Marketing education and training helps your employees design more effective marketing campaigns, which can do a lot to increase traffic and drive clients to your company. However, it is very important to make sure the marketing training programs you're considering have the greatest chance of delivering results that work in your industry, and more importantly, for your individual business.

Making the most of marketing education and training means mainly doing two things: taking proactive steps to ensure your employees are committed to the marketing training program and doing your due diligence in choosing marketing trainers, even if you go with online marketing training. As far as ensuring your employees are excited and involved with the marketing training course, here are some tips:

1. Have employees discuss their training in marketing on a regular basis in groups.
2. Make sure employees ask questions and take notes.
3. Hold employees accountable by making them check in with management.
   

Action Steps
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Find marketing trainers that work with your specific marketing strategy

There are several different marketing strategies and tactics your business can employ to reach out and draw in potential clients, and marketing trainers that work with your specific marketing campaign plans are best. If you have an idea of the type of marketing strategy you would like your company to pursue, or if your company wants help on improving a tried and true strategy already in place, find trainers who are experts in your method.

I recommend: Learn more about the different training programs geared toward marketing strategy types, from affiliate marketing to social media marketing, at AMWSO. DMA offers seminars catered to working with companies who primarily employ direct marketing techniques.

Consider a customized marketing training program

If your company has the financial means, working with marketing trainers to formulate a customized solution is probably the best way to make the most out of your marketing education and training. Customized programs address your business needs directly and help implement new successful marketing campaigns.

I recommend: Nick Stamoulis is an expert on marketing training and designs custom plans to work on with individual businesses. Learn more about customized and flexible training programs for your employees at B2B Marketing Excellence.

Consider marketing management training

Marketing training for all of your employees is a great way to improve the success of your overall marketing campaigns. However, to maximize your success, you'll want to make sure managers are properly trained in both marketing and marketing management.

I recommend: CEPSM offers a full suite of strategic marketing services for employees and management alike. Learn more about the variety of seminars for marketing managers available at American Management Association.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When considering marketing training programs, ask for a free demo, tutorial or lesson plan. Companies will often comply and this is a great way to see if their services are right for your business.

Even if you’re a small business, marketing education and training helps your employees bring more business to you, no matter how experienced they already are. If they get a degree in marketing or if they supplement their education with additional marketing training, they’ll be able to boost your visibility in the market by staying on top of the latest trends and skill sets.

You can even have them complete their marketing education and training at their own desks during work hours with the help of an online marketing training program.

Using marketing training programs can help your business:

1. Stay on top of the latest marketing trends to show that you’re a cutting edge business.
   
2. Ensure your name stays in front of your customer base as your employees apply what they learn.
   
3. Reach out to new market segments, locally or globally.
   
4. Retain key employees by giving them education at low or no cost to them.

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Encourage employees to get marketing degrees

The more marketing education your employees have, the more they can promote your goods or services and meet customer needs. Consider reimbursing your employees' tuition if they decide to pursue a marketing degree. Today's online marketing degree programs can ensure that they don't need to miss work to attend classes.

I recommend: University of Phoenix offers an undergraduate Bachelors of Science in Business/ Marketing and a graduate Master of Business/Marketing, both of which can be completed entirely online. DeVry University also offers an online degree option for a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Sales and Marketing. At Golden Gate University, your employees can earn a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications, a degree that encourages students to seek unified approaches to marketing.

Provide an ongoing marketing training program in the workplace

You want your employees to learn the latest marketing trends and ideas, and you want to make sure they can translate these ideas into action. Ongoing marketing training helps with this, as long as you choose a company that you know you can trust.

I recommend: The Laredo Group offers a range of seminars in Internet marketing techniques, as well as interactive ad sales training, search engine marketing training and email marketing training, held at locations around the country.

Tailor your marketing training program to your company's needs

Creating your own in-house marketing training helps your employees master the skills that can directly affect your bottom line. If you don't have the resources to create your own program, consider customized computer- or web-based training.

I recommend: The ICS Learning Group creates interactive and engaging content custom-made to meet your needs. You can read the company's white paper, “The Building Blocks of a Successful e-Training Program” to see if this approach is right for your business. Resource Bridge also offers customized, engaging computer based learning, with an option for you to develop your own marketing training.

Stay on top of marketing trends

If you want your employees to become educated in marketing, you need to make sure that you understand the latest trends and share your knowledge with your employees on a regular basis.

