 Hello, and welcome to today's webinar, Finding out about Marketing. Before we get started, I'd like to go over a few items so you know how to participate. The presentation will last for approximately 40 minutes. You will be able to send text questions to the presenter by typing your questions into the chat box of the control panel. You may send in your questions at any time during the presentation, and we will collect these and address them at the end during the Q&A session. Unfortunately, we don't send slides of the presentation. However, the webinar will be available to watch on demand via our content hub exchange in the next couple of working days. I'd now like to hand you over to Andrew Sherritt, who is the principal at Spa Professional Academy, and he will be presenting today's webinar. Hi, thank you Sarah, thanks for that. Welcome to this webinar today about Finding out about Marketing. Really an introduction to what marketing is and how CIM qualifications will help you on a journey in a marketing career. What I'm wanting to go through today is what the qualification is that is appropriate for the beginning of a marketing career, who it's for, what you're going to gain from it, some detail about the foundation level qualification that CIM offer, the commitment that you would have to make if you want to take part in the qualification, and we'll open it up at the end to any questions that you might have in relation to whatever is being said, but do put those into the chat box as and when you think of them as we're going through and we'll answer those at appropriate stages. But I just wanted to start with just a little background to myself. Sarah said I'm Andrew Sherritt, I'm principal of Spa Professional Academy, which is a CIM accredited study centre based in Yorkshire but operating across the north of England. I'm a fellow of the chartered Institute of Marketing and a chartered marketer having had that level since it was introduced back in 1998. I've been involved with delivery of CIM qualifications for nearly 20 years now as both through my own study centre and working for other centres initially. I'm a member of the Yorkshire Regional Board for CIM and have been an examiner and senior examiner for CIM in the past. So very heavily involved with the organisation, I think I've been a member for getting on for 30 years now since I joined CIM with having had a marketing background prior to that. Hopefully I've got plenty of experience in terms of marketing and the CIM qualifications and their delivery, but also through my involvement in the regional board, the other side of CIM and the support that they give for members. So just a brief bit about me there, it would be really useful to know a little bit about the audience and who's involved in this webinar today. So I've just got a couple of polls coming up just to find out if you're currently employed in a marketing role and if so how long you've been employed in it for. So if you can just answer the first poll there about if you are currently employed in a marketing role, that would be really helpful. And then I can try and tailor some of the discussion to go along with that. The results have had to come back and also if we can see how long you've been involved in the marketing in the role that you are in through the second poll on this. Sorry, I've seen the results there now, so nobody's actually involved in marketing currently, which is absolutely fine in terms of the expectation of this particular webinar. So I'll work on that basis as I talk through the rest of the slides here. So in terms of the qualification that the Chartered Institute of Marketing offer for those who are setting out at the beginning of a journey, a career in marketing or aiming to get into a career in marketing. The foundation certificate that CRM offer is a level three. Sorry, I think we've been experiencing some technical difficulties with our speaker today. So we're just going to pause the webinar just for a minute while we try and re-establish the connection. Hello, hello. Hi Andrew, sorry I think we lost you slightly there. Yes you did, sorry I'm not sure what happened to the connection there but apologies for that. Hopefully everybody can hear me okay again now. Yeah we can hear you fine thank you. Great, thanks. So I was just about to say there that it's a level three qualification which means that it's equivalent to an A level. Now the level three is the qualification for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Ireland it means it's an Irish level five qualification or a level six qualification in Scotland. And it's according to the off-qual regular levels, it's a level three. So yeah the foundation certificate is assessed at the same level as an English, Welsh and Northern Irish A level qualification. But who is it for? Who are we aiming this qualification at? Well the main thing is that for the foundation certificate there is no previous experience or knowledge of marketing required. It is intended for the aspiring marketer or somebody who is new to a marketing support role. So whether you've just started working in a marketing role without any other work experience or would like to get into a marketing role then this is the ideal qualification. It's also ideal as a qualification actually for somebody who is looking to set up their own business but doesn't have a marketing background but would like to understand the fundamental principles of marketing and communicating with customers. I've certainly had quite a few people go through this qualification from that sort of situation themselves just so that they knew how to market the business that they were setting up for themselves. So yeah absolutely ideal for anybody who's starting out in marketing without any previous experience of that. But why might you want to get involved in marketing? Well the great thing is that you've