Field marketing: graduate area of work

Companies employ field marketing agencies for services such as sampling, demonstrating, road shows, mystery shoppers and merchandising. Field marketing can be offered door to door, business to business or in a retail environment.

There are two types of activity that field marketing deals with – tactical and contractual. Tactical activities usually take place to support a product launch or promote a seasonal sale whereas contractual activities offer longer-term support to achieve sales objectives or maintain/build a product’s market share. Tasks included in a field manager’s role are:

• controlling and monitoring activities
• recruiting and training staff
• maintaining good communication with field marketing teams
• reporting back to clients on the effectiveness of activities

Travel may be required which is a plus point for some but a disadvantage for others. Face-to-face contact with customers is an effective way of reaching your target audience but it can also open you up to criticism.

What’s required

As in many areas of marketing, it is advantageous to have a business or marketing related degree. Field marketers have regular face-to-face contact with customers and businesses so good sales and negotiation skills are a must. Commercial awareness is vital in coming up with the correct strategy for a target audience and knowing what competitors are offering, as field marketing is often used to counteract a competitor’s campaign.

Where to find out more

More information about field marketing and examples of what the work involves can be found on the Field Marketing Council’s website. Jobs can be found through field marketing agencies, many of which can be found on the internet, or through specialist marketing magazines such as Marketing Week.