With online marketing or digital marketing, companies are active with their marketing measures where customers are - namely in the digital sphere. Today's customers use their smartphones to go online anywhere and at any time and are often on the move digitally. Companies have a wide range of marketing opportunities online. The goals for digital marketing must be formulated SMART:

• S = specific (clear and precise)
• M = measurable (define KPIs)
• A = acceptable or achievable within a predefined period of time
• R = realizable through available resources
• T = scheduled = can be realized within the defined period

With digital marketing, target groups can be reached precisely with specific advertising messages and offers. Marketing on digital channels along the customer journey enables precise monitoring and cost control (almost in real time). This also allows online marketing measures to be continuously optimized. In online marketing, the channels and measures must be coordinated in such a way that the target group is reached via as many contact points as possible along the customer journey in order to positively influence the customer experience.

The relevant specialist knowledge can be acquired through continuing education, further training in online marketing. The options range from a simple online marketing seminar or online marketing course to Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) in Web Project Management, postgraduate courses at a College of Higher Education, University of Applied Sciences or a Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialization in Digital Marketing.

Depending on the size and focus of the marketing schools, you can take advantage of a wide range of courses covering all areas of marketing. Depending on your previous education, however, you may be eligible for other educational opportunities, such as a certificate course, Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE), College of Higher Education or even a degree from a university. Within the sub-sectors of marketing, you will find attractive offers from first-class schools and seminar providers for a wide range of educational and professional requirements.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Direct marketing
• Event marketing/live communication/sponsoring
• Online marketing / e-commerce
• Overall marketing / marketing management
• Marketing communication
• Product Management
• Public Relations / Corporate Communications

There is a wide range of training and continuing education, further training courses in marketing aimed at marketing professionals who wish to further their education in this field, be it with a Federal Professional Examination (FPE), Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) or a diploma from a College of Higher Education (CHE), University of Applied Sciences (UAS) or university. But of course you can also train at a marketing school if you have no previous experience in marketing, sales or communication and are looking to enter these sectors. In this case, almost every school offers certificate courses, for example in preparation for the MarKom certificate exam, which is a good basis for all other federally recognized continuing education, further training. As of 2019, passing the MarKom exam is no longer mandatory for continuing education, further training as a marketing specialist, PR specialist, communication planner, sales specialist and copywriter with a federal certificate.

However, people who simply want to gain an insight into marketing or would like to be trained on a very specific topic can of course also attend a seminar at a marketing school. Such seminars or courses can be on topics such as web analytics or search engine marketing, social media marketing or conversion rate optimization. You can find out about their current course offerings directly from the schools.

Seminars for internet marketing can serve as basic training and give you an initial overview of the possibilities and methods or train you specifically in individual aspects of online marketing, for example exclusively on Google Analytics and Google Adwords, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) or affiliate marketing. Depending on the course chosen, training and continuing education, further training in marketing or online marketing can therefore be extremely interesting and profitable for all target groups and cover very different topics within internet marketing. Therefore, please ask the individual providers of marketing courses to send you the current documentation for online marketing training courses and look specifically at which courses will take you the furthest professionally or interest you the most privately.

You can complete a marketing course in many different ways. For example, you have the opportunity to deepen your existing specialist knowledge in a seminar or gain a brief insight into a specific sub-area. For your participation in this course, you will receive aCertificateof the relevant training provider. This can be, for example, a certificate course to become an event assistant, a product manager or a preparatory course for the MarKom certificate examination.

There is not just one training or continuing education, further training in marketing management that will comprehensively train you and increase your skills. The Swiss education market offers a number of good courses and certificate courses, Federal Professional Examination (AFPE), Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) and diplomas from Colleges of Higher Education, Universities of Applied Sciences and Universities that will train you in a wide range of marketing specializations. You can currently find the following courses in marketing management for your chosen specialization:

• Marketing assistant, clerk (certified)
• Marketing courses (cert.)
• MarKom certificate exam (cert.)
• Marketing specialist (FPE)
• Marketing Manager (AFPE)
• Marketing Manager (CHE)
• Marketing Management Master (UAS)
• EMBA International Marketing (UAS)

You can also complete CAS and MAS courses at Universities of Applied Sciences and universities. These Certificate of Advanced Studies and Master of Advanced Studies courses are considered continuing education, further training and are aimed at people who have already completed a degree and want to further expand their knowledge in a particular specialty area with such a course.

Choosing the right continuing education, further training courses or degree programs is not always easy. For this reason, you will find competent support and information here. For example, you can use the comprehensive guide to "Training and continuing education, further training in marketing, communication and sales" (see navigation point "Education help" above). This gives you a good overview of the individual training opportunities in the marketing sector and explains a whole range of selected job profiles in more detail. In this way, you are sure to find a marketing course that meets your expectations and can then contact the relevant marketing schools, which can be found at many locations in Switzerland, directly. Ask for some non-binding training documents, compare them carefully and then make a well-considered decision about which school is right for you. You will also find a comprehensive guide on the subject of choosing a school, which will provide you with expert advice when making your decision.

• Is the course location easily accessible for you?
• Are the training rooms bright, quiet, contemporary and suitable for adults?
• Is the training concept precisely formulated and bindingly recorded?
• What is the duration and scope of the continuing education, further training?
• Are the training materials up-to-date and recognized by textbook publishers?
• What qualifications do the teachers have?
• What is the maximum number of participants?
• What prior knowledge and prerequisites are required?
• How is practical transfer ensured?
• What are the total costs of the course including course, teaching materials, exams, registration, etc.?
• What qualification will you receive and is it recognized?
• What are the audit results from the last few years?
• What experiences have former participants had with the Marketing School?
• Do you receive comprehensive advice and have a contact person?
• Under what conditions can you withdraw from the contract?

The following content is usually taught in online marketing training:

• Digital marketing (strategy & instruments)
• Web conception/planning, web design
• Content Marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEA)
• Online advertising
• E-mail marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• E-Commerce
• Performance marketing, customer journey
• Data protection
• Mobile apps
• Trends, IOT

If you are interested in marketing training, you will quickly realize that the selection of interesting courses is considerable. It is not always easy to choose the right course from this mass of offers, so it is worth investing a little time to find the right marketing training course for you. Start your search by asking yourself what you want to gain from training, both professionally and privately. Clarify the following questions for yourself:

• What do I want to achieve with the training or continuing education, further training?
• What previous knowledge do I have?
• Which qualifications can I be considered for based on my previous education? (Certificate course, Federal Professional Examination (FPE), Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE), University of Applied Sciences (UAS),...)
• Do I need a federally recognized qualification?
• Do I have to take the MarKom admission exam first? (until 2019)
• Do I just want to get a first insight into marketing and is a short marketing seminar enough?
• How much time do I have available for continuing education, further training in marketing?

Once you have made these initial considerations, you will probably quickly see that some educational opportunities are more suitable for you than others. Without prior knowledge of marketing, for example, your options are more limited, but still extremely exciting. On the one hand, you can take a MarKom certificate exam, which is a very good basis for all further marketing training. On the other hand, you can attend versatile marketing courses that are aimed at newcomers to the field and do not require any prior knowledge.

As it is important not to make a hasty decision on an education provider, you should take a closer look at the topic of selection. In the free education guide "How to choose the right education provider" (see navigation point "Education help" above) you will find everything you need to know to find the marketing school that meets your needs. Selection criteria are explained in more detail and practical tips are provided to help you make the right decision.