sinisa zaric - the role of the marketing manager

8/13/2019 Sinisa Zaric - The Role of the Marketing Manager

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THE ROLE OF THE MARKETING MANAGER

For the small business, there are several different organisational approaches to marketing. The

duty may lie with a single member of the team, or it could be a group responsibility. The great

thing about a small team is the ability to quickly instill a marketing led ethos which can

become the operational soul of your business.

Depending on budget availability and the skills of the team, you may chose to outsource

certain elements of the marketing process (such as market research) or decide to do these obs

in!house. "ey responsibilities of the marketing manager # director vary according to the

business but can include$

%nstilling a marketing led ethos throughout the business

&esearching and reporting on e'ternal opportunities

nderstanding current and potential customers

anaging the customer ourney (customer relationship management)

Developing the marketing strategy and plan

anagement of the marketing mi'

anaging agencies

easuring success

anaging budgets

*nsuring timely delivery

+riting copy

pproving images

Developing guidelines

aking customer focused decisions

The marketing role can be diverse or focused but now we-ll elaborate further on some key

aspects which should be at the heart of the ob.

arket research

arketing managers need to have a good knowledge of the customer. This means building up

an accurate picture using the resources that are available. %t is important to take personal

opinion out of as many decisions as possible you probably don-t think in the same way as a

typical customer. %nformation can be gathered from questionnaires, focus groups, the internet,

interviews, buying habits and many more sources, but it-s important that the information is


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e'amined in a scientific way using proper statistical methods. /ut feel can only take your

business so far.

Development of marketing strategy and plan

arketing planning should be at the core to any business and is usually presented in the form

of a written marketing plan. consultant called 0aul 1mith first developed a process known

as 121T34 which is a useful model used to structure a marketing plan. 121T3 is an

acronym for the following elements of the plan$

1ituation nalysis where are we now5

2bectives what do you want to achieve5

1trategy how are you going to get there5

Tactics ! what are the details of the strategy5

ctions who is going to do what, and by when53ontrols how are you going to measure success5

121T34 is a registered trade mark of 0& 1mith

The marketing plan should provide direction for all relevant members of the organi6ation and

should be referred to and updated throughout the year. The main reason for the marketing

plan is that it provides a structured approach that forces the marketing manager to consider all

the relevant elements of the planning process which might be missed if a more rushed

approach is adopted.

anagement of the marketing mi'

The marketing mi' includes all tangible elements that allow you to market your product. This

includes facilities, your employees, the product itself, the cost strategy, the process of selling,

and how you promote and advertise. The e'tent to which the marketing manager gets

involved in these elements depends on how marketing focused your business is. product

focused organi6ation will probably start with an ides for a new product, then try anddetermine who is likely to buy it. marketing focused business starts with the consumer and

tried to figure out what they want to buy. 1ome product focused businesses are very

successful but it is generally accepted that a marketing focus provides a greater chance of

success.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

3ustomer relationship management is the process of communicating with customers

throughout the various stages of the purchasing process, and this includes people who have

already bought from you. %t is significantly easier to hold on to an e'isting customer than it is

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to find new ones, but doing this requires all elements of the marketing mi' to be run well. For

e'ample, it-s no use sending out a beautifully produced customer maga6ine if your customer

service is dreadful or the product breaks easily.

Managing agenies

%t is unlikely that a small business will have the skills in!house to develop all elements of the

marketing mi'. +ebsites, brochures, and other promotional items will usually involve some

form of outsourced help such as graphic design or printing. 3areful management of these

agencies is essential to provide an integrated marketing approach to promotion. gency

management involves the development of detailed proect briefs, signing off creative work

and ensuring the work is delivered on time. Depending on the volume of work which is

outsourced, you may feel it is worth developing some guidelines to ensure a consistent style

across different media.

Measuring suess

n important element of the marketing manager-s role which is often neglected is the process

of collecting and analysing data on success. This can take the form of website hits, sales

figures, market share data, customer satisfaction or many other metrics and it-s important to

record and track these as a core part of the marketing process.

Final !or"s

arketing managers have a diverse and varied ob, and promotion should ust be one element

of the scope. 3hampioning a marketing focussed business structure will provide a greater

chance of success in today-s challenging business environment and will lead to a more

sustainable future.

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sinisa zaric - the role of the marketing manager

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