Table 1Transition record

category managertomarketing manager

A category manager already meets 54% of what the marketing manager role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

From category manager

54%

Overlap1

To marketing manager

42 Skills carried over

11 Required, not held

62.8 Difficulty2

Career overlap Partial match

54%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

62.8/ 100

Easy adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change Hard

1 Share of the marketing manager role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the category manager profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A marketing manager role treats 32 of its required skills as things a category manager already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

align efforts towards business development
analyse consumer buying trends
analyse customer service surveys
analyse external factors of companies
analyse internal factors of companies
analyse work-related written reports

What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 42 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A marketing manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a category manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held evaluate marketing content information skills
already held define measurable marketing objectives management skills
already held perform product planning management skills
already held identify potential markets for companies management skills
already held integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy management skills
already held marketing mix business, administration and law

All 42 carried skills, including the 32 the marketing manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 67 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 business, administration and law 6 required, 17 supplementary

required, not held project management required
required, not held services marketing required
required, not held marketing analytics required
required, not held marketing management required
required, not held marketing principles required
required, not held relationship marketing required

optional, not held customer insight optional
optional, not held neuromarketing techniques optional
optional, not held sales argumentation optional
optional, not held sales strategies optional
optional, not held search engine optimisation optional
optional, not held web strategy assessment optional
optional, not held business intelligence optional
optional, not held contract law optional
optional, not held customer segmentation optional
optional, not held international trade optional
optional, not held market entry strategies optional
optional, not held online ads campaign techniques optional
optional, not held public relations optional
optional, not held sales department processes optional
optional, not held social media management optional
optional, not held social media marketing techniques optional
optional, not held telemarketing optional

02 management skills 2 required, 17 supplementary

required, not held organise participation in local or international events required
required, not held plan social media marketing campaigns required

optional, not held conduct online competitive analysis optional
optional, not held create media plan optional
optional, not held develop business plans optional
optional, not held manage content development projects optional
optional, not held set sales goals optional
optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
optional, not held analyse data about clients optional
optional, not held assist in developing marketing campaigns optional
optional, not held coordinate events optional
optional, not held identify market niches optional
optional, not held manage accounts optional
optional, not held manage distribution channels optional
optional, not held manage staff optional
optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
optional, not held plan events optional
optional, not held prepare exhibition marketing plan optional
optional, not held use theoretical marketing models optional

03 information skills 2 required, 4 supplementary

required, not held analyse business plans required
required, not held evaluate advertising campaign required

optional, not held carry out sales analysis optional
optional, not held estimate profitability optional
optional, not held forecast sales over periods of time optional
optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional

04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 10 supplementary

required, not held implement marketing strategies required

optional, not held develop online community plan optional
optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
optional, not held promote event optional
optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
optional, not held communicate with customers optional
optional, not held conduct mobile marketing optional
optional, not held liaise with advertising agencies optional
optional, not held liaise with distribution channel managers optional
optional, not held liaise with managers optional

05 information and communication technologies (icts) 4 supplementary

optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
optional, not held information confidentiality optional
optional, not held keywords in digital content optional
optional, not held web analytics optional

06 working with computers 2 supplementary

optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
optional, not held use content management system software optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a marketing manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 42 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held align efforts towards business development skill
already held analyse consumer buying trends skill
already held analyse customer service surveys skill
already held analyse external factors of companies skill
already held analyse internal factors of companies skill
already held analyse work-related written reports skill
already held apply strategic thinking skill
already held brand marketing techniques knowledge
already held channel marketing knowledge
already held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
already held content marketing strategy knowledge
already held coordinate marketing plan actions skill
already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
already held create annual marketing budget skill
already held define measurable marketing objectives skill
already held evaluate marketing content skill
already held identify potential markets for companies skill
already held impart business plans to collaborators skill
already held integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy skill
already held integrate strategic foundation in daily performance skill
already held manage budgets skill
already held manage profitability skill
already held market pricing knowledge
already held market research knowledge
already held marketing mix knowledge
already held perform market research skill
already held perform project management skill
already held plan marketing campaigns skill
already held plan marketing strategy skill
already held pricing strategies knowledge
already held study sales levels of products skill
already held track key performance indicators skill
already held communication principles knowledge
already held cost management knowledge
already held ensure client orientation skill
already held ensure cross-department cooperation skill
already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
already held negotiate sales contracts skill
already held perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
already held perform product planning skill
already held teamwork principles knowledge
already held use different communication channels skill

The 2 learning areas not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 arts and humanities 1 supplementary

optional, not held content development processes optional

08 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary

optional, not held statistics optional

56 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held carry out sales analysis optional
optional, not held conduct online competitive analysis optional
optional, not held create media plan optional
optional, not held customer insight optional
optional, not held develop business plans optional
optional, not held develop online community plan optional
optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
optional, not held information confidentiality optional
optional, not held keywords in digital content optional
optional, not held manage content development projects optional
optional, not held neuromarketing techniques optional
optional, not held promote event optional
optional, not held sales argumentation optional
optional, not held sales strategies optional
optional, not held search engine optimisation optional
optional, not held set sales goals optional
optional, not held supervise sales activities optional
optional, not held web strategy assessment optional
optional, not held analyse data about clients optional
optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
optional, not held assist in developing marketing campaigns optional
optional, not held business intelligence optional
optional, not held communicate with customers optional
optional, not held conduct mobile marketing optional
optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
optional, not held content development processes optional
optional, not held contract law optional
optional, not held coordinate events optional
optional, not held customer segmentation optional
optional, not held estimate profitability optional
optional, not held forecast sales over periods of time optional
optional, not held identify market niches optional
optional, not held international trade optional
optional, not held liaise with advertising agencies optional
optional, not held liaise with distribution channel managers optional
optional, not held liaise with managers optional
optional, not held manage accounts optional
optional, not held manage distribution channels optional

16 further entries not listed here

16 held skills the marketing manager role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role abide by business ethical code of conducts skill
not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
not needed by the target role conflict management knowledge
not needed by the target role consumer goods industry knowledge
not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
not needed by the target role develop product design skill
not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
not needed by the target role employment law knowledge
not needed by the target role identify suppliers skill
not needed by the target role inspect data skill
not needed by the target role manage inventory skill
not needed by the target role market participants knowledge
not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
not needed by the target role report accounts of the professional activity skill
not needed by the target role select optimal distribution channel skill
not needed by the target role store design layout knowledge

29 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held project management required
required, not held services marketing required
required, not held marketing analytics required
required, not held marketing management required
required, not held marketing principles required
required, not held relationship marketing required
optional, not held customer insight optional
optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
optional, not held information confidentiality optional
optional, not held keywords in digital content optional
optional, not held neuromarketing techniques optional
optional, not held sales argumentation optional
optional, not held sales strategies optional
optional, not held search engine optimisation optional
optional, not held web strategy assessment optional
optional, not held business intelligence optional
optional, not held content development processes optional
optional, not held contract law optional
optional, not held customer segmentation optional
optional, not held international trade optional
optional, not held market entry strategies optional
optional, not held online ads campaign techniques optional
optional, not held public relations optional
optional, not held sales department processes optional
optional, not held social media management optional
optional, not held social media marketing techniques optional
optional, not held statistics optional
optional, not held telemarketing optional
optional, not held web analytics optional

Index

Other moves recorded from category manager

Full index of moves from category manager

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.