Christine Esposito, Associate Editor10.21.10
Welcome to the first HAPPI Marketing & Sales Salary Survey. A few months ago, we polled a portion of our readers—marketing and sales staff in the household and personal care marketplace—to determine their attitudes toward their jobs, their level of education, their salaries and what their biggest concerns are at work. This survey was a follow-up to our R&D Salary Survey, which provides the same insights from those involved directly in product formulation.
Demographics
For those who serve in management position, 63.7% said they oversee 1-4 people, 21.8% said they oversee 5-10 people, 8.9% said they are responsible for 11-20 staff, 3.4% said they are responsible for 21-50 people and 2.2% said they oversee 51-100 staffers. Most (82.4%) of the survey respondents said they did not layoff staff in the past year, while 17.6% they had to let some employees go.
Median Annual Base Salary by Position
The overwhelming majority of respondents—87.9%—did not take a cut in base salary in the past year.However, more than 27% reported that their company had stopped matching 401(k) contributions or cut other retirement-related benefits.
What’s On Your Mind?
53.7% of respondents said their department had its budget cut in the last 12 months.
Those issues aside, when asked how likely they were to leave their current company in the next two years, 31.7% said “very unlikely” and 15.1% said “very likely.”
In terms of job security, when asked how secure they felt in their present position, the vast majority felt secure to very secure. Less than 6% of respondents said they felt very insecure.
The R&D Connection
51.2% of our respondents said they believe they meet with R&D the appropriate amount of time and 40.9% said they thought they should meet more often. Four percent said they thought they should meet less often than they do and another 4% said they thought they should never meet with R&D.
Projects
Peers
Marketing Support
Sales Support
Sales Associate
Marketing Associate
Marketing Manager
Sales Director/VP
Marketing Director/VP
Our survey was conducted online; a special thanks to all who participated! We’re looking forward to including more of you in our 2011 survey.
Demographics
Our respondents came from manufacturers of personal care/beauty products, household products and I&I products as well as the suppliers that provide them with raw materials they need to craft their wares. By category, 44.9% of the respondents came from finished goods manufacturers, with 55.1% falling under the supplier category. Of those surveyed 76.4% worked in the personal care/beauty sector, 16.2% in household products and 7.3% in I&I.
Respondents included marketing director/VP (12.7%), sales director/VP (7.3%), marketing manager (15.6%), sales manager (11.5%), marketing associate (9.2%), sales associate (8.9%), marketing support (3.8%), sales support (2.0%), and other (29.0%), which included titles such as owner, market researcher, consumer insight manager, etc.
For those who serve in management position, 63.7% said they oversee 1-4 people, 21.8% said they oversee 5-10 people, 8.9% said they are responsible for 11-20 staff, 3.4% said they are responsible for 21-50 people and 2.2% said they oversee 51-100 staffers. Most (82.4%) of the survey respondents said they did not layoff staff in the past year, while 17.6% they had to let some employees go.
By gender, the group was rather evenly split—43.6% of respondents were men and 56.4% women.
The average age of respondents was 40, and the oldest respondent was 67.
Regarding education, 34.2% of the respondents have Masters degrees, 51.1% obtained Bachelors degrees; 3.9% have Doctorate level education, 6.2% had earned their high school diploma and 4.6% checked “other.”
The majority of respondents (71.6%) came from the U.S.; 2.3% came from Mexico; 5.2% came from Canada; 6.8% came from Europe, 11.1% came from Asia-Pacific; 1.3% from Latin America; and 0.7% from Middle East/Africa. “Other” was the response of 1%.
What’s in Your Wallets?
Here is a look at the median salary levels for U.S.-based respondents based on position held. More detailed breakdowns—including gender comparisons and salary differences at supplier vs. finished goods firms—are listed under the specific job title sections (see below). All responses are in U.S. dollars.
