Course Syllabus

MODULE 1 TOPIC: WHAT IS MARKETING?

Overview: Marketing means different things to many people, so we will explore the broad concept of marketing and attempt to assign a definition. We will also get a small taste of the complexity of marketing by exploring the concept of choice.

Resources

• Module 1 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 1, "What Is Marketing?"
• YouTube Video: Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce with Malcolm Gladwell
• YouTube Video: Too Much Choice from ABC Video

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum: What Is Marketing? Your task in this exercise is to construct your own definition of marketing. Follow the prompt.

Module 1 Assignment: Consumer Choice and Marketing Assignment Description & Guidelines: Watch this module's videos, Too Much Choice and Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce, and then address the questions in the assignment.

MODULE 2 TOPIC: THE MARKETING MIX

Overview: In this module, we will learn about the 4 P's and 4 C's marketing mix concepts. Marketing mix is the foundation for a well-developed, cohesive marketing strategy. We will also begin developing a marketing plan. Each module, you will draft a component for inclusion in a comprehensive marketing plan. Your final marketing plan is due the last module of the course and comprises 20% of your final grade. Be sure to review The Marketing Plan Project. There you will see a scoring guide for your final project and information on the different components.

Resources
• Module 2 Lectures
• The Marketing Mix (+The 4P’s, 7P’s and 4C’s of Marketing) by Hannah Tow • YouTube Video: The Marketing Mix from MindTools

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum: Developing a Marketing Mix

Module 2 Assignment: Choosing a Business for the Marketing Plan

MODULE 3 TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC PLANNING

Overview: In this module, we will explore what goes into a strategic plan. Specifically, we will evaluate mission statements and learn how to conduct a situation analysis. By the end of the module, you will also be able to complete a SWOT analysis, identifying a business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Resources:

• Module 3 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 2, "Strategic Planning"
*Video: How to Write a Vision Statement that Doesn't Suck from Fast Company
• YouTube Video: Your Vision Statement Sucks with Cameron Herold D

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Vision & Mission Activity

Module 3 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Mission Statement
Module 3 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - SWOT Analysis
Module 3 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Competition Analysis

MODULE 4 TOPIC: MARKET RESEARCH

Overview: In this module. you will discover how to conduct market research. You will learn about both primary and secondary research methods and how to gather quantitative and qualitative methods. You will learn to identify and evaluate data sources, and by the end of this module, you will be interpreting data and designing a market research strategy for your small business marketing plan.

Resources
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 10, "How and Using Information: Marketing Research and Market Intelligence"
• How to do Market Research, A comprehensive Market Research guide from Inc.com
• TedEd Video: How Do Focus Groups Work?
• Kanopy Video: Innovative Market Research Techniques
• YouTube Video: Marketing Research for Beginners, Understanding Marketing Research Fundamentals D

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt:
Market Research for a Small Business Read at least one article on Inc.'s How to do Market Research. Provide a brief summary of the article (including the URL and names of the article(s) you chose!) and your commentary on how a small business can benefit from what you have read.
Module 4 Assignment: Max’s Supplements: Market Potential
Module 4 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Design Market Research

MODULE 5 TOPIC: SEGEMENTING, TARGETING & POSITIONING

Overview: In this module, we will explore the STP marketing strategy: segmenting, targeting, and positioning. Segmenting, targeting, and positioning are marketing tools used to identify the right customers, align and position products and services with those customers, and reach and retain those customers.

Resources
• Module 5 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 5, "Marketing Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning"
• Films on Demand, Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning (13:52)
• YouTube Video: Marketing: Segmentation - Targeting - Positioning
• Kanopy Video: How to Segment a Market.
• Kanopy Video: Targeting a Market Segment.

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Promt: Target Marketing or Positioning
Module 5 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - General Market Research and Target Market

Module 5 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 6 TOPIC: PRODUCT AND SERVICE

Overview: In this module, we will delve into product, one of the 4 P’s in the marketing mix. We will explore product offerings, including goods, services, and ideas, and learn the types of consumer offerings. We will discuss positioning and discover the importance of a product’s value proposition.

Resources

• Module 6 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 6, "Product and Service Decisions"
• Main Street ROI, "How to Create a Powerful USP in 5 Easy Steps"
• YouTube Video: Stacy Karacostas shares a terrific example of a small business USP

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: New Positioning or Product & Service Mix?
Module 6 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Product or Service
Module 6 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

MODULE 7 TOPIC: PRICING

Overview: In this module, we will learn about pricing. Having a savvy pricing approach is critical because price drives business’ revenue. We will identify the factors influencing price, explore pricing strategies, and learn important pricing concepts.

Resources
• Module 7 Lecture:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 15, "Price, the Only Revenue Generator"
• Chron, "Different Types of Pricing Strategy for Small Business"
• Marketing Mo, "Pricing Strategy"
• YouTube Video: Evan Charmichael, Pricing Strategies - How to price a product
• The Atlantic, “The Psychological Difference between $12.00 and $11.67”

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Making a Pricing Decision

Module 7 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Pricing Your Product or Service
Module 7 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 8 TOPIC: BRANDING

Overview: In this module, we dive into branding. The term 'brand' encompasses a wide range of concepts. In short, branding is the way customers feel about your product. What do they associate with your business? Strategy Marketing and Technology Agency suggests branding is critical because, “When you think about your brand, you really want to think about your entire customer experience…everything from your logo, your website, your social media experiences, the way you answer the phone, to the way your customers experience your staff.”

