What is Marketing?
A marketing professional works with information gained through sales and research in order to develop a strategy to sell as much of a product or service as possible. It is the marketing professional’s job to position their organization’s brand in the market and to try to increase their company’s share of the market.
If a marketing professional works in the digital space, their work can reach even more organizations and people; however, it’s important that a marketing professional be able to do the appropriate research so that they understand which demographics they need to reach and the best way to do so. If your company’s product or service needs to be marketed to a demographic that doesn’t spend much time online, then you need to be able to pivot to a more accessible format for your new marketing campaign.
A well-developed marketing professional should be trained in communication, business administration, advertising, content and search engine optimization (SEO), sales, social media, brand management, data science, consumer psychology, human behavior, paid media, and market analysis. It’s unlikely that a single marketing professional will have every one of these skills, which is why larger corporations have whole marketing teams or hire teams of marketers from outside companies or consultancies.
Marketing professionals should be creative, have excellent communication skills, be able to work as a team member, be innovative, and able to analyze past and current campaigns.
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Online Marketing Education in Michigan
Every industry in Michigan can benefit from effective marketing. Even if the industry brings in the highest revenue for the state, a good marketing team can provide organizations with a higher percentage of the market, better public relations, and more. The top-earning industry for the state of Michigan is manufacturing, which brought in $99.2 billion in a recent year. Wholesale brought in $34.8 billion and retail trade brought in $32 billion.
Healthcare facilities and educational services organizations are also able to bring patients and students in via effective and timely marketing. A marketing specialist who learns what each industry offers can create entire public relations and advertising campaigns that will inform the public about whatever product or service needs to be sold.
Marketing is a popular profession, employing 123,150 marketing professionals throughout the state. Their annual mean wage is $88,830, significantly higher than the national average for those with associate or bachelor’s degrees.
Online Associates (AS)
Students interested in a degree in marketing can find plenty of programs that will allow them to earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS), Associate of Science (AS), or an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in marketing. Students earning a marketing degree should gain the skills needed for a future career in business marketing.
These degree programs expose students to business administration, with a focus on marketing, and also teaches students the basics of economic theory. When they graduate, they may find entry-level jobs in sales, advertising, and public relations, though many businesses and advertising firms are looking for new marketing hires who already hold bachelor’s degrees in the field.
For those students who plan to transfer up to a four-year university, they may continue their studies at the bachelor’s level and, when they graduate from their four-year program, more easily find a position working as an advertising, promotions, and marketing employee or even manager.
National online rankings - top 25 associatesOnline Bachelors (BS)
Marketing means more than creating eye-catching ad campaigns. Students interested in the field of marketing should also be able to think analytically. With a well-rounded academic experience, marketing students graduate with a degree in marketing fully prepared to apply for a huge number of positions in the field.
A bachelor's degree in marketing in Michigan offers career readiness so you can begin a lucrative career. Some of these degree programs are now offered fully online, which allows students to keep up with their family obligations and even keep a job, all while gaining the education to move into an even more lucrative career. Marketing industry professionals often teach classes to marketing students, so they can also gain insight and mentorship from professionals who have sent time working in the field.
National online rankings - top 25 bachelorsOnline Masters (MS)
A master’s degree in marketing gives students a more in-depth look into both management and marketing. A Master of Science in Marketing gives students access to a variety of electives, so they can tailor their degree to the position they hope to enter after graduation. An MBA provides deeper knowledge of business management, allowing those who have worked in marketing but not yet gained promotions into management a boost upward.
Some marketing master’s and MBA degrees are available to students with any undergraduate major and various levels of work experience, while others will require that you already have supervisory experience or a business or marketing degree. This really depends on the program you attend, as they can differ greatly. Master’s and MBA degrees both require that students earn around 30 to 60 credit hours, which should take 1-2 years of full-time study.
Career paths for graduates include positions as purchasing agents, sales representatives, buyers, public relations specialists, or product or brand specialists.
Earning an MBA can make students even more marketable in the field and may be instrumental in allowing students to reach their career goals.
