What are the essential capabilities of marketers?

Abstract

Purpose -This paper sets out to identify the knowledge and skills that marketing practitioners need to possess and use, to improve marketing management and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach -The data from a survey of marketing managers, academics and senior students in New Zealand, relating to the skills essential to work as a marketing manager, were analysed by analysis of variance to assess the extent of convergences or divergence among the responses of the three groups. Findings -The essential skills are an ability and willingness to learn about product-markets, to solve marketing problems, to communicate with internal and external stakeholders, and to work in teams, plus the knowledge of a wide range of marketing subject areas needed to set these skills in context. To progress from junior to senior posts, marketing graduates need to develop strategic thinking, leadership and management skills, and must demonstrate knowledge of strategic planning, product and brand management, communication and promotion, and consumer behaviour. Research limitations/implications -This study extends previous research by incorporating the views of three stakeholder groups about a broad range of knowledge and skills. Further, research is required to assess the generalisability of the results from these relatively small samples located in only one institution (albeit large and influential), and to investigate whether experience alone is a sufficient basis for junior marketers to acquire the knowledge and skills to become effective marketing managers and planners, or whether academics should help them to fast-track their careers by means of targeted courses for intending practitioners. Practical implications -Broad agreement between practitioners and academics suggests that relevant knowledge and skills are probably being taught. However, the differing view of students suggests that the effectiveness of university courses must be questioned. Originality/value -The study reports the opinions of three stakeholder groups on a vital aspect of marketing education.

Comments on Teaching Marketing Directions Management With Practical Profile

“…employers, employees of marketing units and students, define marketing skills in a different way (e.g. Floyd & Gordon, 1998;Gray et al, 2007;Walker et al, 2009).…”

Pemanfaatan limbah kelapa sawit untuk budidaya jamur merang dalam upaya perbaikan ekonomi desa: Pengabdian kepada masyarakat di Desa Kampung Baru, Kabupaten Pelalawan

“…Manajemen pemasaran merupakan bagian yang sangat penting (Gray et al, 2007) dilakukan agar masyarakat mempunyai kemampuan dalam melakukan pemasaran produk-produk yang telah dihasilkan. Perlu memberi pengetahuan bahwa penjualan produk dengan cara konvensional tidak cocok (Brooksbank et al, 2018) untuk memasarkan produk di era modern.…”

Evidence Items as Signals of Marketing Competencies and Workplace Readiness: A Practitioner Perspective

“…In work that engaged employers specifically, Gray et al (2007) asked marketing managers how important it was for managers to possess a selection of skills and to nominate the three most important skills. The skills mentioned most frequently were the ability to think strategically, leadership, wide awareness and understanding of business, organizational skills, and a customer service focus.…”