Online community manager to category manager
An online community manager already meets 55% of what the category manager role asks for. The move turns on 20 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.4/ 100
1 How much of what a category manager is expected to do is already part of an online community 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 category manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A category manager role treats 27 of its required skills as things an online community 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 20 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. A category manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an online community 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 27 the category manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 7 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 manage inventory required
- still to learn perform product planning required
- still to learn apply strategic thinking required
- still to learn identify suppliers required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn perform multiple tasks at the same time required
- still to learn perform project management required
- still to learn select optimal distribution channel required
- still to learn company policies required
- still to learn cost management required
- still to learn channel marketing required
- still to learn conflict management required
- still to learn consumer goods industry required
- still to learn market participants required
- optional, not held employment law optional
- still to learn develop product design required
- still to learn maintain relationship with suppliers required
- still to learn negotiate sales contracts required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
- still to learn perform risk analysis required
- optional, not held report accounts of the professional activity optional
- optional, not held inspect data optional
- still to learn store design layout required
- optional, not held communication principles optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a category manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 company policies study this
- 02 cost management study this
- 03 develop product design 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 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 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 brand marketing techniques knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held abide by business ethical code of conducts optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held abide by business ethical code of conducts optional
- optional, not held report accounts of the professional activity optional
- optional, not held communication principles optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
- optional, not held inspect data optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
35 held skills the category manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply social media marketing skill
- not needed by the target role authoring software knowledge
- not needed by the target role behavioural science knowledge
- not needed by the target role build trust skill
- not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out forum moderation 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 corporate sustainability knowledge
- not needed by the target role create content title skill
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role develop inclusive communication material skill
- not needed by the target role develop online community plan skill
- not needed by the target role digital communication and collaboration skill
- not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
- not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow up online user requests skill
- not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
- not needed by the target role identify technological needs skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role keywords in digital content knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage content development projects skill
- not needed by the target role manage content metadata skill
- not needed by the target role manage feedback skill
- not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
- not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role online moderation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform online data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role provide written content skill
- not needed by the target role research website users skill
- not needed by the target role translate requirement concepts into content skill
- not needed by the target role use content management system software skill
- not needed by the target role use e-services skill
- not needed by the target role use personal organization software skill
- not needed by the target role web analytics knowledge
10 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 company policies required
- still to learn cost management required
- still to learn store design layout required
- still to learn channel marketing required
- still to learn conflict management required
- still to learn consumer goods industry required
- still to learn market participants required
- optional, not held communication principles optional
- optional, not held employment law optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can an online community manager become a category manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An online community manager already covers 55% of what a category manager is expected to do: 30 skills carry over, 27 of which the category manager role treats as required.
What skills does an online community manager need to become a category manager?
20 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is company policies.
How hard is the move from online community manager to category manager?
Its learning distance is 58.4 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.