Marketing officers are charged with heading marketing departments for corporations and companies across all industries. If you becoma a marketing officer, you'll find yourself immersed in a complex job, with responsibility for marketing expenses, funding, brand image, company expansion and risk mitigation. Understanding the duties of a marketing officer can help you determine if you want to take the plunge into a career that's all things marketing. .
Expenses and Plans
Marketing officers are first and foremost charged with the financial stewardship of the marketing end of the business. Since the goal of all marketing is to increase sales, you may find yourself overseeing the sales department, as well. The blend of sales and marketing involves frequent consultation with vice presidents in both categories to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there is no divergence in effort or goals. As a marketing officer, it's up to you to create high-level marketing plans to guide your company's general marketing focus and the strategies that it will deploy. Then, you supervise and encourage your maketing team as they put your plans into action.
Brand Image and Market Placement
Brand image is the result of a combination of things. Marketing presentation and messages help to form the image of a brand, as do product quality and its price point. The market placement of a brand is directly linked to its perception within the market. For example, if your brand of widgets has been around for 100 years and is priced twice as high as the nearest competitor, the brand image will likely be prestigious, and the market placement at the high end. As a marketing officer, you might want to manipulate this image to alter market placement in an attempt to increase profits or market share. You may also be charged with the development of a brand image for new products that have never been on the market before.
Expansion
With successful marketing campaigns come increases in revenue. The CMO's role is to use these extra funds to expand the company in size or market share. For example, a marketing officer may see that a competitor has fallen on hard times and reduced the number of ads it is running in a given publication after a long run of dominating the scene. She will then calculate the return on such a campaign and make the decision whether to go on the attack. New product development is another way that marketing officers grow the business and expand market share. With a focus on research and market trends, marketing officers will determine what the market needs and wants and how best to fill those demands. If your campaign works, the cycle of creating more revenue then using it to expand further is intact.
Customer Experience
Marketing officers always work on new ways to enhance and simplify the relationship between the company and the customer. This may be accomplished through smart, innovative marketing campaigns, coming up with new ways to reach the consumer and easier purchasing and delivery. All of these elements are incorporated into the demanding and exciting position of marketing officer. Trends may also dictate some of what the marketing officer develops; keeping up with the rest of the industry is a necessary component of successful advertising. On the other hand, the marketing officer much remain true to the company philosophy. You can't do risky or unethical things for very long and hope to stay employed.
Risk & Policy
As a marketing officer, you must deal with legal and financial risks. You must oversee the creation of ad campaigns and monitor the terms and conditions associated with each promotion and each product to ensure there is truth in advertising and that all agreements with suppliers and manufacturers are adhered to. For example, let's say your travel company has negotiated a $99 fare to Las Vegas from Acme airlines for every day except Sundays. If your marketing campaign announces a $99 fare to Las Vegas but never makes clear that it's not available on Sundays, the ad is misleading. That puts your company at risk for complaints and legal action from customers and fines from government regulators for false advertising. While you might not be the person reading through and checking every ad, you are ultimately responsible for creating the policy that eliminates such risks.
References
Writer Bio
Robert Morello has an extensive travel, marketing and business background. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 2002 and has worked in travel as a guide, corporate senior marketing and product manager and travel consultant/expert. Morello is a professional writer and adjunct professor of travel and tourism.