Professional Development

Price includes full board accommodation and course materials

Level: Advanced

Key issues:

Research has indicated that 76% of marketers believe a company’s sustainability practices impact directly on customers’ buying decisions (IPSOS/MORI CIM Marketing Trends Survey Dec. 2006), yet many organisations have no clear idea of how to go about building the business case for sustainability. The key challenges for marketing professionals are developing the strategic vision to frame an appropriate course of action and identifying the tools to help them work confidently in, what is for many, a strange new world.

The purpose of this course:

Following the recent Stern and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, running a sustainable business is no longer a luxury but the only rational economic choice. Marketers have an important role to play in this process, as sustainability will have a significant effect on value drivers such as resource use, relationships, competitive advantage and brand reputation.

Who this course is for:

Any marketer who understands that their customers are increasingly concerned with sustainability issues and believes that CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) will be a future critical success factor. It will help these marketers and their strategic advisors to use the changing agenda to develop new sources of competitive advantage.

Benefits for your organisation:

Sustainability is an issue that at present often has its locus in a CSR function, as well as at board level. Increasingly, however, organisations are looking to Marketing to take the lead in developing appropriate strategies for sustainability because of its external focus and responsibility for revenue building. Marketing should be able to offer the insights into how sustainability can provide competitive advantage.

Benefits for you as an individual:

This course will help the delegate develop a deep understanding of how sustainability issues impact on the development of marketing strategy. The workshop environment allows a productive space in which to explore the strategic implications. Individuals will be given a framework and language with which to assess how they can both develop their brands and contribute to corporate strategy development.

You will learn how to:

• Anticipate the implications of sustainability for your organisation’s marketing
• Understand how sustainability is impacting on the demands of all stakeholder groups, especially customers
• Use the insights from research and dialogue with customers to ensure their agendas are reflected appropriately within each business context
• Engage in constructive dialogue with CSR functions on corporate sustainability issues
• Develop appropriate strategic responses to the threats and opportunities that climate change present
• Develop appropriate messages to communicate sustainable attributes and behaviour
• Explore the incorporation of sustainability into all marketing activities and avoid the pitfalls

Course content:

Definitions of sustainability and CSR

How business is responding to growing pressures

Marketing’s role in CSR issues

Understanding your customers’ and stakeholders’ sustainability agendas

Finding the marketing opportunities

Strategy development:

• Selecting the right platforms
• Using CSR to segment and position offers
• Adding value and reducing costs
• Building CSR benefits into the marketing mix
• Creating compelling propositions
• Adding CSR dimensions to the communication strategy

Avoiding the pitfalls that have damaged others

Future trends and CSR development

Pre and post learning support:

Delegates are invited to read around the subject and to bring any questions that may arise to the course for exploration. Issues arising from the application of the ideas and concepts presented may be raised with the tutor subsequent to the course.

To take away from the course:

• Up to date textbook on sustainability
• Frameworks
• Models
• Checklists
• Bibliography

Professional Standards

All of our marketing courses are based on CIM's Professional Marketing Standards, ensuring that marketers at all levels of seniority gain the practical skills that employers require to improve business performance. Review our Professional Marketing Standards framework