joined a webinar today which obviously shows an interest in marketing as a career and as a profession. I think to me the thing that is fantastic about marketing is that it looks after the most important element any organisation has maybe aside from its own internal staff and that is the customers. Marketing is the link between an organisation and the customers that that organisation has. Without customers and in different types of organisations they might be referred to differently but without customers then an organisation just doesn't have a purpose. There's no reason for it to exist. That's to me the main thing about marketing but just to put a proper definition on that. The Institute of Marketing define marketing as the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. So that's the CIM definition. What it basically means is it's a process. It doesn't just happen there is a particular process to go through for understanding what customers would like. So identifying customer needs, anticipating what might customers want in the future and satisfying those requirements. I'll just mention briefly the final word profitably. Lots of people are involved in marketing in a not-for-profit type organisation. So public sector charities and things and that basis profitably relates to society profiting from it, profiting from the output of the organisation. So it does apply in any kind of context and that definition from CIM absolutely shows this link between the organisation and its customers and gives a very brief overview of what marketers are involved in. Another reason why marketing, why do we all work is for income. This content taken from some research CIM have done recently shows the income that people can earn with professional marketing qualifications. And if we take this level 3 foundation certificate you can see there that the average salary for a marketing assistant in the UK is about £22,000 a year. If you were then to progress a career to higher levels of qualification earning money whilst you learn about marketing then with the level 4 type qualification typically that gives people the ability to move up to a marketing executive role with an average salary of £25,000. And by the time you've done a level 6 diploma qualification that can put the salary for a marketing manager up to £40,000 and then beyond that as careers progress through the organisation and things up to much higher levels than that. But it's a very good starting salary at £22,000 for somebody with a foundation level qualification in marketing so hopefully that gives you a little bit of an incentive to get into marketing in itself. What does a qualification help with though? Well the main thing and the thing that I find really satisfying working with the students that we have is seeing people's careers develop as a result of getting the knowledge and the qualification that comes from the CIM inputs. I think one of the main things that actually taking the qualification helps with is demonstrating a desire to learn either with a current or prospective employer that taking time out of personal life which will come on to how you can learn but generally the way people do the CIM qualifications demonstrates to employers a desire to learn and improve your own knowledge. Having the qualification demonstrates professional competence and the assessments are based around demonstrating the ability to professionally apply marketing in the context of an organisation. And the qualifications also open doors. Over the years I've been working with students on CIM qualifications, I've got many, many examples of people who have got interviews certainly because they were able to tell prospective employers that they were doing the qualification. They've got interviews, they've progressed their careers through the organisations they're already working with. Now I can't guarantee that a qualification will get somebody a job but it certainly does help to open the doors to giving people that ability to demonstrate their skills to prospective employers and as I say to their current employers as well. So career prospects definitely are opened up by having a CIM qualification. I see many, many job adverts not just in the UK but internationally where people are asking for marketers and one of the things that is mentioned within the specification is a CIM qualification either attained or studying towards it. So it certainly does help a lot to have that qualification. So what are we talking about in terms of the foundation certificate level qualification? Well what it actually is is very relevant contemporary marketing content that equips the people studying for it and being successful in it for the current global business organisation commercial landscape. I think the point about the global landscape is quite important there. The CIM qualifications are internationally recognised. They are delivered around the world. I've been involved in delivery of them directly in both Ukraine and Australia. I've worked with students from a whole range of countries around the world but I've actually taught directly to the Ukrainians and Australians as well as in the UK so it definitely is a global qualification that is recognised on that global basis. To gain the qualification it requires success in two modules. That's one mandatory and one elective module. I'll come on to those modules shortly and give you a little bit of information about those. But what are the entry requirements? Well as I said earlier for it it doesn't expect any past experience or knowledge or studies of marketing so there are no specific entry requirements for the level 3 foundation certificate qualification. The only requirement is for people for whom English isn't the first language that they have an equivalent to the IELTS academic module getting an overall score of 6.5. So basically provided knowledge of English because the