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Marketing Managers

Marketing Managers: Career Profile

Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. Develop pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the firm's profits or share of the market while ensuring the firm's customers are satisfied. Oversee product development or monitor trends that indicate the need for new products and services.

What Do Marketing Managers Do?

The day-to-day responsibilities of marketing managers cover:

  • Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy, based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and markup factors.
  • Formulate, direct, or coordinate marketing activities or policies to promote products or services, working with advertising or promotion managers.
  • Evaluate the financial aspects of product development, such as budgets, expenditures, research and development appropriations, or return-on-investment and profit-loss projections.
  • Develop pricing strategies, balancing firm objectives and customer satisfaction.
  • Compile lists describing product or service offerings.
  • Direct the hiring, training, or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff and oversee their daily activities.
  • Consult with product development personnel on product specifications, such as design, color, or packaging.
  • Use sales forecasting or strategic planning to ensure the sale and profitability of products, lines, or services, analyzing business developments and monitoring market trends.

What Marketing Managers Need to Know

Top marketing managers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Top Skills

The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Active Listening  3.9 / 5
0
5
Active Learning  3.9 / 5
0
5
Social Perceptiveness  3.9 / 5
0
5
Critical Thinking  3.9 / 5
0
5
Reading Comprehension  3.9 / 5
0
5
Speaking  3.9 / 5
0
5

Knowledge Areas

Sales and Marketing  4.8 / 5
0
5
English Language  4.5 / 5
0
5
Administration and Management  4.0 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  3.9 / 5
0
5
Communications and Media  3.8 / 5
0
5
Computers and Electronics  3.5 / 5
0
5

Other Marketing Managers Job Titles

Common job titles for this role include:

  • Account Supervisor
  • Brand Manager
  • Business Developer
  • Business Development Director
  • Business Development Manager
  • Category Manager
  • Channel Manager
  • Commercial Director

How Many Marketing Managers Are There?

There are roughly 271,208 marketing managers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -4.4% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Marketing Managers

How Much Do Marketing Managers Make?

Statistic Value
Annual median $90,143
Hourly median $43.34
10th percentile $57,604
25th percentile $73,874
75th percentile $106,412
90th percentile $122,681

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Marketing Managers

How Much Do Marketing Managers Make in Different U.S. States?

State Annual median salary
Massachusetts $192,480
California $178,160
Virginia $177,250
Colorado $173,390
New Jersey $173,310
New York $172,590
Rhode Island $171,250
Washington $168,800
District of Columbia $168,080
Minnesota $167,250
Georgia $159,180
Connecticut $158,410
North Carolina $156,650
Oregon $155,640
Illinois $154,480
Maryland $154,080
New Hampshire $153,020
Vermont $151,010
South Dakota $145,390
Pennsylvania $142,000
Kansas $141,250
Texas $140,620
Arizona $135,920
Michigan $135,610
Utah $135,190
Ohio $132,660
Montana $132,180
Wisconsin $131,110
Indiana $130,730
Florida $130,490
Tennessee $130,260
Iowa $128,150
Arkansas $127,320
Oklahoma $126,150
South Carolina $124,000
Kentucky $123,480
North Dakota $123,460
Hawaii $121,160
New Mexico $118,460
Idaho $114,410
Alabama $112,960
Missouri $112,250
Alaska $110,560
West Virginia $110,150
Nebraska $108,200
Louisiana $103,080
Nevada $103,020
Mississippi $91,030
Puerto Rico $86,420
Virgin Islands $83,750
Guam $60,320

Pay by U.S. Region

Earnings for marketing managers shift depending on where you work. Top regions by median wage:

Region Median annual wage Share of U.S. jobs Location quotient
Far Western US $170,854 19.9% 1.20
Middle Atlantic $164,771 22.2% 1.66
New England $163,357 6.9% 1.48
Rocky Mountains $149,012 3.8% 1.12
Great Lakes $143,538 11.4% 0.99
Southeast $141,730 17.4% 0.78
Southwest $139,557 13.0% 1.17
Plains States $139,287 5.2% 0.90

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Marketing Managers

Metro area State Median annual wage Employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA CA $228,580 7,590
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA CA $212,520 12,820
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MA $200,010 11,440
Trenton-Princeton, NJ NJ $199,950 1,240
Worcester, MA MA $176,500 650
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV DC $176,240 9,480
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO CO $176,100 4,210
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ NY $175,560 49,750

Top Industries Employing Marketing Managers

Most marketing managers are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry Employment Median annual wage
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 97,200 $165,080
Management of Companies and Enterprises 50,050 $169,840
Wholesale Trade 40,030 $158,120
Information 39,700 $178,130
Finance and Insurance 36,620 $167,610
Manufacturing 30,150 $168,210
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 17,030 $135,030
Health Care and Social Assistance 12,370 $117,020
Marketing Managers sectors

Marketing Managers work in the following industries:

Marketing Managers industries

Tools and Technology

  • Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
  • Video creation and editing software: Adobe After Effects (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
  • Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
  • Data base user interface and query software: Amazon Redshift (hot technology)
  • Data base user interface and query software: Amazon Web Services AWS software (hot technology)
  • Data base management system software: Apache Cassandra (hot technology)
  • Data base management system software: Apache Hadoop (hot technology)
  • Data base management system software: Apache Hive (hot technology)
  • Operating system software: Apple macOS (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

The on-the-job environment of marketing managers is shaped by the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Telephone Conversations
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals

Education and Training

Entry-level marketing managers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

Top Programs to Study For This Career

Students preparing for marketing managers commonly pursue programs in:

6 programs across 2 majors

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences

2 programs across 2 majors

1 programs across 1 majors

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 11-2021.00 (Marketing Managers).

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