What Does a Marketing Executive Do? (With Skills and Salary)

Updated 26 September 2023

Marketers have an important role in the success of any organisation, and if you're interested in this career field, you may wonder, 'What does a marketing executive do?' The role of a marketing executive is to develop marketing campaigns to promote a product or service. Understanding their role can help you to make an informed decision about whether to pursue a career in marketing. In this article, we explain what marketing executives do, list the helpful skills for this career and provide important information about this career, including the average salary and typical work schedule.

What does a marketing executive do?

Learning the answer to, 'What does a marketing executive do? could help you decide if this career is right for you. Their role is to develop and deliver marketing campaigns to promote and sell products and services. They aim to maximise profits by developing sales strategies that match consumer needs. A marketing executive job description can encompass creative, analytic, digital, commercial and administrative responsibilities.

The details of this role vary depending on the type and size of the employer and the industry. Marketing executives may conduct market research and evaluate potential demand for the company's goods and services. They then plan, execute and evaluate advertising campaigns. Marketing executives may also manage the company's advertising, public relations and marketing strategy activities.

Marketing executive primary duties

Marketing executives oversee many aspects of a marketing campaign throughout the entire lifespan of a product or service, including:

conducting research and analysing data to identify the target audience for a product or service
devising strategies to promote and sell the product or service
preparing and delivering marketing plans to achieve key objectives
working with in-house designers to produce materials with visual impact
planning and executing marketing campaigns across social media platforms
organising events
managing a website and social media accounts
generating reports for digital marketing campaigns using database analytics tools and presenting them in an easy-to-understand format
managing public relations
overseeing advertising and sponsorship
meeting sales targets
raising awareness of products, services and brands
managing brands
monitoring competitor activity
generating leads for products and services.

How to become a marketing executive

There are several requirements for pursuing a career as a marketing executive. This means it may take you time to build your skills and experience when pursuing a career path as a marketing executive. These are the essential steps to becoming a marketing executive:

1. Complete your education

A degree is often the minimum education requirement for any marketing position. It helps you to develop specialised skills. Marketing, business or economics courses are useful subjects for beginning a marketing career. Marketing executive jobs are usually open to graduates in any discipline, though some employers prefer a degree in marketing, economics, business or statistics.

2. Explore certification options

While there are no specific certification or licence requirements for a marketing executive position, certifications can differentiate you from other candidates. They may help you qualify for advanced or competitive roles. Some professional associations offer reputable training. Online training enables you to pursue international qualifications too.

3. Gain relevant experience

Having marketing work experience can give candidates an advantage. If you're looking for an industrial marketing role then you may need a degree in a scientific or technical subject. Companies also look for graduates with design, media and writing experience, regardless of the degree subject. As a graduate, you could join a small or medium-sized enterprise as a marketing executive to start your career. Marketing assistants or marketing coordinators are primarily entry-level positions ideal for graduate candidates.

You can get relevant experience through internships, entry-level jobs and shadowing others to develop your career. Finding a mentor also gives you the opportunity to get experience and develop your skills. Voluntary marketing work, for example with a charity, also looks good on a CV.

Skills of a marketing executive

Some skills that help marketing executives to be successful include:

Communication skills: These enable marketing executives to communicate with colleagues and those outside the organisation when creating adverts or social media posts. These skills also ensure that they can write compelling copy.
Interpersonal skills: Interpersonal skills such as listening, resolving issues and knowing how to appreciate others allow you to interact and work with others effectively for better organization. They help marketing executives understand how to delight customers by providing products and services that make them happy.
Creativity: This is the ability to think about a problem in a different way. These skills allow you to develop new ways to market your products and services to the target audience.
Strong IT skills: Digital marketing and analytics are increasingly important in marketing, so IT skills are essential. These skills help marketing executives understand how to use social media, project management software, analytical and presentation software.
Analytical skills: Since marketing executives conduct field research related to products or services, they may need strong analytical skills. These skills allow you to conduct field research, understand how a marketing strategy performs based on several metrics, analyse demographics and consumer preferences, perform financial analysis and stay abreast of industry trends.
Leadership skills: Employers look for candidates who can demonstrate strong leadership skills and excellent organisational abilities. You may also need expertise in presenting and discussing to a large audience when pitching an idea.

Salaries of marketing executives

The national average salary for a marketing executive is $3,032 per month. Those with more experience can earn much more. Employers in the private sector are likely to offer higher wages than those in the public sector. A marketing executive can also earn more by moving into senior marketing roles, such as becoming a marketing manager or marketing director. Similarly, they can move into specialised functions such as an SEO manager or content manager. Specialising in a specific industry can also boost salaries, as can going freelance.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.

Different kinds of marketing

Marketing executives may specialise in different types of marketing, for example:

Social media marketing

Social media marketing focuses on gaining traffic and attention via social media platforms. It involves creating and sharing content on social media networks to achieve your marketing goals. Social media marketing also includes actively engaging with the target market to increase and maintain audience engagement by posting updates in text, images or videos.

Content marketing

Marketing executives create and share online material like videos, blogs or social media posts. The purpose of content marketing is to stimulate conversation and interest in the company's product or service. Because of this, useful skills include copywriting, design and photography.

Marketing analytics

Marketing analytics involves handling and analysing data to determine the success of your marketing efforts. Understanding those analytics means that marketing executives are more efficient and constantly optimise their marketing techniques. It's useful to have data handling and IT skills for this role.

Email marketing

Email marketing generates sales and leads, plus building customer engagement and loyalty. Important skills include understanding how to build and select from compliant email lists, boost open rates and optimise conversion rates. Email marketers work with a range of email software providers and monitor the return on investment of campaigns.

What does a marketing executive schedule look like?

Most marketing executives work a standard workday, with occasional out-of-hours work on larger projects. Their schedule and flexibility may vary depending on the company, time of year and size of projects. Some businesses may employ a marketer on a freelance or remote basis, with flexibility as to when or where to work the necessary hours.

Marketing executive example job description

To give you an idea of the role and responsibilities of a marketing executive, here is an example job description:

BetterWay Marketing is looking for an innovative and driven marketing executive to join our team.

Responsibilities:

Track sales forecast against the budget
Develop advertising, promotional and sales support materials
Assist with sales enquiries and complaints
Analyse sales to understand and improve performance
Prepare monthly reports and presentation
Plan and develop effective advertising campaigns and media plans in line with branding
Ensure campaign execution is delivered and all KPIs are met
Optimise and develop the company website and e-commerce channels
Coordinate live events
Maintain compliant databases
Drive lead generation and respond to potential leads
Create engaging cross-platform social media content to maintain our social media presence and increase traffic and engagement

Education and skills

Degree in business or marketing
Excellent written and spoken communication skills
Analytical mind and numeracy skills
Strong interpersonal skills
Passionate and enthusiastic about social media
Highly motivated and self-driven
Ability to collaborate and work as part of a team

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.

What Does a Marketing Executive Do? (With Skills and Salary)