To do marketing properly, you need access to a huge skillset. We demonstrate this with a list of ten of the major career streams for marketing graduates. The list shows that marketing training can be a great investment for almost any business.

For each of the different marketing roles, a business can hire an expert, rely on in-house talent, or train staff to do the job well.

The last approach – in-house training – is relatively easy to do these days because of the availability of online courses. You just need to find staff with some free time, a desire to learn, and the other qualities that make them suitable for online learning.

Next time the issues of staff development or marketing skills come up, think about how well each of the roles is currently being performed. And is there a way to train someone up to do it better?

Digital marketing manager

Digital marketing managers organise the online marketing activities of a business or other entity. They may be work on digital advertising, social media, website layout and search engine optimisation, web forms, and managing online customers. In small businesses, the role can require you to do many of the essential tasks yourself. In larger businesses, coordination and management are the main concerns.

Marketing intelligence analyst

Competition is real and alive in every field. Marketing is no exception to this reality of life. The industry is in need of professionals who can analyse business opportunities, and come up with new strategies and products to beat the competition. Part of the job is to help your employer seamlessly adapt and respond to new trends. You need to be innovative and inventive to keep up with the dynamic market changes that always seem to be happening.

Accounts manager

Communication is a key part to any aspect of marketing. As an accounts manager, you are at the nerve center of creating and disseminating information to customers. You are also expected to maintain an unscathed corporate image and formidable identity for the business, so that it remains in favour in the eyes of clients and other stakeholders. It is also in your job description to maintain excellent working relationships with key clients and the major players within your organisation.

Marketing strategist

Attracting and retaining clients has always been an integral part of business growth. Companies, businesses and individuals are looking for marketing strategists who can help them on this front.

Among your duties is to collect and compile data on client demographics. You are expected to tabulate preferences against each group and the best ways to keep their loyalty to the products and services. It will also be in your scope of duties to know what the competition is doing to win over customers and how to counter them.

Marketing analyst

Without measurable parameters, a marketing campaign runs the risk of going to waste. No one would precisely know the hits and misses, and reasons for the results. A marketing analyst is a critical player in quantifying goals, tracking campaign execution and measuring achievement.

In your job description, you are expected to help coordinate all departments towards a common goal, implement tools to measure achievement, and identify strategies to spur growth.

Marketing manager

There has to be someone at the helm of the marketing efforts. A marketing manager takes up this role. You are expected to develop strategies, assess their viability, come up with their financial implications, and take responsibility for the marketing team. It’s a very demanding job but equally rewarding if you get it right.

Human resources manager

Any business activity is driven by a collection of forces. One of the forces are the people employed by an organisation; the human resource. Technology may have changed the way business is done but it is far away from finding a suitable substitute for human input. Marketing graduates can apply their skills in communication and their empathy for people to serve as effective human resource managers in today's digital environment.

As a human resources expert, you will be tasked with hiring, firing, transferring, and interpreting human resource policies and laws among other duties. The welfare of employees is an essential consideration in how you carry out your duties.

Sales manager

This one is as old as the marketing niche. And albeit it being a pioneer job opportunity in the marketing world, the future is so bright for those looking to work as sales managers. Among the key roles you will play are ensuring customer satisfaction with products and services, leading the sales teams at both local and regional levels, as well as assessing and reviewing reports to determine profitability from sales.

Sales representative

If you love to be where the action is, being a sales representative is the opportunity for you. You’ll be in direct touch with the clients, telling them about the goods and services you are selling. It is also in your job description to answer all customer questions and resolve any issues that arise during a sales process. It could also mean following up on clients to win their loyalty for the near future. Your job will revolve around making customers feel at the right place and in a mood to buy.

Public relations expert

Almost every business and organization has a strong interest in maintaining an excellent image. This is where public relations experts come in. A public relations role is one of the many career opportunities available to someone with marketing training. You will be expected to respond appropriately to information requests from the media, set records straight for the public, as well as ensure that all communication aspects of the marketing process are done to perfection. It's also expected that you represent the company in dealing with the public and important clients.