1  Stratmark's Integrated Online/Offline Applied Learning Approach

 1.1   The Applied Marketing Knowledge Challenge

The environment faced by most marketers in the current and foreseeable future is highly turbulent and challenging. Some business and marketing issues are similar in countries and businesses and many others are different. Stratmark's view is that the market environment and business challenges faced by companies in different countries and markets should drive the priorities and focus for learning strategies and solutions in those markets. For example some marketers are in the fortunate but challenging position of experiencing high growth, whereas others face profitability challenges and shrinking markets. Some, for example, require brand-building activities whilst others face the competitive challenge of new market entrants. Countries, products and markets are at different stages of evolution requiring, as a matter of priority, different skill sets and applied marketing knowledge.

All businesses need an alignment between their markets, strategies for those markets, and capability to implement marketing strategies and programs effectively. As market conditions change, different strategies and capabilities are needed to achieve alignment and profitability. In most businesses sudden shifts in market dynamics create gaps in marketing capability. Figure 1 depicts our approach to applied learning solutions.

1.2 Building a Company’s Marketing Effectiveness

A key part of a company’s marketing effectiveness in the future will depend upon the ability to create marketing expertise and knowledge to the level required to address marketing issues in various markets at particular points in time.

It is our view that it is not necessary nor is it cost effective to elevate all marketers to world-class levels of marketing expertise. Instead a company should consider several levels of marketing knowledge and expertise within its marketing community with a view that marketers are motivated to move from their current level to a higher level in line with job competency requirements and their aspirations for promotion.

By way of illustration in Figure 2 we see that there could be several levels of marketing expertise, which can be measured by the Marketing Leadership Survey (MLS), and several levels of specialized marketing knowledge (which can be measured by more specialized diagnostic tools such as the e-Marketing Survey).

Levels A, B, C, D, and E represent different marketing knowledge and expertise from a basic level to that of a very high level marketing expert. We expect that levels D and E can act as mentors to key company marketing staff and are potential or existing leaders of marketing teams and projects.

Figure 3 shows an example of a marketing community in which 70% of the community are at the base A level of marketing knowledge and 1% at the highest ( E) level as benchmarked by MLS knowledge scores ( and other relevant criteria). By a committed program of learning solutions, leadership, recruitment and process improvement over a 36 months period we see how the percentage of the marketing community at each level of marketing effectiveness might change. This process can be mapped for an organization using MLS benchmarks.  It is believed that this system should form part of a process within a company that links marketing as a profession with HR processes, remuneration and incentives.

Figure 3. Example Marketing Community Knowledge Targets (% of marketing community at each level) 

2 Our learning system has four integrated elements:

2.1  Stratmark Diagnostic, Evaluation and Measurement

At the heart of Stratmark's learning approach is the use of diagnostic, evaluation and measurement tools for assessing marketing knowledge, attitudes and capabilities.

The Marketing Leadership Survey (MLS) is the heart of this process.

 Frequently we find that current learning products (whilst being of high quality in themselves) are not delivering sustainable improvement in marketing knowledge. The MLS results usually demonstrate the need within a business for customized and targeted solutions.

Stratmark's experience in applying the MLS and subsequently designing and delivering customized learning solutions in a variety of organizations puts us in a unique position to evaluate specifically what is required to achieve a company's learning objectives.   Stratmark has experience in lifting company-wide marketing knowledge and attitudes from below average to above desired threshold levels over an 18-24 month period.

Using the MLS results and tailoring programs to suit client needs, Stratmark has a strong experiential basis upon which to evaluate existing programs and recommend marketing learning and development programs that will result in sustainable improvement in marketing capability in organizations.

The MLS philosophy of test and measurement is also incorporated in Stratmark training programs using quizzes and project evaluation feedback to ensure learning takes place.

2.2 E-learning

• E-learning is best used to increase the basic marketing knowledge for a large number of people across the organization - the base of our model in Figure 1.

• Stratmark's capability to evaluate existing e-learning pedagogy and content quality is high. Its current capability for design and delivery of customized e-learning solutions is also high.

Use of e-learning alone can provide a base level of knowledge access for a large number of people in a company’s marketing community at the bottom level of our triangle diagram  The flexible e-learning approach should have a time frame for completion of modules agreed by the stakeholders within the company.

Stratmark's approach to e-learning is to provide customized relevant marketing content that is available in a flexible platform enabling frequent updating and further customization over time. Customization requires development of each e-learning module or course in line with the client marketing community's greatest knowledge gaps. E-learning is most effective when it is combined with other forms such as virtual classroom webshops and face-to-face workshops.

However, moving marketers from information to application requires a higher level marketing solution. Stratmark's e-learning solutions are also designed to support existing and new learning programs within the company. They form a part of a blended learning solution incorporating face-to-face workshops, virtual classrooms and teleconferences.

2.3 Blended Applied Learning

• Blended applied learning is best used where there is already a basic level of marketing knowledge and the need is for application of that knowledge.

• Stratmark's capability to evaluate current applied blended solutions is high. Its ability to deliver specialized and customized applied blended solutions is also high.

This approach uses a variety of delivery mechanisms such as the web, face-to-face workshops and teleconferences to transfer the required skills to the selected marketing group. The typical process shown in Figure 4 ends with  individual participant and team tests and evaluation which can lead to company certification of knowledge and skill levels achieved if desired.

Figure 5. Generic Outline of Stratmark's Embedded Learning Program 

Typically this process would take a team through identification of the marketing issue, research, strategy, plan, implementation, monitoring and review and would cover a period of 2-4 months.

3  How Stratmark's Solutions Fit Together

A summary of Stratmark's learning solutions role, timeframe and focus on a company’s marketing community is shown in Figure 6. These sit within the context of pre-and-post measurement of marketing knowledge using the MLS.

Figure 6 Focus of Stratmark's Learning Solutions