How To Become A Director Of Consumer Marketing: What It Is and Career Path

What is a director of consumer marketing and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Stephanie Dellande,

Richard Tate

Directors of Consumer Marketing are responsible for the marketing and communication strategy of their business, as well as the overall identity and image. They devise annual strategy schedules, draw up a schedule of campaigns and activities, set a marketing target, and analyze the competition and competitors. They also provide guidance to the marketing department, including the role of marketing managers.

Directors of Consumer Marketing are most often hired by private sector businesses, although they may also work with charities and public bodies. Their everyday duties and responsibilities include planning and implementing a communications strategy for the organization and for new and current goods or services. They are also in charge of reviewing improvements to the industry, customer trends, and competitors' practices, changing the campaign strategy if possible.

At least an undergraduate degree is usually required to be a Director of Consumer Marketing, with a focus on marketing or business studies being the most preferred subjects. Many employers even look favorably on candidates with an MBA or other Master's degree certification. Also for this position, a minimum of eight to ten years of marketing experience is needed. They are often elevated from the positions of head of marketing or marketing manager.

What general advice would you give to a director of consumer marketing?

Stephanie Dellande

Professor, Menlo College

Most likely, some 2020 graduates are feeling discouraged about their future. Particularly for those in fields in which job opportunities are generally less abundant, e.g., communication, psychology, majority of the humanities. Young adults, ages 18-35 years, have experienced and/or are experiencing, directly or indirectly, some of the country's most difficult times, the great recession December 2007 - June 2009, for many much longer, and now the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Congress has a significant role in determining the timeline of the fate of COVID-19 and a thriving economy. While the well-being (physical, financial, emotional, educational) of the American people is top of mind for this administration, if the economy is going to recover in a more expedient way, congress ultimately must agree to the administration's proposed recommendations, bills. If they do, recent graduates will likely be in good stead. It would be in the best interest of graduates to take a mindful approach (Celsi, Nelson, Dellande, Gilly, 2017) to their career. While the economy is in a state of collapse, young adults may have a difficult time launching their career. However, food for thought, accepting most any work although it may not be in a preferred field is suggested. Also recommended, while in a less desirable position, take advantage of or create opportunities to perform tasks related or only tangentially related to an aspirational career. Doing so will likely go a long way in helping to realize an ideal position.

ScoreDirector Of Consumer MarketingUS Average

Salary

8.5

Avg. Salary $135,924

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 46.81%

male 53.19%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a director of consumer marketing

Explore director of consumer marketing education requirements

Most common director of consumer marketing degrees

Bachelor's

74.0 %

Master's

19.7 %

Associate

2.7 %

Start to develop specific director of consumer marketing skills

Skills	Percentages
Digital Marketing	9.28%
Market Research	7.52%
Consumer Insights	5.80%
CRM	4.45%
Marketing Campaigns	4.33%

Complete relevant director of consumer marketing training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of consumer marketing learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of consumer marketing based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of consumer marketing resumes.

Research director of consumer marketing duties and responsibilities

Identify the need for a CRM system and more rigorous sales operations as the company's client leads start to grow.
Provide strategic oversight and a strong business approach to managing existing systems and developing enhance models for future events.
Target consumers with rich content, social media, email and SEO keywords.
Pioneer a CRM project to identify a portfolio segmentation strategy base upon customer behavior and usage.

Get director of consumer marketing experience

Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a director of consumer marketing. The most common roles before becoming a director of consumer marketing include marketing manager, marketing director team lead and senior manager of marketing.

Prepare your director of consumer marketing resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of consumer marketing resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of consumer marketing resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable director of consumer marketing resume templates

Build a professional director of consumer marketing resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of consumer marketing resume.

Apply for director of consumer marketing jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a director of consumer marketing job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average director of consumer marketing salary

The average director of consumer marketing salary in the United States is $135,924 per year or $65 per hour. Director of consumer marketing salaries range between $98,000 and $187,000 per year.

Average director of consumer marketing salary

$135,924 Yearly

$65.35 hourly

What is a director of consumer marketing and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a director of consumer marketing?

Director of consumer marketing career paths

Key steps to become a director of consumer marketing

Explore director of consumer marketing education requirements

Most common director of consumer marketing degrees

Start to develop specific director of consumer marketing skills

Complete relevant director of consumer marketing training and internships

Research director of consumer marketing duties and responsibilities

Get director of consumer marketing experience

Prepare your director of consumer marketing resume

Choose from 10+ customizable director of consumer marketing resume templates

Apply for director of consumer marketing jobs

How did you land your first director of consumer marketing job

Average director of consumer marketing salary

How do directors of consumer marketing rate their job?