MARKETING QUALIFICATION THROUGH HOME STUDY
Gain valuable marketing skills for your business or employment.
Without Good Marketing Businesses Fail
Marketing is a weak point in most businesses -
what you learn here can make a big difference to success in your own business or your employ-ability working for someone else.
A successful career in marketing depends very much on the most appropriate training. An outgoing personality, organized and communicative is an asset, but education is a key factor for success. This course provides a solid foundation for working in marketing, either in your own business, or elsewhere. The right combination of knowledge, skill, and personality will always be in high demand; so if you need the skills and knowledge, this course is a legitimate step in the right direction.
There are always businesses that want to sell more; and all too few people who can help them do that.
Effective marketers are always in demand!
Learn to sell goods and services. Learn to understand the customer, what convinces them to buy and what causes them to discard what you are offering. Learn to appreciate delivery systems, and manage marketing so that you are not selling above or below your capacity to service the customer.
Modules
Note that each module in the Certificate In Marketing is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
Module Descriptions
1. E-commerce
Develop an ability to manage commercial transactions electronically, particularly via the internet. While the course is concerned with marketing, management and processing; the primary concern is marketing. E commerce is short for “electronic commerce”. It is anything concerned with doing business electronically. E-commerce includes commerce conducted over the internet, but also other forms of electronic commerce such as telephone banking, using a fax, or generating and managing accounting systems on a computer (without use of the internet). This course focuses on the internet; but covers other aspects of e commerce as well.
This course is excellent for managers and marketing people who are good with general marketing but are not very sure about marketing on the web.
There are eight lessons in this module as follows:
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Introduction
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Success and Failure What makes the Difference?
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Promotional Strategies are different on the internet
Optimizing
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Web Site Potential
Increasing
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Web Site Exposure
Automating
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Supply of Goods, Services and Cash flow
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Managing Constant Change
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Dealing with E Commerce Problems.
2. Management
Make sure your
management style is grounded in the 'tried and true'. This course
outlines management theories and procedures, problem solving and
decision making tactics, staff management, and more. Developed by
professionals with a substantial amount of industry experience, it is
the perfect foundation for a successful career.
There are 7 lessons in this course:
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Introduction and Organisational Structures
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Theories and Procedures of Management
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Problem Solving and Making Decisions
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Management Styles and External Influences
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Employing People and Interview Skills
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Staff Management
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Ethics and Equity
3. Sales Skills
Selling is the ultimate destination of the marketing process, but not
the whole process. Marketing involves a much bigger and wider
perspective, of which selling is only a part. Marketing is the process
of packaging up product features, pricing, promotions and distribution
and presenting them to the market for consideration. It encompasses both
the pre-sale and post sale process.
There are twelve lessons in this course; as outlined below:
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Presentation and selling: Personality.
"Never judge a book by its cover." A wise old saying! but people who buy
do make judgements especially about sales people. Dress and grooming
are top priority in selling. As well you must learn how to develop a
selling personality.
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Communication and Conversational selling: Learn the art of written and verbal communication in easy to understand terms.
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Marketing (Buyer analysis and motivation): Presentation of products to consumers and motivating them to buy.
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Management
(Hierachy): Dealing with upper management; learn how to get your point
across. How to be assertive and positive when dealing with your
superiors.
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Helping the Product Sell Itself.
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Know your
product and pre-planning: Through observation, reading and listening get
to know your products (pre-planning is essential in today's complex
society).
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Selling made as simple as A B C: The procedure of selling.
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The "Opening" (getting the attention of the buyer): Creating the right atmosphere for a sale to take place.
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"Closing
a Sale" (overcoming objections): Buyers will tend to look elsewhere
unless a salesman can close a sale in an appropriate amount of time.
Learn the secrets.
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Stress Management: Learn the art of relaxation through stress management techniques.
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The Law and Selling.
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Report
Assessment Writing: Salespeople need to have the ability and skill to
write a condensed and accurate report on which management will
comprehend and act upon.
4. Advertising and Promotions
Advertising and promotions is all about effective communication. Having a
great product or an awesome service is useless if the right people
don't know about it.
There are 10 lessons in this course:
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Analysing the Market
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Target Marketing
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Display and Display Techniques
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Advertising and Promotions Strategy
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New Product Development
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Sales Techniques
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Writing Advertisement
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Electronic Marketing -Telephone & Email
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Direct Mailing
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Exhibitions and Shows
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the
school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any
relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Electives
Marketing Psychology
Through an understanding of things such as this, a sales or marketing
person is able to better manage their marketing effort, and conduct
their work in a more efficient and appropriate way. This is just one of
many aspects to this course.
