QUALITATIVE ASPECTS REGARDING THE ASSESSMENT OF CORPORATE E-TRAINERS

Abstract

Marketing specialists are realizing the need to perfect themselves in using online marketing as a priority method to promote their businesses and an ever growing number of young people that are graduating a university wish to start their own business or market one and understand that having a good grasp of digital marketing and how to use it in promoting and selling the company's products and services is essential in succeeding. Although online marketing distinguishes itself as a priority in developing and maintaining a business nowadays, the training offer for digital marketing is very weak. Digital Marketing Institute is a leader in Digital Marketing Education from Dublin, internationally accredited to deliver Digital Marketing training and e-training programs for corporations, also present in Romania since 2013. The program is structured in 10 relevant modules (delivered through videos, webinars and interactive e-workshops): Introduction to Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Email marketing, Display Advertising, Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Web Analytics, Digital Marketing Campaign Planning and is delivered via the Moodle e-learning system. The modules are in video format, webinars and interactive e-workshops, presented by a trainer with expertise in their field. Chat sessions, forum discussions in the Moodle platform are regularly organized between trainers and participants in order to clarify any issues and give practical subject matter advice. The relevancy and utility of the information for attendants depends both on the curriculum as well as the human resources involved in delivering these modules. The present paper aims to identify the way in which the human resources involved in delivering these modules (the online marketing e-trainers) produce new and real digital marketing competences in adults that either choose to convert professionally at the end of their career in a certain field or are young adults aspiring to be entrepreneurs and online marketers. We are assessing the degree of satisfaction of participants in regards to how the e-trainers delivered, judging on criteria such as: Presentation skills, Involvement, Availability (for questions, discussions in the chats, forums and webinars), Professionalism and knowledge level in the field, the trainer's expertise in the field they are teaching. As research methods we have used document analysis and the survey-based research. The target group is formed of 100 adults with ages 24-46. Data evaluation was realized with the help of IBM SPSS, the results having indicated an optimal degree of satisfaction regarding the trainers' delivery of this course and they are very useful for the future improvement of e-teaching methods.