Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between direct marketing specialists and marketing executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a direct marketing specialist, becoming a marketing executive takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a marketing executive has an average salary of $73,499, which is higher than the $59,907 average annual salary of a direct marketing specialist.
The top three skills for a direct marketing specialist include marketing campaigns, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a marketing executive are digital marketing, marketing campaigns, and product development.
| Direct Marketing Specialist | Marketing Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $59,907 | $73,499 |
| Hourly rate | $28.80 | $35.34 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,958 | 145,040 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
A direct marketing specialist develops marketing strategies and promotes products or services directly to customers, aiming to secure sales and raise brand awareness. Their responsibilities usually include conducting market research and analyses, studying the consumer trends and competitors, identifying business and client opportunities, establishing objectives, and creating marketing materials for different programs and platforms. Moreover, there are times when a direct marketing specialist collaborates with external parties such as vendors and distributors, analyze client feedback, and assist clients by answering inquiries, processing sales, and solving issues and concerns.
A marketing executive is responsible for developing effective marketing strategies and promotional campaigns to drive revenues and increase the business' profitability. Marketing executives work closely with the rest of the marketing team to analyze current market trends and design new products and services to meet the public's needs and demands. They also monitor expenses and find efficient ways to reduce costs without compromising the quality of the products. A marketing executive must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially on guiding the sales team and maximize their productivity and sales potentials by organizing sales training and programs.
Direct marketing specialists and marketing executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Direct Marketing Specialist | Marketing Executive | |
| Average salary | $59,907 | $73,499 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $80,000 | Between $49,000 And $108,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Nevada |
| Best paying company | - | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Retail |
There are a few differences between a direct marketing specialist and a marketing executive in terms of educational background:
| Direct Marketing Specialist | Marketing Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between direct marketing specialists' and marketing executives' demographics:
| Direct Marketing Specialist | Marketing Executive | |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1% | Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |