Marketing, Communications and Sales is concerned with understanding markets and customers, developing and communicating offers, creating and maintaining customer relationships, and converting market opportunities into transactions or other organisational outcomes.
The field includes several related but distinct functions. Marketing focuses on markets, customer needs, value, products or services, pricing, distribution, positioning and demand. Marketing communication focuses on communicating with target audiences through advertising, public relations, promotions, direct marketing, sponsorship and digital media. Sales focuses more directly on identifying prospects, presenting solutions, negotiating and completing transactions. Customer-service functions manage interactions before, during and after a purchase.
South African marketing programmes reflect this breadth. UNISA's BCom Marketing Management includes consumer behaviour, integrated marketing communication, product and price management, value-chain marketing, marketing research and strategic marketing.
What problems does this field exist to solve?
The field addresses the problem that organisations cannot simply produce products or services and assume that customers will find, understand, choose and continue using them.
It addresses questions such as:
- Who are the organisation's potential customers?
- What do those customers need or value?
- How large is the market?
- How should customers be divided into meaningful market segments?
- Which segments should the organisation target?
- How should a product, service or organisation be positioned?
- What products or services should be offered?
- How should they be priced?
- How should they reach customers?
- How should the organisation communicate its offer?
- How can potential customers be converted into buyers?
- How should customer relationships be maintained?
- How should the organisation respond to competitors?
- Which marketing activities are producing measurable results?
- Why are customers buying, switching, complaining or leaving?
Marketing research also addresses information uncertainty. Rather than making decisions entirely from assumptions, organisations can collect and analyse information about consumers, competitors and markets. UNISA's marketing-research curriculum covers problem identification, research objectives, research design, sampling, data collection and qualitative and quantitative analysis.
What are the main subjects, theories and concepts in this field?
Marketing principles
Foundational concepts include:
- markets;
- exchange;
- customer needs;
- customer value;
- competition;
- demand;
- marketing strategy; and
- marketing planning.
The University of Pretoria introduces marketing through exchange, customer value, marketing research, marketing planning and the marketing mix.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
These concepts address three questions:
Segmentation: What different groups exist within the market?
Targeting: Which groups will the organisation concentrate on?
Positioning: How should the product, service or brand be understood relative to alternatives?
These concepts are also incorporated into South African consumer-behaviour education.
Consumer behaviour
Consumer behaviour examines how individuals and groups make purchasing and consumption decisions.
Topics can include:
- decision-making;
- motivation;
- perception;
- attitudes;
- social influences;
- cultural influences;
- individual differences;
- purchasing behaviour;
- customer relationships; and
- consumer trends.
UNISA's curriculum explicitly examines both individual and external/group factors influencing consumer decisions.
The marketing mix
A traditional framework covers:
- product;
- price;
- place/distribution; and
- promotion.
Service marketing commonly expands this to include:
- people;
- process; and
- physical evidence.
The University of Pretoria teaches these seven service-marketing elements as part of its marketing curriculum.
Branding
Branding concerns how identifiable products, services and organisations are developed and positioned in markets.
- It includes:
- brand identity;
- brand positioning;
- brand associations;
- brand communication;
- brand equity; and
- brand management.
Marketing communication
Marketing communication covers how organisations communicate with target audiences.
- It can include:
- advertising;
- public relations;
- publicity;
- sales promotion;
- personal selling;
- sponsorship;
- direct marketing; and
- digital/new-media marketing.
These components appear explicitly in UNISA's marketing-communication curriculum.
Sales
Sales study can include:
- prospect identification;
- customer needs analysis;
- personal selling;
- sales communication;
- persuasion;
- sales presentations;
- objections;
- negotiation;
- closing;
- sales strategy; and
- customer relationship management.
The University of Pretoria's marketing curriculum covers the marketing mix and selling, communication and persuasion, the stages of the selling process and implementation of sales strategy.
Marketing research
Marketing research includes:
- research problems;
- research objectives;
- research design;
- primary and secondary data;
- qualitative research;
- quantitative research;
- sampling;
- data collection;
- data analysis; and
- research reporting.
Strategic marketing
Strategic marketing concerns the longer-term relationship between an organisation and its market.
- It includes:
- environmental analysis;
- competitive analysis;
- strategic objectives;
- market selection;
- positioning;
- marketing strategy;
- implementation; and
- control.
Marketing metrics
Marketing metrics are used to evaluate performance and support decision-making. UNISA's postgraduate curriculum specifically covers selecting, calculating and interpreting marketing and business metrics.
What does a typical student or professional in this field spend most of their time doing?
As a student
A student commonly spends time:
- studying marketing concepts;
- analysing brands and organisations;
- studying consumer behaviour;
- conducting market research;
- analysing competitors;
- developing marketing plans;
- designing communication campaigns;
- preparing sales strategies;
- analysing case studies;
- completing group projects;
- developing presentations;
- analysing marketing data;
- studying digital marketing;
- completing research assignments; and
- applying theory to business problems.
