What does a direct marketing manager do?
Direct marketing managers are executive professionals who manage all the direct marketing activities of a company by using delivery systems such as traditional mail, social media, email, and texting campaigns. These managers are required to manage the marketing team so that they can generate leads and promote the company's brand and products or services. They must evaluate campaign expenditure so that they can ensure the maximum return of investment (ROI) of products or services. Direct marketing managers must also record all the results from the marketing campaign as well as produce reports for the management.
Direct marketing manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real direct marketing manager resumes:
- Design and manage all web advertising components including email, SEM, affiliate and banner/tile ads.
- Manage customer lifecycle workflow utilizing Aprimo project management tool.
- Develop and manage marketing programs and partner integration for industry marketing in government, healthcare and education markets.
- Develop SEO initiatives around same long tail keywords to increase organic traffic.
- Direct all employees on company SEO efforts including blogs, forums, and social networks.
- Contribute to the visual design, interaction, and usability of CRM and other sales application interfaces.
- Coordinate list orders from both list vendors and client's internal CRM teams to support direct mail programs.
- Establish analytic measurements including but not limit to ROI.
- Develop profile database, inbound telemarketing sales, focus groups, direct marketing, training/fulfillment to domestic/international markets.
- Define, develop and implement an ROI performance analysis report for forecasting and post-evaluation of all events and programs.
- Create subscription renewal programs and vendor lead programs increasing effectiveness of all programs running in conjunction with direct marketing/outbound telemarketing.
- Project oversight include qualitative and quantitative data collection that ultimately substantiate the value of the new foaming platform against customer KPIs.
- Initiate operations improvements through enhancing processes for inventory maintenance, employee staffing, payroll administration and sales reporting.
Direct marketing manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Direct Marketing Managers are proficient in Digital Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Direct Marketing Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Digital Marketing, 13%
Launched integrated digital marketing plan including interactive micro site.
- Marketing Campaigns, 11%
Executed annual strategic planning and implementation of advertising and marketing campaigns for over 200 retailers located throughout the Northwest.
- Project Management, 6%
Utilized project management tools to manage all responsibilities Marketing Manager, New Product Development.
- Email Campaigns, 5%
Supervised email scheduling and delivery of email campaigns.
- CRM, 4%
Managed U.S. Microsoft Dynamics CRM initial and ongoing implementation and quality assurance.
- ROI, 4%
Defined, developed and implemented an ROI performance analysis report for forecasting and post-evaluation of all events and programs.
Most direct marketing managers use their skills in "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," and "project management" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential direct marketing manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a direct marketing manager to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what direct marketing managers do because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." Additionally, a direct marketing manager resume shows how direct marketing managers use analytical skills: "collaborated with cross functional teams conducting market trends and competitive analysis to identify new product opportunities, sales and retention programs. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform direct marketing manager duties is communication skills. Direct marketing managers responsibilities require that "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." Direct marketing managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "utilized customer database to segment customer profile information, target communications, and analyze the roi for each direct marketing initiative. "
Creativity. direct marketing managers are also known for creativity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to direct marketing manager responsibilities, because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." A direct marketing manager resume example shows how creativity is used in the workplace: "managed external agencies to deliver world-class email and direct mail creative, messaging and execution. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain direct marketing manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a direct marketing manager rely on this skill, as "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what direct marketing managers do: "integrated project management experience with interpersonal, communications, financial, and leadership skills. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in direct marketing manager job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what direct marketing managers do. Direct marketing manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." You can also see how direct marketing manager duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "developed and implemented overall crm and data governance strategy for northeast region under previous organizational structure. "
The three companies that hire the most direct marketing managers are:
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Compare different direct marketing managers
Direct marketing manager vs. Manager, field marketing
A field marketing manager oversees a company's field marketing operations, aiming to improve brand awareness and reach sales goals. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around devising marketing strategies, participating in organizing campaigns and trade shows, setting objectives for the team, and monitoring the progress of marketing programs, ensuring they are functioning effectively and efficiently. There are also instances when the manager must address issues and concerns, performing corrective measures when necessary. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach company goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, direct marketing manager responsibilities require skills like "campaign performance," "creative development," "telemarketing," and "data analysis." Meanwhile a typical manager, field marketing has skills in areas such as "demand generation," "grass," "market trends," and "brand awareness." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Managers, field marketing really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $100,565. Comparatively, direct marketing managers tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $96,801.The education levels that managers, field marketing earn slightly differ from direct marketing managers. In particular, managers, field marketing are 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a direct marketing manager. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Direct marketing manager vs. Senior manager of marketing
A senior manager of marketing is responsible for monitoring the organization's marketing staff, reviewing and approving marketing campaigns, and identifying strategies to improve services that would generate more revenues and increase its profitability. The senior manager of marketing evaluates the current market trends to meet consumers' demands and organizes techniques to sell products and services to the target audience. They lead the development of promotional offers and brand awareness, interpret sales data, and monitor the marketing processes' progress.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, direct marketing manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "campaign performance," "telemarketing," "data analysis," and "sql." Meanwhile, a senior manager of marketing has duties that require skills in areas such as "sr," "kpis," "patients," and "strong project management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Senior managers of marketing earn a higher average salary than direct marketing managers. But senior managers of marketing earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $126,981. Additionally, direct marketing managers earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $96,801 annually.senior managers of marketing earn higher levels of education than direct marketing managers in general. They're 8.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Direct marketing manager vs. Marketing strategist
The marketing strategist is an executive who works with the members of the marketing team to ensure the implementation of high-quality marketing strategies within a given time frame. Marketing strategists examine data to find out the best way to administer resources to increase revenue and profits. Their responsibilities include performing in-depth research to determine new market prospects and customers' preferences as well as forecasting market trends. Also, they set certain marketing goals that reflect the overall business goal together with developing and managing digital campaigns.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, direct marketing managers are more likely to have skills like "campaign performance," "salesforce," "telemarketing," and "sql." But a marketing strategist is more likely to have skills like "social media marketing," "content strategy," "healthcare," and "powerpoint."
Marketing strategists earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $100,214. Direct marketing managers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $96,801.When it comes to education, marketing strategists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to direct marketing managers. In fact, they're 2.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Direct marketing manager vs. Marketing lead
A marketing lead is an individual who is responsible for overseeing a team of marketing specialists to help a company achieve its marketing goals. Marketing leads are required to create and manage marketing plans so that they can deliver marketing campaigns on time and escalate issues that may prevent prompt delivery. They can incorporate a mix of different strategies in campaigns such as digital publishing, templates, and training. Marketing leads must work closely with account managers and sales engineers so that they can empower them to effectively position the company's products differently from their competitors.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between direct marketing managers and marketing leads, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a direct marketing manager might have more use for skills like "campaign performance," "telemarketing," "data analysis," and "target audience." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of marketing leads require skills like "healthcare," "twitter," "linkedin," and "digital transformation. "
In general, marketing leads earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $118,478. The highest-paying industry for a direct marketing manager is the technology industry.marketing leads reach similar levels of education compared to direct marketing managers, in general. The difference is that they're 3.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of direct marketing manager
Updated January 8, 2025
