer so that the CMO has the sense:
- listening,
- observation,
- analysis,
- anticipation,
- initiative,
- of negotiation.
A manager, he/she must know how to federate and lead a team.
Training
In most cases, a position in the department requires a Bac +5 level (master’s, specialized master’s, MBA) in a business, management, or school.
Several specialties
- Marketing and communication,
- Marketing and Brand Management,
- B2B Marketing,
- Marketing Decision and Studies,
- Marketing and Business Practices,
- Marketing and Advertising.
In most cases, they integrate the digital dimension, now unavoidable, with mobile, and social marketing.
Some renowned schools
- ESSEC Business School,
- ESCP Europe,
- ISEG,
- INSEEC,
- ESG, etc.
Opportunities
Upon leaving school, before managing a team, the marketing manager begins his career in lower positions such as product manager, research manager, advertising manager, manager or marketing project manager, web manager, etc.
She/he can claim, after a few years and successful experiences, a management position.
Remuneration
They vary according to the employer, the size of the company, the experience of the employee, the sector of activity, and the geographical location.
On average, by cross-checking sources and job offers, the salary of a junior manager would be around €3,000 gross per month. The remuneration can reach more than 10,000 € gross per month for a director or a confirmed director, evolving in a large company.
The CMO’s toolbox
To support the Chief Marketing Officer in the digital transition of his profession, there is nothing like software in the cloud, scalable, modular, and flexible, to assist him daily.
An infinitely strategic role
It is certain, that the director or the director must constantly adapt to the uses, society, to the new tools at his disposal.
In addition to being a key player in companies adapting to the digital revolution, they participate in the growth of their business and act as a bridge between the sales, product, and communication teams.
Machine learning, artificial intelligence, chatbots, and technological solutions are now essential to stay one step ahead of the competition.
The department is therefore assigned an IT budget as well as objectives in terms of turnover and return on investment. A great challenge in perspective.
