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Great businesses focus on having a clear mission, goal and one that understands its team members to the fullest. If you are a confused person looking for a job in these domains or if you wish to choose your elective in your MBA, or if you just want to enhance your knowledge about these two different departments- Finance and Marketing, you have come to the right place.
In simple words, Marketing department is responsible for generating revenue, whereas, the Finance department is accountable for transporting this revenue into different activities of the business in order to maximize growth and wealth of the company.
So, what is the difference between the two? In this blog, you will understand both these domains carefully by analyzing the outlook of both these subjects, the education required, skills required, pros, cons and much more.
Finance vs Marketing
| Description | Finance | Marketing |
| Meaning | Finance department ensures revenue transfer for several activities in the business, responsible for maximizing growth and revenue of the firm. | Marketing department ensures generating revenue for the business, responsible for sales of products and services |
| Degree/Education Required | To work in Finance, one of the following degrees is required: -Bachelors of Commerce -Bachelors in Finance, Accounting or Mathematics or Economic -MBA in Finance | To work in marketing, one of the following degrees is required: -Graduation in any field -MBA in Marketing Education for this field should be focused on understanding business and how to be a better sales person. |
| Co-Dependency | Without the finance department, marketing function would be less effective, there might be profit-earning but not beneficial for the organization because of lack of proper distribution of profits. | Without the marketing department, no finance would be generated, therefore, the finance domain will be useless other than sourcing funds to procure raw materials for production. |
| Hard-Skills Required | -Excel Sheets –VBA Macros -Financial Modeling -Valuations -Analytical Skills -Capital Budgeting -Risk Management -Financial Analysis -Written Skills -Statistical Tools Knowledge | -Demand-Supply Knowledge -Consideration of Customers’ Needs & Wants -Market Research -Branding -Copywriting -Promotional Activities -Advertisements -Feedback Generation |
| Soft-Skills Required | -Working for long hours/Overtime -Excellent Communication Skills -Writing Skills -Negotiation Skills | -Client Servicing -Excellent Communication Skills -Presentation Skills -Accountability for actions |
| Travel/Posting | Professionals working in this domain do not require to travel as much. It is a desk job with 90% time spent in the office. | Professionals working in Marketing are on the road mostly 80% of the time. Client servicing is a major aspect of this domain. |
| Job Profile | -Sourcing Funds for business through borrowing, IPOs, etc. -Investment of Funds in projects –MIS -Making an analyzed report -Communication with Top Management | -Performing Market Research -Understanding Target Audience and Consumer needs -Sales Promotion -Direct Selling -Advertising -Email Marketing -Copywriting -Delivery & Packaging of products -Feedback evaluation |
| Pay-Scale | Salary of a Finance professional in the United States lies around $84,800 per annum. It varies across firms, departments, designations and roles. | Salary of a Marketing professional lies around $93,459 U.S. dollars annually. It varies across scope of work, designation and core areas. |
| Pros | -Several roles available -Risk Management -Equity Research -Investment Banking -Corporate Finance -Accountant -Finance Manager -Quantitative Finance -Capital Budgeting | -Amazing Compensation – Great work-life Balance |
| Cons | -Pay-scale not as high -No work-life balance in top management | -More of a peoples’ job than desk job -Much more technical -Presentation and negotiation skills are all that matters -Heavy rejections from clients |
| Work & Personal Life Balance | Finance professionals working at top management, that is, as Investment Bankers, Financial analysts have no work-life balance. Corporate finance roles are comparatively stable. | Marketing professionals work to complete targets. Many may slog to reach the target. Work-life balance is suitable for roles like social media specialists or copywriters. |
| Certification Required | CFA, FRM, PRM, CFP, CMA, ACCA, CPA and more | AMA’s PCM, Google Ads, DMA, Scrum-Alliance, Scrum Certification |
| Top Leading Firms | -Blackstone -Goldman Sachs & Co -Deutsche Bank -HSBC -J.P. Morgan Chase & Co -Credit Suisse -Morgan Stanley | -Amazon -Microsoft -Unilever -Salesforce -IBM -Oracle -Accenture -Proctor & Gamble -Johnson & Johnson |
| Future of Professionals | Finance professionals no more have limited options, roles in automation, algorithmic trading and behavioral finance are upcoming. | Marketing professionals have a bright future as they start to integrate Data Science, Sales and Marketing Data, with more learning expectations of statistics, analytical tools & R language. |
Let’s study in detail about the-
Pros & Cons of Finance and Marketing Career
Pros of Finance
- The career choices are huge compared to any other field.
- Choosing to be a finance professional increases your chances to fit in a right job than others.
- Having technical knowledge of various tools such as financial analysis, valuation, financial modeling and more, increases the success rate in this field as it gives a competitive edge.
Cons of Finance
- Even though the salary is really high in this domain, the skills and work required should also be up to the mark and proficient.
- Being specialized in this career is really important, general finance compensation is not lucrative.
- The work-life balance differs across different roles in finance, but work pressure is constant throughout all domains of finance.
Pros of Marketing
- Working hours are target oriented. Sales professionals usually do not work for long hours, the work-life balance is great.
- The compensation is really high and lucrative compared to finance as it generates revenue for the business.
Cons of Marketing
- It requires more personality traits than technical skills. Presentation is all that matters in this job to make a mark over clients.
- Not every other professional in this field is successful.
- Client servicing means heavy rejection.
- In many instances, the efforts do not go as planned, but learning from failures in this field is the right way to go ahead.
Final Word
Now that we have been able to explain the differences between Finance and Marketing domains, we hope you have a clear idea of which field is more suitable for you and why. At the end, marketing vs finance is a choice that you have to make, but if you do it strategically, you are at higher chances of getting successful in the following fields.
