Essential Facts About MBA in Marketing around the world

Marketing is an integral part of every imaginable form of business. Ever since the first MBA program was launched by the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1908, marketing has remained a core subject as well as a much-sought-after specialization.

Let’s look at the basic qualities required for a successful career in this sector, the various MBA programs, top B-schools, career options and top recruiters.

MBA in Marketing Program: Eligibility Criteria, Admission Process

Essential qualities for success in this field include an extrovert nature, good communication and persuasive skills, leadership qualities, adaptability and excellent networking capacity.

The eligibility criteria remain the same as with the other MBA programs. You should be a graduate with more than three years of full-time work experience. You will be asked to submit the scores of standardised aptitude test like the GMAT or GRE. These tests assess your knowledge and skills in verbal communication, logical and analytical capabilities and quantitative prowess.

You may also have to submit essays that explain your choice of MBA in Marketing, your career goals and other such information as well as to why you think you would be an ideal candidate for the program.

Need To Address Female MBAs Pay Gap As B-Schools Move Towards Gender Parity

The next stage of admission may involve shortlisted candidates being called for the next round of Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). Those emerging successful in these rounds receive admission offers.

MBA SALES & MARKETING SYLLABUS

MBA in Marketing specialisation includes several common courses. These are Marketing management; Operations management; Consumer and brand insight strategy; Digital marketing and social media management.

Forecasting, modeling, marketing strategy, New product strategy, branding and marketing, International and multi-national marketing and Salesforce management also form part of the program.

MBA Specializations in Marketing

You will have a wide choice of specializations in Marketing. These include Digital marketing and social media management, Marketing management, Consumer and brand insight strategy, International and multi-national marketing, Operations management, Forecasting, modeling and marketing strategy, Salesforce management, New product strategy, branding and marketing, Digital marketing and social media management.

Top 10 Schools For MBA in Marketing

QS World University Rankings: MBA Specializations 2019, lists the following as the top 10 schools for an MBA in Marketing.

Stanford Graduate School of Business tops the ranking. Besides high scores in all the ranking indicators, the school notched up a perfect score in employer reputation. The school also saw 22% of the students choosing marketing roles from among post-MBA career options. The total fee for the 2-year MBA program is $146,124 ($73,062 per year). Marketing is among the electives in the second year. The school also has a Marketing Club that organizes several career development and networking events.

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University ranked second, saw 19% of the students choosing marketing from among the career options. Apart from the 2-year full-time MBA program with a fee of $143,088, the school also offers a one-year program with a fee of $98,720.

The marketing major, as the specialization is called in Kellogg, aims at equipping students with tools in customer behavior and marketing analytics as well as marketing strategy frameworks to help students create as well as respond to disruptions in the market place, strengthen competitive advantage and drive sustainable growth.

Ranked third, UCLA Anderson School of Management at Los Angeles had 22% of students opting for marketing. While the fee and expenses for the 2-year full-time program come to $98,699 per year, the median starting salaries for fresh graduates are around $120,000 in marketing. The locational advantage enables students to find jobs in Adobe, Microsoft, General Mills and Disney, to name a few.

Moving over to Europe, ESADE in Barcelona, Spain is in the fourth spot. It saw 31% of the students taking up careers in marketing. The school allows students the flexibility to complete the full-time MBA program in 12-months, 15-months or an 18-month period. Those opting for the 18-month program could also avail of an internship and exchange program.

At a tuition fee of €68,500 (approximately $77,780), the program offers Marketing Planning & Implementation and Marketing Analytics for Strategic Decision Making, among the electives.

Placed at number 5 is Harvard Business School. At first sight, 12% of students opting for marketing career may seem to be very low, HBS class size is very large with around 928 students on the rolls.

The tuition fee for the 2-year full-time program is $146,880. Marketing is among the compulsory core modules in the first year. Those who want further specialization in the sector can choose electives ranging from a field course in Digital Marketing Workshop to E-Commerce and Creating Brand Value.

Sharing the 5^th rank with HBS, the Madrid, Spain-based IE Business School’s one-year MBA program is rated high for career placements and employer reputation. Marketing career was the choice for 29% of the students. The tuition fee for the program is €72,200 (approximately $82,000).

With no claimant for the 6^th rank, Kelley School of Business (Indiana University) is in the 7^th spot. Around 32% of the student chose marketing careers. The 2-year MBA program has pegged the tuition fee for Indiana residents at $27,053 and $49,955 for non-Indiana residents/ international students.

Michigan Ross School of Business is on the 8^th rank. Around 20% of the students were recruited for marketing roles by major firms that included Amazon, P&G and PepsiCo. The 2-year MBA program has a yearly tuition fee of $63,646 for Michigan residents and $68,646 for others.

Babson College, F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at 9^th rank had 44% of the students choosing marketing careers. Olin offers students the option of completing the MBA program in one or two years. While the tuition fee for the one-year program is pegged at $82,496, it is $ 13,440 for the two-year program.

