Marketing

Training

Marketing Personnel

"The important thing will be to define unique value positioning for the company. And you can't find that out by asking customers who you are - customers have never developed anything. Like everyone else, they are afraid of change; inertia feels safe, cozy and warm. If companies base their future on the apparent needs of their customers, there will be no one left to communicate anything new and unique to the world."

Jasper Kunde

"What accounts for this paradox of marketing but marketing professionals being disregarded? The main problem is the marketing department has never been clear about what its objectives are. Most strategy proposals emanating from marketing staff justify investments in advertising or marketing in terms of increasing consumer awareness, sales volume or market share. Marketing managers rarely see the necessity of linking marketing spending to the financial value of the business  ... [and so] ... the voice of marketing gets disregarded. The situation will never be resolved until marketing professionals learn to justify marketing strategies in relevant financial terms."

Peter Doyle

"One trap to avoid is deceiving yourself that small brands in third or fourth position in their markets are niche products. The fact that brand or company is small does not mean that it has found a niche. On the contrary, it may be a vulnerable follower in a mass market. "

Hugh Davidson

Click here for information on our Management Programmes

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This section concerns Hard Management's technical marketing training. There are strong links between this area and:

  • Finance - much of marketing is concerned with intangibles such as brand and customer relationships; assets which don't appear on the balance sheet and yet are probably the most important drivers of financial performance. Furthermore investments such as advertising that build long-term brand recognition (eg KitKat's preeminence is built on half-a-century of promotion) are treated by accountants as expenditure and so depress profits for the current year. So, marketing assets aren't recognised and investments reduce profits - marketing people need financial skills to make sense of these anomalies; enter value management!
  • Strategy - to many people, strategy IS marketing strategy. The Hard Management approach brings together the perspectives and knowledge from all areas of strategy. A particularly significant area for marketing people that we address is: differentiation and we consider 16 different approaches. Moreover, we illustrate how the Balanced Scorecard can aid the implementation of marketing strategy.

Image: Jasper Kunde, Unique Now or Never

Our technical marketing training typically addresses such areas as:

  • Marketing Metrics - how to measure marketing performance and provide a direct link between company value and marketing activity.
  • Forecasting, Budgeting and Financial Analysis - from building spreadsheet forecasting models through discounted cashflow analysis to brand valuation; more than ever before marketing must justify its spending in terms that other executives, particularly those concerned with finance, understand and respect. Click here to view our Excel for Managers programmes.
  • Planning - how to write persuasive market plans; covering both the process of planning and the format of a marketing plan.
  • Brand Development - the components of a brand; launching, sustaining and revitalising brands; brand positioning; corporate and product branding; when to line-extend; establishing brand systems
  • Promotion - all aspects of promotion - defining the message; selecting media - when to use, strengths and weaknesses, practical tips (advertising, direct mail, telephone, online, PR, personal sales etc); campaign planning; working with agencies; cost-benefit analysis
  • Establishing a marketing information system - setting objectives; core components; processes - collection, analysis, dissemination, feedback; measurements

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