A career in marketing can be both fascinating and dependable. But, given heavy competition in the job market, it can be difficult for working professionals with only a bachelor’s degree to take their marketing careers to the next level. Earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) can give marketers a distinct leg up in climbing the corporate ladder into management positions.
The online MBA – Marketing Emphasis program offered by Southern Utah University (SUU) is tailored for working professionals looking to further develop their qualifications and increase career mobility. The program focuses on a combination of classic marketing methods and current trends, built around a foundation in management studies and general business practices. This comprehensive study can prepare graduates for a multitude of job opportunities across industries, helping to increase their competitive advantage in the marketing field.
How Can Earning an MBA Help Me Improve as a Marketer?
If you work in marketing, you probably know a fair amount about current marketing strategies and trends. But what theories and research are those strategies based on? How can you apply marketing research methodologies to improve the efficacy of your promotional campaigns? How do you incorporate advanced analytics tools and methods into your marketing strategy design? And how do you sift through and effectively utilize emerging marketing trends?
These are some of the questions addressed through marketing study at the MBA level. Examining the underpinnings of common marketing models can help you evaluate when and how to use those models. Developing your understanding of marketing research methodologies and analytics methods can improve your ability to glean nuanced insight from data and trends. Exploring emerging marketing techniques and media platforms is fundamental to successful marketing strategy.
Essential to the study of these and other topics in a marketing MBA program is a focus on integrating both well-established and emerging marketing research, strategy and methods. Applying this integrated understanding to practice can help you better address the challenges and complexities of current marketing. Working professionals enrolled in SUU’s online marketing MBA are uniquely positioned to apply what they learn in program coursework to their jobs in real time.
Why Include General Business Studies in a Marketing MBA?
Marketing does not exist in a vacuum. Successful marketing relies on seamless collaboration between departments, from product development and supply chain to logistics and finance. The effective marketer uses advanced knowledge of all aspects of business operations to facilitate productive collaboration.
Plus, marketers are tasked with developing brands and creating campaigns that align closely with a company’s business plan, goals, vision and culture. As a marketer, you are promoting and communicating the value of a product or service. But your campaign and strategy will also communicate the value of — and shape the consumer’s opinion of — that company as a whole.
Coursework in all the above areas will focus on the managerial perspective. Marketing MBA students will study management practices and leadership in depth, emphasizing the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. These attributes are essential for professionals looking to advance their careers into management.
What Kinds of Career Opportunities Can I Pursue With an MBA in Marketing?
For the potential employer, an MBA equates to advanced knowledge and skills as well as motivation, determination and an aptitude for leadership on the part of the job candidate. Having an MBA is also often a job requirement for managerial positions or at least given preference in the hiring process.
A marketing MBA graduate may pursue a position as a senior marketing analyst, with an average salary of $114,870 per year, according to December 2023 data from ZipRecruiter. Those with a special interest in modern media marketing design may work as a media planner, buyer or director. In December 2023, the average salary for media directors was $112,704 per year according to ZipRecruiter.
Middle- and upper-level marketing management roles as well as marketing executive positions are the most obvious applications of this education and credential. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual pay for advertising, promotions and marketing managers in 2022 was $138,730. ZipRecruiter reports the average salary of brand marketing directors to be $127,565 per year, as of December 2023. ZipRecruiter data from the same time period shows chief marketing officers (CMOs) make an average of $160,891 in annual salary. Plus, chief executives often receive substantial additional compensation in the form of bonuses, commissions and profit sharing.
Companies in every industry — ranging from hospitality and travel to technology and healthcare — rely on marketing for the exposure they need to be profitable. In this ubiquitous and lucrative field, the credentials, skills, knowledge and experience gained through a marketing MBA can help propel a marketer’s career forward.
Learn more about SUU’s online MBA – Marketing Emphasis program.
