Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Market Development Assistant Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Market Development Assistant Manager supports execution of market expansion and go-to-market strategies by driving channel development, partner relationships, local market research, sales enablement, and campaign execution. This role combines market analysis, stakeholder management, and operational coordination to accelerate customer acquisition and revenue growth for defined territories or segments. The ideal candidate translates market insights into action plans, manages cross-functional launches, and monitors KPIs to optimize short- and mid-term growth initiatives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Market Development Executive / Coordinator
Business Development Representative / Executive
Sales Executive or Territory Sales Representative

Advancement To:

Market Development Manager
Regional Business Development Manager
Head of Market Development / Senior Growth Manager

Lateral Moves:

Product Marketing Manager
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Channel / Alliance Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Conduct comprehensive market research and competitive analysis for assigned regions to identify white-space opportunities, market gaps, and high-potential customer segments, and synthesize findings into executive-ready recommendations.
Develop and execute go-to-market (GTM) plans for new product launches and regional rollouts, coordinating cross-functional resources including sales, product, marketing, operations, and legal.
Build and manage channel and partner relationships—identify prospective distributors, resellers, and strategic alliances; negotiate commercial terms; and implement joint business plans to accelerate penetration.
Own territory-level demand generation activities by designing and executing local marketing campaigns (digital, field events, webinars), tracking ROI, and optimizing spend against lead-to-revenue metrics.
Collaborate with sales leadership to create territory plans, set quarterly/annual targets, and enable direct sales teams with targeted messaging, sales plays, competitive battlecards, and objection handling.
Manage end-to-end partner onboarding and enablement including training curricula, certification tracks, co-selling motions, and performance scorecards to maximize partner productivity.
Monitor and analyze market performance KPIs (revenue, pipeline velocity, conversion rates, CAC, LTV) and prepare weekly/monthly dashboards and actionable insights for senior management.
Lead localized pricing and commercial strategy inputs—assess price sensitivity, recommend promotional structures and discount frameworks, and support pricing approvals in coordination with finance.
Drive customer segmentation and account prioritization; define Ideal Customer Profiles (ICP) for campaigns and partner targeting to improve lead quality and sales efficiency.
Plan and execute regional events, trade shows, and partner workshops—manage logistics, booth strategy, lead capture processes, and post-event follow-up to convert pipeline.
Collaborate with product management to communicate local market requirements, feature requests, and regulatory constraints, ensuring product-market fit and roadmap prioritization.
Create compelling sales enablement collateral (presentations, case studies, ROI calculators, product one-pagers) tailored for local markets and verticals.
Implement CRM best practices—manage lead routing, data hygiene, pipeline updates, and forecast accuracy to ensure reliable sales operations and reporting.
Support contract negotiations and commercial documentation with partners and mid-market customers, ensuring alignment with company policies and legal counsel.
Run pilot programs and market tests (A/B messaging, pricing pilots, channel experiments) to validate hypotheses and scale successful initiatives.
Coordinate with digital marketing and demand-gen teams to localize content, landing pages, and paid campaigns for higher conversion and search relevance in target geographies.
Lead competitive win/loss analysis and post-mortem reviews to refine value propositions, objection handling, and partner engagement strategies.
Manage budget for local market development activities, track spend vs. plan, and deliver monthly variance reports with corrective actions.
Ensure compliance with local regulations, trade rules, and distributor agreements, working with legal and compliance teams to mitigate risk in market expansion.
Mentor and develop junior market development staff or associates, delegate work streams, and cultivate a performance-driven team culture.
Build and maintain strategic relationships with key customers and channel executives to secure references, case studies, and long-term contracts.
Drive process improvements for faster partner onboarding, lead-to-opportunity conversion, and efficient cross-functional collaboration to scale go-to-market operations.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc market analysis requests and produce exploratory data analysis to inform short-term tactical decisions.
Contribute to the organization’s market expansion strategy and regional roadmap by surfacing field intelligence and actionable recommendations.
Collaborate with business units to translate market needs into product, marketing, and operational requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies for GTM projects; maintain clear backlog priorities for market initiatives.
Assist finance and sales operations with periodic forecasting, quota setting, and commission calculations at the territory level.
Coordinate translation and localization of marketing assets and product documentation for target markets.
Act as internal liaison for compliance checks, contracting escalations, and dispute resolution related to channel partners.
Maintain up-to-date CRM records and support data-driven segmentation and scoring models for demand-generation teams.
Facilitate cross-functional workshops (sales, product, marketing) to align on priorities, timelines, and measurable outcomes.
Manage external agencies and vendors for localized campaign execution, ensuring SLAs, deliverables, and budget adherence.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Market research & competitive intelligence (qualitative & quantitative methods)
CRM mastery (Salesforce, HubSpot or equivalent) for pipeline management and reporting
Advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, modeling) and Google Sheets proficiency
Data visualization and dashboarding (Tableau, Power BI, Looker or equivalent)
Digital marketing fundamentals (SEM/SEO, paid social, email marketing) and campaign performance tracking
Sales enablement tools and LMS platforms (Seismic, Showpad, Lessonly) experience
Experience with marketing automation tools (Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot) and lead scoring models
Familiarity with contract negotiation, partner agreements, and commercial terms
Project management tools and methodologies (Asana, Jira, Monday.com, MS Project)
Basic financial acumen: budget management, ROI analysis, and unit economics
Localization and go-to-market tooling (translation management, content management systems)
Ability to run A/B tests, pilot programs, and interpret statistical results for decision-making

Soft Skills

Strategic thinking with strong business acumen and the ability to translate strategy into tactical plans
Exceptional written and verbal communication; persuasive presenter to executive and partner audiences
Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management across sales, product, marketing, and legal
Relationship building and partner management with high emotional intelligence
Strong analytical mindset and problem-solving under ambiguity and tight deadlines
Negotiation skills and commercial judgment when structuring deals and partnerships
Project management discipline and ability to manage multiple simultaneous initiatives
Adaptability and cultural sensitivity for working in diverse international markets
Coaching and people development skills to grow junior team members
Results orientation with a bias for action and continuous improvement

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, International Business, or related field.

Preferred Education:

MBA or Master’s degree in Marketing, Business Strategy, or a relevant discipline preferred for senior-facing roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing
Business Development / Management
Economics
International Business
Data Analytics / Statistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–6 years of progressive experience in market development, business development, product marketing, channel management, or sales operations.

Preferred:

4+ years in roles focused on market expansion, channel/partner management, or GTM execution in B2B SaaS, technology, FMCG, or regulated industries.
Experience operating in the target geography (EMEA, APAC, LATAM, or domestic regional markets) and familiarity with local regulatory and distribution landscapes.
Proven track record of launching products, scaling channels, and driving measurable revenue growth through partners or direct sales.
Prior experience using CRM, marketing automation, and analytics tools to measure and optimize performance.
Demonstrated success in negotiating partner agreements and managing multi-stakeholder programs.