Pathway to Becoming a Marketing Manager

Part 1: Career Goal

The importance of having a career goal is that it helps individuals to have effective objective and framework for achieving their personal milestone (Holding et al. 2020). According to my field of education, the three career goals that are available for me are marketing manager, business operation manager and accounting manager. The role of accounting manager is to manage and oversee the daily financial and accounting operation of the organisation and produce financial statement to determine the earnings of the organisation (Abernethy and Wallis, 2019). However, the business operation manager has the role to oversee marketing strategies, ensure customer satisfaction and manage company’s departmental budgeting to maintain effective profit for the organisation (Hazen et al. 2018). The role of marketing manager is to manage the positioning along with promotion of the company’s products and services for the customers in the specific industry of their operation to ensure more consumers buy from the company by being aware of the products and services (Cherednyakova, 2016).

In my career, out of the different option I wish to be marketing manager. This is because it is the marketing manager’s role to assist a company in promoting and selling their products and services developed to the customers so that they can ensure existence of the organisation in the industry of operation (Li et al. 2018). I as a person wish to remain connected with the people and understand their needs to fulfil them. Thus, choosing to become a marketing manager provides me with the opportunity to fulfil the wish as I can support reach of creative products or services of the company to meet the needs of the consumers that are identified by me through analysis of the target consumers. As commented by Jackson and Ahuja (2016), effective team management ability is required by marketing manager in being successful. This is because they act to direct and motivate the market team to work together with them in reaching the market goals set for the organisation to support its growth. I always wish to work as a team in achieving goals due to which I wish to work successfully as marketing manager as it would offer me the opportunity to work collaboratively with various individuals as a team.

Part 2: Current Reality

The personal SWOT analysis informs that I have strong communication skill which is evident I can effectively form stories and concepts to informs complex ideas in enhanced and smooth manner to any individuals. Moreover, I have effective intellect and vocabulary power to communicate any information to individuals based on their understanding in written manner. Moreover, I also have the strength of effective team working skill due to which I have always been successful in taking collaborative approach towards accomplishing any tasks irrespective of the weakness present in me. This is because through teamwork I share ideas from others and collaboratively work on them to implement it to ensure success in accomplishing any task. However, I have weak data analysis skill which is evident as I often fail to interpret and examine the true meaning of certain complex data that are useful for enriched presentation of my work activities in the education field.

My innovation skills are acting as threat for my target profession of management. This is because without effective analysis of existing data I fail to have effective information to be used for forming potential creative and innovative ideas that in turn often led me make error in innovation of any idea. Moreover, my adaptability skills are acting as threat because I often fail to show adaptation to new ideas which would have eventually helped develop enhanced progress in my work activities and career goal. However, I have opportunity of presence of effective planning and organisation skill in me. This has led me to effectively develop framework and objectives to be followed in executing and accomplishing any work. My leadership skill acts as opportunity for me in strengthening my team working capability as it helps me guide my team members regarding the way they can support me in accomplishing any task. (Refer to Appendix 1)

The feedback from “Ask 5 people” mentioned that I have effective planning and organisation skill as I always ensure accomplishment of task on time. They also mentioned I have effective knowledge of using different media of communication in making successful interaction. The feedback also mentioned I have excellent team working skills as I always been able to work collaboratively without creating any conflict within team to accomplish any activities. However, feedback from the people highlighted that I have hindered data analysis skill which is evident as I often fail to determine true meaning of certain data. Moreover, they mentioned I have hindered creativity skills as I often fail to derive innovative ideas for managing tasks. They informed I lack attention to specific details at time and fail to adapt during new condition. My current degree of management is important as it would enhance my understanding and knowledge regarding the way data analysis skill and attention to details for information can be made. Moreover, it is going to educate me about the way adaptation to new working environment is to be made so that I can effectively manage business while working in an organisation. (Refer to Appendix 2)

Part 3: Career Progression

On considering the skills I require to become a marketing manager and executing the personal SWOT analysis, I identified that I have hindered data analysis skill, innovation skill and adaptability skills. As commented by Saura et al. (2017), quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills are essential for ensuring growth in marketing of products and services. This is because effective data analysis in market helps to determine and understand the current market condition. Moreover, they allow determining the progress of organisation's products marketing which helps to understand whether the implemented marketing strategies are working or not so that they can be changed at the appropriate time. As argued by Tóth et al. (2017), lack of effective data analysis skills for the marketing manager leads them unable to determine the response of the customers towards their products. Thus, enhancement of data analysis skills is required for me so that I can become an effective marketing manager who is unaware of the progress and efficiency of their marketing plan to determine if changes are to be made at the right time.

