This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.

Master marketing basics with the University of Adelaide

There are many common mistakes businesses make in their marketing efforts, such as spending high amounts or starting campaigns without a clear reason why.

This four-week course from the University of Adelaide will help demystify marketing to ensure you master the basics and avoid marketing mistakes.

Whether you run your own business, you want to develop in your current role, or you simply want an introduction to marketing, this course will arm you with the marketing skills to grow your business.

Learn to identify customer needs

To successfully target your audience, you first need to understand who your customers are. On the course, you’ll learn how to identify your customers and their needs.

With this knowledge, you’ll learn how to create a marketing message and strategy that not only aligns with your customer needs, but also meets the needs of an ever-changing audience.

Delve into your marketing channels

Next, you’ll explore the marketing channels available to you and how your customers use these channels.

You’ll learn the best practices of each marketing channel to reach and connect with your audience with the right language and product features.

Understand the marketing landscape

On the final week of the course, you’ll discover how the market landscape continues to change and how the pandemic has impacted customers. Through this exploration, you’ll learn how you can effectively respond to these changes.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a firm grasp of marketing concepts, know how to connect to your customers, and will have the mindset you need for continued success.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 9 seconds Did you know that many businesses believe that they need large marketing budgets just to be visible. In today’s pandemic impacted world though they don’t. If you want to run a successful business with a growth mindset, you need to understand how marketing works. Most marketers start communicating or selling their business without a clear reason why. This course will help you understand the why. Whether or not you have a passion for marketing your work in a marketing role or run your own business. Marketing Essentials is ideal for anyone who wants to understand how marketing works. This course approaches marketing concepts in an accessible way using targeted examples.

Skip to 0 minutes and 47 seconds We aim to demystify marketing and unpack the elements of it from the conceptual content through to real world practical examples. So optimise your marketing activities to meet the needs of a changing audience. Enroll today in Marketing Essentials.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1: Understanding the basics

What is marketing and what makes for successful marketing
The frameworks of marketing
How good marketing works

Week 2: Understanding customers

Understanding your customers
Customer needs and your brand
Customer needs and your message

Week 3: Understanding the channels

Why understand the challens that are available?
The challenges you can use
Best practice use

Week 4: Understanding the landscape

Why understand the landscape?
The essential mindsets you need to succeed
What’s just over the horizon?

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now
Join - $134

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Describe the basics of marketing and wider communication for application in future marketing efforts in business.
Identify audiences and have an insight into how to best reach them.
Develop an approach to planning that will improve the success rates of marketing.
Explain the way messaging impacts your customers, clients, or members and have a framework for developing future messages.
Identify effective ways to execute marketing plans through discerning the correct channels.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their business performance through marketing.

You may be a business owner, new to marketing, or a business leader who needs a broad overview of marketing.

Who will you learn with?

David Rawlings

David Rawlings is a marketing professional with 30 years' in industry. His delivery and teaching style is engaging and accessible, backed by years of workshops, webinars, presentations and lectures.

Who developed the course?

The University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a world-class teaching and research institution. They are committed to developing quality students and lifelong learners who are recognised for their skills, creativity, global outlook and ability to succeed.

World ranking
Top 110Source: QS World University Rankings 2023

What's included?

This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.

Unlimited access to this course
Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
Tests to validate your learning
Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime

Join - $134

Still want to know more? Check out our FAQs

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn