Lessons
The Diploma in Marketing requires successful completion of 4 modules selected from the following 6 modules: (includes completing all assignments and appropriate exams)
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.
ELECTIVE MODULES: In addition to the core modules, students study any 2 of the following 5 modules
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. Ecommerce 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:
- Introduction: What is e-commerce, scope of e commerce. E commerce problems & advantages, security, using the internet, contract law, How different electronic payment systems work (eg. credit card, bank transfer etc)
- Success & Failure: What makes a web site commercially successful? Relaxing with technology, what can go wrong, site visibility, interactivity of a site, etc
- Promotional Strategies: Internet differences; Internet code of conduct, marketing management, target marketing, categories of url’s (search engines, ffa’s, directories etc)
- Optimizing Web Site Potential: Monitoring visitors, Ground rules keep changing, Meta tags, Evaluation services, Submission services, etc
- Increasing Web Site Exposure: Developing a marketing plan, Promoting a site, Forms of advertising, Types of Marketing (Affiliate marketing; Free Content Marketing; Drive in Marketing, Buzz Marketing and User Group Marketing.)
- Automating Supply of Goods, Services and Cash flow: Ways to process payment; Ways to supply goods or services.
- Managing Constant Change: Ways to keep information up to date, Resource Planning, Information Currency vs Cash Currency, etc.
- Dealing with E Commerce Problems: Learning from mistakes (others & yours)
2. Advertising and Promotions
Contents:
- Analysing the Market
- Target Marketing
- Display and Display Techniques
- Advertising and Promotions Strategy
- New Product Development
- Sales Techniques – General
- Writing Advertisement
- Electronic Marketing -Telephone & Email
- Direct Mailing
- Exhibitions & Shows
3. 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 6 lessons as follows:
- Introduction & Organizational Structures
- Management Theories & Procedures
- Problem Solving & Decision Making
- Management Styles & External Influences
- Employing People & Interview Skills
- Staff Management
4. 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:
- Introduction
- Understanding what project management is, and what its applications might be.
- Project Identification
- Identification and defining projects which need management.
- Project Planning
- Developing a strategy and framework for the plan.
- Project Implementation
- Managers duties during implementation, developing a Preparation Control Chart,
- Regulating implementation.
- Project Completion & Evaluation
- Dangers in this stage, Steps in Project completion, Declaring a project sustainable,
- Developing an evaluation method.
- Technical Project Management Skills
- Preparing a proposal, budget control/management, steps in drawing up a
- post project appraisal.
- Leadership Skills
- Styles of leadership, leadership principles and methods.
- Improving Key Personnel Skills
- Listening skills, Negotiation skills, Conflict management.
- Major Assignment
- Developing full documentation for a project.
5. 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:
- Scope and Nature of Event Management
- Developing the Concept
- Physical an Human Resources
- Project Logistics
- Marketing an Event
- Financial Management
- Risk Management
- Staging the Event
- After the Event
6. Sales Skills
There are twelve lessons in this course; as outlined below:
- 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.
- Communication and Conversational selling: Learn the art of written and verbal communication in easy to understand terms.
- Marketing (Buyer analysis and motivation): Presentation of products to consumers and motivating them to buy.
- Management (Hierachy): Dealing with upper management; learn how to get your point across. How to be assertive and positive when dealing with your superiors.Helping the Product Sell Itself
- 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).
- Selling made as simple as A B C: The procedure of selling.
- “The Opening” (getting the attention of the buyer): Creating the right atmosphere for a sale to take place.
- “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.
- Stress Management: Learn the art of relaxation through stress management techniques.
- The Law and Selling
- 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.
More Information
The Fist 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 facebook and other social networking sites! Many big businesses, such as Ford, currently use their facebook page to advertise their products.
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.
- Sponsorships – 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 programme it is being seen during and so on. Again, it is important to ensure that your product is advertised alongside a suitable
television programme. 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 programme 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 in the world of marketing is going to keep changing as technology develops, media evolves and trends change.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.
General
Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.
Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.
Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.
Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.
Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.
Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.
Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.
Enrolment
Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.
Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.
Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.
Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.
Assessment
Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.
Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.
Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –
Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.
Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.
Qualifications
Q. What qualification will I receive?
A. For individual modules, you would be awarded a Certificate endorsed by TQUK (Training Qualifications, UK), providing you complete all assignments and the exam. If you just want to complete only the assignments and not sit for the exam or finish a Project, then a Letter of Achievement would be awarded. For more details on qualifications available please click here.
Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.
Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.
Tutors
Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.
Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.
Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.
