Marketing is a crucial discipline for businesses wherein MBA graduates seek ways to shape customer perspectives about their organization. They also take deep dives into data to help leadership make informed, insightful, and confident business decisions.

Does any of this sound like a match for your business skill set and professional interests? Even if your bachelor's degree or undergraduate specialization isn't in marketing, you can join an MBA program to enhance your knowledge and skills to enjoy the wealth of career options in this field, as long as you have studied some core business courses.

Let's explore what an MBA in Marketing involves and the kinds of job opportunities you will be qualified to pursue once you earn one.

What Is an MBA in Marketing?

An MBA in Marketing stands for a Master of Business Administration in Marketing and has become one of the most popular graduate degree programs pursued today. Marketing has always been an appealing field in the business world, using a combination of data analytics, studies of consumer behavior, and creativity to help companies create and market products they believe their customers will buy.

With today's ever-evolving technology and the internet, the marketing landscape is more dynamic than ever. Earning an MBA degree in marketing will help you gain a firm grasp in the discipline before you complete your degree and start your job search.

What Knowledge, Skills, and Insights Will I Learn in an MBA in Marketing Program?

In such a complex and critical component of a business operation in today's competitive global marketplace, a marketing MBA is a powerful tool. You'll get an insider's perspective on the nature of marketing in an almost completely digital environment, reaching a broad range of customers to deliver the message about an organization's products or services.

Coursework in an MBA program that will help you navigate this evolving field includes:

• Advertising
• Branding
• Market research
• Product strategy
• Customer insight
• Marketing globally and online
• Providing value
• And many other topics

What you will learn in an MBA marketing program helps you take a deep dive into these topics and others to arm you with a firm foundation of skills and the ability to use them creatively to serve your future employer. You will have the power to understand various functional strategies to deliver value propositions, create growth strategies using market penetration and development, and analyze data to learn more about your organization's customers and how to please them.

With a marketing MBA, nothing about your career will be static, since you'll be able to develop hybrid distribution strategies that leverage business partnerships and give you access to target markets via multiple channels, including online, digital, and traditional. Such a strategy, working in the omnichannel, ensures you put customers at the center of all business decisions and marketing functions.

You'll also focus on areas including management and leadership, business operations, finance, and networking, to ensure you have a firm grasp of the nature of each organization. Such knowledge will give you confidence each time you apply to and interview for a position with a company's marketing department.

How Long Does an MBA in Marketing Take?

If you look forward to becoming a marketing director or taking on another leadership position in a company, earning an online MBA is an excellent path to streamline and speed up the process in the long run. An online MBA program at JWU generally takes two years to complete, but we also offer a one-year program for those with a strong business background.

Can I Earn an MBA in Marketing Online?

An increasing number of colleges, including JWU, offer MBA programs that are 100% online, so you can work your courses into your existing professional and family responsibilities with ease and convenience.

5 Fulfilling Career Options You Can Pursue with an MBA in Marketing

As a wise professional and savvy student, you want to make sure you have career options awaiting you once you complete your MBA. No one wants to start a program wondering what they might end up doing professionally.

Fortunately, a marketing MBA offers you multiple attractive and rewarding career opportunities. Let's look at five of the many career paths you can take with your marketing MBA.

1. Chief Marketing Officer

A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a corporate executive responsible for overseeing all marketing activities within a company. If you want to take this path once you finish your degree program, you might also find this career listed as a Marketing Director or Global Marketing Officer.

Some core duties associated with this top-paying marketing role include conducting advertising activities, brand management, product development and management, market research and communications, pricing, and customer service. Depending on the organization and its philosophy and budget, you might perform some of these tasks yourself or manage a department of marketing employees who do. Regardless of who performs tasks, you will be responsible and will report to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

One of the most vital functions for a CMO is to support the company in efforts to increase revenues. You'll do this by developing, enacting, and leading a marketing plan that gives your organization a competitive edge. Your online MBA program skills and knowledge in business, marketing, and analytics will make this much easier for you.

2. Marketing Communications Director

A Marketing Communications Director is responsible for all aspects of a company's brand management and product marketing. In this role, you will work to strengthen and facilitate the bond between your organization and its various partners.

Here are some typical duties associated with this key position:

• Developing, coordinating, planning, budgeting, implementing, monitoring, and leading marketing strategies
• Analyzing and working on the marketing budget
• Establishing and refining customer service satisfaction processes
• Researching growth opportunities

This role is often associated with public relations since you'll help protect the company's brand reputation. If public relations is folded into this role, you might perform duties involving publicity, advertising, and public relations.

3. User Experience (UX) Director

In such a competitive global marketplace, the User Experience (UX) Director becomes a critical role to ensure a company's success. Every company that offers a service, product, or information to customers needs to provide a simple, warm, and engaging user experience to help the target audience:

• Understand more about the organization's offerings
• Feel a deeper connection with the company and brand message
• Make a purchase or get the information they need as quickly and easily as possible

The Director of UX frequently approaches his or her position as one set on generating a positive user experience for customers. As director, you'll lead other UX professionals, such as researchers and designers, and develop and foster a collaborative environment to ensure the company achieves its goals.

Essential skills that will help you get a job as a UX Director and excel in your role include:

• Analytical
• Interactive design
• Problem-solving
• Collaboration

4. Public Relations Director

As a Public Relations (PR) Director, you will be responsible for overseeing and managing the daily operations of a business and the publicity campaigns of the public relations team. Some primary roles in this position include:

• Establishing objectives for the PR team and monitoring team members’ performance
• Maximizing brand presence on multiple, varied channels, such as the web, television, and social media
• Developing, cultivating, and maintaining relationships with media and influential professionals

You will need to be able to drive and inspire your PR team to develop and execute various PR campaigns on behalf of your organization to ensure that the company's brand image remains positive and consistent while growing and expanding to a wider audience.

Since a key component for success in this role is excellent leadership and an in-depth understanding of the latest marketing trends and technologies, your online MBA degree will give you a competitive edge.

5. Director of Digital Marketing

A Director of Digital Marketing manages and controls the increasingly vital digital marketing department, developing and delivering crucial digital marketing policies, practices, and strategies to attract and keep customers on the company's website. In this role, you will create and foster an online presence that provides a clear representation of your company's offerings, promoting them to your customers in an organic and appealing way.

Some responsibilities of a Director of Digital Marketing include:

• Building and maintaining an online presence that helps sell products, services, or information
• Developing marketing plans to promote the company's offerings to the target audience
• Reviewing online statistics and analytics to determine the effectiveness of the organization's online presence
• Identifying and implementing best practices to enhance online presence
• Tracking SEO and Google Analytics data, then making a complex analysis
• Managing and training the rest of the Digital Marketing team
• Preparing and managing the Digital Marketing budget

Are You Ready to Join an MBA Program That Sets You Up for a Rewarding Marketing Career?

Ready to take your marketing career to the next level? As you can see, there are many varied career opportunities awaiting you. Earn your MBA in marketing online or on-campus from Johnson & Wales University. For more information, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected].