CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MRKT 316
Linda Anglin, Ph.D.
Phone: 389-6614 Marketing Department: 389-2967
Email: linda.anglin@mnsu.edu Website: www.business.mnsu.edu/lka
Office: MH 127
College of Business Outcomes
1. Students can demonstrate competency in professional written communications and formal oral presentations, appropriate to their discipline(s).
2. Students can identify leadership characteristics and can use team building and collaborative skills to accomplish group tasks.
3. Students can recognize legal and ethical problems in business, are aware of their potential consequences, and can propose and defend alternate resolutions.
4. Students can analyze business problems utilizing information technology and research methods appropriate to their discipline(s), and then use the results in business decision making.
5. Students can integrate and use information from different business disciplines.
6. Students will also meet program learning outcomes as established by each program.
Marketing Program Outcomes
These outcomes are derived from the American Marketing Association’s Professional Certified Marketer examination guidelines. The PCM test is intended for marketing practitioners who have had both education and work experience in the field. The marketing faculty’s program outcomes are meant to guide the faculty in program development and in measuring graduates’ educational preparation for work in marketing. Percentages after each bold statement indicate the time or emphasis devoted to the categories.
Marketing graduates should:
I. Understand legal and ethical issues guiding the practice of marketing. (10%)
1. Federal laws and regulations.
2. Current legal issues and applicable code of ethics.
1. Organizational functions and marketing’s role in establishing effective communication necessary for marketing planning and quality management.
2. External strategic partnerships critical to executing marketing strategy, including vendors, distributors, trade associations, and other strategic partners.
1. Marketing goals and objectives: customer satisfaction, sales, and profits.
2. Consumer and organizational buyer analysis.
3. Environmental analysis of domestic and global trends relating to buyers, competitors, technology, and government regulation.
4. Marketing research process: problem formulation, research strategy, research value, data collection, data analysis, and report writing.
5. Brand development and positioning strategies for targeted markets.
6. Sales forecasts.
7. Profit forecasts: margins, breakeven points, and projected income statements.
IV. Be able to prioritize and strategically utilize all aspects of the marketing mix to reach marketing goals. (40%)
1. Product strategies, including the introduction of a new product to a market, domestic or global, and the improvement of a brand’s market position.
2. Promotional strategies for buyers and distributors, including advertising in various media, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity.
3. Place strategies, including wholesaling, retailing, and supply chain management.
4. Price strategies incorporating demand, competitor, and cost analyses.
V. Be able to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing plans in reaching marketing objectives. (15%)
1. Tracking implementation of marketing plans and achievement of objectives.
2. Effectiveness analysis, including return on investment, of marketing functions.
Consumer Behavior
The primary objective of this course is to prepare marketing students for the practice of marketing. A good understanding of consumer behavior is basic to the development of marketing strategy. The "marketing concept" orients the firm to analyze present and potential customers, and is the key to profit generation. In order to generate profit, the firm must design a product to meet the needs of these customers and have that product available at an acceptable price and a convenient location. The company must also communicate these attributes to the consumer with a message they note in a media they patronize. The firm's strategy evolves from "knowing your customer."
Course Objectives
1. understand the role of consumer behavior in marketing
2. identify qualitative and quantitative methods of measuring consumer behavior
3. describe individual influences (motivation, perception, learning, attitude formation and change, and lifestyles) on consumer behavior
4. differentiate between consumer decision processes (low and high involvement) and the impact of resources on those processes
5. understand cultural differences in both the world and the U.S.
6. describe the influence of reference groups and opinion leaders on consumer behavior
7. discuss the nature of household decision processes, including gender roles and the influence of children
8. explain the role of situational influence on consumer behavior
9. explain the adoption and diffusion of innovations
Prerequisites: Marketing 310
Textbook: Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having and Being by Michael Solomon, 2007 7th edition, Pearson, Prentice Hall.
