Any Marketing Managers willing to help?

[Snoutthematter]

Bit of background....

I've been with the company for two years working at a Marketing Exec level. From a dept of two (plus my director) we're now taking on two new people and I have been moved over to an area where I focus on one specific product/market.

Boss has given me the usual spiel of "this is your chance to prove yourself, to make the job your own" etc.....as she's aware of how much I want to be promoted. However, she's someone who believes you should already be working at that level (Marketing Manager) before you can be promoted to it.

So my questions are:

What kind of things should I be doing to be 'proactive'?

As my boss is child free, should the fact that I have a 1 year old DD affect my chances? (not being able to stay late, do extra hours etc...)

Any help from someone already in this role would be really appreciated

This is an obvious point....but if there is a marketing manager role at your org, can you ask for the job spec?

Have you asked your manager "what do I need to do in order to get promoted?". As I am guessing it is her version of 'proactive' that matters IYSWIM. I have done this previously and it helped me understand what I needed to do.

Failing that download similar relevant specs from your industry from job sites.

I guess in broad terms a marketing manager could have responsibility of all aspects of projects. So if you are focusing on one area you need to be seen: producing a strategic plan, developing a tactical marketing plan, carrying out the activity, measuring the impact/success.

It is difficult to say more without knowing the specifics.

Can you find a mentor internally to give you time to think through all these issues?

I'm a Senior Marketing Manager but with little detail it's difficult to advise, what channels do you utilise? Is there the opportunity for you to put together a proposal to develop a particular channel to make use of it more effectively eg social networking? Do you have a strong brand, effective sales tools, great internal comms, good position in your market? Sorry the list is endless but if you take a step back and look at your product you may spot a gap in your strategy and you could then work on a proposal of how you would capitalise on it, don't forget to specify roi/ business benefits/ how you can measure effectiveness or whatever is the kpi in your department. Depending on the company you work for this may back a formal presentation, email to your manager or aob at the next team meeting. Good luck!