New for 2013

The IDM continually updates its training and qualifications portfolio, based on customer feedback and industry developments. Below you will find a preview of new courses that have launched or will be launching later this year.

2013 new course preview

Getting the best from your agency

A one day course for clients with agency responsibility.

In these straightened times, it's increasingly important to get best value from every supplier and given the money that's put through the agency roster, it's vital for clients to understand how to get the best work and the best value. Managing the agency, or agency roster, to get the very best results for your business demands more from today’s clients than a sizeable budget, a sexy brand and a desire to produce great work. There are skills and techniques involved in managing a complex and sophisticated supplier that will ensure you get great work, great support and excellent service in a long lasting relationship, whatever the brand and whatever the budget. This course will enable you to think about all aspects of the agency relationship; how to become a more effective client and to avoid costly mistakes.

This course is delivered by Chris Warren, one of the UK’s foremost agency heads with over 25 years’ experience in the relationship business.

Developing a Compelling Data Strategy

Business intelligence back on the boardroom agenda.
Data is the spine of organisations, but it's difficult to tell the data story and pitch the value of data to the wider organisation. All too often data is seen as a support function but it needs to be at the heart of business goals.

This course will enable you to build and develop a compelling data strategy by using language and frameworks that align to marketing and business goals. Many businesses do not have a written document that clearly outlines their data strategy (journey and story) in one place. Instead, data still tends to be regarded as a support function for other activities. This course will equip you with the tools you need to create and deliver the data narrative, to ensure you gather the relevant data, at the right time, to the right people.

E-commerce: A Model for Success

Drive greater demand as an online business.
The road to creating a successful online store can be a difficult one if you're unaware of ecommerce principles and what it can do for your online business. This course explores how to drive greater demand by examining your value proposition as an online business, who you’re trying to sell to and some tactics to reach these target customers.

Mapping the Customer Experience

How to make the most of every customer contact.
Customers are in control – they can make or break newly launched businesses as well as old favourites. But why has this changed? For years marketing ruled, we decided what to say to our customers and when. We decided what offer we would make and who we would do business with. If things went wrong and our customers were unhappy, they left. They might write to us, they might tell their friends, but that was it. Now, disgruntled customers can tell the world – and they do.

This course will show you how to map your customer journey, how to identify the tipping points in the journey and how you can influence behaviour. It will also examine the social media you need to be following to make sure you know what your customers really think about you. Come and join us on the journey. You will never feel the same about your business again.

Give marketing back a voice at the boardroom table

Business and financial understanding for marketing teams

It makes common sense that to improve profitability, you need to understand how the business makes money. Marketing budgets are no longer handed over without a clear plan showing projected returns on marketing investment. And increasingly, senior level marketers and agency professionals report that to influence budget decisions, you need to be able to talk the language of the financial director.

This course explores how businesses succeed and fail, the relationship between cash and profit, and the effect of poor decision-making on business outcomes. Using a unique and highly interactive board-based methodology, you will create a business, take it to market, and compete to win orders. At the same time as seeing the impact of your decisions, you will learn – and remember – business fundamentals such as how to interpret financial statements, budgeting and forecasting.