This question perplexes many aspiring MBA aspirants who kickstart their MBA journey. Although this usually happens when the second year hits them, requiring them to decide their specialization, many are confused. The answer to this question is very personal and subjective.
If someone with prior experience in Finance, like for a CA or CFA or Master in Finance, can add incredible value to their financial portfolio by studying marketing. Companies look for individuals who have complementary skill sets. Financial knowledge comes in handy when you have to make marketing decisions like deciding marketing budget, planning & forecasting demand, decode any excel sheet that comes your way, determine a profitable ROI for your product, and many more jobs.
A person with both skillsets is like an asset for any organization because the point of view of that person will be financially viable with a spot-on marketing plan. A mix of these two skillsets is a match-made in heaven and killer combination to ace any job, especially FMCGs. For example, when working as a brand manager/marketing manager, you have to communicate about the product to the target audience, manage pricing, profitability, budget for advertising and promotional items, and many other jobs. A degree in Finance gives a marketeer a better insight on crucial commercial aspects of marketing like profit and loss, and profitability, helping them build more robust business cases. Marketers have a role to play in helping the finance team better understand the various aspects of marketing, such as taking a long-term view on brand investment or considering every decision about the customer.
Marketing helps the organization acquire and retain profitable customers and, therefore, directly impacts cash flow. The more enhanced marketing initiatives address customer lifetime value, increase product adoption rate, reduce customer churn, and cheaper acquisition costs, the better the company’s cash flow.
On the other hand, Finance is centred on revenue, expenses, profit, and shareholder value. Most companies idolize “cash is king.” The finance team is interested in the brand; they want to link brand image and loyalty via cash flow. Hence, I can say that there is a strong association between cash flow and marketing’s responsibilities.
So I believe when the excel sheet of a financial planner meets the ingenious PowerPoint presentation of a marketeer, it can create magic.
A mix of two skillsets, i.e., Finance and marketing, helps maintain a healthy Profit & loss, managing both top and bottom line effectively.
In the end, the decision is yours.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article.
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