Stakeholder Marketing - Module Overview

The Stakeholder Marketing module forms part of the Professional Certificate in Marketing along with the Marketing Essentials, Assessing the Marketing Environment and the Marketing Information and Research Modules. The stakeholder marketing module focuses to recognise the nature and scope of an organisation's diverse range of stakeholders and their relative importance to the marketing process and the market oriented organisation.

Students will consider how to manage stakeholder relationships effectively, in terms of utilising a marketing mix that influences and satisfies stakeholder needs in line with the organisation's business and marketing objectives. There is a particular emphasis on developing approaches to communicating effectively with stakeholders based upon their relative importance and interest in the organisation, coordinated for maximum influence and effect.

After completing the Stakeholder Marketing Module students will be able to:

• Assess the relative importance of organisational stakeholders on the marketing function, and the impact they have on the organisation's marketing activities
• Explain the importance of relationship marketing in the context of the organisation's stakeholders in achieving stakeholder interest, involvement, commitment and loyalty
• Explain how the marketing mix can be effectively co-ordinated mix can be effectively co-ordinated to support internal and external stakeholder relationships
• Explain how to co-ordinate the communications mix to communicate effectively with the organisation's stakeholders in line with budget and time requirements
• Evaluate key methods for measuring the success of marketing mix and communications activities

The stakeholder marketing module has four section and will cover:

Section one looks at the importance of stakeholders in the marketing process and students will assess the different categories of relationships that exist between organisations, assess the relative importance of the different stakeholder groups and consider the nature of stakeholder relationships and their influences and impact on the organisation. Students will also be able to explain the nature of the interactions between the organisation and its different stakeholders groups. This section will also enable students to explain the significance of the range of pressure groups as key stakeholders interested in the organisation and their potential impacts upon market oriented organisation. This section will also specify the role of marketing in managing these pressure groups effectively and evaluate the different options to developing a relationship management approach within a market oriented organisation.

Section two of the stakeholder marketing module examines stakeholder relationship marketing and will explain the position and importance of key stakeholders in the market oriented organisation and establish relationship priorities for the organisation. This section also explains the concept of relationship marketing and its approach in developing customer retention, encouraging customer loyalty, stakeholder interest and engagement both internally and externally. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how relationship marketing is based on trust, commitment and cooperation and the importance of this concept not only to customers but the broader stakeholder audience and will learn how relationship marketing can contribute to both long term and short term customer retention.

The third section shows students how to utilise the marketing mix to support stakeholder relationships. This section explains how a coordinated marketing mix can be used to meet the needs of an organisation's broader stakeholder audience, explain the dependencies of people, place and process in supporting relationship marketing approaches and will also explain the methods available for measuring the success of a coordinated marketing mix aimed at multiple stakeholders. Students will also analyse the behaviour and opinions of the decision making units in order to design and co-ordinate a marketing mix that is responsive to stakeholders' needs and adds value to them.

The fourth and final section looks at communicating with stakeholders and students will evaluate the extensive range of marketing communications mix tools and explain how they can be co-ordinated to contribute towards developing long-term sustainable stakeholder relationships. Students will identify and evaluate the range of tools available to support the communications relating to internal customer loyalty. This section will explain the challenges in communicating with stakeholders in international markets and will identify and evaluate the continuously evolving impact of new technologies and their contribution to economic and environmental sustainability on stakeholder relationships.

Students will also learn and be able to explain the approaches to managing budget resource for tactical communication activities as well as explain the methods available for measuring the success of coordinated marketing communications activities.