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Marketing Manager

Business

Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. Develop pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the firm's profits or share of the market while ensuring the firm's customers are satisfied. Oversee product development or monitor trends that indicate the need for new products and services.

MarketingBusiness

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Identify, develop, or evaluate marketing strategy, based on knowledge of establishment objectives, market characteristics, and cost and markup factors.
  2. 2Formulate, direct, or coordinate marketing activities or policies to promote products or services, working with advertising or promotion managers.
  3. 3Evaluate the financial aspects of product development, such as budgets, expenditures, research and development appropriations, or return-on-investment and profit-loss projections.
  4. 4Develop pricing strategies, balancing firm objectives and customer satisfaction.
  5. 5Compile lists describing product or service offerings.
  6. 6Direct the hiring, training, or performance evaluations of marketing or sales staff and oversee their daily activities.
  7. 7Consult with product development personnel on product specifications, such as design, color, or packaging.
  8. 8Use sales forecasting or strategic planning to ensure the sale and profitability of products, lines, or services, analyzing business developments and monitoring market trends.
  9. 9Negotiate contracts with vendors or distributors to manage product distribution, establishing distribution networks or developing distribution strategies.
  10. 10Consult with buying personnel to gain advice regarding environmentally sound or sustainable products.
  11. 11Coordinate or participate in promotional activities or trade shows, working with developers, advertisers, or production managers, to market products or services.
  12. 12Consult with buying personnel to gain advice regarding the types of products or services expected to be in demand.
  13. 13Initiate market research studies, or analyze their findings.
  14. 14Conduct economic or commercial surveys to identify potential markets for products or services.
  15. 15Confer with legal staff to resolve problems, such as copyright infringement or royalty sharing with outside producers or distributors.
  16. 16Recommend modifications to products, packaging, production processes, or other characteristics to improve the environmental soundness or sustainability of products.
  17. 17Advise business or other groups on local, national, or international factors affecting the buying or selling of products or services.
  18. 18Select products or accessories to be displayed at trade or special production shows.
  19. 19Develop business cases for environmental marketing strategies.
  20. 20Integrate environmental information into product or company marketing strategies, policies, or activities.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • PLM
  • Brand Manager
  • Channel Manager
  • Pricing Manager
  • Product Manager
  • Category Manager
  • Fashion Marketer
  • Marketing Manager
  • Account Supervisor
  • Business Developer

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. Typical entry

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationBachelor's degree

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BusinessDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Bahasa MelayuDraws directly on Communications and Media — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Sales and Marketing97%

    BusinessEconomics

  • English Language90%

    English

  • Administration and Management81%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Customer and Personal Service77%
  • Communications and Media76%

    EnglishBahasa Melayu

  • Mathematics70%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

22%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.62%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

On Malaysia's official shortage list

TalentCorp and ILMIA's Critical Occupations List — evidence of a real hiring shortage in Malaysia right now.

Sales and Marketing Managers · Shortage indicators met: 5/12

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Hotel & Tourism Manager

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Marketing Managers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue