What does a market development director do?
A marketing development director is in charge of managing revenue metrics and targets. The responsibilities of a market development director are to evaluate and take advantage of opportunities for growth, to identify market barriers that affect sales, to establish scalable infrastructure within their market, to lead initiatives and programs recognition of the company products and services, and to track emerging trends.
Market development director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real market development director resumes:
- Lead global project to commercialize expand portfolio of adhesive utilizing company synergies to establish a strong, highly-competitive distribution channel.
- Conceptualize and direct the development of a mainframe relational marketing customer database (CRM).
- Create an accountability base culture through utilization of company CRM by running regular reports for sales team to track their progress.
- Maximize equipment productivity by ensuring proper placement and usage by developing working relationship with suppliers, distributors and their sales force.
- Identify and determine appropriate POS advertising to strengthen local marketing efforts and engage consumers.
- Merchandise services to delivery POS, collateral and products to carrier locations along with compliance verification and competitive details.
- Leverage market knowledge and expertise to facilitate customers maximizing their return on investment for oil and gas exploration and production.
Market development director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Market Development Directors are proficient in Healthcare, Market Development, and Business Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Market Development Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 16%
Attend all Healthcare trade shows and conferences regarding hospice and palliative care.
- Market Development, 12%
Invited as Director of Market Development representative to participate in corporate strategic plan development.
- Business Development, 10%
Directed twelve business development specialists focused on end-user calls with product expertise divided between rigging and hoists and crane components.
- CRM, 8%
Created an accountability based culture through utilization of company CRM by running regular reports for sales team to track their progress.
- Business Relationships, 4%
Developed business-to-business relationships and presented successful conceptual designs to engineering teams from national and international WISP customers.
- Account Management, 4%
Directed Account management for all insurance and hospital partners to include contract review and negotiation pieces.
Common skills that a market development director uses to do their job include "healthcare," "market development," and "business development." You can find details on the most important market development director responsibilities below.
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a market development director to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." Additionally, a market development director resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "innovated product line, co-inventing a computer clock battery. "
Interpersonal skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling market development director duties is interpersonal skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." According to a market development director resume, here's how market development directors can utilize interpersonal skills in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated polished interpersonal skills in presenting appropriate mortgage solutions, winning and maintaining confidence of borrowers through exemplary customer service. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of market development directors is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday market development director duties, as "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "initiated market research and analytics for marketing efforts and communicated conclusions and recommendations to internal stakeholders and organizational leadership. "
Analytical skills. For certain market development director responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a market development director rely on this skill, as "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what market development directors do: "conducted market analysis/market segmentation, created customer presentations and developed new data services business cases. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in market development director job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what market development directors do. Market development director responsibilities rely on this skill because "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." You can also see how market development director duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "led aurora's marketing and product development team to enhance brand awareness, communication and value to thousands of customers nationwide. "
The three companies that hire the most market development directors are:
- Accenture56 market development directors jobs
- KPMG LLP26 market development directors jobs
- Superpedestrian10 market development directors jobs
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Market development director vs. Director of sales & business development
A director of sales & business development is responsible for monitoring the business and project plans, ensuring that the sales targets are met, according to project requirements and specifications. Directors of sales & business development perform data analysis to track business performance and identify opportunities to grow revenues and profits. They also coordinate with the clients and maintain healthy business relationships by enhancing their brand image on various platforms and reach the target audience. A director of sales & business development works closely with the marketing and sales team for public relations and marketing campaigns placement.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, market development director responsibilities require skills like "market development," "strategic direction," "competitive analysis," and "lead generation." Meanwhile a typical director of sales & business development has skills in areas such as "sales cycle," "leveraged," "lead qualification," and "saas." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Directors of sales & business development really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $127,443. Comparatively, market development directors tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $142,859.On average, directors of sales & business development reach lower levels of education than market development directors. Directors of sales & business development are 6.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Market development director vs. Business development and marketing manager
The business development and marketing manager is in charge of overseeing a company's marketing programs and projects. They primarily manage and coordinate teams, set goals and guidelines, organize budgets and timelines, conceptualize plans, and develop strategies to optimize operations. They may also liaise with clients and suppliers, streamline marketing materials, and train staff. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real market development director resumes. While market development director responsibilities can utilize skills like "market development," "strategic direction," "value proposition," and "lead generation," business development and marketing managers use skills like "integrated marketing," "strategic partnerships," "project management," and "powerpoint."
Business development and marketing managers may earn a lower salary than market development directors, but business development and marketing managers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $88,175. On the other hand, market development directors receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $142,859.In general, business development and marketing managers achieve similar levels of education than market development directors. They're 3.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Market development director vs. Business development sales manager
A business development sales manager is in charge of securing sales by reaching out to clients through calls, correspondence, or appointments. Their responsibilities often revolve around performing research and analysis to identify new leads and sales opportunities, offering different products and services, and creating proposals and price quotes for potential clients. A business development sales manager may also tailor payment plans, process billing, participate in various marketing initiatives, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and build positive relationships to strengthen the company's client base.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, market development directors are more likely to have skills like "market development," "strategic direction," "value proposition," and "competitive analysis." But a business development sales manager is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "salesforce," "cold calls," and "relationship building."
Business development sales managers earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $130,807. Market development directors earn the highest pay from the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $142,859.When it comes to education, business development sales managers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to market development directors. In fact, they're 8.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Market development director vs. Director new business development
A director of new business development is in charge of spearheading new programs and procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set goals and objectives in adherence to the company's vision and mission, establishing guidelines, allocating budgets, and overseeing the progress of all efforts. Furthermore, as a director of new business development, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between market development directors and directors new business development, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a market development director might have more use for skills like "market development," "competitive analysis," "lead generation," and "digital marketing." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors new business development require skills like "project management," "business strategies," "treasury," and "corporate clients. "
Directors new business development enjoy the best pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $126,576. For comparison, market development directors earn the highest salary in the manufacturing industry.The average resume of directors new business development showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to market development directors. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.4%.Types of market development director
Updated January 8, 2025











