What Is a Vice President of Marketing? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

The vice president of marketing is responsible for overseeing and planning strategy for a company’s marketing department. Here’s what to know about a vice president of marketing’s salary, needed skills and how to become one.

What Is a Vice President of Marketing?

The vice president of marketing is often the head of an organization’s marketing department (though, depending on the company, they may report to a chief marketing officer). This role strategizes goals and implements processes and campaigns for the marketing team. 

What Do Vice Presidents of Marketing Do?

Vice presidents of marketing lead a company’s marketing team. They are responsible for setting brand standards and strategy, planning and maintaining the marketing budget as well as setting goals for their team. 

Vice President of Marketing Responsibilities

• Develop and implement marketing strategies and campaigns. 
• Plan and maintain the marketing budget. 
• Set goals and objectives for the marketing team. 
• Interview, hire and train marketing team members. 
• Analyze existing brand strategy and improve on it as necessary. 
• Conduct performance evaluations with marketing managers. 
• Conduct market research to evaluate new and emerging marketing trends. 
• Prepare and present reports on the status of marketing campaigns to leadership. 
• Build relationships with media outlets and company stakeholders.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities of Vice Presidents of Marketing

• Oversee and manage the day-to-day operations of the marketing team. 
• Touch base with marketing managers and other team members as needed. 
• Delegate responsibilities and tasks to marketing managers. 

Vice Presidents of Marketing Within a Company

Vice presidents of marketing lead a company’s marketing department and typically have direct reports, such as marketing directors and managers, working under them. This role may report directly to the CMO or CEO, depending on the structure of the company.

Importance of Vice Presidents of Marketing

The vice president of marketing is vital to the success of a company’s marketing efforts and revenue. This role is responsible for creating strategies that align with the financial needs of the business and using marketing to drive lead creation and revenue. 

What Skills Are Needed to Be a Vice President of Marketing?

Qualifications to Be a Vice President of Marketing

• Superior knowledge of marketing best practices. 
• Familiarity and experience with SEO best practices. 
• Familiarity with digital marketing tools and software used by their team. 

Vice President of Marketing Prerequisites

• Vice presidents of marketing have at least a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, PR or a related field. 
• Many people in this role also have a master’s degree in marketing, business or a related field. 
• Most marketing VP roles require around 10 years of marketing experience and 3 to 5 years of experience managing people. 

Vice President of Marketing Hard Skills

• Analytical skills. 
• Market research skills. 
• Documentation and presentation skills. 
• PPC advertising.
• Data analytics. 
• SEO skills. 
• Basic design skills.

Vice President of Marketing Soft Skills

• Strong verbal and written communication skills. 
• Time management skills. 
• Organizational skills. 
• Collaboration and team building skills.

Tools and Programs Vice President of Marketing Use

• Google Analytics
• Salesforce 
• Hootsuite
• Ahrefs
• Microsoft Suite 
• Canva
• MailChimp
• Survey Monkey

How to Become a Vice President of Marketing

Vice President of Marketing Education and Experience

Most vice presidents of marketing hold at least a bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field. Those aspiring to this role may also benefit from earning a master’s degree in business or marketing. Vice presidents of marketing typically have 10 or more years of experience working in the field and at least 3 to 5 years working in a managerial role. 

Vice President of Marketing Certificates and Courses

• Content Marketing Courses & Webinars to Know
• Digital Marketing Accelerator
• Meta Marketing Analytics
• Digital Marketing Strategies: Data, Automation, AI & Analytics
• Digital Marketing Certification

Vice President of Marketing Career Path

Vice presidents of marketing may begin their career as a marketing intern or marketing associate and work their way through various roles throughout their career. Commonly held titles before vice president of marketing include marketing manager, brand manager or marketing director. Marketing VPs may go on to become chief marketing officers.

Vice President of Marketing Salary and Job Outlook

The job market for marketing managers, a related field, is expected to grow 10 percent by 2031. 

The full compensation package for a vice president of marketing depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average vice president of marketing’s salary.