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Marketing Manager - National Accounting Firm

"I don’t market tangible goods; I market expert services. To do this well, I need to know the fundamentals of our business—accounting—and translate this into value for a very select group of decision-makers in our clients’ big companies. I also need to understand the competitive landscape and invest in opportunities to build our firm’s reputation as a capable and trusted thought leader. In a regulated professional services industry like accounting, understanding and respecting all professional rules and sales guidelines is essential."

Salary Range:

$100,200 - $127,500

The Tip

Context is everything in marketing. I recommend you start your career at a marketing agency working with diverse clients. This is a fast-track to discovering what you love and hate.

Priority Knowledge & Skills
Strategic Marketing

  • Develop & execute a positioning strategy

  • Develop & execute a brand strategy

  • Conduct a competitive analysis

  • Conduct an environmental scan

  • Develop & apply a segmentation strategy

 

Research & Insight

  • Demonstrate empathy & curiosity

  • Leverage contextual knowledge of accounting industry

  • Ability to analyze data

  • Leverage research to support insights

  • Presentation & report-writing skills

  • Use analytics tools

Product management

  • Measure return on investment (ROI)

  • Manage a budget

 

Communications & Branding

  • Develop & execute a media plan

  • Sponsorship & community investment

  • Leverage earned media

  • Apply marketing within a CSR framework

 

Content Curation & Design

  • Conduct content research & curation

  • Develop original content

  • Use design tools

Building Block Experiences
Education & Learning:

  • Business degree. Major in marketing and a minor in public relations.

  • Diploma in finance from local college

  • Certificates in web and social media analytics

  • Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.

  • Industry publications

 

"My formal education in public relations provided a depth of product, pricing, and promotional expertise. This, combined with training in finance and digital media, gave me the foundation to work in an increasingly convergent marketing communications world. I need to learn something new every day."

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Employment Experiences:

  • Retail sales experience while in school

  • Account coordinator at a marketing agency for a summer. Was offered a full-time position at graduation.

  • Marketing project manager at a regional company (with exposure to B2B and B2C)

 

"Working at an agency allowed me to better manage third parties. Having junior roles (including retail sales) early on gave me the ability to understand the full marketing cycle. My project management experience allowed me to appreciate how it all worked together."

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Community Experiences:

  • An executive at a school club

  • Participated in charitable organizations including the Food Bank

 

"This allowed me to gain exposure to a variety of perspectives and learn from others about what motivates people. It also improved my work ethic and I learned how to enjoy intrinsic motivators."

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Contextual Experiences:

  • Attended marketing conferences to be exposed to how brands are solving problems

 

"It’s important for me to be well-rounded because this role is more generalist than specialist, plus I need to be able to influence others."

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Relationships:

  • Learned how to “play nice in the sandbox” with managers from other disciplines

  • Developed effective working relationships with executives

  • Sought out an internal champion within the organization who could support my initiatives via back channels

 

"I found that earning the respect of peers who may not always value the marketing discipline was a core skill. I needed to learn how to speak their language and translate my activities into things they appreciate."

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