The following article discusses the career path of Director of Marketing. Learn about how to become one, education requirements, job duties, traits and qualities, national salary outlook as well as top national employers of Director of Marketings.
Job Duties
Directors of marketing are responsible for directing and managing different marketing tasks for the organization. They line manage all other marketing professionals and determine the direction of marketing within the business. They create concepts and projects and budget for these, ensuring that the campaigns are successful.
At the same time, these professionals resolve team difficulties and develop relationships with vendors, clients, and internal teams. They facilitate internal communications in terms of requirements and needs pertaining to marketing, including the needs of the customer. They brainstorm, determine which technology to use, provide guidance to marketing developers, and measure success rates, putting efforts in place to improve successes in future.
Other job duties of a director of marketing are:
- To be responsible for line management of staff within the advertising and marketing department
- To hold budgetary responsibility
- Toe be an expert and leader in all things relating to effective marketing campaigns
- To hold overarching responsibility for the various marketing strategies of the the products and services in the organization
- To remain up to date with changes in the market and ensure marketing strategies are fit for purpose
Where We Work
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 31,300 advertising, promotions, and marketing managers in 2016. The largest employers of these professionals were:
- Advertising, public relations, and related services: 34%
- Information: 12%
- Management of companies and enterprises: 7%
- Wholesale trade: 6%
- Retail trade: 6%
How to Become
A director of marketing will generally hold a bachelor’s degree in marketing or related field as a minimum. They also have experience working in marketing and, preferably, of management. Some employers prefer candidates who hold marketing certifications as well.
Education Requirements
A bachelor’s degree is generally the minimum requirement for a director of marketing, as is proven experience in sales, promotions, marketing, and/or advertising. It is generally expected that a director of marketing has also completed courses in areas such as statistics, mathematics, computer science, finance, economics, management, and business law. This ensures that they are able to stay abreast of modern technological developments and how these influence the way in which marketing efforts have to be delivered. Using social media and online forms of communication, for instance, is a key element of this.
Work experience is equally important, however. Most directors of marketing come from a background in marketing, promotions, or advertising. They may also have been sales representatives, public relations specialist, purchasing agents, or buyers.
Traits & Qualities
The most effective directors of marketing have the following traits to some degree or other:
- Excellent analytical skills
- Great communication skills, both oral and written
- Highly creative
- Strong decision making skills
- Good interpersonal skills
- Strong organizational skills
- Problem solving skills
- Ability to multitask
- Being a strong team player
- Being able to work under minimal level of supervision
- Excellent computer skills
- Important time management skills
- Being able to work under stress
Minimum Education
Bachelor’s Degree
The national average salary estimate for Director of Marketing was $90,048. This number is estimated from over 1,927,124 employees, users past and present job advertisements from Indeed.com. This equates to an hourly salary of $46.90 and monthly of $7,504.
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$20,000
$211,000
The following section lists Director of Marketing salaries in each state around the country. The figures are based on the total number of job postings through Indeed.com. For example, Massachusetts had the largest quoted salary of $114,993 while Mississippi had the smallest quoted salary of $50,058.
According to Indeed.com, the following states had employers looking to hire a Director of Marketing. The quoted salary figure represents the average salary from all job postings by this employer.
| Employer Name | Location | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| EPM Scientific | North Carolina | $223,624 |
| Davalyn Corporation | California | $209,640 |
| SolarFlare Communications | California | $200,000 |
| Cube Management | Connecticut | $198,182 |
| Hamilton Mayer | New York | $193,045 |
| Dell | California | $182,837 |
| The Alpine Group | New York | $180,466 |
| DSR | New Jersey | $178,899 |
| Verizon | New Jersey | $177,047 |
| AT&T | New Jersey | $170,895 |
| A Leading Medical Device Company | Massachusetts | $169,707 |
| PHAIDON INTERNATIONAL | Massachusetts | $169,707 |
| JBL Resources | Michigan | $168,262 |
| Execu|Search | New Jersey | $166,253 |
| Direct Sales Recruiting, LLC | New Jersey | $166,004 |
Learn More
- Chief marketing officer – Wikipedia
- Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers …
- Marketing management – Wikipedia
- Salary Outlook with a Marketing Degree
- Best MBA in Marketing Degree
- Best Marketing Careers
- Sports Management & Marketing Careers
| Career Name | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Transportation Manager | $93,639 |
| Director of Human Resources | $93,347 |
| Compensation Manager | $93,104 |
| Director of Operations | $90,674 |
| Director of Purchasing | $90,585 |
| Network Engineer | $88,447 |
| Finance Manager | $88,446 |
| Management Consultant | $88,374 |
| Pricing Manager | $88,102 |
| Systems Engineer | $87,511 |
