Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Marketing manager to retail department manager

A marketing manager already meets 34% of what the retail department manager role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From marketing manager
34 % overlap
Distant match
To retail department manager
12 You already bring
11 Still to learn
40 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

66.5/ 100

1 How much of what a retail department manager is expected to do is already part of a marketing 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 retail department manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A retail department manager role treats 7 of its required skills as things a marketing manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • carry out sales analysis
  • implement marketing strategies
  • implement sales strategies
  • manage budgets
  • manage staff
  • set sales goals

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

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held carry out sales analysis information skills
  • already held supervise sales activities management skills
  • already held analyse consumer buying trends information skills
  • already held communication principles generic programmes and qualifications
  • already held set sales goals management skills
  • already held implement sales strategies communication, collaboration and creativity

All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the retail department manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 28 missing skills fall into 5 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn set sales promotions required
  • still to learn maximise sales revenues required
  • still to learn order supplies required
  • optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
  • optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
  • optional, not held negotiate buying conditions optional
  • optional, not held perform procurement processes optional
  • optional, not held show diplomacy optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
02 management skills 2 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn manage revenue required
  • still to learn monitor customer service required
  • optional, not held manage inventory optional
  • optional, not held apply business acumen optional
  • optional, not held evaluate employees optional
  • optional, not held improve business processes optional
  • optional, not held meet deadlines optional
  • optional, not held motivate staff to reach sales targets optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
03 information skills 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn monitor proper product handling required
  • still to learn control of expenses required
  • optional, not held examine merchandise optional
  • optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
04 assisting and caring 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations required
  • still to learn ensure compliance with legal requirements required
  • optional, not held manage theft prevention optional
05 business, administration and law 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn company policies required
  • still to learn employment law required
  • optional, not held accounting techniques optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a retail department 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 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held carry out sales analysis skill
  • already held implement marketing strategies skill
  • already held implement sales strategies skill
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held set sales goals skill
  • already held supervise sales activities skill
  • already held analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • already held communication principles knowledge
  • already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
  • already held perform market research skill
  • already held teamwork principles knowledge
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held examine merchandise optional
  • optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
  • optional, not held manage inventory optional
  • optional, not held accounting techniques optional
  • optional, not held apply business acumen optional
  • optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
  • optional, not held evaluate employees optional
  • optional, not held improve business processes optional
  • optional, not held manage theft prevention optional
  • optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
  • optional, not held meet deadlines optional
  • optional, not held motivate staff to reach sales targets optional
  • optional, not held negotiate buying conditions optional
  • optional, not held perform procurement processes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
  • optional, not held show diplomacy optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
97 held skills the retail department manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse customer service surveys skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse data about clients skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse external factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
  • not needed by the target role apply social media marketing skill
  • not needed by the target role apply strategic thinking skill
  • not needed by the target role approve advertising campaign skill
  • not needed by the target role assist in developing marketing campaigns skill
  • not needed by the target role brand marketing techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
  • not needed by the target role channel marketing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct mobile marketing skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct online competitive analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct search engine optimisation skill
  • not needed by the target role content development processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role content marketing strategy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate marketing plan actions skill
  • not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create annual marketing budget skill
  • not needed by the target role create media plan skill
  • not needed by the target role customer insight knowledge
  • not needed by the target role customer segmentation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define measurable marketing objectives skill
  • not needed by the target role develop business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role develop online community plan skill
  • not needed by the target role e-commerce systems 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 estimate profitability skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate advertising campaign skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate marketing content skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast sales over periods of time skill

57 further entries not listed here

3 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 pick up Tier
  • still to learn company policies required
  • still to learn employment law required
  • optional, not held accounting techniques optional
Index

Other moves recorded from marketing manager

Full index of moves from marketing manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a marketing manager become a retail department manager?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A marketing manager already covers 34% of what a retail department manager is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the retail department manager role treats as required.

What skills does a marketing manager need to become a retail department manager?

11 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is company policies.

How hard is the move from marketing manager to retail department manager?

Its learning distance is 66.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

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.