Materials: COB Dell Laptop Computer
Class Meetings
Class meetings will feature lecture, discussion, and group collaboration. Students are encouraged to ask questions or to comment at any time.
Although this is a notebook required class, some classes will be “screen down days” whereby notebooks will not be utilized. The following is a statement from the IT Initiative FAQ: How will notebooks be utilized in the classroom?
Each course and each professor will require different applications of notebook technology. Some courses will use notebooks intensively in class while others will rely more on out-of-class applications. Students should NOT expect to use their notebook computer everyday in every class. While many students in the pilot program found it helpful to take notes using their notebook computer, in-class exercises were not a daily requirement. The common thread throughout the curriculum will be that professors will know ALL of their students have the appropriate technology to meet course objectives at all times.
Classroom Etiquette
1. All cell phones and pagers must be turned off prior to class. This is not only common courtesy but business etiquette.
2. The use of laptop computers in class is for learning purposes only. E-mail, surfing, and working on something other than the class topic should be done on your own time. Please respect your colleagues and do not distract them with your improper behavior. Students who violate this etiquette will be asked to leave class.
Course Requirements:
1. Complete exercises/cases as assigned during the semester.
2. Three (3) announced exams will be given using D2L– on line classroom management system. All material assigned or discussed in class--reading, films, exercises, and lecture material--may be examined. No Make-up Exams will be given. Unannounced quizzes may also be given as needed.
3. Unless otherwise indicated, all students are expected to complete all assignments on their own. While discussion may occur, all writing is to be done on an individual basis. Any incidence of academic dishonesty will result in a zero for that assignment.
4. All homework is to be word-processed and submitted electronically unless otherwise instructed. Handwritten work will be given a 50% deduction before being graded for content.
5. All out-of-class assignments are due when collected in class or at the assigned electronic time. Late assignments will be accepted for 24 hours following class collection/electronic time but will have an automatic 50% deduction prior to grading.
6. No make-ups will be given for in-class exercises.
Participation
If you never contribute in class or if you miss several classes, you will receive a low grade (D) for in-class participation. If you contribute occasionally and rarely miss class your grade will be a C for class participation. If you contribute regularly but rarely add value to the class discussion your grade will be a C for class participation. Grades of A and B are reserved for students who participate with insightful comments, experiences, or thoughtful questions.
You can ask for feedback on your participation at any time by e-mail.
Grading Inputs:
Exam 1 50 points
Exam 2 50
Exam 3 50
In-class Exercises 25
Out-of-class Exercises 50
Participation 25
Total 250
Grades are determined using a 90, 80, 70,60% scale. Using this scale allows you to determine your grade for the course at any time during the semester.
Course Outline
Aug 28 Introduction
Aug 30 Consumers Rule Chapter 1
Sept 4 On-line exercise
Sept 6 Perception Chapter 2
Sept 11 Learning & Memory Chapter 3
Sept 13-18 Motivation & Values Chapter 4
Sept 20-25 The Self Chapter 5
Sept. 27 Exam 1
Oct 2-4 Personality & Lifestyle Chapter 6
Oct 9-11 Attitudes & Attitude Change Chapter 7 & 8
Oct 16-18 Individual Decision Making Chapter 9
Oct 23-25 Buying & Disposing Chapter 10
Oct 30 Group Influence Chapter 11
Nov 1 On-line Exercise
Nov 6 Organizational Decisions Chapter 12
Nov 8 Exam 2
Nov 13-15 Income & Social Class Chapter 13
Nov 20-27 Ethnic, Racial & Religious Chapter 14
Nov 22-23 Thanksgiving Break
Nov 29- 4 Age Subcultures Chapter 15
Dec 6 Cultural Influences & Diffusion Chapters 16-17
Dec 10-14 9:30 class Exam 3 Thursday, December 13 8:00-10:00 a.m.
12:30 class Exam 3 Wednesday, December 12 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.