What Does a Marketing Manager Do Anyway?

The thing is, the world is a big place.

No, seriously, the world population in 2020 came to a whopping 7.8 billion. That's way too many people, but also a massive pool of prospects who could benefit from the service you're offering.

Depending on the breadth of your audience, you could stand to increase your client base substantially.

If yours is a business that receives work from global clientele, digital marketing is a no brainer.

Imagine how much you could get done if you weren't out making house calls and giving a handshake. Plus, it's a pandemic; you shouldn't be shaking strangers' hands.

If you’re yet to hire a marketing manager, you might be wondering: what does a marketing manager do anyway?

Let’s take a look.

Five important jobs a marketing manager does (and how they improve your business):

Conduct extensive research into your market, audience, and key opportunities to connect with potential customers

Develop and create your inbound and outbound marketing plan to reach those customers

Define clear goals for your business's marketing activity

Outline a budget for all marketing activity

Handle your business's public image

1 - Conduct extensive research into your market, audience, and key opportunities to connect with potential customers

A marketing manager needs to have a thick skin, corresponding with customers, and taking criticism with grace.

They need to be more of a "people person" and keep a rapport with fellow staff members to stay in the know of complaints and questions throughout the company.

Reciprocation is vital in making relationships with companies and individuals. Let's say a friendly coffee shop owner gave you your morning macchiato on the house just for being a regular customer; that is an opportunity!

Giving that coffee house a shout out on your social media will get them on your side indefinitely. Whom do you think they will recommend the next time someone asks about the service your business offers? All with a few clicks of the mouse.

This is not only an excellent boost for employee morale but also research. A marketing manager needs to be the eyes and ears of the company. Noting problems and making plans and solutions to fix those problems.

A marketing manager knows your target audience specifically and researches to know just what your audience is after. With an in-house marketing manager, they already know your business inside and out.

2 - Develop and create your inbound and outbound marketing plan to reach those customers

A good marketing manager is worth their weight in gold. Developing on and offline marketing plans are a massive part of that worth.

You ask, "Does outbound marketing even matter? Do people even watch network TV anymore?"

Depending on your target audience, yes, they do. A marketing manager organizes, strategizes, and balances inbound and outbound marketing to reach your target audience.

That's right, one human being that manages inbound marketing like blogs, SEOs, social media, targeting, branding, and (for the dinosaurs) outbound marketing like billboards, magazines, and TV commercials.

Since it's practically impossible for one person to execute all of these tasks, they will have to delegate or contract outside professionals.

3 - Define clear goals for your business's marketing activity

An in house manager knows your business well and will define crystal clear goals that offer golden opportunities for your company's growth.

They will organise the goals into manageable, bite-sized portions, develop a plan of action, bring in new leads, and monetize old ones.

In today's climate of pandemics and UberEats deliveries, digital may be the only way the masses will discover your business.

A marketing manager will know if your social media presence needs a facelift or if the goal is to create an existence where there wasn't one before. They will work day after day to create a community of support around your brand.

4 - Outline a budget for all marketing activity

You know what they say, "You gotta spend money to make money."

There's always a limit for a marketing manager, a trade-off, or a tough decision to make. Despite the company's size or the CEO's wealth, there will be a cap on the number of resources available.

Several adjustments to the budget may be necessary to stabilize all the marketing-related projects the manager has on their plate.

A marketing manager worth their salt will make the most of the budget made available to them by projecting the costs of marketing-related plans every quarter.

This is more difficult than it sounds. It's a balancing act, and not the fun kind where you watch from the stands.

From sponsored web content to blog domains to payrolling the marketing staff and paid advertising, the marketing manager is the one on the tightrope.

5 - Handle your business's public image

A few short decades ago, we consumed media through newspapers, magazines, and TV commercials. These days, the majority of the public are devouring digital media like Cadbury Clinkers.

The marketing manager's job is to portray the company's most desirable image in the most beneficial ways.

We all know that person who will leave a negative review for the taco shack, forgetting their sauce. It never crosses their mind to leave a positive review for the 400 other times they had a decent experience. This is the human condition apparently and a thorn in the side of a marketing team.

Hopefully, there are only good things to say about your business.

Still, suppose you've ever had a less than a stellar review or an undesirable mishap within your company. In that case, the marketing manager will be on top of it. They might decide to sponsor a run for charity or push online promotions, offers, or campaigns to support your squeaky clean image.

Listen, it is not up to PR to make you better at what you do. Upstanding companies need to stay that way with fantastic customer service and products.

Still, a good marketing manager will shine the spotlight on the best parts of the company. Remember, they are a marketing manager, not a marketing magician.

A mistake that a lot of new and old company's make is a reactionary PR attempt.

You noticed that your Google rating has gone down, and now you're grasping at straws to get that 5th star back. Be proactive, start before you need a social media presence to make customers like you, and you'll be ahead of the game.

7 skills every market manager worth their salt should have:

Creativity

Competitiveness

Organisation (and lots of it)

Clear communication

Collaboration

Adaptability

Expert in the market (or becomes one)

1 - Creativity

Creativity comes in many styles.

