Direct marketing specialist vs marketing strategist

The differences between direct marketing specialists and marketing strategists 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 strategist takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a marketing strategist has an average salary of $80,033, 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 strategist are digital marketing, email marketing, and channel marketing.

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing strategist overview

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Strategist
Yearly salary	$59,907	$80,033
Hourly rate	$28.80	$38.48
Growth rate	19%	10%
Number of jobs	125,958	89,543
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	37	39
Years of experience	6	10

What does a direct marketing specialist do?

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.

What does a marketing strategist do?

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.

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing strategist salary

Direct marketing specialists and marketing strategists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Strategist
Average salary	$59,907	$80,033
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $80,000	Between $53,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	-	Harrisburg, PA
Highest paying state	-	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	-	McKinsey & Company Inc
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between direct marketing specialist and marketing strategist education

There are a few differences between a direct marketing specialist and a marketing strategist in terms of educational background:

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Strategist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Business	Marketing
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Georgia

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing strategist demographics

Here are the differences between direct marketing specialists' and marketing strategists' demographics:

	Direct Marketing Specialist	Marketing Strategist
Average age	37	39
Gender ratio	Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1%	Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7%
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%

Differences between direct marketing specialist and marketing strategist duties and responsibilities

Direct marketing specialist example responsibilities.

Execute worldwide eMarketing strategies to drive leads and revenue for assign products.
Manage relationships with print, mail, e-mail, creative and copywriting vendors.
Manage B2C direct marketing tactics including e-mail and direct mail to drive revenue for the remarketing efforts.
Manage the creation and deployment of mobile-optimize e-blast HTML templates to use for company's online marketing efforts.
Develop, manage and implement special events for MWR programs and facilities with to focus on the customer.
Manage all benefits and payroll administration, including analyzing plans and making recommendations for plan design changes.

Marketing strategist example responsibilities.

Sole authority for evaluating, choosing, configuring, implementing, managing, and customizing CRM and training of all staff.
Lead CRM implementation from strategic definition and proposal through scoping, requirements and implementation.
Develop and manage strategic B2C and B2B integrate marketing plans leveraging digital and traditional marketing efforts.
Introduce test/control analysis methodology to measure lift and ROI for online lead generation campaigns.
Maintain accurate records and client account information through SalesForce.
Create strategic PowerPoint presentations about new product launches and customize it for every client meeting.

Direct marketing specialist vs marketing strategist skills

Common direct marketing specialist skills

Marketing Campaigns, 13%
Customer Service, 11%
Data Entry, 10%
Email Marketing, 7%
Print Production, 7%
Email Campaigns, 6%

Common marketing strategist skills

Digital Marketing, 11%
Email Marketing, 8%
Channel Marketing, 6%
Marketing Campaigns, 5%
Integrated Marketing, 5%
Project Management, 4%

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Direct Marketing Specialist
Direct Marketing Specialist vs Marketing Strategist

Updated January 8, 2025

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