What They Don’t Teach Marketing Majors in Business School — that Most Small Businesses Assume They Do

Is there a major disconnect between what small business employers assume someone with a marketing degree knows how to do – and what we actually teach Marketing majors in Business School?

Yes. Marketing majors are taught the more strategic areas of marketing.

But entry-level marketing positions in small businesses are usually tactical.

“Marketing management” vs everyday marketing tactics

A marketing major has been taught to plan and “manage” marketing programs, presumably executed by an agency of some kind.

That marketing management training usually includes: marketing planning, audience segmentation, positioning, market research, and product planning. The focus is on Marketing Strategy – the overall product, promotion, price, and place/distribution decisions.

One university website says, “Bachelor’s degrees prepare students for entry-level marketing positions that involve researching markets and formulating strategies.”

Unfortunately, a lot of entry-level marketing positions in small businesses don’t involve those activities at all.

In my first marketing job for a credit union, close to 90% of my time was spent in tactical marketing areas. I needed more expertise than my marketing degree provided.

Employers need (and assume) tactical “marcom” expertise

Small businesses may assume they’re hiring a marketing major who can actually execute their marketing programs. They assume expertise in the individual tactical areas of marketing (“marcom” or marketing communications) – which are the areas where most entry-level or junior-level marketers will be working.

But that’s not what we typically teach in business schools.

Most Business Schools don’t teach copywriting (that’s usually in Journalism, Advertising, or Communications schools) – or even how to recognize effective copy written by someone else.

They also don’t teach how to work with digital tactics, like website CMS systems, email marketing, Pay-Per-Click ads or SEO. And many digital tactics aren’t taught in Journalism , Advertising or Communications schools either (at least at the undergraduate or graduate level).

The problem is that small business employers may expect marketing graduates to have these skills.

Not only are marketing majors graduating WITHOUT the necessary skills in tactical marketing areas, but small business employers who hire them are ASSUMING they do have those skills.

This is frustrating for both companies that hire marketing majors and expect them to have learned all the “how-to’s” – as well as for marketing majors who are starving for more step-by-step marketing knowledge.

How do marketers build these skills in the tactical areas of marketing?

Marketing departments in 4-year business schools will tell you they’re preparing marketing majors for “what you’ll need 2 years from now.”

When I taught Internet Marketing at an accredited business school, I was specifically told, “Don’t be too ‘how-to.’ Be more theoretical.”

This planning/strategy direction is (or should be) a necessary part of every marketing effort. (I am a product of that system and couldn’t do without my marketing planning background.)

But, if we don’t teach the “how to” in business school, and they don’t cover these topics in journalism or advertising or communications classes at 4-year universities, where are we teaching these critical skills?

Some universities have added a single Internet Marketing class. In the 15-week class on Internet Marketing that I taught, I covered website navigation, SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, and mobile marketing – a ridiculous number of very specific disciplines to introduce in a single class. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that students didn’t come into the class with backgrounds in marketing planning and Direct Marketing – so we had to cover how to plan each discipline, how to apply Direct Marketing principles – and then, the individual characteristics of each individual medium.

The bottom line: students were introduced to each area. They may have learned some best practices. But they definitely weren’t qualified to execute any of those activities for a small business.

4-year universities may be restricted from teaching marketing tactics

In California, the strategy vs tactics separation apparently relates to what junior colleges can teach (tactics) vs what the 4-year universities can teach (strategy). So, the problem is actually built into the overall university system – students can only learn tactics at a junior college.

I’m guessing most small businesses looking to hire entry-level marketers don’t realize this.

But, there are some savvy employers who now specifically look for entry-level marketers who have both junior college and 4-year university credits on their resumes. “I’ve found this combination of skills really helps the entry-level hires hit the ground running,” said one employer who regularly hires entry-level marketers.

To fill in the gap, there are online courses and certifications for just about everything. University extension certificate programs are popular. Are entry-level marketers using these resources to build their tactical skills? Many are. It’s always been the way marketers have learned when there’s no one to learn from – we ask our former professors, we read books and newsletters, we take seminars and additional classes.

If only we’d had that additional tactical expertise when we graduated. Perhaps more small business marketing programs would have driven leads and sales more cost-effectively.

Next time: This “strategy vs execution” gap in expertise isn’t just among entry-level marketers.