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Career Options
The industry includes various career opportunities
1. Marketing Research : Marketing researchers provide a great deal of the information businesses need to make sound decisions about the marketing of their products. Most marketing research positions are available with either "in-house" research staffs of manufacturing and marketing firms, marketing research consulting firms, or advertising agencies. Government agencies and university research centers are two other possible employers.
2. Brand or Product Management : Brand managers, or, as they are sometimes called, product managers, are responsible for planning and directing the entire marketing program for a given product or group of products. In a way, it is like running your own business. A brand manager is involved in new product ideas and research, advertising, sales promotion, packaging decisions, pricing, inventory levels, sales, and the legal aspects of marketing a product.
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Retailing : Retailing offers a variety of positions, including sales, buying, distribution, and staff functions such as advertising and marketing research. Entry-level jobs may involve some sales work, depending on the store and whether you have any background in retailing. The next positions may be those of assistant buyer and then buyer. In these, the job is like that of running your own mini-store within a store, as the buyer often has control over types of merchandise displayed, nature of promotions, and even price levels. The competition among retailers is stiff; to be successful, you need guts, foresight, and creativity.
4. Advertising : Several entry-level positions exist in advertising. One can begin as a media buyer, copywriter, or, less often, as a junior or assistant account executive. The next promotions are to full account executive, account supervisor, management supervisor, and then into various agency principal positions.
5. Sales : There are generally two career paths you can follow in sales. First, a salesperson may make sales a career and become a specialist in dealing with jobbers, chains, or vendors, or in selling to specialized target groups such as independent grocers and hospitals. The second path is to become sales manager of a region or district, supervising sales representatives and managers under you. This could ultimately lead to becoming national sales manager, vice president of sales, or perhaps even president.
The rewards and earnings for a sales position can be very high, depending on your effort and the compensation plan. In fact, many people, once in sales, spend their entire careers there, choosing the freedom and earning potential over the restrictions and often lower salaries of office management positions.
6. Distribution : Distribution is essentially selling something your company or somebody else makes, either to a retailer or the end consumer. Most manufacturers in the MI industry sell to dealers (retailers) who are selling to consumers. They employ reps, handle all of their marketing themselves as well as artist relations and accounting and are helping to brand and market the product as best as they can and in close relationship with the manufacturer whose products they distribute. They exhibit at trade shows, warehouse and inspect, sell and ship the products to the market place.
Accounts/Financial-
