A Job In Marketing Requires Strategic Thinking

How do companies get to know their customer base? What prices are reasonable for the products that a company is selling? How are clients kept satisfied? The answers to these all-important questions start with the marketing field. This area of work is interested creating strategic plans by which companies generate interest in their products or services. It also anticipates the needs and wants of consumers and aims to satisfy them more efficiently than a company’s competitors. The people responsible for these marketing strategies are marketers.

There is a wide range of career options in marketing. However, the common denominator is a sense of ownership over the product and/or service and the necessity to translate customers’ needs in the communication of your marketing strategy. That marketing communication can be done in several ways, which is why a career in marketing opens doors to several positions. These positions include sales representatives, customer service and product support representatives, merchandising assistants, market researchers, brand management, advertising, promotions and public relations. Another great thing about marketing is that it is needed in every company and in every industry, so career potential is unlimited. Employment can be found in: financial services, electronics, food and beverage, high-tech sector, not-for-profit sector, government and more. In fact, almost a third of all North Americans are employed in marketing-related positions.

In order to become the essential link between a company’s products and consumers, you must attain the right training. The Business Marketing program at Centennial College is two years in length and sees students graduate with an Ontario College Diploma. To apply for the program, students must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Compulsory English 12C or U and Math11C, M, or U or 12C or U credit or skills assessment, or equivalent are also required. However, possession of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the program.

Once you have been accepted into the Business — Marketing program, you can expect to first learn the basics of business (such as accounting, operations, organizational behaviour and international business), which serve as an important foundation for the marketing courses that follow. These marketing courses include theory, case-based problem solving, professional selling practices and marketing communications. A unique approach to teaching ensures that Centennial’s Marketing program encompasses all the key competencies such as creative, practical, decision-making and persuasive communications. Not only are students taught theory, there are also interactive guest lectures, presentations, projects, computer simulations and more.

All four semesters of Centennial’s two-year Marketing program are identical to the first four semesters of its three-year, six-semester program. This permits graduates of the two-year Marketing program to benefit from a seamless transition into the three-year Marketing program, should they wish to continue with a more in-depth study of marketing. Students also have the option to participate in an articulated program with selected universities, institutes and professional associations. These partnerships allow students to apply credits earned at Centennial towards further study at other institutions. Check out Centennial’s partners on its Business Marketing benefits information page.