Why MBA in Marketing? Scope, Skills, Opportunities, Salary

Master of Business Administration or MBA is one of the most in-demand degrees around the world today. Typically a two-year program, an MBA allows you to specialize in a particular subject, such as finance, marketing, operations management, human resource management, etc.

In recent years, core marketing courses have gained popularity among aspirants due to the vast job opportunities they offer. Let us see why MBA in marketing is a preferred choice for students and what makes it desirable for employers. Learn more about career options after MBA.

One of the top reasons to go for an MBA is to broaden your career prospects and salary potential of MBA. Besides, it is a holistic learning experience that enables you to develop both your technical and soft skills. The professional connections you make in your B-school can last throughout your life, providing direction to your career at every stage. Find list of skills MBA help you to improve.

So, when you are considering earning an MBA, you should evaluate the benefits of choosing specific course topics. To facilitate this analysis, we have compiled the advantages of opting for a marketing specialization below.

What is Marketing Specialization In MBA and What Can You Learn in MBA in Marketing

MBA in marketing is a postgraduate business and management course with a concentration on marketing. This two-year-long postgraduate degree course helps the students learn more about consumer behaviour and create products and services that they will like the most.

Topics of marketing specialization in MBA include advertising, branding, market research etc. This course dynamically prepares a candidate to handle marketing on national or international levels, which is why the scope of MBA in marketing is huge. 

Some of the very common career options after taking this course include consulting, entrepreneurship, general management etc. The career options are almost limitless with MBA in marketing as one can handle any company’s marketing department that requires marketing. 

Why MBA in Marketing

The reasons why one should opt for a marketing specialization in MBA can be justified by the benefits one can get from it. The scope of MBA in marketing is huge, as almost every business and organization requires marketing to stand against the huge competition. While discussing MBA in marketing scope, below are some perks that are the rationale behind the scope. 

Greater Career Advancement Opportunities

An MBA in Marketing can help you get a job promotion and qualify for management and executive positions in your current company. Since postgraduate business programs emphasize developing leadership and communication skills, graduates can advance to marketing positions with great ease.

Whether you are interested in sales, business development, media and entertainment, advertisement, brand management, or even general management, these skills form the heart of any senior-level role. Technology has further augmented the marketing world, adding new creative areas and innovative job profiles to the mix. 

Scope for Increased Earnings

A master’s degree can provide a significant boost to your compensation package. According to Payscale, the annual salary for holders of an MBA in marketing ranges from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, depending on the seniority, company, and sector. Some of the leading recruiters include Tata Consultancy Services, Vodafone, Amazon, Citibank, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Even FMCG giants (like HUL, P&G, Marico) and international advertising agencies, including Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, Dentsu, McCann Erickson, etc. hire marketing graduates.

Moreover, reputed technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Oracle, SAP, IBM, Salesforce hire MBA talent for several marketing positions. So, the job responsibilities that come with lucrative pay scales can be diverse and widely varied. Learn more about MBA salary in India.

Knowledge Enhancement

The typical MBA in Marketing programs is structured to prepare you with the ‘core’ business coursework and supplement that understanding with marketing-specific electives. The core subjects focus on finance, human resources, accounting, corporate management, organizational behavior, etc.

On the other hand, the elective courses zero in on topics like market research, consumer behavior, product management, brand management, strategic selling, and promotional campaign management. 

As a marketing manager, you may have to analyze the demand for a particular product or perform a Cost-Volume-Profit analysis to determine the break-even point. Here, your B-school teachings will come handy. Therefore, the program is designed to equip you with a strong foundational knowledge of business administration and marketing concepts. And this learning can be applied across different industries and career fields.

Avenues for Skill Development 

The rich skill-set of graduates is one of the factors why MBA in marketing candidates have garnered popularity among modern-day recruiters. Your life in B-school adds to your analytical thinking, communication prowess, and your ability to lead and deliver strategic projects.

