Principles of Marketing

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Accurately describe what marketing is and what roles it plays in organizations.
• Understand the concepts and terminology of marketing, and the role within the organization and society.
• Understand the consumer decision making process, and tactical and ethical issues that marketers encounter relating to segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies.
• Develop a framework for analyzing and understanding the organization’s marketing mix (4P’s), positioning, branding, and its marketing resources, customers, and competition.
• Apply this framework as the basis of decision-making and resource deployment (i.e., target market selection and marketing mix design) in developing an implementable marketing plan.
• Discuss how firms assess the environment around them and how factors in the environment influence marketing decisions, and distinguish between socially responsible and ethical business practices versus irresponsible and unethical practices.
• Be aware of how firms develop and manage their product mixes to maximize market share, list the factors that differentiate service products from physical goods and appreciate how these factors influence marketing strategy, and discuss how firms break down markets and position products to fill unmet consumer needs.
• Appreciate the power of branding and the importance of developing brand equity and discuss the factors that drive product modifications and brand extensions.
• Appreciate the process by which products move from manufacturers to end consumers and discuss the process and pitfalls associated with firms moving their products from domestic to international markets.
• Be aware of the options firms have in communicating with consumers including e-marketing and social media, and how these communication options interact to create an integrated marketing communication plan.
• Appreciate the factors that affect pricing decisions, and analyze markets as a means of setting optimal prices.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Discussion & Participation	10%
Weekly Quizzes	15%
Exams	30%
Marketing Plan Project Project	30% (Project 15%, Peer Evaluation 15%)
Final Exam	15%

Grading Scale

PARTICIPATION
We will utilize online discussion board in Canvas, to engage in discussing key facets of marketing strategy and tactics each week. Students are expected to contribute to these discussion boards. The topics and the specific guidelines are included in each week’s module.

Requirements:
1) Your own positing of your original thoughts must be at least a strong paragraph (e.g., 10 sentences or more). (3 points)
2) You will read, assess, and reply to ONE other student’s post (2 points). Your response must make a strong contribution with at least 6 sentences or more.
3) You must make your original complete posting first before you will be able to see the posts of others. If you post just a few words or insert a period or other characters just to get access to what others have posted and then you write your post, you will receive ZERO points.
4) Keep in mind that the due date for your original post and your response to one-other student’s post is due Friday by 11:59 p.m.

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance/participation is not a graded component included in the student's final grade for this course.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

“Marketing” 2025 Release, by Grewal and Levy, McGraw-Hill. ISBN 13: 8220123803667 Please make sure you have access to the accompanied “Connect”