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Is taking economics a good idea if i want to be in the field of marketing?

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Preston’s Answer

Hi Sohalia,

I personally think economics is one of the most useful supplemental fields someone interested in marketing can dive into. Specifically Behavioral Economics. Many schools now offer this as a specific (or set of specific) cours(es).

I'm a little biased, as my degree in international economics is on my wall right next to me as I respond to this... but I think some of the broader concepts of economics combined with the business-specific statistical work you'll learn are invaluable to any business.

In my first career after university, a coworker of mine joined the firm shortly after I did to be a marketing specialist (while I was an operations analyst). This coworker had a degree in marketing, but struggled a lot with the more numbers-focused marketing analysis that you'll often end up doing for product development. They much more enjoyed the sales and advertising side of the role.

Marketing is broader than advertising, so it would important first to identify which parts of marketing you're really interested in. Are you fascinated by the creation of new products, planning them and bringing them to market? This will require a good deal of analysis, creating business cases, and process management... all things that the more systems-focused Economist learns in school. :)
Thank you comment icon Thanks a lot for your response, now I don't have any doubts anymore!! Sohalia
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Simeon’s Answer

A basic understanding of economics will be helpful for you to understand the market conditions you'll be making advertisements for. In marketing, you aren't just taking into account consumer preferences. You have to also consider the market conditions. For instance, now during Covid, there's a dip in the amount of babies being born and households have smaller budgets, so it'll result in you having to market baby products differently even to the same specific consumers. We're talking about a more general skill set, but I still think it's a good idea to take the class.
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Brittany’s Answer

Yes! As a marketer, I find my studies of economics helpful. It's important to understand macro trends of how business works, such as supply and demand. It helps you to be more rounded and have a wider view of the business besides just marketing. I wouldn't say it's essential by any means, but if you get the chance to take it, it can really help. I think of economics as the "psychology of money", and since marketing often involves trying to sell something and convince someone why they should spend money on your product/service, it's helpful to know what goes through people's mind and the laws of nature in terms of working with that.
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Michael’s Answer

Hi. Agree with many other answers that in general economics background is very helpful to understanding and applying marketing. One thing you may want to consider is what area of marketing you might be interested in. Measurement and data analytics are very "hot" right now, so if you also enjoy math and statistics you might want to supplement economics with math-oriented studies. If you like talking with people and research, market research also uses many principles out of economics. So you can do many different things with economics in the marketing world, maybe supplement that with experiences, internships, and studies in a specific area or marketing you enjoy!
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Nadia’s Answer

Hi Sohalia,

if you mean doing a major in economics, I think you would miss out important marketing content that will not covered in this area of education.
If it is rather one subject though, this could be very helpful. All management and marketing studies always have at least a basic economics course, and, depending on your choices of marketing sphere, even advanced ones. F.e., empirical research or marketing strategy (entering new markets) would require advanced economics knowledge, while advertising or internal communications - very little.

Hope this helps,
Nadia
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Sabrina’s Answer

Hi Sohalia,

I was in the same place as you and asked myself that a couple of years ago. I decided to go with a specific Marketing and Communications Bachelor and I have to say it was the right decision. Afterwards, I started a MBA in General Management and I am really happy about the decision to do it in this order.

This might be my personal experience, but I have experienced that a lot of recruiters nowadays are looking for more specific educations, since there are SO many people studying for example economics, which is not very specified, when it comes to Marketing.
In my Bachelor studies, I learned about Marketing and Communications in General, but also about Digital Marketing, Social Media, Public Relations, Event Management, Media Planning, Advertising, Media Research and of course, general Economics topics as well.

So as this covered so many aspects of Marketing & Communications, I never really had a problem with finding a job so far, since you have a broad knowledge of many fields, since in a Marketing position, you have to be able to combine all these fields in order to be successful. It just digs deeper into the topic, since it is specified and there are usually a lot of workshops, where you can additionally learn about things like for example texting.