There are 8 lessons in this course:
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People as Consumers
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Market Segmentation
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Internal Influences Perception and Personality
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Internal Influences -Motivation and Awareness
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Social Influences
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Consumerism
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Communication and Persuasion
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Deciding to Buy
Project Management
Project Management is an invaluable tool used in all industries, and in all sorts of situations. It is relevant to a diverse range of projects, including technical, human resources, marketing, and more. This is a compressed version of a much longer course, so it is highly informative, and great value for money. It was developed by highly qualified professionals, with years of experience in their respective fields.
There are nine lessons as follows:
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Introduction
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Project Identification
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Planning Projects
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Implementing a Project
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Completion and Evaluation of a Project
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Developing Technical Project Management Skills
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Understanding Leadership Skills
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Improving Critical Personnel Skills
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Major Assignment
Event Management
This is a course designed to develop knowledge and skills in the planning and management of special events including gallery openings, festivals, exhibitions and sporting events. It is also a very good starting point for people thinking in developing an Event Management career and wanting to try the waters first.
There are 9 lessons as follows:
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Scope and Nature of Event Management
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Developing the Concept
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Physical and Human Resources
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Project Logistics
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Marketing an Event
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Financial Management
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Risk Management
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Staging the Event
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After the Event
Graphic Design
This course will teach you all about Graphic Design. Build your skills,
awareness and understanding of graphic design, and learn how it is
applied commercially across a range of disciplines, ranging from
marketing to publishing and beyond.
There are 10 lessons in this course:
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Scope and Nature of Graphic Design
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Design Fundamentals - line, tone, colour, etc.
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Colour Theory and Applications
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Typography
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Illustration - methods & techniques
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Logotype Design
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Layout Design
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Design Systems and the Design Industry - design briefs, how to bid for jobs, etc.
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Comparative Design - lessons from other designers (lots of research)
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Design Project - a practical project applying everything prior to this.
Internet Marketing
To be successful in business you must get products and information to
customers as efficiently as possible, while constantly reaching new
customers and markets. The internet is an incredibly powerful tool for
achieving both these goals.
There are 8 lessons in this course:
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Scope and Nature of Social Media
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The Psychology of Internet Marketing
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Social Media Applications
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Websites, Advertising and Other Applications
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Capturing and converting customers
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Creating and Using Content
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Blogs and Newsletters
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Developing an Internet Marketing Program
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the
school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any
relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
What is Marketing?
Marketing goes beyond just selling, and requires an open and trustful relationship, even in that short period of time when the sale happens, between salesperson and client.
For a sustainable career, and successful business, marketing must be managed to nurture the customer and foster return business.
It is always easier to sell to someone who has been referred to you; or who bought from you in the past -but to achieve these results, customers must not only be happy when they buy; but remain happy about your service, well into the future.
Learn the art of marketing in this certificate; and step forward in the world of commerce.
The First Step in Marketing is to Find Customers
The way in which you find customers is currently changing; and is likely to keep changing.
The internet brought about massive changes, starting in the 1990’s, by connecting people around the world in ways that they had never been connected before. The market for products and services is, therefore, a global one. Obviously this will depend on the product or service you are selling. If you are selling a cleaning service, then you are not really going to travel from the UK to China to clean someone’s house. But if you are a cleaning company who is setting up franchises, then you may offer services throughout the world through your franchisees. So it is important to consider what your actual market is.
Think – you are a book seller. Because of postage charges, you decide to only sell to people in your country of origin, but how many customers does that mean you lose? If you are able to charge more for postage or able to absorb that postage cost, then you have increased your potential customer based by thousands or maybe millions.
It is important to realise that those marketing changes which started a couple of decades ago are continuing, and there is no certainty as to how you should be finding customers in the future. Look at the current use of social networking sites! Many big businesses, currently use their social media not only to advertise but to also connect in other ways with customers.
The only thing that is constant about finding customers is that you need to be visible to people who are potential buyers.
How Can You Become Visible?
- Exhibitions and Shows – There are many different shows that are industry focused, such as the shows relating to farming, horticulture, education and so on. Then there are more general exhibitions and shows, where firms may rent a stall. For example, a firm selling boots or wellies may hire a stall at a gardening show.