assessments are carried out in English language, provided the language is up to that level then there are no other qualifications. If you want to really be sure of the entry requirements any of the CIM accredited study centres would be happy to discuss that with you specifically but nothing specific required at this level. But in terms of the qualification modules what will you actually study if you do the CIM level 3 qualification? Well the first area to look at is the mandatory qualification. Now the mandatory module actually demonstrates a broad understanding of marketing, what is marketing, building on the definition that I just gave you from CIM, what's the role of marketing in an organisation and what is the function of it. Now many people think of marketing as being purely a promotional area communicating with customers. I do quite a lot of talks to groups of people looking at starting businesses and all sorts of other areas and ask people what they think marketing is and the general response always is communicating, it's advertising. With the mandatory module for the foundation certificate you will learn that marketing covers many areas beyond promotion, covering the marketing mix of products, price, promotion and place as a very basic area for it. Having done the mandatory qualification there is then a choice between two elective modules and candidates do get this choice between the two and choose one or other and actually some people do choose to do both to gain an extra qualification element. But the two elective modules, one of them concentrates on the communication with customers and other stakeholders of the organisation. So it does go back to that major part of marketing, the promotion element, but that's building on the knowledge of where that fits in other roles and functions of marketing. So giving a good understanding of how organisations can communicate with customers and other important stakeholders that they might have like local communities in some instances and similar. The other elective, the other option for the elective is an elective that looks at the principles of digital marketing, giving a broad understanding of what is now a very, very important element for pretty much any organisation of digital marketing and where it fits as part of what we do and how to do. Some of the basic elements of digital marketing. So those are the modules that need to be completed for the qualification and of course there are assessments to prove that you have learnt and understand the principles behind it. The mandatory module is assessed through an online multiple choice exam. So it's not too difficult to do that one provided you understand and have learnt the information then it's fairly, it's quite a reasonable way to be examined I would say on that. But it does test that fundamental knowledge and that you really do know it rather than needing to look it up. For the elective modules the assessment is different though, it's an assignment but it's an assignment that is based on a scenario that is given in a brief by CIM and it is answered in the context of the organisation of the candidates choice. So if people are working in an organisation then typically they're likely to use that but it can be based on any organisation that the candidate knows and understands something about. Again study centres will always discuss that with people to determine the best way to do it if they're not in an appropriate role at that time. What those assignments do is demonstrate, they are working documents that could be used in that organisation so they demonstrate that professional application of the concepts that are learnt in the elective modules. If you go for the qualification you have to make a commitment to it. What is that commitment involved? For the foundation certificate typically it takes six to eight months of study for it. It depends a little bit on start date and things as to how long that is but the assessments are held three times a year. It's April, July and December for the assessments each year so typically people would work to one module per assessment. So if you started at the beginning of January for example you could do the April assessment for the mandatory module and then the July one for the elective. As I say it just depends a little bit on time of year when the course starts. In terms of the commitment of your own hours for it the modules have 120 hours of total qualification time. So in terms of study with the study centre and self-learning it should be about 120 hours altogether. But how can you study? There are lots of options, different ways to study for the qualification. The major ones being face to face study where you will have workshop classroom based study with a group of people and tutor. There is blended learning that maybe has a little bit less face to face tutor time with support from typically online learning materials or pure online distance learning where people can work at their own pace to do the work. If you go to CIM's website and on the qualifications page you'll find a study centre finder and I just grabbed a screenshot based around where I was. So you can see the blue dot there in the middle of Yorkshire where I was at the time that I did it. And it lists all the study centres that are in your area for getting the best one. My recommendation would always be talk to two or three of the study centres that are local to you and see which one you like the send off most. The study centres have different delivery methods, different ways of supporting students. They all deliver exactly the same qualification, doesn't matter where you study on that. But different study methods suit different people, the other commitments people have in life. Have a look and find out what the options are and talk to the study centres about that. The other commitment that there is to get the qualification obviously