MARKETING is often confused with selling however SELLING is only part of the whole marketing process.
Marketing involves every aspect of getting the product or service from the supplier to the consumer (apart from the actual service or product itself). ie. marketing includes advertising, promotions, packaging, distribution, sales and after sales services.
This course provides a sound foundation for a career in marketing.
- If you plan to start your own business and marketing i point; this could be an ideal starting point.
- If you are working in sales and want to enhance your chances to advance in your career, this again could be an ideal pathway to improve future prospects.
Course Structure
Course contents are as follows:
- CORE STUDIES - four units of compulsory subjects for all students. ie: Office Practices, Management, Business Operations and Marketing Foundations.
- PROJET - a management in the workplace project of 200 hrs involving approved work experience in a small business.The project specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.
- ELECTIVE STUDIES - stream units for the development of knowledge in a chosen specialisation or industry sector. ie. Sales Management, Advertising & Promotions, and Marketing Systems.
CORE UNITS
1. Office Practices
Develops basic office skills covering use of equipment, communication systems (telephone, fax, etc) and office procedures such as filing, security, workplace organisations, etc.
2.Business Operations
Develops knowledge of basic business operations and procedures (eg. types of businesses, financial management, business analysis, staffing, productivity, etc) and the skills to develop a 12 month business plan.
3.Management
Develops knowledge of management structures, terminology, supervision, recruitment and workplace health and safety.
4. Marketing
Develops a broad understanding of marketing and specific skills in writing advertisements, undertaking market research, developing an appropriate marketing plan and selling.
STREAM UNITS
1. Sales Management
This course contains nine lessons, as follows:
1. Developing Sales Concepts
Goods & services, ways of managing sales, developing a sales concept, planning ahead, understanding selling, understanding buyers, steps in the sales order, increasing sales
2. Developing Sales Relationships Sales methods, presentation & the selling personality (personality traits of a salesperson), communication skills and conversational selling
3. Sales Ethics The law and ethics, social issues, pricing, deceit, high pressure sales, poor quality products, predetermined obsolescence, the impact of marketing and selling on society, public responses to modern marketing trends (eg. consumerism, environmentalism), enlightened marketing
4. Building Product Knowledge Good & bad features (considering factors such as make/trade name; model; purpose or use; how & where it is manufactured; materials used; wholesale/retail price; guarantees; warranty; spare parts availability; service costs); knowing the competition.
5. Developing a Customer Strategy Types of buyers, buyer motivation, difficult buyers, key rules for every salesperson
6. Presentation Strategy Options Planning and locating your displays for best results); shop layout; trade displays;
7. Closing a Sale Difficulties with closing a sale & ways to overcome them; importance of a personal approach;
8. Managing Yourself Time management; territory management; record management; sales records; stress management
9. Managing a Sales Team Strategies for building quality partnerships.
2.Advertising and Promotions
The course contains ten lessons, outlined below:
1. Analysing the Market
2. Target Marketing
3. Display and Display Techniques
4. Advertising and Promotions Strategy
5. New Product Development
6. Sales Techniques – General
7. Writing Advertisement
8. Electronic Marketing -Telephone & Email
9. Direct Mailing
10. Exhibitions & Shows
3. Marketing Systems
The course is divided into 10 lessons. Here is some of what each lesson covers:
1. Marketing Systems What makes up a marketing system, types of marketing systems, competition and monopoly, oligopoly, globalisation, internet marketing, supply systems, logistics networks, etc.
2. Retailing Systems and Strategies Procedures, stages & concepts, Scope and types of retail systems (eg. mail order, chain stores, farm & factory shops, Franchises, Telephone selling etc).
3. Wholesale Systems and Strategies Cooperatives, Agencies, Regulated Systems, Marketing Boards, Agricultural marketing,
4. Product Presentation and Packaging Packaging, Labelling, Display, Signage, Merchandising & shop layout, Core, tangible and augmented product, Product mix, etc
5. Negotiation Skills Selling in different marketing environments require different approaches, varying factors (eg. culture).
6. Marketing Organisations Distribution Enterprises, Marketing Agents, Advertising Agencies, Market Research Organisations, Sales organisations, etc., Marketing tasks, Marketing strategies, Value adding etc.
