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The differences between merchandising directors and chief marketing officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a merchandising director and a chief marketing officer. Additionally, a merchandising director has an average salary of $145,282, which is higher than the $135,198 average annual salary of a chief marketing officer.
The top three skills for a merchandising director include apparel, gross margin and direct reports. The most important skills for a chief marketing officer are CMO, patients, and digital marketing.
| Merchandising Director | Chief Marketing Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $145,282 | $135,198 |
| Hourly rate | $69.85 | $65.00 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 81,434 | 139,565 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A merchandising director is in charge of spearheading and streamlining merchandising strategies, including promotion and branding. Using their expertise and experience, they conceptualize plans with fellow directors and managers, perform extensive research and analysis, gather and analyze data, set goals and guidelines, establish budgets and schedules, and build positive relationships with external business partners. Moreover, as a merchandising director, they must lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A Chief Marketing Officer defines marketing strategies and oversees all marketing operations of a company. They are responsible for building a highly efficient team of marketing professionals.
Merchandising directors and chief marketing officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Director | Chief Marketing Officer | |
| Average salary | $145,282 | $135,198 |
| Salary range | Between $103,000 And $203,000 | Between $72,000 And $253,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Hamilton, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Coty | Shearman & Sterling |
| Best paying industry | - | Media |
There are a few differences between a merchandising director and a chief marketing officer in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Director | Chief Marketing Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between merchandising directors' and chief marketing officers' demographics:
| Merchandising Director | Chief Marketing Officer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1% | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |