Our participants

You are a mid-level or senior manager with strategic, marketing or commercial responsibilities in a firm that serves end-consumers, retailers, industrial buyers, governments, NGOs or other stakeholders. You have at least 10 years of work experience in marketing or other fields.

You want to boost your and your team’s contribution to your business strategy and its results. You have the ambition to deliver a superior level of performance, and are eager to work intensively with other like-minded professionals attending the program.

The following represents a sample of positions held by recent participants: Marketing and Sales Director, Global Marketing Manager, Business Development Director, European Product Manager, Regional Director, Head of Brand Management, Trade Marketing Manager, Business Director, VP of Strategic Projects, Managing Director.

Strategic marketing in teams

Why not use the program to kick‑off a marketing strategy review, to launch an organizational change or to drive innovation within your company? The impact of SMA is accelerated whenever several executives from the same company participate – either simultaneously or over time.

What

Achieving marketing success has never been tougher. Customers have become co-creators of value. The competitive landscape shifts when industry boundaries blur and competitive threats appear from unexpected directions. Products and services that were once innovative have now become commodities where price dominates in customer choice. Social media opens not only new ways to communicate with customers and partners, but also questions long standing practices in strategic marketing in respect to market research, competitive analysis, innovation, branding, communication and service recovery.

How do you win in tough markets?

There are no shortcuts and half answers won’t do. What you need is an innovative marketing strategy that is rooted in market and competitive insights; a differentiated value proposition that is inspired by customer insights; and an organizational capability that allows you to execute your strategy flawlessly – and fast.

Strategic Marketing in Action (SMA) is designed to help marketers and strategists win in tough markets. It goes beyond traditional, often tactical, sometimes communication-biased marketing by equipping you with modern tools and useful concepts to:

- Boost your strategic thinking about the evolving competitive landscape, understand how to co-create more value with your customers and capture more value with smart pricing

- Gain insights into drivers of customer value, behavior and choice, and align different stakeholders, such as employees and partners, to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty of your key accounts and most important customers

- Formulate a differentiated value proposition for customer-focused strategy and brand platform incorporating social media

- Meet the challenge of implementing your strategy and gaining internal support by demonstrating the financial value marketing creates in terms of Net Marketing Contribution

How

Phase I Pre-program - Internet-based learning module

Participants first refresh their marketing knowledge through assigned readings and by mastering internet-based strategic marketing simulations. Exchanges between participants and Faculty and amongst participants are facilitated through chat-rooms and live video conferences. Second, participants analyze and assess their current and future strategic marketing challenges. Third, to ensure a productive week on campus, case studies need to be prepared in advance.

Phase II Campus week – Program framework

Phase III Post-program - Moving forward

Participants work on their defined and updated agenda and share insights and learnings with IMD Faculty and peer participants. Exchanges between participants and Faculty and amongst participants are facilitated for three months after the campus week through the same channels as during the pre-module.

Our Faculty

Our Faculty members are recognized world authorities in their fields. They divide their time between teaching, research and acting as consultants to international companies. They remain on top of the latest management trends.

You can expect timely, innovative learning activities, materials and content in all IMD programs.

In this section, you will find important information on the program fee, application, invoicing, cancellation and transfer. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our program advisors.

Fee

The program fee (which is mentioned on the overview page) includes tuition, teaching materials, and lunch on weekdays. Travel or living expenses are not covered. You must settle your own hotel bills, both when in Lausanne and on off-campus assignments, as well as all dinners and lunches on weekends when applicable. IMD reserves the right to modify the program fee at any time.

Tentative reservation

To make a non-binding reservation, send us a completed tentative reservation form. This carries no obligation and is not a substitute for the formal application form.

Application & invoicing

Your application is forwarded to the program director who will evaluate it to ensure that the program corresponds to your objectives and profile. This can take approximately 1 week.

The information & registration office will notify you of the outcome of your application. If you are accepted, they will send your acceptance letter and invoice fee together by priority mail. From this point, your enrollment will be considered firm by both you and IMD.

Please pay the program fee within 30 days of the invoice date and no later than the commencement of the program. If you register within 1 month of the start of the program, you must settle the invoice immediately without exception.
Payment can be made by bank transfer or credit card.

Up to six weeks before the program start date, a program coordinator will contact you with information on hotels and pre-program preparation. Please note that IMD reserves enough rooms for each participant on the program.

If accepted, you understand that you must be completely free of professional duties while attending this program and that you must attend all scheduled sessions and activities.

Substitution

A participant can be substituted on the same program session without incurring any fees. The substitute needs to apply and be admitted.

Note: Once you have paid the program tuition fee, if you do not attend another program within 24 months, the program fee will be forfeited.