Category manager to online community manager
A category manager already meets 52% of what the online community manager role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.8/ 100
1 How much of what an online community manager is expected to do is already part of a category manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the online community manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An online community manager role treats 30 of its required skills as things a category manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 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 23 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 30 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An online community 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.
- already held evaluate marketing content information skills
- already held define measurable marketing objectives 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
- already held analyse customer service surveys information skills
All 30 carried skills, including the 30 the online community manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 35 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn develop online community plan required
- still to learn apply social media marketing required
- still to learn build trust required
- still to learn carry out forum moderation required
- still to learn create content title required
- still to learn manage feedback required
- still to learn provide written content required
- optional, not held develop inclusive communication material optional
- optional, not held identify technological needs optional
- still to learn digital communication and collaboration required
- still to learn translate requirement concepts into content required
- still to learn develop digital content required
- still to learn perform online data analysis required
- still to learn use content management system software required
- still to learn use e-services required
- optional, not held digital content creation optional
- optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn online moderation techniques required
- still to learn marketing principles required
- optional, not held business intelligence optional
- still to learn keywords in digital content required
- still to learn authoring software required
- still to learn web analytics required
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- still to learn research website users required
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held manage content metadata optional
- still to learn digital media required
- optional, not held content development processes optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an online community manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 corporate sustainability study this
- 02 develop online community plan practise this
- 03 digital communication and collaboration practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 30 skills that carry over
- 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 brand marketing techniques 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 develop professional network 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 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 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 use different communication channels skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn manage content development projects required
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- still to learn follow up online user requests required
- optional, not held behavioural science optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held digital content creation optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- optional, not held behavioural science optional
- optional, not held business intelligence optional
- optional, not held conduct search engine optimisation optional
- optional, not held content development processes optional
- optional, not held develop inclusive communication material optional
- optional, not held identify technological needs optional
- optional, not held manage content metadata optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
28 held skills the online community manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role abide by business ethical code of conducts skill
- not needed by the target role apply strategic thinking skill
- not needed by the target role channel marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication principles knowledge
- 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 cost management 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 employment law knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- not needed by the target role identify suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role inspect data skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets 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 negotiate sales contracts skill
- not needed by the target role perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- not needed by the target role perform product planning skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- 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
- not needed by the target role teamwork principles knowledge
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn keywords in digital content required
- still to learn online moderation techniques required
- still to learn authoring software required
- still to learn digital media required
- still to learn marketing principles required
- still to learn web analytics required
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- optional, not held behavioural science optional
- optional, not held business intelligence optional
- optional, not held content development processes optional
Common questions about this move
Can a category manager become an online community manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A category manager already covers 52% of what an online community manager is expected to do: 30 skills carry over, 30 of which the online community manager role treats as required.
What skills does a category manager need to become an online community manager?
23 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is corporate sustainability.
How hard is the move from category manager to online community manager?
Its learning distance is 61.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.