IIE Marketing Management - Online

Course details

Successful marketing today ensures survival in an increasingly competitive environment and a dynamic approach to marketing marks the success of leading companies worldwide.

This short learning programme (SLP) emphasises the development of skills required to analyse and solve marketing challenges. Based on recognised theoretical principles, it focuses on practical Strategic Marketing applications. This enables students to put their learning into practice immediately - and maintain their critically important competitive edge.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Those requiring skills necessary to analyse and solve marketing challenges to achieve a strategic advantage.
• Those wishing to broaden their career expertise from sales to marketing and enhance their earning potential.
• Graduates wanting to add a recognised job-related programme to their CV to enable them to enter the marketing sphere.
• Owners of small businesses who recognise the importance of marketing for the success of their businesses in the global context.
• Anyone wishing to function effectively in the marketing environment.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Students should meet the following requirements:

• Be proficient in English.
• Preferably have three to four years work experience.
• Must be able to engage in self-directed study.

WHAT IS THE BENIFIT OF DISTANCE STUDIES

The distance delivery mode provides the student with the opportunity to study in the comfort of their home and to plan the study workload according to their individual pace. The study material, which has been carefully designed with distance students' needs in mind, entails the following:

• A module guide designed to lead the student through the textbook. It includes questions and answers for practice and revision.
• An online learning portal, containing interactive, media rich activities for students to engage with in order to deepen their understanding of the subject matter.
• An online tutor who maintains the human experience of the learning process.

Students will be provided with the added value of face to face sessions. These sessions are highly recommended, as they provide the opportunity for rich discussion and conceptual explanation and to meet fellow students with whom to network. Students who attend face to face sessions are more likely to be motivated and to remain committed to their studies. However, should students not be able to attend any face to face sessions, the module guide, textbook and online facilitation will provide the necessary support for student success.

PROGRAMME MATERIAL

• The short learning programme fee includes all programme material, which becomes the property of the student. This material constitutes a valuable source of ongoing reference.

PROGRAMME EVALUATION

• Students will be required to complete tests, assignments and an examination.

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

This SLP:

• Aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to create and implement creative marketing strategies.
• Enables students to familiarise themselves with the mechanics of the various frameworks and processes in use today.
• Equips students to apply marketing principles in a practical and profitable way.
• Assists students to manage information flowing in from an increasingly complex and ever changing environment.

PROGRAMME CONTENT

The Marketing Philosophy

• How marketing came about as a way of thinking as it went through different stages of development. Reasons behind these stages and trends affecting the discipline today.
• A definition of the discipline and its role in society and the economy as a whole, as well as its specific application to a business and non-profit environment.

The Strategic Approach

• The concept of controllable and uncontrollable variables that affect an organisation's strategy and the practical development of some frameworks to help understand these variables.
• The introduction of the strategic management model as a proven vehicle to integrate results of the strategic analysis.

The Marketing Environment

• Trends shaping the consumer market globally and in South Africa in particular.
• The implication of these trends on the organisation.
• Demographic and geographic influences and the effect of the economic, political and natural environments on marketing.

The Planning Process

• The planning process and some of the main strategies available to an organisation as it integrates the controllable environmental factors with the uncontrollable.
• How to distinguish between internal and external factors impacting on the planning process.

Marketing Research

• Marketing research as a link between the customer and the organisation.
• The gathering of market information as a key factor in determining market needs.
• The development and implementation of a marketing research plan.
• Methods used to collect and interpret data and the development of criteria to assess the value of this information against marketing objectives.
• The integration of marketing research findings into the overall marketing plan.

Finding Market Opportunities

• The process by which a market is broken down into distinct and meaningful segments and the mechanics of the market segmentation method.
• The basis for market segmentation.
• Criteria for evaluating market segments.
• The concept of positioning and product differentiation.

Understanding Consumers

• Characteristics of consumer behaviour.
• The factors that influence decision making, ranging from broad issues (such as culture, society and the family), to personal ones (such as motivation, perception and the forming of attitudes).
• The difference between consumer buyer behaviour and business buyer behaviour.
• Identification of factors affecting decision-making in a business environment.

Product Strategy

• Definition of the term "product".
• The core, tangible and intangible levels at which the product should be described.
• Various marketing decisions made about a product during the course of its development and growth, including branding, packaging and design.
• How new product ideas are generated, screened and evaluated.
• The strategic implications of the new product launch.
• Managing products through the life cycle from introduction to maturity to decline.
• Implications of the marketing mix at each stage.

Pricing Strategy

• Pricing objectives.
• The influence that price setting has on a business and non-profit organisation.
• Decisions that need to be made when changing prices as a result of either a competitive reaction or the result of a determined strategy.
• Pricing tactics and tools in common use.

Distribution Strategy

• The concept of a marketing channel and the various roles, risks and responsibilities of each "player" within the channel.
• The evolution and dynamics of various types of channels and tactics used in the management of these channels.
• The physical, logistical and distribution issues involved in the moving of goods from place of supply to place of consumption.
• Marketing channel decisions.

Promotional Strategy

• Advertising, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling and Public Relations are the main tools which an organisation can use to communicate its offerings and promises to the market.
• An in depth look at the effective use of the main tools to achieve the right marketing communication blend.
• The communication model and its applications.

Advertising and Promotions

• The process of planning a campaign and setting objectives.
• Deciding on the media and message approach and measuring outputs.
• Tactics and best practices in the Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Management domains and their integration into a cohesive Marketing Communication strategy.

Customer Relationship Management

• Customer service and customer service driven marketing strategies as key issues in South Africa and internationally.
• The role of Customer Relationship Management in achieving differentiation in the market place.
• Customer service quality and the principles of customer service: measurement, service recovery and achieving customer service effectiveness.

Creating Competitive Advantage

• Competitor analysis and competitive strategies.

Strategy Development

• Identification of different strategies and how to present these ideas as business plans.
• The role of marketing in the solution process.
• The development of marketing action plans.

CERTIFICATION

• Marketing Management is a SLP that is certified by The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE). Varsity College is an educational brand of The IIE.nStudents enrolled for this SLP can apply, on successful completion, to be exempt, based on recognition of prior learning, from the equivalent full qualification module when registering for The IIE BCom degree (exempt from Marketing Management 1a and 1b).
• All SLPs available through Varsity College's The Business School have been specifically designed for working adults. These SLPs differ from The IIE's full qualifications available through Varsity College which are registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Before registration students must ensure that the programme selected best suits their individual learning and workplace objectives.