CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing

To enrol for this course you need to meet one or more of the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s admissions criteria:

• A minimum of two ‘A’ Levels
• Any general Bachelors or Masters degree
• CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing (Level Two or Three)
• An NVQ or SVQ Level Three (equivalent to NGF Level Three)
• An NVQ or SVQ Level Four in any other subject (UK – equivalent to NGF Level Four and above)
• International baccalaureate (equivalent to NQF Level Three and above) or a pass of the entry test onto Level Four

If English is not your first language, you’ll also need to provide evidence of at least IELTS 6.5 or Trinity ISE III or Trinity ISE IV.

Our CIM Professional Certificate gives you a firm understanding of the principles of marketing, along with the practical skills to implement marketing activity at a tactical level. 

You’ll need to pass four modules. The full course can be completed in 12 months by studying one module per assessment period. We recommend studying in the following unit order:

Unit 1 – Marketing Essentials 

 On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Explain how marketing has evolved and the importance of market orientation in creating customer value 
• Assess the importance of marketing, its cross-functional role and the contribution it makes to the organisation and to society
• Identify and explain the stages in the marketing planning process 
• Assess the key elements of the internal and external marketing environment that impact upon the organisation, its objectives and its activities 
• Identify and describe the characteristics and applications of each element of the extended marketing mix (the 7Ps) 

Unit 2 – Assessing the Marketing Environment

On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Explain the nature and scope of the internal marketing environment, including the resource perspective
• Distinguish between the types of organisation within the public, private and voluntary sectors and understand the different influences, objectives and challenges they face
• Identify and explain the different characteristics of the micro-environment and recognise the sources of information required to gain a good understanding of its drivers and challenges, and distinguish it from the natural environment
• Assess the importance and potential impact on a market-orientated organisation of key trends in political, economic, social, technological and regulatory environments
• Consider the implications for organisations pursuing both economic and environmental sustainability as part of an agenda for CSR 

Unit 3 – Marketing Information and Research 

On completion of this module you will be able to:  

• Identify appropriate information and marketing research requirements for marketing decision-making 
• Evaluate the importance of customer databases and their contribution to providing detailed market information to support marketing decisions
• Review the processes involved in establishing an effective database
• Explain the nature and scope of the research industry and discuss the importance of working in line with the industry’s code of conduct 
• Explain the process for selecting a marketing research supplier in domestic and international markets, developing the criteria to support that selection 
• Explain the process for collecting marketing and customer information, utilising appropriate primary and secondary sources 
• Appraise the suitability of different qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to serve different research situations

Unit 4 – Marketing for Stakeholders 

 On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Assess the relative importance of organisational stakeholders to the marketing function
• Explain the importance of relationship marketing in the context of the organisation’s stakeholders in achieving their interest, involvement, commitment and loyalty
• Learn how the marketing mix can be effectively co-ordinated to support internal and external stakeholder relationships 
• Explain how to co-ordinate the communications mix to communicate effectively with the organisation’s stakeholders
• Evaluate key methods for measuring the success of the marketing mix