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1.02 Understand career opportunities in marketing to
make career decisions.
A. Explain employment opportunities in marketing
a. 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.
b. Contrast marketing careers with careers in medicine.
SIMILARITIES
– Have many different areas to work in and good pay
– Require training and professional level skills
– Patients = Customers
– Marketing Concept applies to both
DIFFERENCES
– Level of education
– Life vs. death decisions
c.
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
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.


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!
d. Describe the following marketing careers:
(1) 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 includequestionnaires, phone surveys, interviews,etc.
(2) 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.
(3) 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, costeffective manner by directing and coordinating all aspects of the product.
(4) 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.
– 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.
(5) 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
(6)
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.
(7) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) 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.
e. 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.