If you’re asking what is a marketing and development manager responsible for, chances are you’re either trying to hire one, become one, or wondering why the one on your team seems permanently buried in a spreadsheet.
Here’s the short answer: they build the growth roadmap and help the business drive on it—faster. They combine market insight, creative direction, and business savvy to help a company grow with purpose. If marketing is the megaphone and development is the fuel, this manager is the person lighting the fire.
Let’s break it down the way we would in a real conversation—with clarity, no corporate speak, and no fluff.
They Set Strategy That Doesn’t Collect Dust
Most marketing and development managers don’t just think up campaigns—they tie them to revenue. If you’ve ever worried about spending big budgets only to watch them fizzle, you’re not alone. Many teams fear they’re chasing vanity metrics instead of growth.
A great marketing and development manager challenges that mindset. They help identify new markets, refine what the company sells, and map out who it’s sold to. Then they create a plan that actually gets followed—so your investment drives real business outcomes.
They’re responsible for:
- Developing annual and quarterly marketing plans
- Aligning marketing goals with revenue targets
- Building cross-functional initiatives that don’t crash in execution
In other words, they answer the question: Are we doing the right things to grow the business?
They Do Real Market Research—Not Just “Look Around Online”
Data rules their day. These managers dig into buyer behaviors, industry shifts, and competitor positioning. If you’re wondering what a corporate marketing manager does, this is a big part of it—they use research to influence brand positioning, pricing strategy, and product development.
What do they look at?
- What problems the customer is actually trying to solve
- What your competitors are failing to deliver
- How the brand is currently perceived (and if that perception is even accurate)
They Bring Development Thinking Into Marketing
This isn’t just about brand awareness. A solid marketing and development manager will think beyond campaigns—they’re looking at expansion.
They’re asking:
- Are we reaching the right segments?
- Is there another market we should break into?
- What’s stopping sales from selling faster?
They might recommend expanding into a new vertical, repositioning your product line, or updating how you present it all. They bring marketing and business development together under one roof.
And when those two functions stop living in silos, growth gets a whole lot easier.
They Help Products Get to Market the Right Way
Development isn’t just about new markets—it’s also about what you’re selling.
They work closely with product teams to make sure what’s being built actually solves customer problems and doesn’t die in the “almost done” phase.
They’re usually in the room asking:
- “Have we validated this with real customers?”
- “How does this compare to what competitors are offering?”
- “How will this be positioned in the market?”
They don’t just slap a campaign on a product—they help shape the product to begin with.
They Manage Campaigns That Don’t Feel Like Campaigns
Once there’s a strategy, they oversee how it hits the real world. They don’t usually design the ad or write the script—but they’re responsible for making sure that whoever does knows what the goal is.
That means:
- Leading creative briefs
- Tracking budgets
- Reviewing KPIs
- Making decisions when performance is off
They don’t throw ideas over the wall. They stay involved through execution.
They Support Sales Without Creating Chaos
They’re often paired with (or reporting to) the VP of Sales. And that’s for good reason—because if the marketing team isn’t making sales easier, something’s wrong.
They’re not writing cold emails—but they are:
- Helping with sales enablement content
- Refining the messaging that shows up in pitches
- Making sure sales has tools they actually use
A great marketing and development manager knows when to listen to sales, when to challenge them, and how to align both departments so they’re not playing tug-of-war.
They Lead Teams (or Teach Themselves How To)
Whether they have direct reports or not, marketing and development managers are usually team leads. That could mean managing a small internal crew or a group of external partners.
Either way, they need to:
- Keep timelines from derailing
- Help others prioritize
- Be the calm in the chaos
They don’t need to be everyone’s best friend, but they do need to keep people moving in the same direction. That means managing creative feedback loops, coordinating between departments, and spotting gaps before they cause missed deadlines.
They Talk to Leadership Like Leaders
They’re not just pushing pixels—they’re making the case for why something matters to the business.
That means:
- Presenting to senior leadership
- Justifying budget increases
- Making strategic recommendations backed by data
And here’s where things get tricky—because in the wrong hands, marketing can sound like magic tricks and buzzwords. But the right marketing and development manager keeps it grounded in outcomes, not fluff.
At The End Of The Day
This role isn’t about managing tasks—it’s about managing growth. A good marketing and development manager sees the big picture, fills in the blanks, and gets the team moving in the right direction—without waiting around for perfect conditions.
They know how to balance ideas and execution. They translate business goals into real plans. And they do it all while keeping the chaos (mostly) under control.
If your business is serious about growth, this is the person who helps make sure it actually happens.
Need Help From a Team That Actually Gets It?
Let’s make your life easier. Less guessing, more doing. We help marketing and development managers (and the companies who need them) move faster—with better creative and way fewer headaches.
- Website: https://mocktheagency.com/
- Phone: 470-225-6814
- Email: hello@mocktheagency.com
- Address: 247 14th St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
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