The marketing strategy focuses on managing profitable customer relationships, which means attracting new customers and retaining and growing current customers. Customer relationships are based on how the consumers behave, how and why they carry out their buying decisions every day. However, understanding consumer behavior is a complex process because it depends on diverse factors. This course examines the theories behind consumer behavior, which are approached at micro and macro levels. The macro-examination investigates the cultural and sociological factors that influence the consumer decision making, whereas the micro-examination explores psychological and cognitive processes that affect consumer responses. Investigating consumer behavior is not only useful for designing effective marketing strategies, but it is of interest for policy makers, consumer advocates and corporate strategists. During the class, students are asked to accomplish a group project, where they choose a brand of a product or service that they like or love. Students analyze the brand characteristics and brand personality and point out the consumer behavior reasoning behind their choice.

Theories in consumer behavior, market segmentation and segmentation strategies, consumer needs, consumer motivations and perceptions, external culture and sub-culture, consumerism and ethics, communication process and strategies.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Recognize the external factors that influence consumer decision process
2. Understand the conscious and unconscious factors behind consumer choices
3. Evaluate the interactions and complexities for internal and external factors influencing consumer behavior
4. Utilize consumer behavior factors to design comprehensive marketing strategies
5. Develop effective written and oral communication tools that address consumer behavior and involvement

This work is relatively rare and is expected to stand out from the work of other students and:

• Directly addresses the question or problem raised

• Provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information

• Critically evaluates concepts and theory

• Relates theory to practice

• Reflects the student’s own argument and is not just a repetition of standard lecture and reference material

• Is very accurate

• Has an element of novelty if not originality

• Provides evidence of reading beyond the required reading

• Displays an awareness of methodological concerns and displays an awareness of the limitations of current knowledge

B/B+

This is a highly competent level of performance and:

• Directly addresses the question or problem raised

• Provides a coherent argument drawing on relevant information

• Shows some ability to evaluate concepts and theory and to relate theory to practice

• Reflects the student’s own argument and is not just a repetition of standard lecture and reference material

• Does not suffer from any major errors or omissions

• Provides evidence of reading beyond the required reading

• Displays an awareness of other approaches to the problem area

B-/C+

This is an acceptable level of performance and:

• Addresses the question but provides only a basic outline of relevant arguments and evidence along the lines offered in the lectures and referenced readings

• Answers are clear but limited

• Some minor omissions and inaccuracies but no major errors

C/C-

This level of performance demonstrates some knowledge and an element of understanding but is weak and:

• Points made in the answer are not always well supported by argument and evidence

• Relevant points have been omitted from the answer

• There are some errors in the answer

• Parts of the question remain unanswered

• Answers may be unduly brief and possibly in note form

D+/D-

The best that can be said about students in this classification is that they have done just enough to persuade the instructor that they should not be failed and:

• Answers lack a coherent grasp of the problems and issues raised in the question

• Important information has been omitted from the answers and irrelevant points have been included

• Answers are far too brief

Fail (F)

Failed students have been unable to convince the instructor that they have benefited from academic study and:

• Fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question

• Reveals fundamental misunderstanding of the subject matter

• Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant

Class attendance is absolutely mandatory and critical to the success of class discussions. After the first two unexcused absences, the students will lose 5 percentage points of their overall weighted average for the each successive absence.