Marketing coordinators, also known as account managers and marketing strategists, are the people that keep things moving, both internally and with clients.
They are responsible for creating strategies, managing client relationships and making sure work is completed within deadlines. In many ways they are the beating heart of any marketing agency.
Read on for a complete guide if you find yourself wondering “what does a marketing coordinator do?”
As a bonus, at the end of this article you can read an interview with an experienced marketing coordinator, Alissa Byrne.
The responsibilities of a marketing coordinator
The main responsibilities of a marketing coordinator can be broadly grouped into three categories: client management, strategy creation and tracking, and task management.
Client management
Clients range from being aware of the different digital marketing channels and audience targeting, to not having any understanding at all. This means marketing coordinators need to be proactive in making sure their clients understand and approve their campaigns.
A client relationship is managed at two key points, during the sales and onboarding process, and over time if the client is an ongoing retainer.
Most clients meet their marketing coordinator for the first time during a discovery session. In this meeting, the coordinator will get to know them, their business, and their goals. During this stage, they will explain their intended strategies, set expectations for the relationship and determine a mutually agreed budget.
Once a client becomes a retainer, the marketing coordinator will continue the relationship, maintain transparency about client results and drive the discussion to improve campaign performance.
Strategy creation
Marketing coordinators are responsible for creating campaigns that will help achieve their client’s marketing goals. Using their understanding of various marketing strategies, a marketing coordinator will determine who the client’s target audience is, what stage of the buyer’s journey they are in, and which channels are most likely to influence them.
As a campaign progresses, the marketing coordinator tracks the results and makes adjustments, or if the campaign is short, makes notes to leverage for future campaigns. Tracking is a crucial part of the role, as it leads to improving results, and therefore affects the client’s satisfaction with the service.
Tracking also benefits other clients. For marketing coordinators that work in an agency, they will work with many clients. While every client is different, some strategies that work for one may be applicable to others. Likewise, mistakes made in earlier campaigns can be avoided in future ones. Having that insight is what makes an experienced coordinator so valuable.
Task management
Marketing coordinators aren’t just responsible for managing clients, they also manage the tasks and workloads of internal team members.
For example, let’s consider how a new sales funnel would be managed internally. A social media manager might create posts that lead to a new website landing page, designed by someone from the web team. Both the posts and the page would then need a copywriter and graphic designer to create accompanying content.
Suddenly, one new sales funnel needs work from four separate people! A marketing coordinator will need to brief all of them. They will also have to make sure each person is able to complete the work within the client’s timeframes and budget.
Skills marketing coordinators need
There are many skills, both occupational and behavioural, that are essential for marketing coordinators. They include:
- Understanding both long and short term digital marketing strategies
- Knowing the pros and cons of each marketing channel
- Interpreting and presenting results
- Creating and managing campaigns
- Lead nurturing and an understanding of the buyer’s journey
- Setting and observing feasible budgets
- Delegation
- Time and people management skills
- Strong communication skills
Overall, marketing coordinators need to be capable of both long term strategic planning and short term responsive problem solving.
Interview with an Oddball account manager
Alissa Byrne has been an experienced account manager at Oddball Marketing for almost 4 years. In that time, her talents and knowledge have been a major asset for the business. She was kind enough to answer some questions about her role, which you can read below.
What does an account manager do and why is it important at Oddball?
The role of our account managers is diverse. We retain customers and nurture those key relationships over time. Ideally, we become a strategic partner and advisor to our client, discovering new ways to work together to get the best results for our clients.
We also manage projects and tasks through our whole creative team to be sure that we are keeping to deadlines, to budgets and to customer expectations.
Account managers are the translators between what the client wants and how that then needs to be briefed into our creatives.
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What do you enjoy most about your role?
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What I love most about my role is working with my clients, becoming a part of their team and seeing ideas come to life. I enjoy numbers and seeing success in campaigns and projects. The diversity of my clients keeps me on my toes and in a fast paced environment. I thrive off that.
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What’s your greatest achievement in your role so far?
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In the almost 4 years I’ve been with Oddball I’ve achieved some great success for my clients. I’ve increased their sales by 150% over a 12 month period, creating a new brand for clients and launching new products and ideas. Overall, all my clients bring success to my role.
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What’s something unique about working at Oddball?
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Our name gives us away – we can be an odd bunch – but the team is so talented and I love what they bring to the table. Anytime you need a lolly – you can always count on me having some in the lolly jar on my desk!
Do you want to be a marketing coordinator?
Being a marketing coordinator is a rewarding, fast paced and highly strategic role. With job growth for marketing coordinators expected to grow by 21% over the next five years, it is a great career option to consider.
Oddball Marketing is a constantly growing business. We are often hiring for a variety of roles, including marketing coordinators/account managers. Check our careers page if you are interested.
We also have more resources about digital marketing which you can read on our website.
