Marketing Certificate

BUS 131 Marketing Principles

This course provides the student with a sound knowledge of the basic elements of the marketing process. Major topics include the features of consumer and organizational markets, market segmentation, and target market strategies. Product planning and development, brands, packaging and other product features are covered. Price determination and the use of various pricing strategies are discussed. The factors in the selection of channels of distribution and the features of wholesaling and retailing are considered. Elements of the promotional process such as sales, advertising, and sales promotion are included. Ethical and legal issues in marketing, marketing of services, global marketing, and marketing on the Internet are also covered.

BUS 254 Principles of Selling

This course emphasizes the creative selling techniques used by professional salespeople. It covers all the important elements of the personal selling process with special emphasis placed on determining prospects' needs, translating features into benefits, overcoming objections and closing methods. Participants will demonstrate their ability to apply the techniques discussed by delivering sales presentations. Prerequisite(s) BUS 131 or Department approval.

BUS 312 Purchasing and Supply Chain Management

This course covers the purchasing and movement of materials into, through, and out of a firm; fundamentals of domestic and international transportation systems; distribution center, warehouse, and plant location; and management of multinational organizations and supply networks. Note: Students who previously took IND 311 cannot receive credit for this course. Prerequisite(s): BUS 109

BUS 257 Advertising Principles

This course uses practical concepts to examine the role of advertising in the marketing process. Topics covered include: ethical issues involved in advertising, various types of advertising used by marketers, services performed by ad agencies, the creative side of advertising including basic elements of copywriting and design, how to prepare an ad budget, and the elements of media selection. Also covered are the various types of advertising media including magazines, newspapers, outdoor, transit, yellow pages, and direct mail as well as the features of advertising on television, radio and the Internet. Prerequisite(s): BUS 131 or Department approval

BUS 250 Consumer Behavior

This course recognizes the central role of consumers in determining the fate of a firm's marketing efforts. Topics covered include the understanding of consumer motivation, perception, and learning, as well as the recognition of social influences on consumer behavior such as reference groups, opinion leadership, culture, and subcultures. Emphasis will be on the consumer's decision making process so that students can make more informed choices in the marketplace. Topics also include the methods marketers use to influence consumer behavior and corresponding ethical and legal issues. Prerequisite(s): BUS 131 or Department approval.

BUS 320 International Marketing

As the interconnectedness of the global economy grows, marketing managers are faced with an imperative to understand and face the challenges posed by the international marketplace, including the challenge of selling goods and services in markets abroad. This course focuses on marketing management within international settings and will cover topics and issues such as international market selection, adaptation of products, international promotion and pricing strategies, and differences in distribution channels, all within the context of national differences in culture, consumer behavior, levels of development, and political, legal, and economic systems. Prerequisite(s): BUS 131 and BUS 280

BUS 319 Marketing Research

This course provides students with the tools necessary to understand and carry out market research. Marketing research involves a number of steps from deciding on the research objective, data gathering and analysis, and the interpretation of results. The course is an introduction to a range of tools including the use of focus groups, the collection of secondary data, survey and questionnaire design, hypothesis testing and regression analysis, conjoint analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis perceptual mapping, and social media analytics. Prerequisite(s): BUS 240 and BUS 131