involves the financial cost. There are three, potentially four elements to consider in relation to that. Tuition fees that are payable to the accredited study centre so that obviously is a question to the study centre about how much they charge for it. There is a studying member fee that is an annual fee payable to CIM whilst doing the qualification and there are assessment fees per assessment that you do. In terms of those, they are listed on the CIM website if you just want to see the most up to date numbers that there are for that. It is also worth considering buying some study text to support the learning, typically one text per module that you are studying although there might be others that you would find useful as well. Study centres will advise on that as to which are the most appropriate texts to consider. So that is your financial commitment to it. I just wanted to also give a few studying tips, things that might help you to consider when you are involved in studying for the qualification. I think the major thing is to have a clear purpose. Why are you doing that studying? Regardless of whether you do face-to-face where you have got maybe even a weekly class that you commit to doing, you will have to do work yourself outside of that. Obviously distance learning requires that personal commitment to it to motivate you. So I think we may have just lost you again Andrew, are you still with us? We are just going to re-establish connection again with Andrew, so if you just bear with us we will be back with you shortly. Andrew are you back with us? Yes, apologies for that. I wonder what is happening with my phone line today. Thank you. So it is back with you. Make sure you have a clear purpose. What are you aiming to get out of your studies from the end when you have finished it? Find enough time to study. Make sure that you do find that time and commit that time to it. 120 hours total learning time per module, so do make sure that you do have that time and allocate it and blanket out in your diary and things to deliver that. Equip yourself to study. Think about the resources that you need. Make sure you have a bit of space to sit and work and things like that and get all your materials together and find out what you are provided with by your study centre to equip yourself fully. Plan the time, the exam or the assessments for the exam you determine the time in conjunction with your study centre for the assignments. There is a date by which they have to be completed. Plan your time to make sure you have got enough time to do yourself justice through the work that you have put in. Very, very importantly, read around the subject. One of the great things about studying marketing is that it happens all around us all the time. It is in the news about businesses and organisations and what they are doing, but if you are online looking at websites, social media, if you are out and about poster sites around the towns and cities and all sorts of other promotional messages, read around the subject, think about what organisations are doing, how does it fit with what you are studying to really gain a great understanding and consolidate your learning bringing all of these different areas together into one area that really helps you understand it and building on things. If you learn something in one part, how does it relate to something else? How is the organisation you are in using it? What are other organisations doing for that? Obviously, do make sure you fully utilise the tutorial input that your study centre will be able to deliver to you. Utilise the tutors, utilise the support from the study centre to make sure that you are confident in what you are doing and learning as much as possible to really enable you to develop your career and improve your abilities as a marketer within the organisation that you are in. That really is everything that I was aiming to cover, so really now it's just over to everybody else for any questions that you might have. Thank you, Andrew. We're now going to answer some of the questions that have been submitted. Just as a reminder to our audience, you can still submit your questions via the chat box in the attendee control panel. So our first question for you, Andrew, is can I just study one of the modules if I wanted to rather than both to get the qualifications? Is it possible to do that? Yes, absolutely. The modules are standalone awards, so if you do one of those, you get a level three foundation certificate in whatever the module title is that you do study in. Again, just as recognised as a qualification, it's just not as big a qualification as doing the whole level three foundation certificate. Thank you, Andrew. Another question. Do I work on the assignment on my own individually or would it be something I would work with others to do? The assignments are individual in that they do need to be the individual's work and they relate to the organisation that that person is writing the assignment about. Having said that, one of the things that happens particularly if the study method is face-to-face is group discussions around the requirements for the assessment and ideas shared with each other, but not the content. But yes, they are actually individual assignments produced by each person themselves. And how many words typically would the assignments need me to write? The assignment is 4,750 words in total across three tasks and the mark scheme indicates how many words should be used in each of the tasks that are involved in it. Thank you. So we have another question here. One of our attendees has a business studies with French degree and achieved a 2-1 on that. So would you recommend that they would still need a CIM qualification to pursue a marketing role? That's quite a question in a way. I would say yes because, and I'm sort of almost bent to say that with the background I have, but what the CIM