Regulation?

I got an email with the following in it this week -
"One of the big things for me is that our industry has no regulation at all. There is nothing stopping my gardener buying a mac and calling himself a marketing consultant. You can’t do that in any of the other professional services. If the CIM is to be taken seriously then it needs to become a regulating body."

Interesting.

If you think about it anyone can claim to do anything but the proof of the pudding is always in the eating.

I would challenge the stance that there is no regulation - there is The Chartered Institute of Marketing Code of Practice that all members, by joining, accept responsbility to adhere to.
http://www.cim.co.uk/AboutCim/Membership/CodeOfProfessionalStandards.aspx
If a member is found to contravene the code The Institute can take disciplinary action.

Surely as marketers we are well aware of market forces and the big wide world of competition. By defining a USP in integrity and professionalism a marketer can stand apart from the crowd.

I accept that there is no formal regulating body. It is something that CIM, which is highly respected in the marketing industry, is in a good position to become this body and is striving to achieve it with a license to practice.

So, I have said this before and will certainly say it again, if we all work towards this goal it will come to fruition. I would welcome your thoughts on how we go about this.

Helping SMEs

Did you know that businesses receiving advice during start up or at key times during their
growth are at least four times more likely to be in business after 3 years?

I didn't until recently, but it makes sense. Most people set up in business because they have good idea or skill that they want to capitalise on, not because they are super managers or marketers or sales people.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing is trying to help by providing SME workshops designed to give the small business owner, or designated marketing person basic skills, knowledge and confidence to do marketing, or buy in marketing skills, and do it right first time.
These workshops are running in Lancashire and Cumbria, are soon to be running in the North East and Merseyside, and hopefully right across the North of England by the end of the year. They are run by local Chartered Marketers, so if you are a member and are interested in delivering these for us then get working on your CPD!

To find what courses are running where visit www.cim-nw.org.uk/otherevents.php
Please feel free to pass this link on to anyone you think will find these sessions of interest.

Leeds

This week I feel like I have spent all my time in Leeds, which is not a problem and not strictly true, but my thoughts have clearly been in Mid Yorkshire. Why is that? I have had two very enjoyable lunch appointments.

Twice a year The Chartered Institute of Marketing runs its quality one day training courses in Leeds. These courses are attended by marketers from far and wide, but not necessarily CIM members. So, I thought I would drop in on them during the lunch break to tell them about some of the other things The Institute has to offer.

Conversely, you may not have been aware that CIM courses run in Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds. For a full listing of courses, some of which are on your doorstep, visit http://www.cim.co.uk/ProfessionalDevelopment/Training/CoursesAToZ.aspx

CPD and Chartered status, why bother?

I had some interesting conversations this week about Continued Professional Development and Chartered Marketer status. The general gist of these conversations was 'why bother?'
I had one member who said I'm too old now and one who felt that chartered was just another badge to collect that they would leave to someone else. Like I said, interesting.
As a member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing surely you are passionate about your profession? Speaking to these two individuals I had my doubts, and was quite disheartened.
If we are ever going to be in a position to demand equal footing with our business peers then we need to show the world that we are passionate and proud and deserved of it.
If we are going to leave the hard work in driving the status of the profession to someone else then where do we expect to go?
Come on guys, stand proud and shout out loud that we are all worthy and make sure that you have all the status so that the industry has the status so that we all benefit.