Graduate Development Programme part 2, Marketing skills

We are coming up to the 20^th anniversary of the Maastricht treaty 1991 which transformed the then European Economic Unity into the European Union. So started the process of creating a  single currency for much of Europe.

Some four hundred years earlier there was sort of European Union in northern Europe and the Baltic states called the Hanseatic League . This was  a collection of trading  cities and their merchant guilds.

The ‘Hansa’ word is still to be seen today in business in the German international airline Lufthansa

One evening after work on the Filtrona Graduate Development Course in  Sales and Marketing skills programme held in Reinbek, the group went into the city of Hamburg- a former member of the Hanseatic league.

We visited a former merchant’s house in Deichstrasse, in the Old Hamburg District. The original house was  built in 1686  -various alterations took place over the following centuries. Strategically sited on the banks of a canal that connected to the medieval super highway of its time the River Elbe the house was both a building for business and a family home. So much for our so called modern home -office way of living!

Goods were lifted by pulleys and stored in the top floor over  the floors for domestic living down to the ground floor and its magnificent  room was the area for trading, buying  and selling and negotiation.

The house which has been restored to much of its original glory is now a restaurant. 

Adorned on the walls the plaques of the famous trading families of Hamburg .

There was something rather special about visiting a building built for business  400 years ago where much the same challenges  of  identifying ,anticipating and satisfying buyers’ needs profitably ( Marketing) we had been working on in the Filtrona Graduate Development Programme that afternoon.at te Wladhaus Hotel, Reinbek

The Graduate Development Module on Marekting covers topics asuch as:-

• Attributes/Skills /Knowledge of a Marketing Executive
• What are the differences and similarities in Marketing Tangibles (Products) vs Intangibles- (services)
• What are the marketing challenges in Outsourcing and Supply Chain Management
• Production Orientation and Market Orientation Real world considerations
• Marketing Research  Primary and secondary
• Product/Service     Product Life cycles implications of various stages
• Product-Portfolio Matrix (Boston Grid)
• Distribution/Logistics                                           
• Marketing Communication –                                 
• Advertising, PR,Sales Promotion, Sponsorship,Direct Marketing ( Post, web)
•  Telemarketing Exhibitions, Professional, Selling/Account Managing , e commerce and social media- the rise of mobile

Marketing management

Metamorphosis -An engineer becomes a marketer - Tom wows us!

On the marketing module delegates presented their individual companies through a marketing model which included the classic 4 Ps, SWOT analysis PESTLE factors, Timing  and effect of competition and the issues of supply chain and export marketing.

Tim talks us through the Marketing Model for Alliance Plastics

Andy, Guard 'Winston' , Alexandra Orlov look on with Tom at this "Awesome" presentation!

Much discussion and focus was placed on Pricing Strategy, e commerce , the explosive gross and implication of mobile communication, social media as well as convention concerns of implementing excellence in Customer care whether to end use customers or distributors and manufacturers who use Fitlrona’s equipment and products.

Zag's presentation on Moss plastics gets  Tim ponders!

Raj provokes our thinking over the future opportunities and threats to his export business

We were exceptionally well looked after by the staff at the Waldhaus Reinbek. They fed us superbly and introduced new things to our diet both food and drink. The rooms were very comfortable. It  a superb venue. www.walhaus.de  and even has a kegelbahn!

On return to UK ,I  pondered whether many of the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf or Manhattan would be around in 400 years time like theAlt-Hamburgerhaus( Schones Leben restaurant) .

However business looks in the next 400 years maybe like the vistors we were to the Alt-Hamburgherhaus in Deichstrasse we might still recognise some aspects of trading , exchanging ,negotiation and 'marketing' even if the environment and communication channels are as different as the old canals of Hamburg and our Internet of today.


Related Links
Graduate recruitment Attitude trumps a Good degree - Ernst and Young
http://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.com/2012/02/kisses-on-bottom-good-degree-is-not.html