qualification does is demonstrate that professional capability as a marketer. Even if not currently working in a marketing role to pass the CIM assessment, you are demonstrating to examiners who look at it as a business document that you have the ability to carry out that role professionally. So it is very, very helpful for developing a marketing career and being successful in a marketing role to have that qualification. The thing I love about the teaching that I do and talking with students is that we'll have a session one week and the next week people will come in and say, well, you know what we talked about last week, I've been using it this week in my job and I've been contributing. The ones that say they were teaching their boss how to do things because of what they've learnt is always fantastic. So yes, the inputs really do make quite a difference. What I would say there though is if somebody has a degree then potentially and talk to a study centre or see I'm about it but potentially you could actually start at a higher level than the foundation certificate I've just been talking about. Thanks Andrew. Somebody here has asked do they have to study with a study centre or could they do it on their own? It is a requirement to study with a study centre. The study centres provide the support that is really needed for doing the qualification. They will talk people through assignments, have examples of the exam that they can work with and particularly for the assignment modules, study centres provide feedback on drafts of the assignments before they're submitted to help the candidates to improve the quality of the work, maximise their marks that they will get and enhancing their own knowledge and understanding at that time. So yes, it is a requirement that people are registered with an accredited study centre to take the qualification. Thanks Andrew. Another question here is is there a practice multiple choice test before you would actually go on to take the online exam? Yes, there is a sample or the sample that varies each time you do it to an extent online exam so people can see the format, test their knowledge, get a result based around the questions that they are asked and there are some other examples that are available to show the types of question that people can have. So absolutely it is absolutely possible to practice and test your knowledge and it is what we as a study centre always recommend people to do once they are pretty confident that they are ready for the exam to try some example questions and test their knowledge and obviously if anything they don't get quite right they can go back and learn more about those areas. Thanks Andrew. Once somebody has completed this qualification, could they then go straight on to the next qualification up which is the certificates in professional marketing? I think we may have lost connection with you again Andrew. I think we may have lost Andrew now. Just to answer that question, yes you can. So once you've completed the foundation certificate in marketing you can if you wanted to then transition up to the level 4 certificate in professional marketing. Apologies back again. Sorry Andrew, I think we lost you there but we have a question about moving on from the foundation on to the certificate which I've actually answered in the answer being that somebody has gone up to that qualification. So I think we don't seem to have any more questions. I might just give it another minute to see if anyone wants to post any more questions just before we come to an end on the webinar today. Just give that another minute or so. So what the next question we have is what is the highest level of qualification somebody could achieve with CIM? CIM qualifications go up to level 7. In the UK it's a level 7 marketing leadership programme. So the slide where I talked about the salaries gave an indication of the job roles that people might have at the level 3, level 4 and level 6. See I don't have a level 5 qualification. What didn't include on that the level 7 one which really is for people who are ready for board level director roles in marketing and it takes a very much a leadership approach at that stage. As we would expect from a level 7 which is a masters level equivalent or assistant masters level for people to be looking at changing organisations for a long term future for it. So yeah the levels are 3, 4, 6 and 7 in English terms I'd better add into that. Thanks Andrew. We have another question here. What are the entry requirements for the level 4 certificate qualification? For any of the qualifications above the level 3 one the entry requirements are a combination of work experience and previous qualifications. So that professional experience and qualifications. For level 4 we would typically say maybe a couple of years work experience that has given people exposure to marketing elements. So either a couple of years experience following a level type qualifications or a degree that is in a non marketing related area. So if for example you've done a history degree then level 4 is probably the most appropriate qualification. That's great. Thank you Andrew. Just to add to that as well we have already had a webinar on the level 4 certificate so if anyone did want to find out a bit more about that one if they thought that might be more relevant to them you can go back and listen to that recording. Either on the CIM website so exchange.cim.co.uk or on the CIM YouTube channel. So I think that seems to be the end of the questions we've had today. So I would just like to thank you Andrew for presenting this webinar and thank you to everyone who attended. Once you leave today's webinar you will receive a survey on the presentation and we would really appreciate your feedback on that. So on behalf of CIM I'd like to thank you all for joining us today and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day.