National online rankings - top 25 masters National online rankings - top 25 MBA in marketingOnline Doctorate (PhD)
Doctoral students entering their PhD in marketing will likely find the coursework to be rigorous. Class material may include social influence and identity, empirical industrial organization or structural modeling, judgment and decision making, brand building, social influence and identity, consumer and cultural neuroscience, sensory marketing, and other courses depending on the school.
Faculty members interact closely with doctoral students. Faculty might come departments in statistics, psychology, economics, etc. These faculty members may lend their expertise to the students and become dissertation committee members. This close relationship can help students once they have graduated and continued their professional research.
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Become a Marketing Manager in Michigan
Marketing professionals may not be required to earn a certification in order to find a job—but certifications can help to enhance their resume.
For individuals who are interested in marketing, but who don’t have the college degree or years of experience, finding, applying for, and earning the right certifications may help them look more attractive to employers. Here are just some certification options that could help marketing professionals enhance their career.
- GoogleAds Search Certification
This certification and its study courses teach professionals how to think about marketing. It explains how A/B testing works, writing good ad copy, learning what people are looking for, and how to track and report on performance. - Digital Marketing Institute
DMI has several certifications which are widely recognized in the marketing arena. These certifications focus on specific marketing disciplines. The courses are designed as “Pro” and “Expert” certifications. In addition, DMI offers shorter courses intended to give professional marketers the opportunity to quickly build key skills. Each course has been created by marketing industry leaders so that marketers are able to pick up the skills they need the most. - Growth Marketing Specialist
This certification comes with a wide grouping of subjects you will learn, such as creating a growth process and strategy and creating a marketing plan. Marketers can use it to learn how to use social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google) and it is highly recommended for marketing specialists who need to focus on growth marketing.
Careers for Marketing Graduates
- Special Events Manager
Special event managers are responsible for finding venues for events, coordinating between clients and suppliers, managing budgets and invoicing, taking care of logistics, managing risk, and presenting post-event reports.
They also manage the event’s calendar, monitor timeframes and budgets, network, and help with event marketing. An individual marketer’s organizational skills, vision, and creativity help the organization in expanding brand visibility, improving the organization’s growth, and more.
- Account Manager
Account managers focus on client advocacy, working with internal departments to make sure that the client’s needs are understood and met. They may help with handling client complaints, improving the overall customer experience, and collecting and analyzing data.
The account manager should be passionate about company products and their clients and be proactive in using relationship-building skills. They may help internal departments by gathering information (testimonials, sales, leads), assisting in the processing and analysis of client data and complaints from clients, and identifying industry trends.
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Merchandising/Operations Manager
Merchandising managers make those decisions that are related to stocking, presentation of goods in retail stores, and pricing. They analyze both sales and inventory data to find consumer preferences, which helps them to decide which items to place on sale, or how much of a product they should order and purchase for stocking purposes.
On the job, merchandising managers have some creative freedom; they plan out displays that are intended to attract customers’ attention and, ideally, tempt them to buy the products.
- Chief Marketing Manager
This professional handles all responsibilities for the development and execution of marketing and advertising campaigns. Their primary accountability is increasing sales via advertising. The chief marketing manager reports straight to the chief operating officer (COO). They manage all marketing operations, assess and improve existing initiatives, and develop new strategies for increasing revenue.
The CMM should be able to customize marketing strategies so that they complement the organization’s objectives. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills, which enables them to provide guidance to the marketing team and a diverse knowledge of current marketing trends.
- Media Buyer
A media buyer finds and obtains advertising space for their company or a specific product or service. These can include online campaigns, print, billboards, radio, or television ads. They may oversee or carry out market research, find the best media spaces and slots, negotiate with advertising sales agents, and ensure that the advertising medium and its placement will reach the desired demographic effectively.
Talented media buyers should have a solid understanding of marketing principles, a strong ability to interpret analytics, be highly persuasive, and be able to secure advertising space that ensure the client’s campaigns have the maximum needed reach.
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Digital Marketing Manager
A digital marketing manager has responsibility for planning and managing digital marketing campaigns. These campaigns promote a brand, service, and/or products. They may also analyze metrics and identify trends. They usually has experience in both art direction and social media.
A digital marketing director must have in-depth marketing experience and a passion for digital technologies. They work closely with various teams to make sure there is consistency through all digital marketing channels.
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