As the coursework includes projects and assignments that often require you to work in teams, your interpersonal and problem-solving skills receive a considerable upgrade. Moreover, you work on tight deadlines with continuous performance evaluation, preparing you for the workplace environment. 

Read more: 6 Ways An MBA Helps You in Personality Development

Enriched Job Responsibilities

Marketing is a vast field with a variety of sub-sectors. With an MBA in marketing, you can work in the following roles in any industry:

Marketing Manager

Tasked with evolving marketing strategy along with attracting and retaining customers. The usual roles and responsibilities of a marketing manager include collaborating with product managers, analysing and monitoring the success of marketing campaigns, assisting market research studies and analysing the findings, assisting in curating marketing campaigns for the company etc.

Skills that are important for making the highest salary as a marketing manager include:

• Pre-sales knowledge
• Marketing planning
• Complying sales strategies
• Handling technicals of sales
• Coming up with a business strategy
• Conducting market analysis
• Search engine marketing (SEM)

Salary:

 MBA in marketing scope results in an average salary of a marketing manager in India, being around INR 6.8 lakhs per annum. However, based on various factors, the salary can also reach up to INR 20 lakhs per annum. An entry-level marketing manager with experience of less than a year can expect a salary of INR 4.6 lakhs per annum. The salary may rise to more than INR 5 LPA if the candidate has experience of 1-4 years.

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Market Research Analyst

Devises methods of collecting data, analyses data to derive insights, and then, coveys the information to the business development teams. Analysts play a crucial supporting role in the development of marketing strategies.

The average job role of a market research analyst includes reviewing a large amount of data to find the answers to the three questions that are: what products does the market want? Who is the targeted customer? How many customers are willing to pay for a product/service? Their objective is to help the company grow its profile by taking insights from data.

Skills required for being a good market research analyst include 

• Having good communication skills, both verbal and written
• Thorough searching capability
• An eye for details so that analysis can be the most accurate
• Ability to understand the market and its trends.  

Salary:

In India, a market research analyst earns an average of INR 3.4 LPA. however, the salary may range anywhere from INR 1.9-7.7 lakhs per annum. An entry-level market research analyst with less than a year of experience can expect to get INR 2.9 lakhs per annum, including all the additional compensations.  

The average job role of a market research analyst includes reviewing a large amount of data to find the answers to the three questions that are: what products does the market want? Who is the targeted customer? How many customers are willing to pay for a product/service? Their objective is to help the company grow its profile by taking insights from data.

Skills required for being a good market research analyst include 

• Having good communication skills, both verbal and written
• Thorough searching capability
• An eye for details so that analysis can be the most accurate
• Ability to understand the market and its trends.  

Salary:

In India, a market research analyst earns an average of INR 3.4 LPA. however, the salary may range anywhere from INR 1.9-7.7 lakhs per annum. An entry-level market research analyst with less than a year of experience can expect to get INR 2.9 lakhs per annum, including all the additional compensations.

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Media Planner

Entrusted with planning and selecting advertising media, closely working with the marketing team to achieve targets. Media planners are an integral part of a company’s marketing and advertisement department. Their day-to-day responsibilities include helping the brand communicate with the targeted audience, updating and changing important information, and focusing on growing reach on different platforms. Along with that, they need to be well aware of the company’s products and services, assess the gaps in their campaigns, and ensure consistency of message is there. 

Skills required to be a successful media planner include

• Great written and verbal communication
• Proficiency with computers 
• Highly organized and knows how to prioritise tasks
• Knowledge of strategic planning 
• Knows the basics of data analysis 
• Knows the fundamentals of budgeting and account management 

Salary: 

The average salary of a media planner in India is around INR 4 lakhs per annum. An entry-level media planner can expect to earn approx INR 3.6 LPA, including all the extra benefits and compensations. However, a media planner with experience of more than 5 years can earn around INR 9.1 LPA.

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Brand Manager

Responsible for promoting and placing the brands and researching about the rival brands.