Further into my career path, after working for a couple of years, I decided for my Economics/Management MBA additionally, since I got to a level, where management positions would be next, so I wanted to prepare for that with more knowledge about business topics such as law, supply chain management, finance etc., and now I work at LinkedIn, so it worked for me! :)

BUT: really, I have seen many people getting jobs, not because of their education (because let´s face it, a LOT want to do Marketing), but because of their personality, showing that they are different, full of ideas, flexible, highly curious and interested and creative in their applications! Never forget that as well! That´s for example how I got the job at LinkedIn I was told - of course my background in Marketing and my language skills as well, but it was mainly personality and the ability to deal with people!

All the best and good luck! :)
Sabrina
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Jim’s Answer

Yes, it is a good idea to take economics for the field of marketing, and in fact, economics is quite relevant. Behavioral economics, for instance, provides helpful insights into consumer behavior, which connects well with marketing theories. On the more quantitative side, econometric modeling are applied in marketing to study the data collected and to help make informed decisions.
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Richard’s Answer

Yes! Economics is central to marketing. But don't omit work in programming and psychology and statistics/econometrics. Different types of marketing can focus on any of these things or on the more design/art side!
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Josh’s Answer

Hi Sohalia,

I double majored in Business Economics and Marketing.

Having worked in the telcom industry for 16 years now, I can tell you that knowing aspects of Economics will not hurt your goal of getting into Marketing.

Marketing has so many aspects to it, and there are definitely economic principles that are invoked in Marketing related decisions.

At the end of the day, if you are Marketing a product/service, sales matter, so understanding the economic implications or effects of your decisions play a crucial part in making smart marketing decisions for things like (budget, projects, hiring, etc.)
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Kara’s Answer

Great question! Like others have shared, learning economics is essentially like gaining a 'lens' through which you can understand the world -- this is valuable in any profession! Specifically to Marketing, though, the Economics 'way of thinking' is especially valuable in that it examines a) determining the appropriate price for products you're selling, especially in a competitive market, and b) understanding how consumers make decisions about whether or not to buy a product. If you're specifically interested in understanding consumer behavior, you can look into whether your school has an class in "behavioral economics." This examines how people behave 'irrationally' -- or in ways we might not otherwise expect -- when it comes to making decisions, such as whether to buy something or not. Having these different perspectives on what drives consumer behavior will be especially helpful in a marketing role.

Enjoy!
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Jameel’s Answer

Hey Sohalia,

I majored in Economics for my undergrad degree, and would recommend not only Economics as a course of interest to understand marketing, but also Psychology, and Sociology to gain the understanding of the audience's perspective.
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Todd’s Answer

I don't know about for marketing, but consider this thought. Is it ever a bad idea to know about economics?
Thank you comment icon Economics can be a very useful class but Sohalia wanted to know about how useful it would be in the context of marketing. Would love to hear your thoughts on that! Gurpreet Lally, Admin
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Jen’s Answer

The business schools I attended for both undergrad and my MBA required it. I really do think it helps to understand the true desire behind why consumers buy goods and services.
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Nadine’s Answer

It is actually a requirement. In marketing, most schools require you to take several pre-reqs that most students are surprised about such as business calculus, economics, statistics, and accounting. Look up the school you are interested in and look at their curriculum. There will be a list of classes you need online. Remember you also still need your general education courses as well (english, social sciences, science, public speaking, etc).
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Palak’s Answer

Economics is a very important subject, regardless of your specialty. I do recommend taking the course as it will help you in your future field.
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Eleanya J.’s Answer

A degree in marketing should give you exposure to economics. I'd be surprised if it doesn't. Economics will be very useful for understanding consumer behavior, strategic thinking, and market research. If you plan on majoring in Marketing, you might find it useful to minor in economics or take courses that cover behavioral economics or industrial organization. Look up Richard Thaler's works on behavioral economics
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Richard’s Answer

Yes! Economics, as a course or a major, is very important for understanding the objectives of marketing. Of course, marketing has different dimensions. There is the statistical analysis and econometric analysis of the data generated by any given advertising campaign, there is the business/finance side of actually placing ads/deciding what the brand image ought to be/who the target audience is, and the artistic/design side.

Which side of this are you most interested in?
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