A comprehensive guide to strategy, branding, advertising, and digital channels for the modern business professional
You don't need to be a marketer. But you do need to understand one.
At some point in your management career, you will work alongside a marketing team, sign off on a campaign, question a brand decision, or sit in a meeting where terms like "marketing mix," "brand positioning," and "conversion funnel" are thrown around with confidence.
Marketing is everywhere in business—but for many managers, it remains something of a black box.
You’ll hear the language. You’ll see the campaigns. You’ll be asked for input, approval, or budget. And at some point, you’ll need to work with marketing specialists, challenge their ideas, or align their work with your goals.
But without a clear understanding of how marketing really works, that can feel uncomfortable—and risky.
This course is designed to change that.
At its heart, marketing has a simple purpose: to make potential customers aware of your products or services. But doing that well requires structure, insight, and the right tools. That’s exactly what this course gives you—a clear, practical playbook you can use to understand, engage with, and contribute to marketing activity in your organisation.
You don’t need to become a marketing expert. But you do need to be confident, informed, and capable when marketing becomes part of your world.
This course will help you get there.
What you’ll learn:
You’ll build a complete, structured understanding of modern marketing, from the fundamentals to real-world application:
Brands and Branding
Understand what a brand really is, how it creates value, and why it matters to every part of your business.
Marketing Strategy
Learn how marketers think—how they analyse markets, define their positioning, and create plans that drive results.
The Marketing Mix
Get to grips with the essential toolkit of marketing, including product, price, place, and promotion—and how they fit together.
Online Marketing
Explore the digital landscape, from websites and search to social media and content, and understand how these channels work together.
Advertising
Discover how advertising really works—how campaigns are conceived, designed, delivered, and evaluated.
Masters of Marketing & Advertising
Learn from the legends. Understand the ideas, approaches, and creativity that have shaped modern marketing practice.
Why this course matters:
While not every manager will find themselves actively involved in marketing, it's a fair bet that some time in your career, you will at least need to work with marketing professionals. No manager should be unaware of the basic principles, terminology, and tools of marketing. That's what this course will equip you with.
Whether you’re leading a team, managing a project, setting budgets, or shaping strategy, marketing decisions will affect your work—and your success.
This course equips you to:
Understand marketing conversations and terminology
Work effectively with marketing professionals
Ask better questions and make better decisions
See how marketing connects to wider business goals
In short, it gives you the confidence to engage with marketing, rather than stand on the sidelines.
Who this course is for:
This course is designed for managers and business professionals who want a clear, practical understanding of marketing—without jargon, fluff, or unnecessary complexity.
It is also ideal for small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs who want a comprehensive introduction to marketing.
If you want to understand how marketing works, how it fits into your organisation, and how you can engage with it more effectively, this course will give you the playbook you need.
Marketing doesn’t have to be mysterious.
With the right framework, it becomes clear, structured... and powerful.
Business Trainer, Author and Speaker
Dr Mike Clayton is a business trainer, author and speaker. Since 2002, he has been helping professionals, managers and leaders to excel in their roles with management, leadership, and personal effectiveness training. Mike has written over a dozen books for major publishers like Wiley, Macmillan and Pearson, including: Powerhouse, How to Manage a Great Project, How to Speak so People Listen, Brilliant Time Management, and The Influence Agenda. Mike's professional background is 12 years as a project management professional with the London office of international management consultancy Deloitte. Prior to that, Mike had an academic career in Physics, working at the world renowned Schuster Laboratory of the University of Manchester.
This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.
If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.
