An account planner is a professional that helps clients achieve their goals by helping them improve their accounts, marketing strategies, and sales techniques. Specifically, they develop and maintain client accounts to help increase sales and profit in general.

On a typical week, an account planner's duties revolve around conducting market research, assisting clients with goal-setting, generating creative concepts for marketing, working with account executives regarding business development opportunities, and conducting competitive analysis. They work in regular offices and may be expected to travel for business on occasion to attend business meetings, seminars, and conferences.

Most account planners have at least a bachelor's degree in advertising, business, marketing, or a similar field. They also typically have extensive experience in the ad and marketing industry and may have worked a supervisory role. Moreover, successful account planners have high-level skill sets in communication, marketing, collaboration, market analysis, and creativity.

The average salary of an account planner is $64,000 per year. The bulk of job opportunities can be found in media, technology, advertising, and telecommunications companies.

What Does an Account Planner Do

There are certain skills that many account planners have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, analytical skills and communication skills.

Learn more about what an Account Planner does

How To Become an Account Planner

If you're interested in becoming an account planner, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 81.9% of account planners have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.4% of account planners have master's degrees. Even though most account planners have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Account Planner Career Paths

Average Salary for an Account Planner

Account Planners in America make an average salary of $71,823 per year or $35 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $107,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $48,000 per year.
Average Account Planner Salary
$71,823 Yearly
$34.53 hourly

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Roles and Types of Account Planner

There are several types of account planner, including:

Marketing Coordinator

Role:

Marketing coordinators are important for any company. If you don't get word out about your company, how do you expect customers to come around? That's where marketing coordinators come into play. And it's also why their job is so important.

Marketing coordinators have a special skill. They can analyze market trends to determine exactly who their target audience is and how to appeal to them. It's truly a gift, and honestly, they seem a little nonhuman for that skill at times. But all of this helps the company attract more clients and get their name out there. Again, can't stress how important marketing coordinators are.

This job can come with a bit of stress, especially since it's an important position. But also because you have to stay ahead of your competitors. Sometimes you'll have to guess if a promotional product will hit well with your target audience. And most of the times it does. But sometimes a product will flop and that brings on a whole new kind of stress.
  • Average Salary: $48,326
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Marketing Consultant

Role:

Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. LinkedIn. The common thread running through these social media platforms is marketing. Gone are the days of billboards and traditional poster advertisements. Big companies, such as General Motors, Johnson Johnson, and Nestle, are approaching new marketing companies to help run their digital ads on these social media platforms. In fact, small and medium enterprises today are relying on social media to increase sales and brand reach.

In the world of marketing consultancy, we can definitely take a page from the book of Gary Vaynerchuk. An entrepreneur who took his/her dad's wine retail business from 3 million to 60 million a year and founded one of the most influential ad agency, VaynerMedia. According to Gary, the number one principle driving a business is attention. If a company cannot garner attention, then customer value cannot be transferred. On a day-to-day basis, Gary spends his/her time having sit-downs to educate clients, interacting with his/her team in strategizing social media campaigns, directing social media posts, contributing to the content on his/her YouTube channel and helping young entrepreneurs in their business marketing initiatives.

To be a successful marketing consultant, you need to have a vast knowledge of how the social media platform works for marketing a business. Employers generally require a degree in business or marketing for entry-level roles and employees can move up to more senior roles with time and experience. The salary of a marketing consultant is an average of $27 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $70,593
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Marketing Representative

Role:

Gone are the days of traditional billboards and newsletters. Although these marketing mediums are still present, marketing gurus such as Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin have proven the convergence of social media, influencers, and digital ads in driving today's business growth. Thus, a marketing representative employed today wears many different hats in promoting a business.

Daily, a marketing representative is involved in developing pricing strategies, developing market forecasts, and creating new sales leads. Besides that, they also manage marketing budgets, facilitate promotional campaigns, and produce an annual report for senior management. They assist in marketing training as well as representing the organization's brand at events and trade shows.

Employers require marketing representatives to have a bachelor's degree relating to business with at least one year of relevant work experience. This role earns, on average, $21 per hour and offers opportunities into becoming a marketing director over time.

