Aggiornato A.A. 2021-2022
Consumer Choices
Customer Journey - Digital and creative
Semester: Spring 2022
Instructor: Professor Ilijana Petrovska
Duration of Course: 45 hours
Period: 21 February – 1 April 2022
Contact hours: 36
Home assignments and home hours: 28 hours
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
Prerequisite: Principles of Marketing
Instructor’s contact details:
e-mail: petrovska@uacs.edu.mk
Required text:
Solomon, M.R. (2020) Consumer behavior: Buying, having and being. (13th edition) New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Or previous edition
Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, Global Edition 13th Edition, by Michael R. Solomon, © 2020, ISBN-13 9781292153117, ISBN-10 1292153113
Supplementary reading:
Students are strongly advised to extend their reading to further articles and books:
- Mothersbaugh & Hawkins (2017) Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy. 13th McGraw Hill
- Molenaar, Cor (2015) Why customers would rather have a smartphone than a car: relationship retailing as an opportunity. Farnham, Surrey, England; Gower
- Sorensen H. (2017) Inside the Mind of the Shopper: The Science of Retailing. Pearson FT Press
- Neumeier M. (2016) Brand Flip, The: Why customers now run companies and how to profit from it
- Schiffman, L.G., Kanuk, L.L & Hansen, H. (2008) Consumer behavior: A European Outlook. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Journals and Magazines
Journal of Consumer Behavior
Journal of Consumer Research
Advances in Consumer Research
International Journal of Consumer Studies
Journals of Relationship Marketing
Journal of Marketing
Course description:
The most complex aspect of marketing is understanding the consumer, especially taking into consideration the new trends such as digitalization and globalization, which affect the daily outcome of the customer journey. Therefore, this course aims to provide the basic tools to better comprehend consumer behavior and develop customer journey mapping. By working on a number of topics and finding answers related to different aspects of human behavior in relation to consuming, the students gain a deeper understanding of the psychological processes and their importance to the behavior of the consumers. The students also engage with their own consumption habits and apply their growing knowledge to real-life situations of consumer behavior.
Learning objectives
During the course the students will:
- Learn the fundamental principles and theories in consumer behavior as well as the connections to other sciences;
- Develop their abilities to apply consumer behavior concepts to marketing problems that are likely to involve consumer consumption;
- Understand the basic analytical tools that can be used to investigate customer journey
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this course the students will be able to:
- Conduct small scale independent research and draw customer journey mapping relevant to marketing;
- Critically apply their knowledge in the decision connected to various consumer behavior situations.
Course delivery
Class lectures will review key themes from the suggested textbooks mainly in the form of Powerpoint slides. The notes of the lecture, as well as homework and assignments, will be saved on the University intranet. The students will also be actively involved in the lessons through group work, discussions, and work on practical examples that will enable the students to gain first-hand experience on some of the studied phenomena.
Course assessment criteria
- Group presentation on Customer trends - 10% - every class according to the topic
- Group Case analyses are going to be performed during the classes and a written report should be developed individually - 20%
- Ethical case analysis– 10% - Rubric peer assessment
- The final project consists of Market research using different tools from the classes and developing a report useful for Marketing managers. The goal is to work on a real case from the market, for a luxury brand of your choice. This is a project, assessed through:
Final project presentation - 20%
Final project is a written report - 40%
Class participation:
Expected is at least 2/3 of the class participation.
Non attending students - Course assessment criteria
- review paper for Customer trends - 10% - maximum 1.500 words, using minimum 3 sources, and using APA referencing
- Case analysis 20% - PAPER BOAT - please consider following the structure: Introduction, Situation analysis, Diagnosis of the problem, Solution proposal and Conclusion - maximum 1500 words
- Ethical case analysis - 10%
The final project consists of Market research using different tools from the classes and developing a report useful for Marketing managers. The goal is to work on a real case from the market, ask the professor for the instrument and research instrument approval. This should result in:
- Final project presentation - 10%
- Final project - written report - 30%
- FINAL EXAM - Final case analysis individual - 20%
For the next appeals, all the assignments should be sent by email to the professor, and a virtual presentation of all assignments should be scheduled before the exam is due.