CIM endorses marketing fundamentals course

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is endorsing the Fundamentals of Marketing HSJ Conference on 25 February at the CBI Conference Centre at the Centre Point Tower, London.

David Thorp, director of research and professional development at the CIM, will speak on understanding marketing within the NHS.

Marketing is now high on the agenda for every health provider up and down the country, yet is still widely misunderstood.

The CIM believes marketing goes further than information leaflets for patients - marketing must go through the heart of the organisation and drive strategy, activity and decision-making at all levels within the NHS.

The back-to-basics study day will take delegates through the key elements of developing and embedding their organisation's marketing strategy, covering segmentation, service improvement, managing GP relationships and developing a digital marketing strategy.

Thorp said: 'The patient is increasingly at the heart of the NHS's operations - yet many within the NHS have been slow to realise the significance of this shift and the vital role marketing has to play in improving the patient's experience.

'By getting to grips with the fundamentals of marketing, within an NHS context, healthcare professionals can see how marketing tools and strategies can be used to deliver a better patient experience and improved results.

The CIM is publishing a whitepaper on measurement and metrics in the NHS on 25 March in London, following on from its earlier paper, 'The Real NHS: The Benefits of a Marketing Approach', which was published in 2008.

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