Every business needs a brand that is recognisable and a critical way to achieve this is through marketing. This foundations of marketing course is ideal for account managers, business owners, sales people and marketing, public relations and advertising assistants or anyone keen to enter the marketing sector.

Our Marketing Foundations course will teach you how to incorporate marketing, sales, public relations and advertising into a business. You will learn about the most critical aspects of marketing, from presentation and product knowledge to promotions, closing the sale and after-sales services.

You will also learn how to create a marketing campaign, manage the marketing mix for a small enterprise, evaluate customer service, conduct market research, and consider the impact of your marketing efforts.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking a foundations of marketing course include:

• Learning about marketing and business including what marketing is, its significance and marketing activities
• Exploring starting out in business, entrepreneurial abilities, access to information, flexibility, focus on market niche and reputation
• Gaining an understanding of buying a business, choosing a premises (home or commercial premises or leasing a shop
• Studying market niche, specific business alternatives and the value of a business
• Examining legal obligations and insurance, the value of a business, controlling growth and improving results in business
• Understanding the scope of marketing including the difference between the potential market, making contact, communication, convincing customers and using resources
• Attaining knowledge of marketing management philosophies and the production, selling and social marketing concepts.
• Gaining insights into supply and demand, economics and the performance criteria for an economy
• Learning about economic laws, the available market and target market
• Exploring the penetrated market for a product/service of your choice
• Gaining an understating of different advertising approaches and how to improve results in business
• Studying target marketing including understanding the marketplace
• Examining how to know your market
• Understanding targeting, targeting strategies and how to define your target market
• Attaining knowledge of determining market segmentation
• Gaining insights into projecting the future and positioning a product
• Learning the stages that sellers move through in their approach to a market
• Exploring the advantages of target marketing as compared to mass marketing and product-differentiated marketing
• Gaining an understanding of the marketing mix and managing the marketing effort

And more!

2021’s Key Marketing Trend

2021 has seen major disruptions and a restructuring of the way we market our businesses. And moving forward, the roles of email, social media and content marketing will become even more important — as you’ll learn about in our foundations of marketing course!

Why? 2020 saw all Australian businesses significantly impacted and resulted in a loss of confidence and trust in the market and impacted the way we make purchases, perceive brands and engage with businesses. There has also been a notable shift to dedication to our personal values and goals, which is highlighted by consumers expecting brands to have a stronger commitment and focus to social and global issues.

What has changed and why?

According to the latest McKinsey Insights Report, Getting Acquainted with a More Mindful Australian Consumer, COVID-19 is reshaping the emotional needs of Australian consumers and, subsequently, their purchasing behaviour.

More than 30 per cent of Australian consumers have tried new brands, more than 50 per cent discovered new shopping behaviours, and more than 20 per cent have tried new stores, retailers and websites since the start of 2020. This offers a unique opportunity for businesses that move quickly, and a significant risk for those that don’t.

How has the consumer mindset changed?

There has been a shift to a more considered, less spontaneous consumer buying, and consumers are increasingly making purchase decisions that align with their personal values. They are expected to be nurtured through the buyer journey and are seeking businesses who respect and can work within their spending constraints.

The challenge for marketers is to present products and brands that are most relevant to their needs and help the buyer through the process rather than just “selling” to them. This involves targeted, personalised engagement pieces rather than just mass emails and cold calling.

What does this mean for businesses?

Essentially, it means three things for businesses:

1. Market channels are limited. According to a McKinsey Report, B2B Businesses Prefer the New Digital Reality, more than 75 per cent of businesses now say they prefer digital self-serve over face-to-face interactions.
2. Sales cycles are longer. Consumer confidence has declined, so there is less trust in the market, buyer consideration and decision-making is more measured and taking longer than before.
3. There is a focus on short-term ROI. This means that the relationship between benefit and costs need to be immediately clear, and the sales conversion cycle will be longer as consumers carefully consider their purchase decisions.

How do we market in 2021?

Three important features of a marketing strategy (as you’ll learn in our foundations of marketing course) are email, social media and content marketing. But how does the changing consumer mindset affect these?

• Email Marketing

While email marketing has an important role to play, there is far more of an emphasis on personalisation, and increased use of automation and focussed market segmentation. But regardless of the email marketing tool you use, it is important to have your content marketing strategy mapped out from the beginning.

The key is to send the right message to the right people at the right time and drive an action that will lead someone to interact seamlessly with your brand and your business. Things like AI can assist, however, can be expensive for a SME business, and regardless, it needs a robust marketing strategy to support it.

Removing barriers to an online experience, however, is much more than just making the technology “work.” A great customer experience is also enhanced by your brand tone of voice and messaging. Email marketing is here to stay, but the way we deploy this will be different in 2021 and beyond. It has the capacity to meet consumer needs, and technology is aiding its evolution in the dynamic digital landscape.

• Social Media Marketing

Social media in 2020 has seen a massive increase in users across the globe and has been a valuable channel for marketers to reach and convert customers. However, increasing concerns over false information and “fake news” across social platforms can make forming a trusted relationship with your customers even more difficult.

Recommendations and reviews on social media are far more trusted than advertisements. So businesses should invest time into building relationships — not only with their target audience and ideal customer but also with their audience’s wider ecosystem.

Seeing an audience engage with your content online through comments, likes and shares builds trust and helps amplify your brand message and voice. Live streaming of social media feeds has increased as businesses search for more ways to connect with consumers and meet online. Virtual events have proven to be popular, allowing those living with social distancing restrictions to join and engage in virtual demos and live events. The proliferation of and constant updates to social channels provide you with access to audiences that you may not have otherwise been able to access.

Social commerce is another consideration that will become important — the way we shop, and through what channels, has seen rapid change. Tapping into social commerce allows businesses to engage in channels where people are spending more time, and by removing barriers, offers faster ways to convert them into customers.

• Content Marketing

There is a growing trend to create content for social good. Consumers are more selective about interacting with brands that demonstrate a social conscience and commitment to the “greater good.” This means that creating content that addresses social issues and inequalities that concern your customers is increasing.

Consumers are expecting a more “human” approach to marketing as they strive to educate, inform, and engage with audiences. Purpose-driven marketing is set to increase as consumers want more than just buying from a brand.

Salespeople and processes are going to become more content-driven as they adopt a more strategic approach to building relationships across digital and social platforms. Content marketing allows brands to “break the rules” and take chances with doing things differently.

• Other Trends

Some other trends to be aware of as we move beyond 2021:

• Giving consumers an “experience” by the use of animated audiobooks, infographics, personalised posts, podcasts and AI.
• Prioritising visual marketing by telling stories through dynamic imagery and video.
• Using chatbots and messaging apps to allow for the easy distribution of content.
• Using user-generated content to show credibility and authenticity as you genuinely share the content of others to your audience.
• Mixing up your marketing channels and cross-post content by taking screenshots on one platform and sharing across another.

 

Reference:

Stacy Farell, 2021, What are the Marketing Trends to Watch in 2021? Content box

 

Gain a solid understanding of the foundations of marketing and implement marketing strategies for a business that focuses on profitability and efficiency with our Marketing Foundations course.