Brand Manager: profession features, qualifications and responsibilities

Brand manager is a profession that has become known to the masses in the last decade. Although to this day, not everyone will give a clear answer, what kind of position this is, what functionality this specialist is endowed with, and what exactly he does. Someone considers him a marketer, someone - an advertising manager. Whether it is this or not, you will learn further.

If we answer the question thoroughly and consistently, we will define the word “brand”. A brand is a combination of opinions, perceptions, emotions and associations associated with a particular product or service. All these ideas are in the minds of consumers. Obviously, a brand is not a name, not a brand, but a mental shell of a product. And such a complex complex, its formation in the minds of the buyer should deal with a brand manager.

If you hear that a sales manager is the same as a brand manager, feel free to dispute this opinion. Promoting a trademark, developing its visual symbols, increasing the loyalty of the target audience regarding the trademark are the tasks of the brand manager. Yes, he is a promotion specialist, but still he is not a marketer.

How brand manager differs from marketer:

• a marketer monitors the sales process, its organization, all stages and results;
• brand manager works with the brand reputation, he makes the consumer trust the brand.

Such a profession is relatively new. Although earlier the functions of this specialist were performed by other employees.But large companies have come to the conclusion that creating a positive brand history and working on its reputation should be a separate specialist. In the business space, such a division of functionality is calculated and this is not just a fashion trend.

A brand manager should develop a brand development strategy, he should monitor and evaluate key indicators of not only the brand, but the market as a whole. For example, when it comes to the fashion industry, it must be a specialist who knows the market perfectly, monitors its trends and current processes, knows the leaders and knows who to look up to.

The need for such specialists is only growing. Of course, if you mean large companies. Interesting that more and more are brand managers who work on a contractual basis. For example, a not-so-large company, which is not yet ready to hire an employee of this level, invites an experienced specialist as a crisis manager: she signs a contract with him for several months, during which he thinks over the brand strategy, writes a detailed plan, and the like.

It means that professional opportunities of specialists are increasing: they can cooperate with different companies, give one-time consultations, in the end, become trainers. It’s virtually impossible to get the specialty of a brand manager today, but with a related specialty, experience, desire to learn, you can become a specialist coach. So, you yourself can become the one who will nurture a generation of qualified brand managers in the country.

It is no secret that a huge number of people wishing to become an important link in business management believe that natural abilities, grasp, ambitions are enough for this. But still it is impossible to become a specialist from scratch. Having even huge potential, it is simply unrealistic. The brand manager should know the specifics of his work, the scope of activity, correctly evaluate his own capabilities. Adequate professional self-esteem is the first step to a successful career.

It’s great if you received an education that is directly related to your desired position. For example, you are a marketing specialist, economist, analyst, advertising manager - all these are related professions that are optimal for a successful start. But if you happen to study, for example, as a psychologist of entrepreneurial activity, such a specialty will also be a good support for the applicant.

Education may not be associated with the economy, but if it is an academic higher education, supplemented by special courses on product promotion, you have every chance to become a successful brand manager. Probably everyone knows that in the modern world, a specialist must re-learn every 5 years. And getting another “crust” of higher education, retraining is not the only option of training at all. You need to study at high-quality courses, seminars, webinars, and trainings organized by specialists with an excellent reputation and a good, relevant base of knowledge and skills.

Creativity and analytics - this is the synthesis that gives the brand manager the opportunity to fix his position in the company and in the market as a whole. Creative thinking helps build brand communication so that consumers are interested in becoming part of the brand.It must also be distinguished from a competitive background. Normal miscalculations do not work here, you need to think outside the box.

The analytical mindset is needed for the brand manager to identify the connections between the numbers, which, in turn, will help to draw the right conclusions.

Another skills:

• strategic thinking - the specialist must see the development of the brand both in the short and long term;
• sociability and high social intelligence - you will have to communicate a lot within the profession and you need to do this effectively;
• time management - for almost any specialist, regardless of the field of activity, this is a professional advantage and a powerful personal resource;
• leadership qualities - you will have to gather people around you;
• the ability to work with databases - this must be mastered in any case;
• skills in working with data visualization programs and applications;
• knowledge of a foreign language - language barriers can ruin even the most wonderful impression (pump knowledge of the language).

