Strategic training
Marketing executives are challenged to adapt their skills to the ever-changing business environment. Continuing education programs that are in tune with the times can help. Here is a selection.
Who can keep track of everything amid the daily flood of information? Numerous channels broadcast in rapid succession—faster and faster, more and more frequently, and with greater intensity—often all at the same time. New ones are constantly being added, almost exclusively digital—which has been the main arena for several years now. This is where people in companies and organizations—especially those responsible for the organization’s public and internal image—are reaching their limits. These are the marketing directors and experts who must allocate often-limited budgets wisely and achieve the maximum return on every marketing franc spent. It’s a Herculean task, because today we often don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
Above all, knowledge can help here—specifically, knowledge that is attuned to volatile market conditions and, ideally, even anticipates them. In these fast-paced times, marketing executives would do well to continually question themselves and take a self-critical look at their skill set. Where gaps are identified, investing in appropriate continuing education could more than pay off in the medium and long term.
Enabling a Better Understanding of Customers
What skills do modern marketing professionals need today? For Michael Betz, Head of In-House & Customized Programs at the Institute for Marketing (IFM) at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), strategic skills remain key. «These include, for example, quickly identifying and capitalizing on growth potential in the market, as well as topics such as segmentation, targeting, and positioning.» In today’s highly dynamic market environment, skills in trend scouting and trend management are also necessary to meet the demands of marketing leadership. «At the operational level, skills such as market intelligence, data science, and the use of digital marketing tools are becoming increasingly important.»
At the IFM, the CAS Marketing Management continuing education program offers marketing executives a curriculum that, according to Betz, takes all these aspects into account. «Participants gain a holistic view of the discipline of marketing and are thus better able to understand connections and interactions. In addition, they refine their operational marketing skills, which enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing work,» Betz summarizes. An entire module of the CAS Marketing Management program is dedicated to the topic of market intelligence. It is designed to give participants access to an even deeper understanding of customers. To this end, quantitative and customer-data-based methods are primarily used. Furthermore, the program also explicitly addresses the topic of digital marketing. «Overall, we ensure that the program’s content remains state-of-the-art and trend-setting through the targeted involvement of speakers from both research and industry.»
Check modules regularly to ensure they are up to date
Recognizing that digitalization is the key driver of Marketing 4.0, the University of Applied Sciences of Graubünden offers the EMBA in Smart and Digital Marketing, a continuing education master’s program for executives. The program is designed for executives who want to proactively tackle the challenges of Marketing 4.0 and help shape it from the front lines. The program comprises five modules: Strategic Business Management, Smart Marketing Strategies, Consumer 4.0, Marketing Innovations, and Digital Marketing.
«Where gaps are identified, investing in appropriate continuing education could pay off.»
In addition, there is an intensive week-long block covering the «Smart Marketing Strategies» module. This includes guest lectures and company visits. «Interested participants can optionally take part in a one-week study trip to Silicon Valley,» says program director Günter Bader. He sees the steady demand for the program as confirmation that the FHGR has struck a chord with its EMBA program. “At the same time, modern marketing is so fast-paced that we constantly re-evaluate the modules and make adjustments where necessary.”
Noticeable changes
Added to the fast pace of the digital world are the obvious changes that a pandemic like the current COVID-19 crisis is triggering in people and consumers. Marketing experts agree that, especially today, it is therefore essential to be able to recognize the consequences of these changes. The primary question is where and how customers prefer to obtain information during—and likely after—the pandemic, what needs they are developing, and what new factors are motivating them to make a purchase. Being able to properly understand these changes and use them to develop new services and products represents significant added value for any company. A continuing education program for marketing executives at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (HWZ) is dedicated, among other things, to this topic. It is called CAS Multichannel Excellence and is led by program director Marion Marxer. «Today, marketing professionals must understand people’s digital and analog behaviors and create value at every touchpoint,» she says. The customer journey, she notes, has long since ceased to be linear. Touchpoints are constantly shifting and overlapping, and even the smallest customer experiences are often decisive in determining whether a marketing goal is achieved or not.
«Understanding change and using it to develop new products—that's what adds value today.»
«What’s needed, therefore, are visionary ideas that go beyond the question of »digital or analog?’” The CAS Multichannel Excellence program is designed for marketing professionals who want to analyze and understand human behavior and deliver value accordingly. It begins in late April 2021 and runs through early September 2021. Over the course of 18 class days, participants will gain inspiration, learn about new models, and master the fundamentals of topics such as people/insights, touchpoints, value, story/architecture, and context.
What serves people?
HSG, FHGR, and HWZ offer three different continuing education programs for marketing executives, each with a distinct focus but all dedicated to the same goal: equipping participants with the tools they need to meet the challenges of the future.
«Ultimately, graduates should build a valuable marketing network consisting of practitioners and academics, one that enables them to look beyond the boundaries of their own company or industry, learn from one another, and break new ground,» says Michael Betz of the HSG. And Marion Marxer of the HWZ sums it up even more succinctly in her conclusion: «We live in a world inundated with content and must constantly ask ourselves what ultimately serves people.»
How to Find the Right Continuing Education Program
The array of options is endless. Marketing programs for executives are vying for customers, and it’s worth comparing the different offerings. To find the right one, it makes sense to first answer the following questions:
- Build on Your Strengths: To what extent can I use this continuing education to further develop my strengths so that I can become a true expert and specialist in my field?
- Skills and Career Steps: What skills do I need to develop or perfect in order to take the next step in my career?
- Differentiation in the Labor Market: Will the content of this continuing education program help me remain «marketable» or set me apart in the job market?