We usually think of creatives as artsy or musical, and that's true, but it's more than that. Creativity is a way of seeing things, organising thoughts, and thinking outside of the box, for lack of a more cliche term.

A creative person has a free mind and thinks broadly and imaginatively. As a marketing manager, creativity is crucial. They need to have an archive of fresh and unique ideas to present, sometimes without much notice.

They have to make even the boring stuff sound original and exciting. That's creativity. Without it, how would they get all of these tasks done?

2 - Competitiveness

You're in business to win, compete, and succeed, right? Not to the point of flipping the Monopoly board, but there's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.

Competition can be a source of motivation for yourself and those around you. It keeps things exciting and vital. Consistent competition encourages the evolution of a business in a swift forward motion.

A competitive person is usually focused on goals and prepared to attain them. In the marketing game, amiable competitiveness is a sought after characteristic.

However, too much competition is no good and can lead to less attention to customers and clientele. A ton of competition can also stifle creativity.

Think about it.

If you are always in a win or lose mode, obsessed with others' progress and competing with someone else's ideas, how will you come up with your own? Inspiration doesn't come easily to a busy mind.

3 - Organisation (and lots of it)

Have you been paying attention? The marketing manager has heaps of things on their to-do list every day of the week. That's what they use their beautiful, creative brains for - organising.

After all that you've read in this article, can you imagine an unorganised marketing manager? It'd be pure chaos!

4 - Clear Communication

Of course, a manager of any type needs to speak well and with confidence. They should be friendly but not a pushover, non-judgmental but unafraid of giving criticisms or receiving them. They can articulate and convey their ideas concisely while welcoming questions and suggestions with ease.

It's mostly about knowing when to speak and when to shut up and listen. Just ask your spouse.

5 - Collaboration

Being open to ideas and working well with others is an essential skill in marketing. The workload will not allow for lone wolves. A new perspective is exciting for a true collaborator.

There are many potential clients from different walks of life, so a collaborative mindset is necessary and profitable.

6 - Adaptability

A marketing manager has so many tasks to complete, people to meet, and competitors to beat. They will probably converse with more people, online and in real life, than anyone else in the company. They must be able to adapt to new surroundings, with their personable and good-natured demeanor.

7 - Expert in the market

If they aren't an expert when they begin the job, they will be. They should show great interest and be actively learning new and changing aspects of your company—everything from the company's history to the day to day experience.

With a dedication to the brand, the business, and its growth, a marketing manager will eat, sleep and breathe your brand and your brand only.

No need to get jealous; with an internal marketing manager, you won't have to share with any other companies. Their genius and incredible knowledge will be all yours.

How we work with marketing managers

Getting writers to create content

Designing websites

Updating branding

Supporting with any marketing activity that their marketing manager is just too busy to do

So you see, a marketing manager has their hands full.

Shoot, they have their hands, feet, and pockets full of things to get done. They are a big part of the trajectory, profitability, and future of your company. Don't you think they might need a little help?

Imagine you're on a basketball team with three other players instead of four. You say, "Um, we're missing a player. How are we supposed to compete against this typical team of five players?"

They reply, "Well, you're capable of playing point guard and shooting guard. Just do that!"

Do you know what would happen? You would lose.

Yup, the full team with a player for each position would mop the floor with you. That is the equivalent of having a marketing manager with more than one job. The thing is, marketing managers are like the entire team! One person just passing and shooting all alone. That's ridiculous.

Instead of the lone marketing manager destitute to a perpetual scatterbrain, with the business's public image solely on their shoulders, why not outsource?

Hiring a marketing team doesn't have to be permanent, but your marketing manager will wish it was.

The marketing manager is like the architect, planning and designing the marketing strategies needed for your business. They also play an essential role in their execution.

When the architect has a blueprint prepared, they call a crew to do the heavy lifting. With the architect's direction, the crew members go off to work in their specifically assigned area.

The drain layer starts from the bare bones; that's the web designer, building your online presence from scratch.

Then you have the builders lay the floors and hang the drywall. That's the content writer researching your client base and filling your website with interesting articles, videos, and images that please your customer.

Next, we have the interior designer. With their elegance and flair, they make the inside of the new building a direct reflection of the client's style and taste. This is your social media, a more intimate and personal account of the business as a whole.

After that, we have the electrician that shines the perfect amount of lighting over all of it. That's your PR person enhancing your public image by showing your business in the best light.

Finally, we have the trusty plumber, secretly a jack of all trades, there to deal with any shitty situations as they arise. That's the case manager.

Metaphors are fun!

Suppose you managed to follow that all the way through. In that case, you see that a marketing manager is an excellent asset for any company.

They are the key to the inside, a wise and knowledgeable sage if you will. What is a sage without those with whom to share their wisdom? That's where we come in.

Phiranno Designs will be your infallible sidekick, your accomplice in digital marketing success, and your invaluable ally fighting for the future of your business.

For about the same price as your full-time marketing manager, you can get a five-person team of marketing nerds to help get the ball rolling.

We have several monthly marketing packages to fit any company's needs. Give us a call today to discuss how we can help.