What does a marketer do? (With skills, duties and tips)

Updated 21 July 2022

You may wish to pursue a career in marketing if you're interested in working with a variety of clients, helping them relate to their target audience. The field of marketing is dynamic and diverse, providing you with the opportunity to develop many skills given the fast-paced environment of the industry. It's helpful to understand the daily activities of a marketer so you can decide if this is the career for you. In this article, we answer the question, 'What does a marketer do?', discuss marketing education and experience requirements and explore the skills for success in the industry.

What is a marketer?

To understand what a marketer is, it's first necessary to learn what a marketer does. A marketer is a professional who works with clients or companies to promote their products or services. As a marketer, you may build a large client portfolio by performing outreach and networking with other professionals in your industry. Clients can direct you to the areas of marketing they wish to improve, giving a focus to your promotional efforts. You can help companies to interact with their target audience, both inside and outside their work location.

You may also develop and implement marketing or promotional strategies for a company, allowing them to achieve their sales and growth goals. This can involve taking a logical approach to marketing, developing steps to follow to build a company's presence through market research and obtaining customer feedback. This can include holding focus groups and disseminating customer surveys. This may give you a true understanding of consumer demographics that relate to your client.

What does a marketer do?

Your specific role and duties as a marketer can vary depending on the exact industry or company you work with. Generally, marketers are responsible for developing and executing strategic company marketing campaigns for promotional purposes. You can do this effectively by recognising the wants and needs of a company's target audience and tailoring promotional material to appeal to them. You can create brand messaging that consumers identify with, encouraging them to seek more information about a company and its products or services.

It can be helpful to understand what a marketer does on a day-to-day basis in their role, so you can decide whether this career is suitable for your skills and interests. Your goals and objectives may also vary depending on the clients you work with, but generally, your goal is to promote a brand and subsequently increase a company's revenue. You can monitor the effectiveness of brand promotional campaigns, analyse data related to these campaigns and implement techniques to relate to consumers. Some common tasks you may undertake as a marketer include:

devising company revenue goals and campaign targets
identifying goals related to lead generation and consumer acquisition
analysing performance metrics of marketing campaigns
conducting research on competitors to identify their performance
segmenting the market based on consumer demographic traits
remaining up-to-date with marketing trends, news and developments
identifying a target audience for a company through market research
relating to this target audience effectively through promotional efforts
developing relationships with company and industry stakeholders
developing relationships with consumer prospects and leads to build the clientele base of a company
producing promotional content that resonates with consumers, such as advertising copy and written material
identifying the brand tone, persona and approach to customer relations
developing specific consumer 'personalities' to cater to, based on evidenced market research
tracking marketing growth and return on investment on advertising
managing pricing strategies for marketing campaigns
assisting with the implementation of promotional or marketing campaigns

Required education to pursue a marketing role

To become a marketer, you may wish to a pursue an undergraduate degree in marketing or a related field. Related fields can include commerce, business administration and communication. You may also wish to pursue further education, such as a master's degree, to improve your earning and employment potential. This type of formal education can help you gain the necessary skills to succeed in the marketing industry and eventually obtain marketing management roles. Undertaking this type of education can also help you to network with like-minded professionals.

Required work experience to pursue a marketing role

To succeed as a marketer, you may also wish to pursue relevant work experience opportunities. Relevant opportunities can depend on the exact role within the marketing field that you're interested in. Following education or during the pursuit of a degree, you may wish to pursue internship or volunteer junior marketing roles. This can help you engage with potential future employers in the field while earning marketing qualifications. Entry-level roles in marketing can also help you to interact with clients, contribute to company marketing strategies and witness how professional marketers perform in their roles.

Skills required to become a marketer

There are also a diverse set of skills you can develop to help you succeed as a marketer. Given the diversity of the industry, the skills you choose to focus on may depend on your specific interests. Obtaining the necessary skills and knowledge can help you to perform well at interview level and succeed in your subsequent career. Skills related to marketing include:

Communication skills

As a marketer, you can use communication skills to interact with clients and colleagues. Colleagues can include other members of your team or more senior members of management. Communication skills also help you in marketing as you can effectively disseminate information to consumers about a brand. By enhancing your communication skills, you may also increase the quality of the promotional content you produce.

Writing skills

Skills in writing can also help you to succeed as a marketer. Written skills can help you to share a brand story with target consumers, effectively sharing information that may initiate an emotive response from a target audience, which in turn may generate sales or increase brand loyalty. Writing skills also help you to broaden your opportunities to identify with a target audience through various diverse mediums.

Problem-solving skills

As a marketer, problem-solving skills are invaluable. They can help you to solve any challenges that may arise during the implementation and execution of a marketing campaign. This can help to save your reputation with clients and improve your performance at work. You may also be more eligible for a promotion if your employer notes your strong problem-solving skills. You can share effective solutions with clients and colleagues alike, which makes you a more attractive marketer to work with.

Research skills

You can also develop research skills to help you succeed as a marketer. Skills in research are key in marketing, as they help you to perform activities like consumer market research. The exact type of market research you perform may depend on the industry you work in. In the hospitality industry, for example, you may perform research on the best ways to target restaurant consumers between the ages of 30 and 50. Your research can then inform the marketing strategies you choose to put in place.

Other skills related to the role of a marketer include:

Budgeting: budgeting skills can help you as a marketer to outline revenue requirements and spending goals for various marketing campaigns and research purposes. These skills can also help you to manage the expenses of a promotional campaign once it's implemented.
Data analysis and reporting: data analysis and reporting skills can help you to identify consumers, gather relevant data from them and report this data to clients, where it may inform their marketing choices.

Tips to succeed in the marketing industry

To help you succeed in the marketing industry, there are also a variety of tips you can follow. You may increase your marketing knowledge and become professionally savvy by networking with others in the industry and seeking updated marketing knowledge through various forums. Use the following tips as a guide for success in the marketing industry:

Participate in networking conversations

To further succeed in your career as a marketer, you can also participate in networking conversations with colleagues, coworkers and other professionals in your industry. This gives you a chance to promote your work and discuss your successful marketing campaigns. You can also gain further tips, advice or mentorship from more experienced professionals in the field. This can improve your confidence and morale.

Remain updated on industry information

You can remain updated on industry information or marketing developments, which may give you the chance to increase your knowledge. You may consume marketing newsletters, websites, podcasts or social media posts that report on developments. This can ensure your knowledge and skills remain current.