Overview
Next intake: TBC
Cost: £2450 (+ VAT)
The digital industry is much too complex and moves much too fast for any one person to stay ahead of every discipline. But employers need to hire people who can hit the ground running.
That's where the Econsultancy Digital Certificates come in. Whether you're looking to break into the industry, to sharpen a specific set of skills, accelerate your career or 'upskill' your team, you’ll find the fastest route to current best practice right here.
The programme delivers a challenging series of academically accredited courses, each covering a specific digital discipline. The emphasis is on practical skill development combined with rigorous academic understanding. You'll learn the most up-to-date strategies, tactics and technologies from top practitioners in a curriculum that combines face-to-face classes, distance learning and intensive on-the-job assignments.
Course Description & Schedule
Social Retailing focuses upon the role of social media in multichannel retail, considering how we can effectively monetise our engagement with customers (directly and indirectly). The certificate will consider the aspects of online social behaviour insofar as they offer opportunities for retailers to learn, communicate with customers, extend brand values and, ultimately, sell and provide customer service.
Upon completion of the course, delegates will be able to state the case for social retailing. They will be able to plan the social dimensions of selling alongside online merchandising and promotion, and implement the plan across the main social media channels. Delegates will also develop an awareness of integrating the voice of the customer into offline channels, and how to structure teams and produce measurement frameworks to support social retailing.
The course is taught over two modules (12 weeks each) and assessed via two written assignments. All training and tutorial days will be held in Manchester.
Module One: Planning and Launching Social Retailing
Day 1: Social Media Landscape
Day 2: Building the case for Social Retailing
Day 3: Marketing voice and customer voice
Module Two: Integrating Social Retailing
Day 1: Managing Social Retailing
Day 2: Skills for Social Retailing
Day 3: Future Trends in Social Retailing
In addition to the teaching days, each module has two tutorial days at Manchester Metropolitan University
The Application Process
Applications are open year round and applications for any given intake will be accepted up to four weeks before beginning the course. The application process is the same for all our qualifications (including the MSc programmes) and successful applicants will be eligible to start any of the courses they qualify for providing the start date falls within 18 months of receiving the official offer letter. Speculative applications are welcome.
Contact us at training@econsultancy.com for an application form, along with full details of the content and a timetable.
Learning outcomes
Module One: Planning and Launching Social Retailing
Upon completion of the module participants will;
- Understand the social retailing landscape – channels, approaches, trends, examples
- Gain buy-in for social retailing activities from senior management via a reasoned business case
- Effectively plan for launch and implementation approaches to seeding conversations, the voice of the customer, soliciting and managing input
- Manage integration between marketing and communications, online merchandising, CRM and insight, buying and merchandising to represent brand values appropriately via social retailing
- Designing a customer experience taking into account engagement across owned sites, network sites (e.g. Facebook, YouTube) and conversational channels
Module Two: Integrating Social Retailing
Upon completion of the module participants will;
- Develop operational management approaches to support social retailing activity at scale and maturity, including performance frameworks and KPIs
- Effectively analyse a range of data sources to build insight and behavioural models as the basis for trends forecasting, selling activity and customer engagement plans
- Integrate social retailing knowledge and skills into the digital team, support functions and multichannel colleagues
- Reflect social retailing insights and requirements within other channels (e.g. the store, mobile, contact centres) to provide a unified experience to the customer and increase effectiveness of activity
- Understand future and near-future trends in social, mobile, display, behavioural and social sciences and technology and their possible impact on social retailing opportunities
Trainer
Ian Jindal
Ian Jindal is a consultant, publisher, and advisor on eCommerce in integrated retail, publishing, and broadcast. Retail clients include House of Fraser, Austin Reed, Westfield Shopping Towns, Otto UK, and CoutureLab.com. A regular keynote speaker and conference chair, Ian co-founded InternetRetailing, the magazine, portal, and conference for Europe's leading retailers and multichannel retailers.
Previously he was Group E-commerce Director for Littlewoods Shop Direct Group where he grew online revenues to £405m pa. Before that, Ian was Head of Online Operations at the BBC, establishing the team that managed over 400 BBC websites and a non-executive Director of Business Link for London.
Ian co-founded the European eCommerce Forum, a private conference and 'think tank' to advance the art and craft of online selling.
With Econsultancy.com Ian created the UK's first MSc in Internet Retailing.
When not tending his solitary olive tree, Ian can be found at www.innoparticularorder.com