Median Annual Base Salary by Position
Sales Support: $45,000
Marketing Support: $48,000
Marketing Associate: $49,000
Sales Associate: $77,000
Marketing Manager: $83,500
Sales Manager: $88,000
Sales Director/VP: $142,500
Marketing Director/VP: $147,000
Marketing Director/VP: $147,000
Just 5.9% of our respondents said they had been laid off in the past year. 11.3% of respondents said they had changed companies in the past year. In terms of raises, 61.5% said they received a raise for 2010, while 38.5% said they did not see a bump in salary.
The overwhelming majority of respondents—87.9%—did not take a cut in base salary in the past year.However, more than 27% reported that their company had stopped matching 401(k) contributions or cut other retirement-related benefits.
Below is a look at how respondents felt about whether or not their compensation reflects their level of responsibility.
What’s On Your Mind?
When asked what is the most frustrating aspect of your job, respondents’ answers varied. The leading response, at 22.4%, was inadequate funding/resources, possibly the result of the sluggish economy. The next most popular responses were internal politics within their department (20%) and inadequate compensation (17.2%).
53.7% of respondents said their department had its budget cut in the last 12 months.
Those issues aside, when asked how likely they were to leave their current company in the next two years, 31.7% said “very unlikely” and 15.1% said “very likely.”
In terms of job security, when asked how secure they felt in their present position, the vast majority felt secure to very secure. Less than 6% of respondents said they felt very insecure.
The R&D Connection
When asked how often they meet with the R&D staff, 31.3% said they meet weekly, while 25.4% said they meet daily with their technical counterparts. Some 16% said they meet with R&D once or twice a month, 12.5% said they meet monthly. Surprisingly, 15% said they never meet with the R&D staff.
51.2% of our respondents said they believe they meet with R&D the appropriate amount of time and 40.9% said they thought they should meet more often. Four percent said they thought they should meet less often than they do and another 4% said they thought they should never meet with R&D.
Projects
So just what is everyone working on? Recognizing that new products can grow business, 59.3% said they were working on a new launch/SKU; 8.9% said their current project was a repackaging/rebranding effort and another 8.9% said they were working on a new ad/PR/marketing campaign. Some 5.6% said they were working on social media/internet. Other projects, such as event marketing and in-store displays, are noted in the chart below. And we recognize that many are naturally juggling multiple projects—and maybe all of these at once!
Peers
While the information above casts a wide net, here is a way to gauge current compensation—and concerns—with peers. In most instances we have included compensation levels for specific positions based on gender, supplier vs. finished goods manufacturer and by industry (beauty/personal care vs. household products vs. I&I)—when survey data supported these responses.
Marketing Support
Median Annual Base Salary: $48,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $48,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $53,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $28,500
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $58,000
Sales Support
Median Annual Base Salary: $45,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $42,000
Sales Associate
Median Annual Base Salary: $77,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $70,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $93,500
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $70,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $77,500
Median Annual Base Salary within Personal Care/Beauty: $76,900
Median Annual Base Salary within Household Products: $70,000
Median Annual Base Salary within I&I: $83,500
Marketing Associate
Median Annual Base Salary: $49,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $48,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $57,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $50,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $48,000
Median Annual Base Salary with Personal Care/Beauty: $52,000
Median Annual Base Salary within Household Products: $44,200
Sales Manager
Median Annual Base Salary: $88,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $85,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $93,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $85,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $90,000
Median Annual Base Salary within Personal Care/Beauty: $88,000
Marketing Manager
Median Annual Base Salary: $83,500
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $81,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $105,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $84,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $84,350
Median Annual Base Salary within Personal Care/Beauty: $83,500
Median Annual Base Salary within Household Products: $82,000
Sales Director/VP
Median Annual Base Salary: $142,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $95,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $142,500
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $120,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $150,000
Median Annual Base Salary within Personal Care/Beauty: $140,000
Median Annual Base Salary within Household Products $152,000
Marketing Director/VP
Median Annual Base Salary: $147,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Female: $107,000
Median Annual Base Salary for Male: $150,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ finished goods company: $137,000
Median Annual Base Salary @ supplier: $150,000
Median Annual Base Salary within Personal Care/Beauty: $145,000
Median Annual Base Salary within I&I: $150,000