Admission to the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) does not require candidates to have previously passed a marketing management training module, meaning that attending a preparatory course is not mandatory. However, candidates without comprehensive professional preparation have little chance of passing the exam, so a marketing management course is highly recommended.

At most schools, continuing education, further training in marketing management with a federal diploma is completed in two semesters while working. However, to be on the safe side, ask the provider about the duration of the continuing, further training.

After the marketing management training, the following advanced courses are recommended:

• Postgraduate degree NDS HF (higher technical college) in Marketing Excellence, Digital Marketing Manager, Online Marketing Manager or Marketing and Sales Management
• With a vocational baccalaureate or "sur dossier": Bachelor's degree at a university of applied sciences in business administration with a specialization in marketing
• Postgraduate studies at a university of applied sciences: MAS in Communication Management, MAS in Corporate Communications Management or EMBA in Business Administration - Communication Management

As Head of Marketing, you should fulfill the following personal requirements:

• analytical skills
• marketing-oriented thinking
• Good knowledge of business administration
• Communication skills
• Good foreign language skills

Anyone who obtains a Swiss educational qualification from the professional association Swiss Marketing (SMC) as a marketing manager from February 2021 will receive a European certificate. Earlier professional qualifications can also be retroactively certified according to the European standard - at least 10 years back. As an official certification partner of EMC (European Marketing Confederation), the SMC awards marketing managers with a federal diploma an additional diploma as a marketing director, the Master's degree with international recognition. This makes the degree in marketing management internationally comparable, understandable and recognized.

The marketing manager's role is to manage the marketing department of a company, agency or organization. They are responsible for drawing up marketing plans and coordinating the relevant activities between the individual departments. They report to the management on the success of the individual marketing measures and make any necessary changes and adjustments following in-depth analysis. As marketing managers with a federal diploma, these specialists are responsible for the distribution of the marketing budget as well as for personnel management in the department.

The Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) comprises 6 examination parts:

• a written exam on questions from marketing and sales (6 hours)
• two written integrative case studies (4 hours each)
• an oral examination on selected critical situations (30 min.)
• An oral presentation, which can be prepared during 30 minutes (20 minutes)
• One technical discussion (30 min.)

The written examinations take place over two consecutive days. The oral examinations take place on one day, approximately two months later.

Anyone wishing to take the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) for the Federal Diploma in Marketing Management must fulfill one of the following requirements:

• Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training of at least three years' duration
• Diploma from a federally recognized commercial secondary school or Specialized School
• Maturity certificate

and at least six years of professional experience, including 3 years in a management position in marketing

or

• Federal diploma in marketing or in a related industry
• Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) diploma
• Diploma from a College of Higher Education
• Diploma from a University of Applied Sciences

and at least three years of professional experience in a management position in marketing

You can achieve the following by training to become a federally certified marketing manager:

• Taking responsibility for marketing and sales
• Become a member of management or be self-employed in the communications and advertising industry
• Develop, implement and monitor marketing strategy for the company
• Management and coordination of the executive divisions within the scope of operative marketing
• design and successfully implement responsible and realistic solutions in the area of marketing/sales
• Mastering marketing method skills
• Optimal preparation for Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) in Marketing Management through targeted exam training
• Degree as a federally certified marketing manager
• Further training opportunities at higher technical colleges and universities of applied sciences as well as at postgraduate level

A survey of prospective students on the Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch platform reveals the reasons for requesting detailed information from schools. These are the three facts for the Marketing Manager course:

• 59% choose schools for inquiries after reading online reviews
• 33% asked schools for a recommendation
• 8 % already knew the schools before the inquiry

According to the free text answer option, the "location" is also a criterion for triggering a school inquiry for the marketing manager training.

After completing the diploma course in marketing management, you can take on the following responsibilities:

• Marketing strategy
• Marketing planning
• Achievement of marketing goals
• Personnel management in the marketing department
• Marketing budget
• Coordination of marketing activities with activities from other areas of the company

The results of a survey conducted by the education portal Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch show the reasons for the interest in continuing education for marketing managers:

• 61 % of respondents still compare the course with their own needs
• 31 % shows interest based on a recommendation
• 8 % are interested in further training because it is explicitly required in job advertisements