Practical work can be substantial. The University of Pretoria's BCom Marketing Management programme combines theoretical study with industry projects. Students work on actual challenges that can include integrated communication campaigns, sales or in-store promotions, social-media campaigns and market and consumer analyses.
As a professional
Activities depend on specialisation.
A marketing professional may:
- conduct market analysis;
- research competitors;
- analyse customer information;
- develop marketing plans;
- manage products or services;
- coordinate campaigns;
- monitor budgets;
- evaluate marketing performance; and
- work with sales, product, finance and other departments.
A communications professional may:
- develop communication plans;
- prepare content;
- coordinate campaigns;
- manage media or public communications;
- prepare communication materials;
- monitor audience responses; and
- manage organisational messaging.
A sales professional may:
- identify prospective customers;
- contact leads;
- determine customer requirements;
- conduct sales presentations;
- prepare proposals or quotations;
- negotiate;
- maintain customer records;
- follow up with clients; and
- monitor sales targets.
A customer-service professional may spend substantial time responding to enquiries, resolving customer problems, maintaining customer records and coordinating with other departments.
What kinds of assignments, projects, research or practical work are common?
Typical work includes:
- marketing plans;
- marketing research projects;
- consumer-behaviour analyses;
- competitor analyses;
- segmentation exercises;
- brand audits;
- positioning strategies;
- advertising campaigns;
- integrated marketing communication plans;
- social-media campaigns;
- public-relations plans;
- sales strategies;
- sales presentations;
- customer-service case studies;
- product-launch plans;
- pricing exercises;
- market-entry analyses;
- customer surveys;
- campaign evaluations; and
- marketing-data analyses.
A marketing-research project may require students to:
- identify a marketing problem → establish research objectives → choose a research design → select a sample → collect data → analyse results → report findings.
This sequence is explicitly reflected in UNISA's Marketing Research module.
Students may also work directly on industry problems. At the University of Pretoria, industry partners provide marketing students with problems for which students develop solutions and present their recommendations back to the organisation.
What knowledge must a person understand before they can progress in this field?
Basic marketing principles
A person first needs to understand:
- markets;
- customers;
- value;
- products and services;
- exchange;
- competition; and
- the marketing mix.
These provide the foundation for more specialised marketing subjects.
Consumer behaviour
Understanding why customers make decisions is necessary for areas such as advertising, branding, sales, product management and customer experience.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
These concepts provide the basis for identifying which customers an organisation is trying to reach and how it intends to compete for their attention and purchases.
Research
Marketing decisions require information. Students therefore need to understand basic research methods before progressing to advanced market and consumer analysis.
Communication
Marketing communication requires knowledge of:
- audiences;
- messages;
- communication channels;
- media;
- communication objectives; and
- evaluation.
Business fundamentals
Marketing operates within organisations. Knowledge of basic management, economics and financial principles helps students understand budgets, competition, organisational objectives and commercial decisions.
Data and metrics
Progressively, students need to understand how marketing outcomes are measured rather than relying only on descriptive judgements.
South African curricula reflect this progression. For example, introductory marketing subjects precede higher-level areas such as consumer behaviour, integrated marketing communication and marketing research.
Which parts of the field are theoretical, and which parts are practical?
Theoretical components
These can include:
- consumer-behaviour theories;
- communication theory;
- buyer decision-making;
- segmentation theory;
- positioning concepts;
- branding theory;
- relationship marketing;
- marketing strategy;
- persuasion;
- market-orientation concepts; and
- research methodology.
Communication study, for example, includes both theories and research concerning the communicative aspects of marketing.
Practical components
Practical work includes:
- conducting customer research;
- developing campaigns;
- writing marketing plans;
- creating sales presentations;
- analysing competitors;
- managing customer databases;
- preparing marketing materials;
- developing communication strategies;
- planning promotions;
- running digital campaigns;
- analysing campaign data;
- preparing sales proposals;
- managing customer enquiries;
- monitoring sales performance; and
- evaluating marketing results.
The relationship between theory and application is explicit in South African marketing education. The University of Pretoria describes its BCom Marketing Management as providing a theoretical foundation supplemented by practical projects.
What tools, technologies, equipment or software are commonly used?
The exact tools depend heavily on the occupation.
Customer Relationship Management systems
CRM systems can be used to manage:
- customer information;
- leads;
- sales opportunities;
- interactions;
- sales pipelines; and
- follow-up activities.
Digital marketing platforms
Professionals may use systems for:
- social-media management;
- digital advertising;
- email marketing;
- search marketing;
- website management; and
- campaign automation.
Analytics and reporting tools
These include:
- spreadsheets;
- website analytics;
- dashboards;
- business-intelligence tools;
- advertising analytics;
- social-media analytics; and
- sales reports.
Market-research tools
These can include:
- survey platforms;
- questionnaires;
- interview guides;
- focus-group materials;
- statistical software;
- spreadsheets; and
- qualitative-analysis tools.
Communication and content tools
Depending on the role, professionals may use:
- presentation software;
- content-management systems;
- graphic-design software;
- video and image tools;
- publishing platforms; and
- media-monitoring systems.
