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

• CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing (either 2002 syllabus or the 2008 syllabus)
• Any business or marketing Bachelors or Masters Degree (or an equivalent qualification) where a minimum of one third of credits come from marketing (i.e. 120 credits in Bachelors degrees or 60 credits with Masters Degrees)
• Experience in a marketing management role, giving you the ability to meet the learning outcomes of the CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing if required to do so and pass the Entry test to Level Six

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.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma develops your operational skills, focussing on managing and planning the marketing process. You’ll need to pass four modules, designed to boost your knowledge, confidence and practical ability in important disciplines.

Unit 1 – Marketing Planning Process

On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Evaluate the marketing planning process and its implementation in a range of marketing contexts, including a detailed analysis of the internal and external marketing environments
• Conduct a marketing audit and assess the findings in order to develop a marketing plan that is responsive to market and organisational changes, and underpins the organisation’s marketing strategy 
• Determine the importance of segmentation, targeting and positioning to develop effective strategies which are innovative, cost effective, valuable and maximise the potential of marketing opportunities successfully 
• Recognise the significance of retaining customers through relationship marketing

Unit 2 – Delivering Customer Value through Marketing

On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Develop and manage a brand and product portfolio in the context of the organisation’s marketing strategies and objectives 
• Develop and implement an effective and efficient channel management strategy reflecting the needs of stakeholders 
• Develop an effective and innovative communications strategy that clearly delivers the organisation’s proposition to the market, through effective segmentation and targeting of internal and external markets
• Utilise an innovative and effective integrated marketing mix to reinforce the organisation’s brand values, overall marketing proposition and competitive advantage 
• Determine customer requirements for product and service delivery, to ensure the marketing proposition is customer-focussed, efficient and effective

Unit 3 – Managing Marketing

On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Recommend how a marketing function should be structured and managed to deliver competitive advantage
• Prepare plans for showing how a team should be structured, selected, formed, managed and developed to demonstrate effective performance against objectives
• Critically assess the organisation’s resource needs and capabilities for the marketing team to manage marketing activities effectively and efficiently 
• Prepare appropriate budgets and accounting documentation to support the financial management of the marketing function and its associated activities 
• Critically assess the ongoing financial situation, including manageability of the budget, financial stability and success of the marketing function

Unit 4 – Project Management in Marketing

On completion of this module you will be able to:

• Identify the organisation’s information needs, scope of research projects and resource capability to underpin the development of justified business cases – including risk assessment and mitigation strategies – to support marketing projects
• Using project management tools and techniques, design, develop and plan significant marketing programmes effectively, in terms of quality, resource and delivery 
• Integrate a range of marketing tools and techniques to support the development and implementation of marketing projects 
• Monitor and measure the outcomes of marketing projects through the end-to-end project process

Ways to study

You can study at one of our UK centres, in your own time via our Online Classroom, or with our online and paper-based distance learning packages.

Flexible learning

Our Chartered Institute of Marketing courses are designed for busy professionals, so we offer flexible, part-time study that lets you balance work and home with gaining a world-class professional qualification.

You’ll study each module with a mix of face-to-face learning (24 hours per module), workshops and online distance learning. 

Face-to-face

Taught classes take place from 6pm to 9pm one evening a week – over a period of nine to 11 weeks leading up to your assessment. These classes focus on key syllabus topics, practical application and exam or assignment technique to get you fully ready for your assessments.

Online learning

Our distance learning course enables you to study at a time, pace and place that suits your lifestyle. This option gives you added flexibility, but it still covers all aspects of the syllabus, so you don’t miss out on core subject areas. Throughout your studies, expert support is also available from our experienced tutors.

In the modules requiring exams, there are opportunities to practice and improve your exam technique. In addition to this, a mock exam allows you to practice your technique under exam conditions.

All exams are marked by your tutor who will provide you with feedback, ensuring you are able to provide the examiners with exactly what they are looking for in a good script.

Self-study

NEW – Online Classroom

A dynamic study experience that combines the flexibility of distance learning with the support of a traditional classroom. Available for all CIM modules, it’s ideal if you can’t commit to fixed study sessions.