Question

Topic: Career/Training

What Are The Typical Duties Of A Vp Of Marketing?

Posted by Anonymous on 12/16/2007 at 4:00 PM ET 125 Points
Hi there,

I am helping a friend decide between 2 vp of marketing positions with completely different duties/expectations. one seems to be more corporate marketing/pr/comms oriented while the other is more product oriented. Is there a standard set of duties that a vp of marketing is expected to do? here would be my list:
1. provide marketing leadership
2. pr/ar
3. corporate branding/positioning/messaging
4 product management
5 product marketing
6 lead generation
7 events
8 website/collateral
9 agency/external vendor management for mktg activities

any thoughts? this is for technology firms, startup focussed.

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by ilan on 12/16/2007 at 5:29 PM Member
    The scope of duties are different from company to company.
    The best idea for you is to look at the classified recruitment ads of prestigious magazines in your location and see what kind of duties they describe for this job.
    Keep in mind that each company will ask for various duties, and they can be very different from each other.
    Each point you mentioned in your questions could be included, and some would add to the responsibilities many other points.
    The kind of company, or the category of business really doesn't matter.
    You can be in Technology or Haelthcare, and still the description of responsibilities will be similar.
  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 12/16/2007 at 7:00 PM Member
    It has been my observation that in companies less than say 500 Million the VP of Marketing Position is often a position that was built for the convenience of the rest of the executive staff.

    When your friend is making a decision as to which job to take... here is my suggestion --- take the one that pays the most.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 12/16/2007 at 7:43 PM Member
    As ilan said, it varies from company to company. Different companies view marketing differently. And different industries use different types of marketing.

    Plus also there great variations based on the size of the company (smaller companies, the position is much more hands on, where in larger companies, it is much more people management).
  • Posted by bam4310 on 12/17/2007 at 11:57 AM Accepted
    Ask one key question: What is the primary role (expectation) of marketing? Generally there are three broad areas:

    1. Drive Sales
    2. Create Brand Awareness
    3. Sales Support

    Getting clarity here is important in aligning priorities with competencies.
  • Posted on 12/24/2007 at 6:13 AM Author
    thanks everyone for the comments. appreciate your help.
  • Posted on 12/30/2007 at 2:10 PM Author
    thanks all for your responses.
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