Depending on the size of a company, a marketing department's duties can be wide and varied.
Marketing professionals can be a business' most important employees. It's a high-pressure career made more intense by working in close proximity to others, potential for a heavy travel schedule and long hours at the office. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 80 percent of people in marketing or a related field worked 40 hours or more each week. In smaller firms, the duties of the marketing department can overlap with advertising and sales, whereas in larger companies these would likely be distinct departments.
Research
Marketing departments deal with lots of market research, which deals with gathering information about a wider market, a niche of a market or information about the customers a company wishes to target for sales. Research like this can determine which demographic is most likely to purchase a company's product or service and focus the advertising on that group.
Strategy
While knowing the customer is an extremely important part of marketing, a solid strategy for the marketplace is just as important. Marketing departments study competitors' products and sales strategies, analyze the flaws they perceive and craft a strategy of their own to either undermine or overwhelm the competition. According to the BLS, this could be anything from undercutting the price of the competitor's product to following the trends of consumer desire to add to product features the competitor's offering lacks.
Promotions
In smaller firms, marketing professionals also handle promotional campaigns such as newspaper inserts, direct mail or in-store promotions. Promotional campaigns can also include all forms of savings designed to get the customer in the door -- coupons, rebates and free samples, for example.
Public Relations
Marketing departments can also be called upon to handle so-called "marketing to the community," which often entails sending someone to an event as the company's representative, or sponsoring a charity event or children's sports team.
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