My dream is to become a marketing manager in one of the best manufacturing companies. The job of a marketing manager requires a person who is out to venture into areas that have not been explored. I strongly believe that being a marketing manager will enable me to achieve the very best out of my significant potential to in this area. A marketing manager plays a crucial role in ensuring that the company is able to get as many customers as possible. Therefore, the role of a marketing manager in a company is very critical because it affects almost every sphere that is needed to increase sales and returns. Strategic planning by marketing departments enables the business to realize an increased demand for their products. In addition, it helps the company to expand and penetrate new markets that have not been exploited.
Job description
As a marketing manager, my first duty would be to ensure that the sales and marketing human resources are able to achieve their objectives. The manager would be directly involved in the process of recruiting new employees for the company. It is paramount for the marketing manager to be included in the process to ensure that only competent people are selected to work in the sales and marketing department. After employment of the new human resource, it is the responsibility of the marketing manager to train them. The manager is responsible for coming up with working schedules for the various employees and coaching them. The marketing manager also must do performance appraisals for those employees in the marketing department who fail to do their tasks as required. Additionally, the manager is involved in the enforcement of policies, coming up with plans for the department and reviewing the compensation criteria.
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The second crucial role of the marketing manager is to achieve the operational plans for sales and marketing. Every financial year, companies come up with strategic plans for the next fiscal year. During the process of preparing the yearly strategic plans, the marketing manager plays an active role in giving recommendations about marketing trends. It is very crucial for businesses to keep a close eye on the marketing trends. Every day, different companies do market research to establish what the customers need. Therefore, a marketing manager needs to be pro-active in doing market research with the view of determining the emerging trends in the market. Ignoring such crucial information might make the company lose the market.
The third role of the marketing manager is to be able to forecast the financial needs of the sales and marketing department. Effective financial planning is usually very essential. To this end, the marketing manager is mandated to come up with financial estimates for the year in the department. This helps the company to effectively plan for the various financial obligations during the fiscal year. The fourth duty of the marketing manager is to ensure that confidential information for the company is well safeguarded. Additionally, the manager should be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors apart from identifying the various ways in which the business can increase its level of competitiveness. The sixth duty of the manager in the sales and marketing department is to research with the objective of identifying ways of improving the marketability of the products. The marketing manager should also participate in educating programs with the aim of keeping up with the current knowledge in the field. Therefore, the manager should be ready and willing to learn a lot through reading and studying materials. The marketing manager also must identify strategic marketing partners and mobilize online marketing strategies.
Specifications for the Job
The minimum requirement for the job of a marketing manager is a bachelor’s degree in marketing. The qualification is mandatory because it ensures only competent people are able to get the job. Indeed, competence is a paramount element when determining the productivity of an employee. Therefore, it would be catastrophic to employ an incompetent person to head the sales and marketing department. Secondly, the marketing manager should have a charter as a marketer. It would be challenging for a marketing manager to operate without a charter as many advertising agencies and partners would want to work with someone who has been licensed to operate. Therefore, this position would be unsuitable for someone who lacks necessary documentation to work.
The third requirement is that the manager must have strong skills for managing projects. Companies have both short-term and long-term projects. Thus, a company must have someone with strong project management skills. It is not possible for managers to gain this experience unless they have worked elsewhere as team leaders in projects. Therefore, it should be a requirement that a person seeking the position of a marketing manager should have at least two years’ experience in the sales and marketing department. Additionally, the manager should possess a dynamic personality and should be creative. Indeed, this job requires someone who can think critically and make rational decisions that can advance the performance of the business regarding sales and marketing.
A person applying to be the marketing manager should be very effective in terms of communication. Indeed, the process of communicating with clients is crucial throughout various phases of purchasing. The person should be good in organizing teams because the marketing department requires cooperation with other employees. Additionally, the person should be able to demonstrate a strong ability to increase productivity in a dynamic market environment. It would be a greater advantage if the person exhibits vast knowledge of the technology used for advertisement and has a global picture in mind. Moreover, it is a requirement that a marketing manager should be able to effectively manage distribution channels and campaigns when new products are launched into the market. Ultimately, the successful candidate should be a position to work effectively with product development teams to ensure that the needs of the customers are continuously addressed.