  • Average Salary: $47,376
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Account Planner Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active account planner jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where account planners earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Account Planner Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California2,954$75,486
2Florida2,198$59,350
3Texas1,401$79,949
4Pennsylvania1,370$64,115
5Virginia1,208$68,434
6New York1,168$81,280
7Ohio1,136$59,411
8North Carolina1,126$67,117
9Washington1,088$90,765
10Illinois996$71,402
11New Jersey987$88,585
12Arizona944$63,366
13Minnesota918$64,158
14Michigan907$72,808
15Maryland824$81,007
16Massachusetts732$72,161
17Missouri714$53,378
18Wisconsin713$60,208
19Tennessee688$68,665
20Utah536$54,331
21Connecticut520$76,485
22Alabama467$57,574
23South Carolina457$65,222
24Kentucky408$59,065
25Oregon388$71,489
26Iowa380$60,204
27Arkansas349$72,852
28Oklahoma290$48,842
29Nevada289$66,317
30Nebraska222$52,218
31Mississippi213$49,509
32New Hampshire208$74,546
33New Mexico160$62,003
34Delaware144$91,119
35Rhode Island136$69,556
36Maine129$72,265
37Montana128$59,326
38West Virginia125$58,933
39Vermont109$67,818
40North Dakota109$56,727
41South Dakota96$59,160
42Wyoming73$53,041
43Alaska56$60,523
44Colorado0$77,099
45Louisiana0$65,754
46Georgia0$65,892
47Idaho0$55,998
48Indiana0$53,320
49Hawaii0$52,907
50Kansas0$50,408

Account Planner Education

Account Planner Majors

17.4 %
14.6 %

Account Planner Degrees

Bachelors

81.9 %

Masters

9.4 %

Associate

5.7 %

Top Colleges for Account Planners

1. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Public Relations
Marketing
Political Science

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Finance
Business
Economics
Political Science
Marketing

3. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Economics
Psychology
Communication
Marketing
Fine Arts

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Economics
Political Science
English
Communication

5. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Economics
Journalism
Communication
Psychology

6. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Economics
Finance
Psychology
Political Science

7. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Economics
Journalism
Marketing

8. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Psychology
Public Relations
Marketing
Fine Arts
Communication

9. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Finance
Economics
Political Science

10. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Political Science
Public Relations
Psychology
Business
Economics

Top Skills For an Account Planner

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 26.6% of account planners listed digital marketing on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and analytical skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Account Planner Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Account Planner templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Account Planner resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Account Planner Demographics

Account Planner Gender Distribution

Female
Female
61%
Male
Male
39%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among account planners, 61.4% of them are women, while 38.6% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among account planners is White, which makes up 64.7% of all account planners.

  • The most common foreign language among account planners is Spanish at 47.1%.

Online Courses For Account Planner That You May Like

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Accounting Analytics explores how financial statement data and non-financial metrics can be linked to financial performance. In this course, taught by Wharton’s acclaimed accounting professors, you’ll learn how data is used to assess what drives financial performance and to forecast future financial scenarios. While many accounting and financial organizations deliver data, accounting analytics deploys that data to deliver insight, and this course will explore the many areas in which accounting...

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2. Accounting, Bookkeeping & Financial Analysis (Accounting)

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Accounting & Bookkeeping Basics. Accounting & Financial Analysis Concepts. Learn Accounting & Bookkeeping...

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3. Financial Accounting & ExcelComprehensive Accounting Course

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Comprehensive accounting course to learn the accounting cycle in a practical way and pick up critical Excel fundamentals...

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Best States For an Account Planner

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an account planner. The best states for people in this position are Delaware, Washington, New Jersey, and New York. Account planners make the most in Delaware with an average salary of $91,119. Whereas in Washington and New Jersey, they would average $90,765 and $88,585, respectively. While account planners would only make an average of $81,280 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Washington

Total Account Planner Jobs: 1,088
Highest 10% Earn:
$136,000
Location Quotient:
1.5

2. New Jersey

Total Account Planner Jobs: 987
Highest 10% Earn:
$137,000
Location Quotient:
1.26

3. Delaware

Total Account Planner Jobs: 144
Highest 10% Earn:
$142,000
Location Quotient:
1.16
Full List Of Best States For Account Planners

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Top Account Planner Employers

Most Common Employers For Account Planner

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Google$115,233$55.4014
2Razorfish$89,125$42.855
3Burrell Communications$87,068$41.864
4Deutsch LA$85,607$41.166
5P&G$84,069$40.424
6Sanders\Wingo$83,234$40.024
7BYU AdLab$78,446$37.714
8True Media$77,308$37.176
9Spectrum Reach$77,159$37.108
10Cornett$76,502$36.785

Account Planner Videos