Marketing Advising Guide

College of Business: Marketing Concentration

What is Marketing?

Marketing is a dynamic process that creates and delivers value in competitive environments through customer-focused and market-driven actions. Marketing is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. Every product, service, idea, individual, or organization will at some point embrace core marketing concepts. At the center of marketing is the exchange process. Good marketers facilitate the exchange process through connecting with consumers, developing products and services to satisfy customer needs, creatively communicating product offerings, and valuing those offerings at a profit.

Marketers identify customer needs through marketing research, craft products and services to match those needs, and develop and implement strategies to ensure success. Along this journey, marketers are involved in understanding consumer behavior, market segmentation, branding, packaging, pricing, integrated marketing communications (advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, social media), supply chain management (purchasing, inventory management, transportation, distribution, retailing), and price determination and execution.

Marketing offers a panorama of exciting decisions necessary to satisfy a range of consumer needs. By virtue of being consumers, all of us have some appreciation for both the complexity and excitement of understanding consumer behavior and meeting the associated expectations with appropriate products and services.

Career Opportunities in Marketing

Since marketing is an integral component for success in individuals and organizations, the range of career possibilities is quite broad, both domestically and internationally. Given the range of options, some of the more common career paths include Sales, Advertising/Promotion, Supply Chain Management, and Marketing Management.

Salary Trends in Marketing

According to the “Occupational Outlook Handbook” provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, the 2015 median annual salary for marketing managers was $124,850. Based on the industries in which marketing specialists worked, the median annual salaries are:

Sales managers $113,860

Public relations and fundraising managers $104,140

Internet marketing managers $124,850

Logisticians $74,260

Market research analysts $62,150

The All Business Schools website reports the median salary for international marketing managers is $115,320.

Additional information on career tracks in marketing and career information is available from the American Marketing Association: https://www.ama.org/job-boards/

High School Preparation

Students who want to major in marketing should take college-prep mathematics courses and statistics in high school. In addition, high school graduates should have excellent writing and public speaking skills. The University’s Office of Admissions evaluates such matters and handles assigning undergraduate college credit where appropriate.

How to Major in Marketing

PROFESSIONAL SALES

Professional selling is one of the most rewarding career fields in business. Few careers allow for the flexibility, financial rewards, personal satisfaction, and overall sense of achievement enjoyed by sales professionals. A high percentage of marketing and business graduates identify the sales field as a career of choice upon graduation.

In globally-competitive organizations, sales professionals are increasingly responsible for market growth, value creation, customer relationship management, branding, and communication of product, service, and organizational benefits. In short, sales represent the engine that propels every aspect of the business organization. Nothing happens in an organization or an economy until someone sells something! That someone could be you!

What are your career goals – leadership success, job satisfaction, career advancement, and a sense of contributing to the organization, achievement, major opportunities for financial success? If you answered ‘all of the above,’ professional selling is the right career for you. We invite you to consider the PROFESSIONAL SALES CONCENTRATION in the Mitchell College of Business.

Specific sales-related jobs include: market manager, key account sales, reseller sales, brand manager, manufacturer’s representative, retail sales manager, retail promotion manager, merchandiser, buyer, and retail consultant. Sales support areas include sales training, customer service manager, and sales technology.

Whatever your interests – science, engineering, sports, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, real estate, investments, financial services, entertainment, advertising, transportation, food services, hotel services, non-profit organizations, information systems / technology, art/music/theatre, economic development, logistics services, agri-business, education, public administration, fashion merchandising, … - the Professional Sales Concentration is a pathway to long-term career success. Regardless of the industry, everything has to be sold. Professional selling opens countless career doors around the world.

How to Major in Marketing with a Concentration in Professional Sales

Every student majoring in marketing will complete the general education requirements for all business majors as well as the 200 and 300 Level Business Core. All marketing majors must complete an internship prior to graduation.

General Education Requirements for Business Majors

200 Level Business Core

300 Level Business Core

Requirements for a Concentration in Professional Sales

Take the following six courses:

MKT 336 International Marketing

MKT 374 Buyer Behavior

MKT 384 Market Research

MKT 376 Business to Business Marketing

MKT 381 Sales Management and Personal Selling

MKT 479 Marketing Policy

Choose three from the following:

MKT 355 Consumer Relationship Management

MKT 379 Retailing

MKT 380 Integrated Marketing Communication

MKT 382 Brand Management

MKT 385 Service Marketing

Complete the PREP Courses

Complete Two additional electives

Complete MGT 485 and 486

Marketing-International Business Concentration

The Marketing-International Business Concentration prepares students for entry level positions with import-export firms, international departments of domestic firms, and firms based throughout the world. This concentration provides excellent preparation for students interested in careers involving the coordination of global operations to meet the international goals of the organization. In addition, international business requires special skills to adapt management methods to the needs of foreign environments and sensitivity to cultural diversity.