Compensation and Benefits Package
In the compensation plan, the first benefit that should be accrued to the marketing manager is equity shares of 2%. It is crucial to have this package especially for a company that is still trying to gain capital because it would help reduce the overall burden of making payments to the marketing manager. The second compensation plan is to have a base pay for the marketing manager (Davis, 2013). The minimum base pay should be $ 40,269. This is a reasonable amount for paying the marketing manager especially if the company is still small or medium size. It would be financially unhealthy for a small company to spend huge sums of money to the managers and other executives. As the company grows, the base pay can be continuously scaled up depending on the financial capabilities of the business.
The third compensation package is a commission of 5% of the total sales made. Marketing managers play a crucial role in finding new customers and retaining loyal customers. To this end, the provision of a commission would encourage the marketing managers to double their efforts in finding new markets that increase the number of sales hence higher returns. The fourth package is a bonus for the marketing manager. If the business manages to make decent profits at the end of the financial year, the marketing manager should be given a bonus of 3%.
Rationale
Various factors rationalize the compensation package outlined above. First, the reward system ensures that the employee can be compensated proportionally to their effort (Milkovich, Newman & Gerhart, 2014). The provision of the 5% commission ensures that the marketing manager is adequately paid for their work. Additionally, the compensation package ensures maximum motivation of the marketing manager. Secondly, the compensation package was put in place after a survey was conducted to establish the acceptable pays for marketing managers in the region. Additionally, this was based on the ability and experience of the employee. It is a requirement that anyone wishing to become the marketing manager should have a least a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Therefore, the compensation package is designed in such a way that the qualification of the employee and their ability to perform is taken into account.
The base price provided takes into consideration the employee’s target price. It does not go beyond 90% of the employee's target price while at the same time it does not go below 65% of their target base price. It is usually crucial to strike a balance that will still satisfy the employee and at the same time preserve the ability of the business to have financial stability. Moreover, the proportionality of the base pay, the commission, and the bonus was determined to ensure the right compensation is provided to the employee. Furthermore, experience in the field was considered to ensure that only acceptable payments terms are provided.
Performance Appraisal Program
Attainment of Annual Departmental Plans
At the beginning of every year, the department of sales and marketing comes up with both short-term and long-term goals that are supposed to be achieved. It is crucial to keep checking whether the manager has enabled the department to realize it departmental goals. If the department fails to meet its goals from time to time, it would indicate a failure on the part of the management.
Quality of Work
The quality of work done by the marketing manager must be excellent. The manager must exhibit a high level of competence and accountability (Rao, 2004). Additionally, the marketing manager must be able to deliver assignments promptly with a high degree of efficacy and accuracy.
Knowledge of the Work
The marketing manager must demonstrate a high level of knowledge about the nature of the job. Additionally, all necessary resources should be provided to ensure that the work of the employee is not impeded by the lack of or inadequacy of resources.
Dependability
The employee must be able to work under minimal supervision. In other words, the marketing manager must be self-driven when performing their duties (Milkovich, Wigdor & Broderick, 1900). The marketing manager should be attending meetings when called to attend without fail.
Effective Team Leader
The marketing manager must be in a position to mobilize the team of other employees to work effectively.
Adhering To the Laid Out Standard Operating Procedures
The marketing manager should be able to follow policies that have been laid out by the company. Proper channels should be used at all times to ensure order in the company is maintained.
The Rationale for Performance Appraisal
An effective performance by any employee is crucial for the company to succeed. Therefore, the marketing manager must be able to exhibit a high level of knowledge and dependability. Additionally, the employee must adhere to set guidelines for the company to ensure smooth operations of the business.
References
Davis, J. H. (2013). Statistics for compensation: A practical guide to compensation analysis . Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Milkovich, G. T., Newman, J. M., & Gerhart, B. A. (2014). Compensation . New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Milkovich, G. T., Wigdor, A. K., & Broderick, R. F. (1900). Pay for Performance: Evaluating Performance Appraisal and Merit Pay . Washington: National Academies Press.
Rao, T. V. (2004). Performance management and appraisal systems: HR tools for global competitiveness . New Delhi: Response Books.
