Students can get a glimpse of what the field of marketing is all about through Marketing 341. Following completion of that course, you can pursue several areas of concentration with a flexible sequence of other marketing courses. Popular areas of concentration include:
Marketing management is a good choice if you have a general interest in marketing and hope to establish your own business, or if you want to rise through the ranks with the goal of overseeing an organization's marketing and distribution functions.
All marketers use information sources and research of various kinds to select target markets, estimate sales, determine if an advertising program or new product will be likely to make a return on investment, and a myriad of other tasks. Some marketers are specialists in market research, which is planning and collecting data to answer crucial questions about the marketplace and consumers. Sometimes this involves qualitative information (such as focus groups, consumer observation, or competitor analysis), but frequently it means quantitative information from surveys and experiments. Other marketers are database analysts, specializing in the use and analysis of marketing databases on customers, for the purposes of managing the relationships with customers. If you have an analytical turn of mind and a strong bias towards determining if programs actually have worked – or will work – at attracting or pleasing customers and at making money, then becoming a market research specialist or marketing analyst might be right for you. Typical entry-level jobs involve preparing questionnaires or analyzing data. Higher-level positions are account managers or vice-presidents for research, sometimes with profit-and-loss responsibility, selling research to corporate clients and managing teams of researchers.
Careers in sales and sales management are often the gateway to a variety of marketing and management positions. Salespeople typically demonstrate a strong understanding of how to bring revenues into their own organization, as well as unique means of driving their customer's business through the products and services they sell. Employers, both local and national, primarily look to UNL's marketing students for their sales positions because of the people skills, internal motivation and understanding of business strategy necessary to succeed in a career in sales. The pairing of the Sales and Sales Management courses offer a professional perspective into the highly demanding field of business-to-business sales, as well as sales management concepts. Together, these two classes utilize an experiential approach in which students engage in role-plays and case discussions in order to build on their sales skills. Graduates who succeed in sales are not only well trained and well compensated, but are also typically exposed to a wide variety of business functions within their own organization and interact with customers across a variety of industries. These deliverables at entry-level positions are among the reasons in which careers in sales provide a gateway to future opportunities and interests.
Today over 20% of the jobs in the US Economy come directly from Retailers. Retailing runs the spectrum from Wal-Mart and Amazon to the local grocery. Management position in retailing include store management, buying, operations, financial management, accounting, human resources, advertising, retail design, global product sourcing, supply chain management and logistics. Retailing today is a highly sophisticated business with operations and opportunities around the world. Retailing also offers opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their own business, with the potential to grow into a Cabela's or a Buckle. Retailing also offers opportunities in franchises and franchise management which is a rapidly expanding area of business and business ownership in today's business world.
Every day you are exposed to marketing messages – when you are watching TV, surfing the web, reading a magazine, seeing a store sign, or any of the myriad ways that marketers communicate with you about their products and services. Everything an organization does communicates something to someone. Working in marketing communications -- whether it is in advertising, sales promotions, personal sales, public relations, or any of the new media – takes a creative individual who can translate ideas into concrete messages that will grab and hold the consumer's attention. Additionally, this area of marketing requires individuals to possess strong computer and communication skills. The marketing communications specialist must have an understanding of the global nature of the marketplace, the role of new technology in the marketing communications process, and the fact that consumers are now better informed than they ever were before concerning products and services. Students specializing in marketing communications can choose from a wide variety of career paths including advertising, sales promotions, personal sales, public relations, and media planning and development. The opportunities are boundless for a student who graduates with a marketing degree focusing on marketing communications.
While not required, students majoring in marketing may choose to pursue three different options and have these minors declared to pursue the course options. Course work will count toward the ELECTIVES in the College.
Marketing majors may minor in textiles, clothing and design by choosing either a Merchandising Track or a Merchandising/Design Track.
Marketing students wishing a textiles, clothing and design minor in the Merchandising Track must take:
Marketing students wishing a textiles, clothing and design track of Merchandising/Design must take:
The College of Business Administration offers business minors to business students only. These minors include: Accounting, Actuarial Science, Economics, Finance, International Business, and Management.
- Business Minors are not required.
- Course work for the minor may be counted for the minor and ACE if so designated as ACE.
- Course work for the minor may not double counted for the minor and major (BCA-M); or other minors, BCF, BCI, nor BCA-C.
- Business course work used for any of these minors cannot be double counted toward the major or other minor requirements, BCF, BCI, BCA-M or BCA-C.
Jobs will always be available in marketing – it is an integral part in the sale of any product. However, marketing encompasses more than just sales. For that reason, many marketers are hired by non-profit and non-business organizations such as government agencies, political candidates, charities, churches, health organizations and schools.
The field of marketing continues to grow and many qualified employees are needed. New positions are continually created to fill the dynamic field of marketing.
Jobs will be found in the quantitative analysis of marketing problems, the adoption of computer techniques, logistics, studies of consumer behavior, international marketing and understanding the social responsibilities of marketing. Marketing may be the place for you!
If you are interested in marketing, but the opportunities above do not sound like your 'dream' career, you can find several other marketing-related positions in the business world. Promotion will interest you if you want to work in advertising agencies, media, or marketing departments of manufacturing or retail firms.
Logistics, also known as physical distribution management, deals with the placement, movement and handling of goods during the marketing process. Careers include traffic management, rate making, forecasting, storage management and physical channel control.
You might be interested in marketing teacher education, media sales or fashion merchandising. It may be possible for you to combine courses from other departments of UNL colleges to achieve that 'perfect' job.
As a marketing major, you will enjoy the adventures of the American Marketing Association Student Chapter. The UNL AMA Club hosts many interesting speakers, mixers, field trips and social activities. They even conduct marketing research programs for business firms and non-profit organizations.
The American Marketing Association Chapter President's Award is one example of the honors awarded annually to outstanding marketing students.
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