Customer-service and contact-centre systems
These can include:
- customer ticketing systems;
- call-management software;
- knowledge bases;
- CRM platforms;
- workforce-management systems; and
- real-time reporting dashboards.
The tools change relatively quickly, so competence with the underlying functions—customer data, research, communication, campaign management and measurement—is broader than proficiency with any single software package.
What are the most important skills required to succeed in this field?
- Research skills: Professionals need to gather and evaluate information about markets, customers and competitors.
- Analytical skills: Marketing increasingly requires analysis of customer data, campaign results, market trends, sales performance, customer behaviour and marketing metrics.
- Communication: Written, verbal and visual communication are important because the field involves communicating information both internally and externally.
- Customer and market analysis: Professionals need to distinguish between assumptions about customers and conclusions supported by market evidence.
- Strategic thinking: Marketing decisions must connect products, customers, competitors, positioning and organisational objectives.
- Sales and negotiation skills: These are particularly important in sales occupations and include questioning, needs analysis, presentation, negotiation and relationship management.
- Planning and organisation: Campaigns, product launches, research projects and sales activities involve deadlines, budgets and multiple stakeholders.
- Digital literacy: Digital platforms are used extensively for customer communication, research, advertising, sales and performance measurement.
- Data interpretation: Professionals need to understand what performance measures indicate and what conclusions can reasonably be drawn from them.
- Presentation skills: Marketing and sales professionals frequently present proposals, research findings, strategies and campaign results.
Which skills can be developed through training, and which are expected at entry?
Requirements vary between marketing, communications, sales and customer-service occupations.
Skills commonly developed through training
These include:
- marketing research;
- consumer analysis;
- market segmentation;
- brand management;
- campaign planning;
- digital marketing;
- media planning;
- copywriting;
- CRM use;
- sales techniques;
- negotiation;
- marketing analytics;
- customer-experience management;
- strategic marketing;
- pricing;
- marketing planning;
- communication planning; and
- use of specialised platforms.
Formal marketing education specifically develops the ability to apply theoretical concepts to practical market problems.
Capabilities commonly expected at entry
Depending on the programme or position, basic capabilities generally include:
- reading comprehension;
- written communication;
- basic numerical literacy;
- basic digital literacy;
- ability to communicate with other people;
- ability to organise information;
- basic problem-solving;
- ability to work in groups; and
- ability to learn new technologies.
Advanced sales, research, analytics and strategic capabilities are generally developed through education and professional experience.
What personal qualities are commonly useful in this field?
- Attention to detail: Marketing materials, campaign data, research instruments and customer records require accuracy.
- Curiosity: Useful for understanding customers, competitors and market changes.
- Adaptability: Marketing channels, tools and customer expectations change frequently.
- Reliability: Deadlines, budgets and stakeholder expectations require consistent follow-through.
- Organisation: Campaigns, launches, research and sales pipelines involve many moving parts.
- Responsiveness: Customer-facing roles require timely and appropriate reactions.
- Objectivity when interpreting research: Conclusions must be supported by evidence rather than preferences.
- Willingness to listen: Understanding customer and stakeholder needs is central to the field.
- Ability to work with different people: Collaboration across departments, clients, customers and suppliers is common.
- Persistence: Sales and customer-facing work often involves repeated contact and overcoming obstacles.
- Accountability: Marketing and sales outcomes are often measured directly.
- Awareness of changing markets and technologies: The field evolves with customer behaviour and available tools.
- Willingness to evaluate work using evidence and results: Decisions should be informed by data and results where possible.
Different occupations require different combinations. Research-oriented roles place greater emphasis on analytical objectivity and accuracy. Sales roles require more sustained direct interaction with customers. Communications roles place greater emphasis on clarity and consistency of messaging.
Occupations identified as being in high demand in this field
According to the South African Department of Higher Education and Training's National List of Occupations in High Demand: 2024, and using the Marketing, Communications and Sales field grouping established for this project, the occupations are:
- Sales and Marketing Manager — OFO 2021-122101
- Director of Marketing — OFO 2021-122103
- Customer Service Manager* — OFO 2021-122105
- Advertising and Public Relations Manager* — OFO 2021-122201
- Call or Contact Centre Manager — OFO 2021-143905
- Marketing Practitioner — OFO 2021-243103
- Communication Coordinator — OFO 2021-243201
- Industrial Products Sales Representative — OFO 2021-243301
- Commercial Sales Representative* — OFO 2021-332201
- Commercial Services Sales Agent* — OFO 2021-332204
- Call Centre Team Leader — OFO 2021-334103
- Contact Centre Real Time Advisor — OFO 2021-422203
- Contact Centre Forecast Analyst — OFO 2021-422205
- Call or Contact Centre Agent* — OFO 2021-422206
These occupations were identified by DHET as occupations in high demand. This means they met the document's demand criteria; it does not mean that each occupation has a shortage of qualified workers. DHET specifically states that the list is not intended to function as a scarce-skills list.
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