SDA Bocconi is ranked 10^th. Around 27% of its students found market-related jobs. The fee for the one-year MBA program in Milan, Italy, is €57,000 (approximately $64,604). The school offers concentrations in product development and execution in the first term and customer marketing in the second term in their ‘Expert in Marketing & Innovation’ path.

MBA in Marketing: Careers & Job Profiles

As stated earlier, there is no sector in business that does not need marketing management experts. Such specialized roles, in recent years, include E-commerce, Content marketing, Brand management and Market research & Analytics.

A marketing manager’s responsibility includes the release of new products according to schedule, monitoring sales of products, advertising, networking with supply chains, liaison work involving the firm’s Research & Development department, advertising, design and brand strategy officials.

In a smaller firm, you may be entrusted with a greater number of responsibilities but a large company may have more number of marketing managers dealing with several aspects of finance, sales, product development, brand strategy, consumer strategy and other such areas.

If you are appointed as the Brand Manager, you will be responsible for keeping a close watch on the marketing trends, keeping track of the competitors’ products and work out schemes or campaigns to retain or boost the popularity of the brand in the market.

In Asset Management, you will be involved in all aspects of asset acquisition, preparing reports to be presented before top management or the Board of Directors.

Corporate Sales is another area where you will be able to play a role in ensuring revenue growth for the company through direct B2B sales and related activities.

It is the job of the Market Research Analyst to make an in-depth study of the market and gather data to sell the company’s products in the best possible way to maximize efficiency along with profits.

The Sales Manager as the name suggests will be in charge of all aspects relating to the selling of the products or services. He or she will also have to ensure meeting sales targets, maintaining growth, motivate and manage the sales team and formulate strategic sales plans to increase the customer base.

The Product Manager is involved in the development of products by coming up with innovative ideas, performing market research on the requirements and specifications of the consumers, the timeline for production, pricing, specialisations and marketing strategies.

Head of Digital Marketing would look after all aspects of the company’s digital marketing strategy, including planning, developing and implementation.

TOP FIRMS THAT RECRUIT MBAS IN SALES & MARKETING

Besides opening up a number of employment options, an MBA in Marketing would gain you entry into top corporate and other business organisations around the world. Given below is a list of the firms that regularly visit B-school campuses to recruit fresh MBAs in Sales & Marketing:

• Amazon
• Apple
• Facebook
• Microsoft
• Walt Disney
• American Express
• Google
• General Mills
• Starbucks
• PepsiCo
• Unilever
• Procter & Gamble
• Reckitt Benckiser
• Kraft
• Nestle
• ITC
• Cologate Palmolive
• Perfetti
• Coke

MBA in Marketing: Salaries

The salaries for Marketing managers depend on their job profiles and locations around the globe. According to PayScale, the average salary was around $93,000 in 2019.

Marketing Managers could expect to draw a salary in the range of $48,000-115,000, Marketing Directors between $63,000- 162,000 and Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) up to $273,000.

MBA IN SALES & MARKETING: SKILLS REQUIRED

The essential skills for an MBA in Marketing are interpersonal skills, strategic thinking, entrepreneurial skills, communication skills, leadership skills among others.  Interpersonal skills are essential for anyone in a leadership role and to inspire others to make a difference between success and failure. It holds good for clients, peers or any other person working for/with you.

Strategic thinking is to think out of the box and move from a functional role to a ‘Bigger picture’. Entrepreneurial skill allows you to be able to spot a gap in the market, judge whether it is worth filling the creativity and technical understanding for the dynamic growth of the organization. Communication skills are the ability to manage the communication across all the levels.

Leadership skills allow a good leader or manager to inspire those who work with them and around them. Other skill sets include negotiating skills, analytical thinking, define target audiences, marketing plans and time management.

MBA in Marketing in India

Marketing is one area of specialization that never goes out of favour in higher management education offering excellent career prospects across a wide range of businesses across the world. All the top MBA or Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM/PGPM) programs in India give due prominence to Marketing by including it among the mandatory core courses as well as in the electives.

Let’s check out the various options available to MBA aspirants – the best programs that meet their career aspirations, eligibility criteria for admission, the best institutes and career paths.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND ADMISSION PROCESS

You should be a graduate in any discipline to apply for MBA in Marketing. You may also have to present the scores of any of the standardized aptitude tests including CAT, GMAT, NMAT by GMAC, MAT, SNAP and XAT. The admission committees will shortlist you on the basis of your academic qualifications and test scores for the next stage, the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) before offering you a seat in the program.

AVERAGE SALARY FOR MBAS IN SALES & MARKETING IN INDIA

Glassdoor.com has estimated the national average salary of a marketing manager at about Rs 9.9 LPA in the year 2019.

Take a look at the average salary offered by some of the well-known firms for marketing manager roles.

*Data source: Glassdoor.com

Here are some blogs on marketing that you might find interesting:

• The Best Companies for a Marketing Career
• Sales & Marketing Companies Top Recruiters at IIM Lucknow PGP Placements

Also read:

• MBA in Human Resource Management
• MBA in Hotel Management
• MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• MBA in Operations Research
• MBA in Production and Operations Management
• MBA in Finance

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