You and Your Customer

If you're new to management, or you need to develop your managerial abilities and understanding, the Professional Certificate in Management is for you. It provides a broad-based, practical introduction to the key ideas, techniques and overall competencies you need in order to manage effectively and productively in modern organisations in any part of the world.

The emphasis is on your own professional development. Everything you study is related to the management roles and responsibilities you exercise in the various functional areas of your company or organisation.

All the elements of the programme — study texts, activities and assignments, online resources, and personal and group support — ensure that you can immediately apply newly learned skills, knowledge and techniques in very practical ways. You can build on your experience and make direct links to your management development needs wherever you are in the world, whatever the size of your organisation and whether it is in the commercial, public or voluntary sector.

• Session 1 Buyer Behaviour and Market Segmentation
• Introduction
• 1.1 Factors that Influence Buying Behaviour
• Organisational buying
• 1.2 A Model of Repeat Purchasing
• 1.3 Market Segmentation and Targeting
• Segmentation
• Segment viability
• Targeting
• Summary and objectives
• Session 2 Marketing Research
• Introduction
• 2.1 What Data and Information Do I Need?
• The decisions you are trying to make
• The decision-making process
• 2.2 How Do I Collect Information?
• Secondary data
• Internal data
• External data
• The trouble with secondary data
• Primary data
• The research process: the manager's role
• 2.3 Qualitative Research Methods
• Focus groups
• In-depth interviews
• Projective techniques
• Observation
• 2.4 Quantitative Research Methods
• Surveys
• Experiments
• Physiological measures
• 2.5 Marketing Research by Walking Around
• Summary and objectives
• Session 3 Communicating with Customers
• Introduction
• 3.1 External and Internal Audiences
• External audiences
• Internal audiences
• 3.2 Communicating a Message
• Vehicles for communication
• 3.3 Impersonal Vehicles for Communicating Messages
• Advertising
• Television
• Press
• Radio
• Cinema
• Outdoor advertising
• Sales promotion
• Public relations
• Publicity
• Sponsorship
• 3.4 Personal Vehicles for Communication
• Personal selling
• Direct marketing (personalised selling)
• Trade fairs and exhibitions
• Internal media
• 3.5 How Does Advertising Work?
• Advertising persuades
• Advertising suggests
• Assessing conflicting beliefs about advertising
• 3.6 The Communications Mix
• Summary and objectives
• Session 4 Preparing a Communications Plan
• Introduction
• 4.1 Commissioning an Agency
• 4.2 Designing a Plan
• Defining the plan
• Marketing objectives
• Target audience
• Target audience behavior
• Creative content
• Emotional response
• Benefit claim
• Media selection
• 4.3 Revising the Plan
• Monitoring performance
• Some diagnostic measures
• Summary and objectives

MBA material, what do you expect?