MBA in Marketing Course, Syllabus, Scope, Jobs and Salary

With demand for skilled professionals rising in India, an MBA degree in present times has become imperative for professional growth. However, choosing an MBA course can often become confusing. With several specializations available, you need to make a selection carefully. An MBA degree in Marketing is one of the most sought after main-stream courses.

Some of the Top MBA in Marketing Colleges are:

• Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), DU
• ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad
• Christ University, Bangalore
• Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune
• SRM Business School, Lucknow

Average course fee charged by various institutes ranges between INR 4 to 20 Lacs.

Marketing is an essential part of any business be it a large corporate organization or a small-scale industry. Without adequate forms of Marketing an enterprise cannot strive to expand its business. This is where the role of an individual with a specialized degree in Marketing comes to play. An MBA in Marketing helps an individual develop insights about the Why’s and How’s of the market and consumer behavior.

Institutes provide admission to candidates on basis of entrance exam score.Some of these entrance exams are:

• CAT
• XAT
• MAT
• CMAT
• SNAP

Average starting salary of MBA in Marketing passouts ranges between INR 2.5 to 10 Lacs depending upon expertise and experience of candidate in this field.

MBA in Marketing: Course Highlights

MBA in Marketing: What is it about?

Trade and commerce has been the backbone of any civilization. Selling constitutes an important part of commerce. The art of selling, hence is considered most important in an organization. Any product or service needs to reach the right consumer. The art of identifying the right consumer base and building a brand falls in the forte of Marketing. Working as a marketing professional requires you to build and promote a brand and help an organization to recognize consumer behavior and cater to their requirements among other things.

Skills required by candidates for MBA in Marketing degree are Mathematical Ability, Good Communication Skills, Analytical and Leadership Skills, Reasoning Skills and Problem Solving Skills. 

MBA in Marketing provides vast learning which help students to become better future marketing managers and ace in this field. Some of the things that you learn in this course are:

• Market Research and Analysis
• Selling
• Pricing
• Advertising
• Product Designing
• Presentation
• Communication

MBA in Marketing: Top Institutes

Choosing the right institute is equally vital like choosing the right course. In India there are about 3900 Management Institutes in India. Some of the Top Institutes for MBA in Marketing are listed below:

MBA in Marketing: Eligibility

Graduation or a Bachelor's Degree in any discipline obtained through the 10+2+3 system or an equivalent qualification with a minimum aggregate of 50% or equivalent CGPA of any of the Universities incorporated by an act of the Central or State Legislature in India. There is a Relaxation of 5% aggregate for SC/ST candidates.

MBA in Marketing: Admission Process

Most B-Schools in India offering an MBA degree in Marketing, intake students on the basis of their performance in one of the several National Level Entrance exams. The process of admission through entrance tests is better explained through the below given process.

• 1st Step -  Online / Paper - based Entrance Test
• 2nd  Step – Group Discussion / Personal Interview
• Final Step – Final Offer of Admission 

On the basis of performance in Entrance Test, a handful of students are called for Group Discussion and Personal Interview. Some institutes also conduct Essay Writing Test prior to Group Discussion and Interview. On the basis of overall performance a student is offered admission at the institute. All the major B-Schools also give weightage to performance in Higher Secondary and Graduation level while preparing the final list of selected students.

MBA in Marketing: Direct Admission

Certain Institutes also offer Direct Admission in MBA programs on the basis of marks or percentile scored in the top Management Exams like CAT, GMAT, XAT etc. However, these days almost all B-Schools have a Group Discussion or Personal Interview or both as part of their selection process. So students seeking admission to good B-Schools should gear up for one or other of the entrance exams conducted.

MBA in Marketing: Entrance Exams

Below is a list of the major Management Entrance Tests conducted in India and their conducting Institutes.

MBA in Marketing: Selection Process

As explained earlier, almost all institutes select students on the basis of their performance in Entrance Test, Group Discussion and Personal Interview. While not all institutes conduct a separate entrance test and might accept scores of any of the nationally conducted Entrance Test, each Institute does call students for rounds of Group Discussion and/or Personal Interview. An estimate of the weightage given to performance and Academic performance while preparing final list of selected candidates is given below.

The weightage may vary among the Institutes.

MBA in Marketing: Syllabus and Course Description

A regular MBA program is of two years with either two semesters or three semesters in each year. At the end of the completion of the first year, all students have to go through a summer training program or internship which is designed to give hands on experience to the students about how an organization functions. At the beginning of the second year students select their specialization. The typical process can be shown with the following flow chart:

• 1st Step -  Online / Paper - based Entrance Test
• 2nd  Step – Group Discussion / Personal Interview
• Final Step – Final Offer of Admission 

Almost all major B-Schools teach foundation courses in the first year and in the second year students opt from a list of electives.

