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The differences between merchandising directors and marketing directors 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 marketing director. Additionally, a merchandising director has an average salary of $145,282, which is higher than the $114,906 average annual salary of a marketing director.
The top three skills for a merchandising director include apparel, gross margin and direct reports. The most important skills for a marketing director are digital marketing, marketing campaigns, and market research.
| Merchandising Director | Marketing Director | |
| Yearly salary | $145,282 | $114,906 |
| Hourly rate | $69.85 | $55.24 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 81,434 | 93,503 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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.
Marketing directors are responsible for the overall branding and marketing direction of the company. They are in charge of identifying goals and strategies related to marketing. They create strategies that cater to the target market of the organization's products and services to help with sales. They lead the company's marketing department and create the company's brand promise. They ensure that all marketing collateral is in line with the rest of the marketing campaigns of the organization. They should be updated on all the current trends in the marketing world.
Merchandising directors and marketing directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Director | Marketing Director | |
| Average salary | $145,282 | $114,906 |
| Salary range | Between $103,000 And $203,000 | Between $68,000 And $193,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Coty | Brookfield Properties |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a merchandising director and a marketing director in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Director | Marketing Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between merchandising directors' and marketing directors' demographics:
| Merchandising Director | Marketing Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1% | Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3% |
| 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% |