Today, consumers have gained a significant control in almost all types of marketplaces. This has lead business organizations and companies to focus their marketing activities on critical business decisions. As a result, the demand for business-minded marketers is on a rise. A MBA in marketing degree provides a versatile combination of business management with marketing skills. It prepares marketing managers with the tools needed to understand human wants and needs, so that products impact the market optimally. A MBA degree in marketing provides cutting-edge knowledge and skills necessary to pioneer marketing trends.
Apart from traditional on-campus MBA programs in marketing, a number of institutes are offering online degree programs as well. Online programs offer certain benefits which are not available in campus based programs. Online programs enable students to continue to work full-time while studying because they provide a flexible learning schedule. Also, they enable students to avoid costs related to travel to campuses. Finally, online programs may be less expensive than campus programs due to the low setup costs of online education.
Curriculum
Typically, a MBA in marketing program covers a broad range of courses that are not focused on purely marketing topics, and these courses include business management, finance, international business, economics, or accounting. Many programs enable students to specialize in a particular area of marketing, and this could include advertising, marketing research, supply and demand, and consumer audiences. The course curriculum may consist of core courses along with foundation courses and electives. The core courses may include the following:
-
Managerial Accounting
-
Managerial Economics
-
Multinational Corporate Environment
-
Financial Management
-
Strategic Management
-
Marketing Strategies
-
Information Technology
-
Corporate Leadership
-
Operations Management
-
Qualitative Analysis for Decision Making
-
Responsible Corporate Leadership
Foundation courses may include courses such as mathematics for business, economics, financial reporting and analysis, business law, and human behavior. Candidates may have the option to choose from the following elective courses:
-
Promotions Management
-
Consumer Behavior
-
Brand Management
-
Corporate Communications
-
Ethical and Legal Issues in Marketing
-
Relationship Selling Strategies
The above mentioned curriculum is typical for many online and campus based MBA programs in marketing. However, please note that there may be slight differences between institutes.
Career Opportunities
Earning a marketing MBA degree may lead to a wide array of job opportunities. The emergence of digital space has opened up even more jobs for marketers. Marketing MBA graduates may work in the following capacities, among others:
-
Market research analysts
-
Promotions experts
-
Media buyers
-
Marketing specialists
-
Search engine marketing
-
Social media marketing
-
E-commerce
The job of market research analysts includes exploring market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary of market research analysts was $60,300 in May 2012. Also, according to the BLS, the employment of market research analysts is expected to grow at a rate of 32 percent from 2012 to 2022, which is much faster than the average for all other occupations.