The syllabus for MBA in Marketing comprises of core courses and elective courses. While the core courses cover a wide array of streams concerned with Business Administration, Elective Courses focus on the specific area of Marketing. Here we have compiled the list of courses and topics covered in each of the courses for MBA in Marketing.

MBA in Marketing: Core Courses

The Core courses are designed to provide an overview of all aspects of Business Administration.

MBA in Marketing: Electives

Electives are specialized courses in the stream of Marketing. Some of these electives are as follows:

• Marketing Management
• Advertising and Sales Promotion
• Consumer Behavior
• International Marketing
• Internet Marketing
• Marketing Decision Models
• Marketing Research
• Pricing Management
• Marketing Law
• Product and Brand Management
• Retail Management
• Rural Marketing
• Sales and Distribution Management
• Service Marketing
• Strategic Marketing

MBA in Marketing: Course Delivery Structure

All major Management Institutes follow a similar course delivery structure. Method of education includes Lectures, Classroom Discussions, Individual and Group Projects, Paper Submissions, Case Studies, Quizzes, Internships – Industrial and NGO etc.

Who should opt for MBA in Marketing?

While an MBA in Marketing is open to anyone who wishes to pursue it, an MBA in Marketing is the best bet for people who are creative, have good communication skills and have an aptitude for human behavior

Which is better – MBA in Marketing or MBA in Finance?

This is a question often asked by MBA aspirants since both Marketing and Finance have stronghold when it comes to job opportunity. To pick the best one out of MBA in Finance and MBA in Marketing is difficult. While Finance is important to sustain a company, Marketing is the main support system of a company.

The best approach is to go for the course which resonates with your interest. For example if you have excellent communication skills and are good with people then Marketing is the right choice for you.  MBA in Marketing involves travelling and is the right option for individuals with excellent people skills.

PGP Vs. PGDM

PGP stands for Post Graduate Program and is a full 2 year program offered at almost all B-Schools. PGDM is Post Graduate Diploma in Management and is just another name for PGP. There is no practical difference between a PGP course and PGDM course.

Further Academic Opportunities

MBA graduates looking for further study can always opt for a Fellow Program in Management (FPM) which is offered by all top management institutes in the country. It is a Doctoral program in Management and encourages young researchers to be innovative and hone their analytical thinking and problem solving skills.

Other than FPM Program an individual can also go for PhD in Management which is offered at Universities and IITs. An FPM program or PhD in Management paves way for a career in Research and/or Teaching. Average Salary for an Assistant Professor lies somewhere between INR 400,000 to 800,000 

MBA in Marketing: Career Prospects

Human Civilization, since time immemorial, has practiced some form of Trade and Commerce. Present society is more economy driven than ever. In such scenarios, all companies require a skillful marketer hence increasing the demand for MBA graduates with a specialization in Marketing. With the rapid growth of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sector in India, there is all the more demand for Management Graduates with a specialization in Marketing.

An MBA Graduate with Specialization in Marketing can be assigned any of the following roles in an organization:

• Marketing Manager
• Business Development Manager
• Area Sales Manager
• Business Development Executive
• Regional Sales Manager
• Brand Manager
• Market Research Analyst
• Media Planning

MBA in Marketing: Job Prospects in Public Sector

Marketing Graduates looking for job prospects in Public Sector can find opportunities in PSU’s (Public Sector Undertakings). Usually people in Marketing Positions in Public Sector Firms are responsible for creating impactful Marketing strategies that could get message across. They can also find jobs with various semi-government banks and financial organizations. A lot of students also opt for Government exams like UPSC and SSC.

While FMCG sector is one of the popular options, MBA in Marketing graduates are employed in several other sectors. In a survey conducted among 1600 Marketing Graduates following result came to light

MBA in Marketing: Job Profiles

Another factor which affects the range of salary offered is the job Profile of an individual. Below is an analysis of various job profiles for Marketing graduates and their respective salaries. 

Top Job profiles and average salary earned by MBA in Marketing Passouts are as follows:

MBA in Marketing: Salary Trends

MBA in Marketing, as explained earlier, is one of the top management courses and hence is also among those which offer scope for a rewarding salary. However, salary package offered to a student also depends on the Management Institute where the student has completed their course work. While bigger names like IIM’s always end up with some of the highest pay packages, average ranking colleges are not far behind. The salary trend in different management institutes is explained below:

Gender wise Average Salary

With only 15% women graduating with an MBA in Marketing, average salary offered to women is less in comparison to men who form 85% of the MBA graduates in Marketing. Salary trends reveal the following average salaries for men and women.

Growth Trend

 The average annual salary of an MBA graduate in Marketing increases with the year of experience.

MBA in Marketing: Top Recruiters

• HDFC
• Tata Consultancy Services
• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp
• Accenture
• IBM