Course Description

Students in this course demonstrate their knowledge of customer acquisition, consumption, and disposal of products and services. Students analyze the buyer behavior of individual consumers, businesses, and governments and evaluate the influence that demographics, popular culture, and subcultures have on consumer behavior.

Rationale

Consumers are presented with an array of choices when it comes to the acquisition, use, and disposition of products. It is essential for marketers to understand consumer needs, desires, and motives in addition to cultural and environmental influences on customer behavior to develop marketing strategies for competitive advantage. The better we are able to understand the consumer, the better we are able to predict and meet their needs profitably.

Measurable Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Identify steps and factors related to consumer decision-making and buying processes.
2. Analyze the influence of internal, external, and situational decision-making factors on buyer behavior.
3. Develop a consumer behavior profile for a target market segment of an existing product brand.
4. Formulate a marketing strategy to increase demand for an existing product brand based on the consumer behavior profile.
5. Integrate the Christian worldview within the application of consumer behavior to marketing strategies.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

Before working through the checklist outlined in the Course Overview, the student should review the Liberty University curriculum.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will create a thread in response to the provided promptly for each forum. Each thread must be 400 – 500 words, demonstrate course-related knowledge, and incorporate at least 2 peer-reviewed resources, the Babin and Harris textbook, and scriptural support. In addition to the thread, the student will reply to at least 2 classmates’ threads. Each reply must be 250 – 350 words and incorporate at least 1 peer-reviewed resource and the Babin and Harris textbook. The current APA format must be used.

Consumer Behavior Profile Assignment

The student will construct a consumer behavior profile of at least 1,000 words for a target market segment of an existing product brand. In the profile, the student will provide details on demographic, psychographic, and buyer behavior information. The profile must include a title page and a reference page. The title page and reference page do not count toward the required word count. The current APA format must be used.

Case Study: Maya’s Decision-Making Process Assignment

The student will read and respond to questions on a case study scenario. The written response must be at least 1,000 words and contain a minimum of 2 scholarly sources in addition to the Bible. A title page and reference page must be included. The title page and reference page do not count toward the required word count. The current APA format must be used.

Marketing Plan Assignment

The student will develop a 12 – 15 page marketing plan to increase demand for an existing product brand based on the consumer profile information captured in the Consumer Behavior Profile. The paper must include at least 10 scholarly sources, a title page, an abstract, and a reference page. The title page, abstract, and reference page do not count toward the required word count. The current APA format must be used.

Quizzes (8)

The quizzes are open-book/open-notes and comprised of 30 multiple-choice and true/false questions with 30 contiguous minutes to complete each quiz, as it must be completed in one sitting. Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the Module: Week in which it is assigned.