As the profits of any company heavily rely on customer-facing operations, a company may hire more than one brand manager and assign them to handle one or more brands. The objective of a brand manager is to increase the positive exposure of the brand and ensure that the brand’s reputation stays intact. They often work with the entire marketing staff, oversee the customer’s attitude towards the brand, and help improve it.

Skills required to be a successful brand manager include:

• Being able to manage a team
• Having a good understanding of consumer behaviour
• Good analytical power to assess the numbers
• Good communication skill
• Knowing product management and project management
• Thorough understanding branding and strategic marketing 

Salary:

Brand managers are usually paid well, and the average salary of a brand manager in India is around INR 8.8 lakhs per annum. Based on various factors, the salary can rise up to INR 20 lakhs per annum as well. An entry-level brand manager with less than a year of experience can expect to earn around INR 6.6 LPA, including all the extra benefits,

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Sales manager

Sales Manager: Sets targets for the sale of products and services and monitors the customer service and distribution functions. Sales managers can work both in retail and non-retail settings and can manage a certain area or entire nationwide sales. Their job is to develop marketing programs that increase sales and help generate leads. They may also need to train and monitor sales managers under them to ensure that the expected sales goals are met. 

Skills of a good sales manager include 

• Ability to establish clear business strategies
• Organizing trade shows and preparing periodic sales reports
• Knowledge of budgeting
• Highly knowledgeable regarding the products or services the company offers
• A creative mind that can generate new ideas for marketing

Salary:

Sales managers at the regional or national level are paid a handsome amount of salary. On average, they get around INR 11 lakhs per annum. Even an entry-level sales manager with less than a year of experience can earn around INR 4 lakhs per annum. 

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Digital Marketing Manager

Manages the digital presence of the company undertakes marketing of its products on web-based platforms and online channels. This includes avenues such as website content, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), content marketing, etc. Day-to-day activities of a digital marketing manager may include developing and implementing strategies for the media and digital marketing team, coordinating marketing campaigns on various digital platforms, building and leading a strong team that can handle multiple projects, and collaborating with different departments to come up with better marketing ideas, track growth and curate analytical reports for upper management.

Skills that are present in a successful digital manager are

• Good at written and verbal communication
• Has thorough knowledge of social media optimization
• Well aware of different marketing communication styles
• Knows web marketing
• Abel to use various analytical tools like google analytics
• Knows the basics of web development

Salary:

The average salary of a digital marketing manager in India is around INR 5.5 lakhs per annum. An entry-level marketing manager with experience of less than a year can get paid INR 3 LPA. Whereas one with experience of more than ten years can easily earn approx INR 11 LPA.

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One of the biggest advantages of getting an advanced business and marketing and qualification is that multiple industries are open for entry after the completion of your degree. You can work in the FMCG sector, IT industry, consultancy, advertising, banking, retail, hospitality, and even venture into academics. Job opportunities are available in public as well as private sectors. 

Moreover, technological advancement across the globe has widened the concept of marketing and given rise to remote and online modes of work. The digital revolution is still continuously shaping the world we live in, changing the way we interact and buy.

Hubspot’s marketing hiring trends report points to a sharp rise in employment in digital marketing as well as traditional marketing roles. And the scope of marketing is only going to amplify further. With industry expansion and high consumption levels, the overall demand for marketing professionals will pick up in the coming years. 

Wrapping Up

With this, we have covered why MBA in marketing is a suitable fit for the contemporary business world. MBA courses with marketing specialization are available in both on-campus and online formats across Indian colleges and abroad. Before enrolling in a program, you should research your options and consider all the pros and cons. The above information will help you arrive at a decision!

Liverpool Business School & upGrad offers Global MBA program which helps you to transform your career. The program provides 1-on-1 mentorship from industry leaders, 1-week immersion program at University campus, dual credentials (MBA from LBS & PGPM from IMT), network with peers at offline basecamps and more.

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