CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing
course contents

Diploma in Child Psychology - Course Contents

Unit 1: What is Marketing?

1: An Introduction to the Unit

The course approach
The teaching and learning approach
Tutorial support
Syllabus
Assessment process
Submission deadlines
End of unit review
Evaluation procedures

Assignment 1: Tell us about yourself

2. What is the role and function of marketing?

What exactly is marketing?
How marketing is a process being the exchange between the organisation, its customers and suppliers
What is the role of marketing in delivering customer satisfaction?
How is marketing a cross-functional activity?
What are the differences between internal and external marketing
What role does marketing plan within planning and analysis?
How to make customer satisfaction a business objective. How marketing activities can secure customer retention.
How does Marketing link with other functions within the organisation?

Non-marked assignment

3: Understanding the marketing environment; the macro environment

What is the organisation’s micro and macro environment?
What role does it play in satisfying the needs of the customer?

• The micro (internal) environment

• The organisation’s macro (external) environment

Which factors are controllable, and which are not?
Factors that have an impact upon the organisation and its marketing activities.

• Political environment
• Economic factors
• Social factors
• Technological factors
• Environmental factors
• Legal factors

What is meant by the macro environment?
What external elements affect the organisation?

Assignment 2

4: Understanding The Marketing Environment

What is the micro environment?
• Customers
• Stakeholders
• Competitors
• Suppliers
• Distributors

How can we monitor the marketing environment?
• Market scanning
• Collection of secondary data

Non-marked assignment

5: The Marketing Mix

What is the marketing mix? How does each element link together to deliver against customers’ needs and wants?
• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• Physical evidence
• Process
• People

What do we mean by the term ‘product’?
What are the differences between the core, augmented and potential product?
What is the difference between features and benefits, including the tangible nature of the product?
New product development (NPD), product extension and modifications.
What is meant by the marketing mix and its components and how are they inter linked?

Assignment 3

6: The Marketing Mix

What role does price pay in generating revenue?
How does it affect the expectations of customers?
How to monitor and respond to competitor pricing.
How to balance cost against profitability in meeting financial goals.
What is the role of distribution for an organisation?
The nature of distribution, and distribution channels.
How to maximise accessibility for customers.
How the role of logistics has changed.
How different customers have different purchasing needs.
The role of online and offline purchasing.

Non-marked assignment

7: The Marketing Mix

What are the different elements of communicating the proposition:

• Advertising
• Public relations
• Direct marketing
• On-line activities
• Personal selling.

What role do people play in the marketing mix? What part do they play in delivering service to the customer?
How we rely on people to deliver and maintain transactional marketing. What is their role in developing customer relationships?

Assignment 4

8: The Marketing Mix

What is Process?
What role does Process plays within the marketing mix?
How does it deliver the customer proposition, in terms of how the customer actually experiences the organisation’s offering, throughout the customer journey.
How can it affect the corporate image?

Non-marked assignment

9: How marketing is applied in different organisational contexts

What differences exist between business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) marketing?
In particular, what happens in the buying decision process and the buying decision unit? How do they differ within different organisations?
How the marketing mix is used in different organisations, such as:

• FMCG’s (Fast Moving Consumer Goods)
• Business-to-Business organisations
• Service organisations
• Voluntary and not-for-profit organisations
• Online business.

Assignment 5

Unit 2: Understanding customers

10: Understanding Customers

Why is it important for organisations to understand their customers?
What differences exist between the customer and user?
What are the varying needs of different types of customers?
What are the real benefits of maintaining a marketing orientated approach?
How to understand the customer and their needs.
What sources can we obtain information? This includes internal and external sources.
What are the differences between primary and secondary data?
What are the limitations of certain data within different types of organisation?

Non-marked assignment

11: Understanding Customers. Building relationships

How can we store customer information, in order to create and maintain a customer database, for use across the organisation?

How we can use this information to help us:
• Identify customer needs and wants
• Understand buying decisions and what influences them
• Develop appropriate marketing activities to meet such needs

How can we share information across the organisation?

Non-marked assignment

12: How to build internal and external customer relationships

What are the different types and characteristics of people with which an organisation develops relationships – internal and external:
• Customers
• Users
• Stakeholders

What links the marketing concept, a customer focus and the relationship marketing approach?
It will describe the difference between customer acquisition and retention, the benefits of retaining customers
Pareto’s Law
The Ladder of Loyalty
How do marketing activities help to support relationships with external customers?
How do they aid customer retention and loyalty?

Assignment 6

13: How to build internal and external customer relationships 2

How can we develop and sustain customer, supplier and distributor relationships?
How can we achieve this via networking, collaboration and negotiation?
What approaches can we use to build and develop relationships in order to gain co-operation, buy-in and support for marketing initiatives?

How to identify those key colleagues within the organisation:
• Other marketing team members
• Other departments.

Non-marked assignment

14: How to build and maintain effective internal and external customer relationships

What conflicts can occur between the different functions within an organisation?
What causes conflict? What effect does this have on individuals and the organisation?
How you can overcome this conflict? Better co-operation and collaboration to joint goals.
How to take others’ views when undertaking marketing activities.

Assignment 7

15: Communicating with internal and external customers

How to build long-term relationships
- keeping customers (internal and external) informed
- through exchanging information
- through the AIDA process.

What is the communications cycle? The Schramm model.
How to identify the message in respect of customer needs. What is the effect of “noise”.
How to communicate, internally & externally, through different methods.

Non-marked assignment

16: How to communicate with internal and external customers

What are good verbal and non-verbal communications?
- active listening
- body language
- silences
- tone

What are the strengths and weakness of different promotional activities that aid relationship management?
• Sales promotions
• Public relations
• Intranet
• Extranet
• Internet / web-based promotion
• Digital technologies
• Personal selling from a customer service prospective

How to undertake tactical direct marketing campaigns including:
• e-mail campaigns
• e-newsletters
• Web-pages
• Leaflet drops / direct marketing
• Sales promotional activities
• Tele-messaging
• Digital messaging

Non-marked assignment

17: How to communicate with internal and external customers 2

Good verbal and non-verbal communications, including the use of active listening, body language, silences and tone.

What are the strengths and weakness of the varying promotional activities that aid relationship management:
• Sales promotions
• Public relations
• Intranet
• Extranet
• Internet / web-based promotion
• Digital technologies
• Personal selling from a customer service prospective

What processes are involved in undertaking a range of tactical direct marketing campaigns including:
• e-mail campaigns
• e-newsletters
• Web-pages
• Leaflet drops / direct marketing
• Sales promotional activities
• Tele-messaging
• Digital messaging

Non-marked assignment

Assignment: Assessment Review 1

18: How to provide a customer service for internal and external customers

What exactly is customer care and customer service?
Why is it important in different sectors:
- FMCG
- B2B
- Voluntary organisations

What is the relationship between customer care, customer focus and relationship marketing?
How is customer satisfaction, customer service and the link between quality, marketing and customer service the key to successful relationship marketing?
How customer care programmes can deliver consistent customer service and support.

Non-marked assignment

19: Providing a customer service for internal and external customers

Why is customer feedback so important?
In what ways can we obtain feedback, from questionnaires to online forums?
What measures can we use to monitor the success of customer service support activities, such as complaints and retention levels. how to obtain such feedback?
How an understanding of information technology and databases is essential to managing customer care and customer service activities. What sort of data is of value?
How can the student manage themselves in a disciplined, timely and customer conscious way? How can you manage yourself so as to deliver customer orientated goals?

Assignment: Assessment Review 2

20: Summary of Unit 2

A summary of the topics that have been provided within the Unit.

No assignment