Today, successful marketing is the lifeblood of any business. People with strong marketing skills are in demand wherever there is a product, service or even an idea to be sold, writes Roopa Hegde

Mention ‘marketing’ and some people are quick to imagine smooth-talking salesmen in check sport coats with polished, high-pitched voices, persuading customers to buy stuff. Still others visualise marketing as a complicated blend of mind reading and magical wand waving to come up with a winning scheme. Marketing in today’s market-driven world, however, need not fit into these stereotype images. It is not about forcing unwanted products on wary customers. Instead, it involves asking customers what they need and providing products or services for meeting those needs. Like many other things, marketing is a kind of iceberg. The part sticking out is highly visible but much more goes into it than what meets the eye.

What makes successful companies like Microsoft, McDonald’s, Disney and Coca-Cola tick? What makes you buy their products without giving a second thought? ‘Marketing’, of course. In a broader sense, marketing means binding people and products. Needless to say, it’s the most popular specialisation among the management students. Companies from sectors such as FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), consumer durables and advertising and marketing research agencies are among the main recruiters of management students.

Here are some of the specific functional areas of marketing and the entry-level positions they have to offer:

Sales and product management offers you enormous opportunities for entry-level professionals. Selling positions are found in a wide variety of organisations (both consumer and industrial), making ‘sales’ one of the highest paid careers right from the onset. Nevertheless, some companies require a sales experience as a prerequisite to joining the product management stream. In this stream, generally you’re totally free of office job constraints and in a way; you’re your own boss. The rewards and earnings for a sales position can be very high, depending on one’s effort and the compensation plan. In fact, several people, once in sales, spend their entire career there, choosing the freedom and earning potential over the restrictions of office management positions.

The entry-level position in brand/product management is usually as a brand assistant. You could move up the brand ladder as an assistant brand/product manager, depending upon your performance level. Job responsibilities for a brand manager or a product manager include planning and directing the entire marketing programme for a given product or group of products.

Advertising and public relations demand effective communication and people skills owing to their close association with the clients. Since advertising is the mantra for all kinds of businesses, one needs to be creative and possess good presentation ability to be successful in this line. They say it’s a glamorous profession, but those that are in the field say that it also has its pressures and grind but is rewarding in its own way. Since advertisements are communicated through products, advertising professionals have to master the product’s concepts and techniques. Entry-level positions in advertising/PR include media buyers and copywriters.

Marketing researchers provide information used to identify and define marketing opportunities. They’re also concerned with the industry research, advertising research, pricing and packaging research, new product testing, etc. Entry-level positions, targeted at MBA graduates, are usually the assistant market analyst or the assistant product analyst positions.

Retailing offers a variety of positions in merchandising, store management, buying, distribution, including advertising and market research. Entry-level positions involve some sales work, depending on the store and your background in retailing. To be successful, one needs to possess guts, foresight and creativity, owing to a fierce competition among retailers.

International marketing is the process of getting a product or service from the producer to a customer in a foreign country. As business has become increasingly global, this specialisation has become critically important. Entry-level positions at a company’s central offices may include a huge range of varied responsibilities. For those with a Master’s degree, it might include research, planning and coordination efforts.

Marketing has come a long way in recent decades and current trends suggest it’ll go much farther in the next 25 years. When comparing the marketing methods of the past with today’s sophisticated marketing efforts, it’s easy to envisage that marketing might remain as one of the hottest trends. Being in the marketing field means you’re poised to groom into a good leader and a team player, who understands people. If you are a person with strong writing and speaking skills and fire in the belly, marketing is for you.