The Essentials of Marketing and Sales online course provides a unique perspective on the strategic mindset of marketing and sales. Throughout the course, you will focus on crucial aspects such as marketing strategies, segmentation, targeting and positioning, integrated marketing communications, proactive value-based selling, structured influencing, modern sales techniques, and personal selling skills.

Syllabus

Content and Schedule

This online course covers the fundamental concepts of Marketing and Sales, developing a marketing strategy, understanding the marketing environment, integrated marketing environment, and proactive value-based selling.

The course is structured into ten online modules. The modules consist of interactive video lectures, reflection tasks, and reading assignments covering the marketing and sales strategies and tools from different perspectives. The videos are accompanied by interactive questions to check your knowledge along the way, further reading material, and reflection prompts.

Each core module contains:

Introduction
A pre-assignment or a pre-reading material
Video lecture (from 5 to 10 minutes)
A small reflection task
Reading assignment based on a specific article
Knowledge check questions
Review of the key takeaways from the module

The estimated study time of the course is 10 hours. The course allows flexible study patterns; you can decide on your schedule and the speed of your progress. The recommended study schedule is 2-3 hours per week for 3-4 weeks.

The course videos are subtitled in English.

Path 1: Essentials of Marketing

This study path will offer you the fundamental tools to develop a marketing plan for almost any business. You will be able to think about marketing strategically, rather than merely as a function of sales and advertising.

1. Developing a Marketing Strategy
2. Understanding the Marketing Environment
3. Creating Attractive Value Offerings

Instructor:
Alexei Gloukhovtsev, Assistant Professor in Marketing, Aalto University

Path 2: Integrated Marketing Communications

This study path will give you an understanding of the importance of consumer insights in developing creative ideas, crucial for communication campaigns. You will learn how to identify and choose adequate channels and promotional tools and understand the marketing communication planning and executing process.

4. What is IMC?
5. The Communication Model
6. Evaluation and Effectiveness of IMC Campaigns

Instructors:
Alexei Gloukhovtsev, Assistant Professor in Marketing, Aalto University
Hedon Blakaj, University Lecturer Department of Marketing, Aalto University

Path 3: Essentials of Sales

This study path will provide you with the fundamental tools to understand why and how individuals and companies buy, how sellers can influence buying by value-based selling, and what sales skills they need to succeed. Value-based selling is rapidly becoming the dominant sales model for innovative and complex solutions and services.

7. Proactive Value-Based Selling
8. Structured Influencing
9. Three Focus Areas of Modern Selling
10. Individual Sales Skills

Instructor:
Pekka Töytäri, Post-doctoral Researcher, Aalto University

For Whom?

This course is suitable for managers and experts taking a marketing or sales role within the firm who want to boost their skills and learn the essentials of creating a sustainable marketing strategy and adopt a proactive value-based selling approach to bring value to their customers.

The course is suitable for those who need to revisit the basic concepts and frameworks of marketing and sales. It also provides excellent preparatory assignments for students before enrolling in many of the training programs offered by Aalto EE.