The concentration is intended to prepare the student for administrative positions in international divisions of American companies; careers in the national or international government agencies concerned with international trade development, the establishment of international businesses; and careers in commercial and investment banking. The exciting thing about international business is that you can take your skills wherever you want to go around the globe. Salaries in international business vary depending on what type of business and where you work.

How to Major in Marketing with a Concentration in International Business

It is recommended that International Business students take two of the following courses as their non-business electives:

IS 100
GEO 114
GEO 312
Proficiency in A Second Language
International Business students are required to demonstrate introductory-level proficiency in a second language by passing a foreign language proficiency examination as administered by the University of South Alabama Department of Foreign Languages and Literature or by successfully completing the second semester of any approved elementary sequence in a foreign language.

General Education Requirements for Business Majors

200 Level Business Core

300 Level Business Core

PREP Program (3 Hours)

Requirements for a Concentration in International Business

Take the following eight courses:

MKT 336 International Marketing

MKT 374 Buyer Behavior

MKT 384 Market Research

MKT 479 Marketing Policy

ECO 330 Current Global Economic Issues

MGT 334 International Management

MKT 310 Introduction to International Business

MKT 477 Export-Import Management

Choose one from the following:

ECO 364 International Economics

MKT 350 Internet Marketing

MKT 375 Supply Chain Management

MKT 376 Business to Business Marketing

Complete the PREP Courses

Complete Two additional electives

Complete MGT 485 and 486

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

All organizations need Marketing talent in various forms. Marketing Management encompasses a range of tasks focused on meeting consumer needs through the integration of products/services, pricing, promotion, and distribution variables. The growth of the services sector of the economy offers particular benefits to the Marketing Management focus. Representative services sector areas include healthcare, financial, educational, information, entertainment, tourism/hospitality, consulting, research, technology, economic development, etc.

The Marketing Management area also includes the non-profit sector. Since the same marketing tools and techniques are useful in non-profit organizations, additional opportunities are available for career options.

Examples of specific career options in Marketing Management include market analyst, marketing research, new product development, and general marketing staff positions. Marketing Management skill sets require a good blend of analytical, creative, and managerial talent.

Advertising and Promotion

Students majoring in Marketing Management may also choose a career in Advertising and Promotion. Advertising and Promotion are the key components of an organization’s integrated marketing communications (IMC) effort. Marketing communications influence branding strategies, product positioning, market segmentation, and other aspects of overall marketing strategy. The Advertising area is most associated with creatively connecting products and services with various market segments. The Promotion aspect of Marketing also includes sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing.

The key Advertising career tracks include account planning and management, creative, media, and interactive marketing. Some representative job titles in Advertising/Promotion include: account planner, account executive, account supervisor, creative supervisor, media planner, media buyer, web and interactive planner, social media planner, and media analytics.

How to major in Marketing with a concentration in Marketing Management

General Education Requirements for Business Majors

200 Level Business Core

300 Level Business Core

PREP Program (3 Hours)

Requirements for a Concentration in Marketing Management

Take the following eight courses:

MKT 336 International Marketing

MKT 374 Buyer Behavior

MKT 375 Supply Chain Management

MKT 380 Integrated Marketing Communication

MKT 382 Brand Management

MKT 384 Market Research

MKT 385 Service Marketing

MKT 479 Marketing Policy

Choose one from the following:

MKT 350 Internet Marketing

MKT 355 Consumer Relationship Management

MKT 376 Business to Business Marketing

MKT 379 Retailing

MKT 381 Sales Management and Personal Selling

Complete the PREP Courses

Complete Two additional electives

Complete MGT 485 and 486

Study Abroad Opportunities

Consistent with the University’s priorities, the Mitchell College of Business offers a range of international study opportunities in various regions of the world. Options include semester-long study abroad experiences in fall and spring semesters and shorter-term options, such as faculty-led short-term courses, usually offered in the Maymester or summer. Please check with the MCOB Director of International Studies for details.

Academic Plan

Following an academic plan will help you stay on track to graduate in four years.

To see a sample academic plan for International Business, please click here.
To see a sample academic plan for Marketing Management, please click here.
To see a sample academic plan for Professional Sales, please click here.

Degree plans provide only a suggested schedule; make sure to meet with your academic advisor to find the actual schedule that is right for you.

For additional degree information, visit the undergraduate bulletin.

For More Information

Please contact Dr. Alvin Williams at (251) 461-1792 or awilliams@southalabama.edu

Find us on campus at:

Department of Marketing
Mitchell College of Business
5811 USA Drive South
Mobile, AL 36688

Website: College of Business: Marketing

*The information on this page should be considered general information only. For more specific information on this and other majors, please refer to the USA bulletin or contact the department/College directly.