I recommend: Subscribe to the Journal of Marketing, a peer-reviewed journal that can help you put the latest trends into action. You can view and subscribe to the Journal of Interactive Marketing online for a focus on Internet-based marketing ideas.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Find out what your employees already know before you implement a marketing training program. Individual interviews with employees are the best way to get accurate information about their knowledge.
• •  If your employees already have degrees, provide them with a list of individual courses from online marketing programs that you recommend. Focus on new trends and industry-specific courses in your recommendations.
• •  Get online subscriptions to marketing journals. With these, all of your employees can have easy access to their helpful content.

Marketing training programs come in many different forms; however, all types of training in marketing can give your employees a better sense of what your clients are looking for and how to sell to them better. In turn, this can also draw more clients to your company and further boost revenues.

The subject of marketing has many components and multiple applications. The marketing training course you choose should focus on enhancing the overall marketing strategy your business is implementing and teach employees the basics.

There are numerous levels of marketing training your business can invest in to further your employees’ basic marketing education. From free marketing training brochures and other educational materials, to online marketing training and marketing degrees, there are several training programs from which you can choose.

The marketing trainers you decide to go with should suit the individual needs of your business’ marketing education and training basics.

All well-planned and useful marketing training programs should:

1. Use marketing theory where tried and true rules are taught and discussed by marketing trainers.

2. Teach how to apply basic marketing theory to a specialized industry.

3. Help you formulate a plan to implement marketing strategies for a specific purpose or goal.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Consider a basic marketing training program for your business

There is a wide variety of online training programs that can teach your employees both basic marketing theory and specialized principles that apply to your industry. Online programs are also cost effective and offer employees flexibility to learn at their own pace.

I recommend: WorkSmart has an extensive list of training courses to suit a variety of industries and is all web-based. Its courses include Internet marketing training to teach you how to utilize online marketing for your business. Marketing Education Online offers a step-by-step marketing training program.

Consider an on-site marketing training program for your business

On-site training programs have many benefits; face to face interaction, question and answer sessions and social aspects are all perks. On-site programs also typically customize their training program to your business' specific needs.

I recommend: The Association of National Advertisers offers customized, convenient and interactive on-site training programs. Brian Norris, a marketing expert and trainer, also delivers creative and customized on-site training.

Consider a formal marketing training program

Marketing is a very complicated and multifaceted field that takes years to master by most. However, a great marketing campaign can be very lucrative for businesses, and that is why a lot of companies pay for their employees to go back to school part time and earn a degree in marketing. Many schools even offer convenient online degree programs in marketing.

I recommend: Education Center Online has a directory of accredited schools that offer degree programs in marketing. Degrees.info also has a directory of online degree programs, and has information on why to pursue further education in marketing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you decide to invest in on-site training or sending employees into a degree program, investigate the history of the marketing trainers. Contact past clients/graduates and ask if the training you're considering was worth it to them.

Marketing is a broad industry that includes all types of advertising and sales for company brands. Marketing can take place in traditional outlets, including radio, television and print. Newer marketing strategies use the Internet to get results. But no matter what type of marketing is used, employees with a marketing firm must be properly educated on all types of marketing. This will assist in choosing the right strategies for each client.

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Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a type of Internet marketing that uses affiliates for advertising and bringing in sales. The affiliate earns money every time a product is purchased from a Web site they set up.

I recommend: Affiliate Programs provides information on what affiliate marketing is, how it is used and links to additional training information.

Associate's degree in marketing

An associate's degree in marketing is the quickest way to learn marketing skills. An associate's degree is two years of classes that focus on marketing skills in sales, advertising or another specialized field.

I recommend: Rasmussen College offers an associate's degree specifically in Internet marketing, one of the leading types of marketing today.

Bachelor's degree in marketing

A bachelor's degree in marketing provides four years of comprehensive training in the field of marketing. All aspects of marketing are covered, including sales, types of marketing and how to plan advertising campaigns.

I recommend: Colorado Technical University offers information and class descriptions for a major in business administration with a concentration in marketing.

Marketing public relations (MPR)

Marketing public relations is a field that combines the top skills learned in marketing and public relations. Public relations teams often work closely with marketers to help spread the positive aspects of a company or brand name.

I recommend: Business Knowledge Source offers an overview of marketing public relations and how it is best utilized for marketing purposes.

Business Marketing Association (BMA)

The Business Marketing Association is a professional association for marketers working specifically with business-to-business marketing campaigns.

I recommend: The Business Marketing Association has a certificate program for marketers that offers training in additional skills in business-to-business marketing.

Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI)

Sales & Marketing Executives International is a worldwide professional organization that offers certification, training and networking for sales and marketing professionals.

I recommend: To use the designations associated with Sales & Marketing Executives International, a marketing professional must complete the SMEI certification program.