- Posters or Billboards in Public Places – These are obviously costly, depending on where the poster is displayed, but are still used regularly by many larger companies. There are many different opportunities for this now. For example, you can often hire smaller billboards in public toilets, bus stations and so on.
- Newspapers and Magazines – Advertising in newspapers and magazines still occurs, but can be costly. There are other ways to make a firm visible in newspapers and magazines such as by sending press releases about something interesting that has happened which will increase public awareness of your firm. For example, donating to a charity, a member of staff having their head shaved for charity, opening a new shop, the fact that the firm has been running for a year etc.
- Books – Depending on your business, some firms will make use of books to increase consumer awareness of their products. For example, a life coach may write an ebook or book about life coaching, where they also will list their own website. People buying the book will also become aware of their life coaching business.
- Web Sites – Most firms today have a website (or more than one) as a way to advertise their products. BUT it is important to ensure that the website is visible to potential customers. It is no good spending thousands on a brilliant website that the customer does not see because it does not come up in internet searches. We are not going to discuss optimising websites here, but any business that has a website should ensure that they are aware of how to optimise their site to encourage potential customers.
- Social Media/Social Networking – We have already mentioned that social media and social networking sites are used more and more by businesses. This is obviously a current trend and could change as rapidly as it has started. But as any good business person will tell you, it is important to ride those trends and make use of social networking sites to attract potential customers.
- Word of Mouth/Recommendations – These are a good way to attract potential customers. Some firms will artificially create these forms of recommendations. For example, if you recommend us to a friend and they purchase something from us, we will give YOU a 10% discount on your next purchase.
- Sponsorship – Firms may sponsor events, such as sporting events, fashion events and so on, as a way to get their name known. Firms need to be careful how they do this. They want to ensure that their name is linked with something that is appropriate. For example, a stockbroker may sponsor a ballet to present the image that they are cultured, perhaps wealthy, classy and so on. Any business will have to think carefully about the type of event that they sponsor to ensure that it is good for their image.
- Television – Television advertising can be cheap at certain times and on some channels. The cost varies depending on the time an advert appears, what channel it is on, what program it is being seen during and so on. Again, it is important to ensure that your product is advertised alongside a suitable television program. Psychologically, people will tend to link two events, so the stockbroker and the ballet may become linked in a person’s mind. So if you sell alcohol and advertise in a program about deaths relating to alcohol, you may actually lose potential customers, when they link these two things together in their minds.
- Radio – It is also possible to advertise on the radio. Again, you need to be aware of when and how it is being advertised.
- Mail-Outs or Letter Box Drops – This can be a useful way of sending out information to potential customers and asking them to contact you for more information, offering discount vouchers for people who come to your restaurant, telling people about a new hairdresser in the area, and so on. These can be very effective. For example, if you are a new restaurant in a local area, then doing a mail drop to people in the town may be a good way to get new business, but it depends on your business. If you are a seller of odd shoes for people who have different sized feet, there may be a massive global market, but in your local town, there may actually only be five potential customers, so doing a mail drop to 10,000 people may not actually be worthwhile. So again, it depends on what and how you are selling.
- Brochures/Catalogues – Brochures and catalogues can be a good way to get people to look at your products. 'Next' in the UK have clothing shops throughout the country, but they also have the 'Next Directory', which is delivered to people’s homes and offers more products, such as electrical goods, furniture, toys and so on. With the directory, they are able to offer more products than they can in store, whilst also trading on the name of their high street shops.
- Merchandising (eg. mugs, coasters, calendars, clothing, or anything else with your business on it) can be a good way to advertise your product. A peanut and crisps firm may send out calendars to pubs, as a constant reminder to the person who orders the snacks, that they offer peanuts and other pub snacks.
The way in which you are able to be visible is going to keep changing as technology develops, media evolves and trends develop.
WHY STUDY THIS COURSE?
A marketing career doesn't suit
everyone; however when the right attitude and personality are combined
with the things you will learn in this course, the opportunities for a
career in marketing are enormous.
- If you are new
to marketing; this course is an excellent starting point, providing a
foundation for building a career or business in marketing.
- If you already work in sales or marketing, this course can help You to move your career forward to the next level.
- If you manage a
business that needs to improve it's marketing; this course can help the
manager fill in deficiencies in their own skills; or can be used as
professional development to groom someone else for a more effective
marketing role.
Opportunities for Graduates may be found in:
- Sales
- Merchandising
- Advertising
- Copywriting
- Promotional Events -trade shows, product launches
- Product packaging and distribution
- Marketing management
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