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If you would like to work in advertising or marketing and you have strong interpersonal skills and a drive to impress your clients, you may want to consider becoming an account manager. Account managers play an important role in the field of marketing and can work in virtually any industry with small, mid-sized or even giant marketing firms. Not only do they serve as a liaison between a client and the firm, the account manager is responsible for the management of sales and the overall relationship. Since fostering a relationship with clients is what ultimately earns a firm profits, managers need to have specific traits, skills and experience before they will earn the title.
What Are the Duties of the Account Manager?
The purpose of the manager is to manage the employer’s client relationships. To do this, the marketing or sales professional will have a long list of duties that include communicating with clients and discussing goals. If there is an issue with a project or the customer’s needs are not being met, the manager will be responsible for addressing the issues professionally and resolving them so that they can retain the account.
Managers will assess the nature of a project, provide quotes and then implement strategy to meet sales quotas so that they can show that the account is performing. To show executives and clients how sales are being generated, the manager will prepare sales metric reports and annual forecasts.
What is the Educational Requirement to Become an Account or Marketing Manager?
No matter what industry you would like to work in, there is a lot of competition within the marketing department to be promoted to account manager. Because the competition is fierce and managers must possess a strong skill set that can be attained in a formal degree program, having a degree is critical before you attempt to break into the field.
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The first step will be to earn a 4-year undergraduate degree in a field like Business Administration or Marketing to seek an entry-level role. If you would like to personalize your declared major, it can be beneficial to major in Marketing and minor in Business Administration. By taking either of these programs, you will complete general education requirements and then focus on finance, business, law, sales promotions management and other marketing curriculum.
Is a Master’s Degree Necessary to Work in Account or Promotions Management?
A Bachelor’s degree is acceptable in many industries when you have professional marketing experience, but there are employer’s that only want to hire managers that have a Master’s. An MBA in Marketing or a terminal Master’s degree that covers curriculum in market research, economics, statistics, accounting, marketing and the psychology of persuasion will prepare you to take higher lever positions or larger accounts.
Demand for advertising and promotion managers is projected to grow by 12 percent by the year 2022. Of those who work in the field currently, about a quarter work with advertising agencies and 16% work direct for companies. Once you get your degree, you will be able to work in sales, finance or marketing to generate professional experience. After getting professional experience and a formal degree in business, you are close to becoming an account manager with one of the leading corporations or firms a region you want to work in.