An indispensable skill of a brand manager is a readiness for publicity. Being in the shade in most cases will not work.

A brand manager is a professional coordinator, and this mission also involves the involvement of personal qualities.

What qualities will be valuable to this specialist.

• Ability to listen carefully and select the necessary information during the listening process. Important comments, opinions, ideas should not remain outside the ears of the manager. He should grasp the essence, even if the leadership is a bit chaotic in conveying his ideas.
• Developed emotional intelligence. If you know how to feel the other person, if you are empathetic and ready to predict the reaction, there is a real trump card in your sleeve. Fortunately, in special training you can increase the performance of this type of intelligence.
• Ambitiousness. Without this, the profession will be difficult. The desire to be the first is, one might say, a built-in option of a good brand manager. But critical thinking and the ability to look at oneself from the side should balance it.
• Accuracy. If you are late all the time, it means that you do not know how to manage the time and obviously did not understand in practice how difficult it is to overcome the effect of the first impression.
• Determination. Stressful situations will not be uncommon for anyone in a big business. And if you have to prove an advantage (albeit a product or service), decisiveness is imperative. Do not hesitate, do not let yourself be scared, do not be afraid to take a risky, but promising step - this is what brand managers have to face.
• The ability to defend one’s position. This requires perseverance, assertiveness, the desire to go to the end. And if you are a person with innovative thinking, you need to be prepared for the fact that not all colleagues will immediately understand and accept your ideas. We will have to convincingly confirm them.

Creating a logo, product promotion - this is how a manager usually notes the circle of work of a brand manager. And then he paints it in more detail.

Thus, the functional responsibilities of a specialist include:

• analytical marketing research - can be carried out in collaboration with a marketer;
• market analysis, understanding of its segments and current offers;
• development of a product promotion strategy;
• development of PR events (advertising, presentations, exhibitions, targeting);
• pricing policy;
• creating a scheme for the sale of goods (or simply making suggestions on this issue);
• supervision in important presentation projects;
• management of merchandising;
• control over the work of subordinates;
• performance of related duties by prior arrangement;
• reporting for management.

This document consists of several paragraphs. The first of these is the General Provisions. This paragraph may, for example, indicate that the brand manager belongs to the category of managers, that he is subordinate to the commercial director or the head of the marketing department.

The MDI is also indicated in this paragraph and what a specialist should know:

• laws and regulations (listing);
• market conditions;
• pricing methods;
• market economy, entrepreneurship;
• fundamentals of PR-technologies;
• brand features and production technology;
• ethics of business communications;
• company management structure.

The following paragraph describes the functional responsibilities of a specialist. This is a list of 5-20 subparagraphs that should be re-read especially carefully. If, for example, it is written: “performs other related duties”, the moment requires clarification and clarification.

Next in the CI is a paragraph listing the rights of a brand manager. For example, among the rights of a specialist is to require the management of the company to ensure organizational and technical working conditions. The right to sign and sign documents must also be indicated here.

And one more obligatory point of CI is “Responsibility of a brand manager”. The responsibility for certain actions is indicated and it is immediately noted within which he is responsible (for example, within the framework of the labor and civil legislation of the Russian Federation).

Any employee is interested in what salary he will receive in his new position and what career growth is possible. In Moscow, the income of a specialist in a large company is estimated at an average of 3-5 thousand y. e. At the end of the year, the employee is entitled to a bonus based on the results of the year, which can reach 10-50% of annual earnings. But in this case we are talking about large, successful companies, as well as the very good results of the brand manager.

Interested in a specialist, and what are the options for implementing an individual plan. You will negotiate this directly with management. For example, the pattern and frequency of reporting. You may be assigned a trial period, which should not exceed 3 months. The report outline should be clear and understandable. Try to demonstrate the results of work vividly, visually, with a good presentation.

A successful brand manager can count on increasing salary as well as professional growth over time. If a whole group of employees is working on a brand, he can head this department. Experienced managers become stars in their field, and many large companies try to “outbid” them. In some cases, these specialists work as crisis managers who, for example, enter into an annual contract with the company and during this time conduct active brand promotion.