7. International Marketing I Agencies, Partnerships, Joint ventures, Overseas branches, Degrees of export marketing, Pitfalls, The global marketplace, etc
8. International Marketing II Differences between different countries.
9. Analysing the Market Studying trends and staying current, Advertising cost benefit, Problem of excessive success, etc
10. The Market Mix Mission statements; Strategic planning; Target‑profit planning; Marketing systems audit, etc
INDUSTRY PROJECT
This is normally done after completing all of the other modules. It is intewnded as a "learning experience" that brings a perspecive and element of reality to the Modules you have studied. The school is very flexible in terms of how you achieve this requirement, and can negotiate to approve virtually any situation which can be seen as "learning through involvement in real life situations that have a relevance to your studies"
Some of the options, for example might be:
Option 1. Work Experience
This involves working in a job that has relevance to what you have been studying. For some students this may be a job they already have. (In some instances, credit may be even granted for work prior to studies). In other instances, this may be either paid or voluntary work which is found and undertaken after completing the other modules. Proof must be provided, and normally this is done by submitting one or more references or statements from an employer. It may also be satisfied by a discussion between the employer and the school in person or on the phone. The must be an indication that you have skills and an awareness of your industry, which is sufficient for you to work in a position of responsibility.
Option 2. Project
This project may be based on applications in the work place and specifically aims to provide the student with the opportunity to apply and integrate skills and knowledge developed through various areas of formal study.
Students will design this project in consultation with a tutor to involve industry based activities in the area of specialized study which they select to follow in the course. The project outcomes may take the form of a written report, folio, visuals or a mixture of forms. Participants with relevant, current or past work experience will be given exemption from this project if they can provide suitable references from employers that show they have already fulfilled the requirements of this project.
Students will be assessed on how well they achieve the goals and outcomes they originally set as part of their negotiations with their tutor. During a project, students will present three short progress reports. These progress reports will be taken into account when evaluating the final submission. The tutor must be satisfied that the work submitted is original.
Other Options
Workplace learning hours may also be satisfied through attending or being involved with meetings conducted by industry bodies such as professional associations; or attending seminars which are attended by industry professionals. Any opportunity for observation and networking may be seen as a valid option.
Modules
Note that each module in the Qualification -Advanced Certificate In Applied Management (Marketing) is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
Learning Facilities
ACS follows the old fashioned idea that “the student comes first”. Our staff are told to treat every student as an individual and respond promptly to their enquiries; and the facilities we have developed and continue to develop, are all focused on that goal. Facilities include:
- Offices in two time zones (UK and Australia) –which means an international team of academics are responding to students 5 days a week and 16 hours a day.
- An online student room with unique resources that are only available to students studying our courses, including online library.
- Bookshop offering quality downloadable e books
- A data base of 20 million words of unique information written by our staff over 3 decades that can be drawn upon if needed by academics for use in supporting our students.
- Systems that ensure assignments are tracked, marked and returned to students, fast -commonly within a round 1 week & rarely more than 2 weeks (note: many other colleges take longer).
- The school is active in social networking and encourages students to connect with us and each other.
- No automated handling of student phone enquiries. When you call you get a real person; or leave a message and a real person will call you back within a day, but more commonly within an hour or two.
- No additional charges for extra tutor support over the phone or email.
- Free careers advice for graduates –It is our policy to provide support and advice to our students even after they graduate. If a graduate needs help with getting a CV together, or advice on setting up a business or looking for work; they only need ask.
- The quality of academic staff is higher than many other colleges.
How our Courses Differ
- Courses are continually improved –we invite feedback from all graduates and change courses immediately the need is detected.
- Courses are relevant to the whole world –we try hard to teach make the learning transferable to any region or country because the world is increasingly a global economy
- Courses written by our staff, teach different skills to standard courses; giving a unique mix of skills and knowledge to provide a career advantage. Do you want an accredited certificate and the same skills as 100 other job applicants; or one of our courses with skills that no other applicants have?
- Certificates and diplomas are longer. They teach you more, and our qualifications have built a reputation amongst academics and industry as being a very high standard for this reason.
- We are focused on helping you learn in a way that improves your capacity to understand your discipline, apply knowledge, and continue learning and developing your capabilities beyond your course.
These things cannot be always said of other colleges.
Career Opportunities
Study alone can never guarantee career success; but a good education is an important starting point.
Success in a career depends upon many things. A course like this is an excellent starting point because it provides a foundation for continued learning, and the means of understanding and dealing with issues you encounter in the workplace.
When you have completed an ACS course, you will have not only learnt about the subject, but you will have been prompted to start networking with experts in the discipline and shown how to approach problems that confront you in this field.
This and every other industry in today’s world is developing in unforeseen ways; and while that is unsettling for anyone who wants to be guaranteed a particular job at the end of a particular course; for others, this rapidly changing career environment is offering new and exciting opportunities almost every month.
If you want to do the best that you can in this industry, you need to recognise that the opportunities that confront you at the end of a course, are probably different to anything that has even been thought of when you commence a course.
BOOKS
Visit our School bookshop at www.acsebook.com
- Downloadable ebooks that can be read on ipads, PC’s, Laptops, or readers like a Kindle.
- Titles are written by our principal and staff.
- Anyone can purchase books –ACS students are offered a student discount