The adaptability skill for marketing managers is important to help them become accustomed with creative ideas and strategically perform activities in supporting new ideas for better marketing of products (Safavi and Bouzari, 2019). However, gap in adaptability skills for marketing managers leads them experience failure to adjust to new marketing requirements, in turn, showing failure to assure reach of the products to the target customers (Monteiro and Vieira, 2016). Thus, I require to resolve the gap of adaptability skills to become a successful marketing manager who has enhanced knowledge of the changing market and way to place the products in adaptive manner in the changing situation so that it appropriately reach the consumers and the customer base is retailed to ensure progress of the organisation. As argued by Aksoy (2017), lack of innovation skill in marketing leads managers to avoid remaining proactive in anticipating the trends to be met for the consumers. This, in turn, leads the marketing managers fail to develop effective marketing strategies that allow their products to perform in better way compared to their competitors. Therefore, to meet my career goal of becoming an effective marketing manager, the innovation skill gap is to be resolved.

In order to improve my adaptability skill, I plan to embrace enhanced learning of marketing principles that allows me to develop adaptation to new situations. Moreover, I am going to use my team working skills in this aspect to draw information from my team regarding the way I can become open-minded and change my thought process so that I have enhanced adaptability skills required to become an efficient marketing manager. Further, I am going to force myself into taking risk and learn in the process so that I overcome my fear of adaption in changing environment. In order to improve my data analysis skill to meet my career goal, I plan to access training regarding data analysis. This is because it is going to inform me about the various numeric and analytical skills to be considered for performing effective data examination and its interpretation.

Part 4: Way Forward

The three next steps to be taken are:

Improve my adaptability skills through enhanced learning and being open-minded

To improve my data analysis skills through data training

To improve my innovation skill through learning of past successful innovations and data collection

References

Abernethy, M.A. and Wallis, M.S., 2019. Critique on the “manager effects” research and implications for management accounting research. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 31(1), pp.3-40.

Aksoy, H., 2017. How do innovation culture, marketing innovation and product innovation affect the market performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Technology in Society, 51(4), pp.133-141.

Cherednyakova, A.B., 2016. Marketing Manager Training in the Context of Professional Values. Eastern European Scientific Journal, (6).pp.45-89.

Hazen, B.T., Skipper, J.B., Boone, C.A. and Hill, R.R., 2018. Back in business: Operations research in support of big data analytics for operations and supply chain management. Annals of Operations Research, 270(1-2), pp.201-211.

Holding, A.C., St-Jacques, A., Verner-Filion, J., Kachanoff, F. and Koestner, R., 2020. Sacrifice—but at what price? A longitudinal study of young adults’ sacrifice of basic psychological needs in pursuit of career goals. Motivation and Emotion, 44(1), pp.99-115.

Jackson, G. and Ahuja, V., 2016. Dawn of the digital age and the evolution of the marketing mix. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 17(3), pp.170-186.

LI, L.H., ZHANG, L.Q. and CHEN, C., 2018. Exploration on Talent Cultivation Model of" Outstanding Marketing Manager" in Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Guiding Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, (11), p.42.

Monteiro, R.B. and Vieira, V.A., 2016. Team potency and its impact on performance via self-efficacy and adaptability. BAR-Brazilian Administration Review, 13(1), pp.98-119.

Safavi, H.P. and Bouzari, M., 2019. The association of psychological capital, career adaptability and career competency among hotel frontline employees. Tourism management perspectives, 30, pp.65-74.

Saura, J.R., Palos-Sánchez, P. and Cerdá Suárez, L.M., 2017. Understanding the digital marketing environment with KPIs and web analytics. Future Internet, 9(4), p.76.

Tóth, Z., Henneberg, S.C. and Naudé, P., 2017. Addressing the ‘qualitative’in fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis: The generic membership evaluation template. Industrial Marketing Management, 63, pp.192-204.