• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
 
Subsectors:InvestmentsBankingInsuranceCredit, Leasing and FinanceAccountancyFinancial AdviceProfession:
Marketing andCommunications
Typical job titles
 Marketing Assistant/Manager, Customer Relationship Manager, Brand Manager, Account Manager, CreativeCopywriter, Digital Marketer, Direct Marketing, Press/Media Assistant/Manager, Public Relations Officer, InternalCommunications Assistant/Manager
Description
Financial services, more than any other sector, uses marketing to connect with consumers and communicatemessages. On the retail side, look around and you’ll see these brand messages crop up across every media channel – the TV, newspapers, posters, the Internet, cinema, mail, bus stops, sporting venues… the list is endless. With somuch competition in the financial sector and new distribution channels appearing constantly, jobs involve developinga public image, or ‘brand’, that’s distinctive and conveys the right meaning. Ultimately, these marketing activities willtry and persuade customers to switch or buy a new product.Marketing jobs exist also on the business-to-business side, particularly in insurance and investments. Here marketingpeople focus more on promoting services to brokers and affinity partners, developing sales support tools andpromotional materials, making it easier for them to sell your company’s products.There’s a huge variety of roles to suit every personality and talent. PR people are focused on spotting newsworthyopportunities and getting journalists to cover a story. Internal communications people update Intranets, writenewsletters and coordinate management roadshows to keep employees informed. Brand and account managersliaise with creative agencies to come up with new campaigns. Writers create the words. Some marketing peoplefocus on developing new products or analysing and predicting consumer behaviours. Negotiating and runningsponsorship deals, especially sporting events, is big business too in financial services. Through direct mail packs,brochures, exhibitions, press activities, websites and other communication forms, your task will be to engagecustomers and keep the sales rolling in.
Tasks could include
Developing short and long term brand and marketing plans/strategies.
Commissioning market research to identify and discover the opinions of customers and potential customers.
Working with communications, design and production teams to develop services and products in line withresearch findings.
Pricing and testing new products in the marketplace.
Managing product sales and distribution.
Creating and managing campaigns, including advertising, direct mail, brochures, PR, internet activity, eventsor exhibitions.
Measuring the direct outcome of all marketing activities and presenting results and recommendations tosenior managers.
Competences: skills and qualities needed
 © The Financial Services Skills Council – June 2008
 
 
 © The Financial Services Skills Council – June 2008
Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to get on with all types of people at all levels of seniority.
Analytical skills, to spot new opportunities.
Creative thinkers.
Strong team players, but equally confident taking their own initiative.
Good understanding of the business sector worked in and enthusiasm for the product area.
Organised and able to manage workloads and deliver under pressure.
Excellent problem solvers.
Well-developed communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
Organised and methodical.
Persuasive and self-confidence.
Numerical skills, to manage large budgets.
Knowledge
 An employer will not always require the candidate has this knowledge
when entering 
the profession, although theywill expect that it will be acquired it through training and qualifications:
Commercial awareness of the financial services sector they operate on.
Knowledge of what competitors are doing in their sector.
Knowledge of new marketing channels, techniques and concepts being developed.
An understanding of human behaviour and what triggers consumers buy certain products.Excellent IT skills and prior knowledge of using databases and Excel spreadsheets, plus some experience ofhandling large budgets, are an advantage.
Hours of work
Marketing professionals generally work standard office hours from Monday to Friday. Like many jobs with tightdeadlines, additional hours are worked to ensure that targets are met. Part time work and job sharing may bepossible once experienced.
Typical work environment
Marketing is typically an office-based role. However, attending meetings with creative agencies, makingpresentations or representing your company at trade shows and exhibitions can be a big feature in some jobs. Travelmay be required, even worldwide, especially if working in an international firm.
Minimum Qualifications required to enter role
 
 
 © The Financial Services Skills Council – June 2008
There are opportunities for adults who are changing careers, school and college leavers, for graduates and for adultswho are looking to re-enter the labour market after a career break. Insurance companies and retail banks do take ongraduates for formal marketing graduate schemes. However, marketing departments require a mixture of people andskills and there are also routes into junior marketing roles via administration and operational jobs.As with many occupations within financial services, marketing roles can be entered with a vocational qualification.This could be a general vocational qualification such as a BTEC, NVQ or specialist Diploma (for example the Diplomain Creative and Media).
 General education: 
Marketing people need
 
to have an understanding of numbers for budgeting and be able to communicate clearly inperson, make presentations and write reports. It is therefore useful to have GCSEs, Standard Grades or equivalent inEnglish and Maths. Good IT skills are also important. For graduate entry schemes, a 2 :2 or 2 :1 degree is usualyrequired. Since competition for marketing roles is high, studying a creative, marketing, PR or business subject, or adegree with a marketing element, can be an advantage.
Professional qualifications: 
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Institute ofSales and Marketing Management (ISMM) offer a range of professional qualifications for marketing andcommunications practitioners. These range from introductory right up to a postgraduate diploma and full charteredstatus, including:Level 2
ISMM Certificate in Sales and Marketing.
NVQ in Marketing – providing a broad introduction.Level 3
CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing.
CIPR Foundation Award in PR.
ISMM Certificate in Advanced Sales and Marketing.
NVQ in Marketing – assessing the knowledge and skills of experienced marketing professionals.Level 4
CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing.
NVQ in Marketing - assessing advanced aspects of the marketing profession.Level 5
CIPR Advanced Certificate in PR.More specialist communications qualifications include :
CAM Diploma in Marketing Communications, available through the CIM, covering different communicationmethods from advertising and PR, to branding and direct marketing.
CIM e-Marketing Award, looking at digitial mediums, including the web, as research and sales tools.
CIPR Internal Communication CertificateSome employers may also require marketing professionals to demonstrate their understanding of financial servicesand undertake specialist technical qualifications, such as those offered by the
ifs School of Finance,
the CharteredInsurance Institute, the Securities and Investment Institute or the Institute of Credit Management.
Additional qualifications
Apprenticeship : 
Foundation and Advanced Marketing and Marketing Communications apprenticeships are available (is there ?), butare not common in financial services. Graduate schemes and fast track training programmes for internal staff aremore typical routes into jobs. Please see
apprenticeship
section for more information.
Higher Education 
There are many progression routes onto learning at a higher level from vocational and professional courses.Foundation degrees in marketing and PR are available which can be studied part time whilst working or full time at auniversity or college. This could lead to studying a:
Level 6 BA (Hons) degree in marketing, PR, international marketing or joint honours degree, combiningmarketing with other subjects like business, accounting and finance.
Level 6 CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing, for people in mid-marketing positions.
Level 6 CIPR Diploma, for experienced PR professionals that are ready to play a more strategic role.
Level 7 Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, for marketers working or aspiring to work at astrategic level.See the
UCAS
website for more detail, although each university sets its own entry requirements.
Progression possibilities and salary indication
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...