Resources
• Module 8 Lecture:
• Kanopy Video: The Tactics of Successful Branding.
• Forbes, Three Reasons Why Brand Storytelling is the Future of Marketing
• Lyfe Marketing, The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Branding for Small Business
• Morning Consult, Most Loved Brands in America 2019
• Convince & Convert, Three Brilliant Examples of Brand Storytelling You May Have Missed

Module 8 Demonstrate Your Learning: How Important Are Price & Branding in the Consumer Decision Process

Module 8 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Your Branding Strategy
Module 8 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 9 TOPIC: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Overview: Do you read customer reviews on Amazon before making a purchase? Do you like the same products as your friends or family members? Have you been enticed to buy a product because of a sale or a celebrity endorsement? Consumer behavior considers all the reasons why people shop and purchase products. This module will explore how people make buying decisions.

Resources

• Module 9 Lecture:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 3, "Consumer Behavior: How People Make Buying Decisions"
• YouTube Video: Content Sparks, Your Customer's Decision-Making Process

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Vic’s Bike & Surf Shop
Module 9 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Attracting and Retaining Customers
Module 9 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 10 TOPIC: CONSUMER SATISFACTION AND RETENTION
Overview: Have you ever been asked to complete an online survey after shopping at store? Do you read online customer reviews to help you make a purchasing decision? Have you ever left a positive or negative customer review? Customer empowerment has never been more pronounced, making customer satisfaction and retention critically important for all businesses, both small and large. This Module we explore the importance of customer satisfaction and strategies to build and measure customer loyalty and retention.

Resources
• Module 10 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 14, "Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Empowerment"

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Customer Loyalty
Module 10 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Customer Satisfaction and Retention
Module 10 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 11 TOPIC: PROMOTION

Overview: How do businesses persuade consumers to purchase their goods or services? This module covers the multifaceted components of promotion, including the types of promotion, steps in an advertising plan, selecting media, and creating messaging.

Resources
• Module 11 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 11, "Integrated Marketing Communications and Traditional Media Marketing"
• Kanopy Video, The Promise and Perils of Social Media
• Principles of Marketing. Chapter 12, "Digital Marketing"

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Let’s Talk Promotion
Module 11 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Advertising Plan
Module 11 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 12 TOPIC: ALL ABOUT THE MONEY: SELLING AND PRO FORMAS

Overview: After completing this module, you will appreciate the role that professional selling plays in marketing strategies. You will be able to describe various sales strategies that can achieve the desired customer relationship and will understand the sales cycle and the metrics used by sales professionals. We will also learn how to use and interpret pro forma financial statements for marketing strategy planning and evaluation.

Resources

• Module 12 Lectures:
• Principles of Marketing.Chapter 13, "Professional Selling"
• Chron, About Pro Forma Statements
• Learn about Pro Forma Financial Statements from this lecture from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business: Wharton School of Business lecture on Pro Forma Financial Statements
• YouTube Video: Brain Tracy, Is Sales a Dying Profession?

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Selling a New Technology

Module 12 Assignment: Pro Forma Statement

Module 12 Quiz: Marketing Concepts

MODULE 13 TOPIC: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND MARKETING
Overview: Websters Dictionary defines ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation; a set of moral principles: a theory or system of moral values; the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.” In this module we will explore the ethical considerations marketers and other professionals navigate when making business decisions.

Resources

• Module 13 Lecture:
• Project Muse, Advertising & Society Review
• Chron, Ethical Marketing Strategy
• Film on Demand Business Ethics
• YouTube Video: Wally Snyder with American Advertising Federation, Why Advertising Ethics?
• YouTube Video: Wally Snyder with American Advertising Federation, Ethics in Advertising: Do the Right Thing

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Advertising and Ethics

Module 13 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Draft Your Philosophy Statement about Ethical Considerations

MODULE 14 TOPIC: APPLYING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

Overview: We have covered a broad field of marketing topics in this class. In this module, you have an opportunity to pull together and apply many of the concepts we have learned. You will also develop an evaluation strategy for your marketing plan.

Resources

• Sparks & Honey, Generation Z Study (PDF)

• YouTube video: NMHU, Performance Marketing Metrics

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Putting It All Together

Module 14 Assignment: Marketing Plan Activity - Evaluation Plan

MODULE 15 TOPIC: WRAPPING IT ALL UP

Overview: In this module, you will submit your final marketing plan, a showcase of all you have learned in this class! You will also reflect on the concepts we have explored and share your next steps. Congratulations on making it this far!

Resources
Explore the following websites:
• Vermont Small Business Development Center
• U.S. Small Business Association, Vermont District Office
• Purpose of the Chamber of Commerce

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: Marketing is Just Advertising?

Demonstrate Your Learning Forum Prompt: That's a Wrap

Module 15 Assignment: Final Marketing Plan