Marketing

Students who choose the marketing emphasis will complete three business administration courses, one communication course, and one statistics course, in addition to completing the general requirements for a business administration degree. Students must also pick two more business administration courses from a variety of options.*

*Students interested in interpersonal promotional relationships should take Business Administration 334 - Consumer Behavior and Business Administration 337 - Serving through Selling and Retailing

*Students interested in the creative and technical aspects of promotion should take Business Administration 230 - Graphic Design and Business Administration 338 - Digital Marketing

• Marketing Management: Prepares students to manage the interacting forces in the market to facilitate exchange processes between the producer and consumer. Strategic planning and implementation of all areas of marketing within acceptable ethical standards will be discussed. Through case studies and a simulation students will apply the concepts learned in Principles of Management and Principles of Marketing.
• Integrated Marketing Communications: In this course, students will study the principles and practices of promoting a product or service including advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, public relations, trade promotions, and the internet, all from a Christian perspective. The importance of integrating all these areas of marketing communications will be emphasized.
• Marketing Research: A study of the various techniques used to assess the wants and needs of consumers, including focus groups and market surveys. Both qualitative and quantitative procedures will be studied with emphasis on questionnaire development and interpretation using SPSS. Business market and not-for-profit research will also be discussed. The value of secondary sources will be explored. A Christian response to the use of this analytical tool will be developed.
• Public Relations: As an introduction to public relations, this course will set the background for additional courses in communication and business administration. After a study of the history of public relations, students will learn what is expected of public relations workers, study the various publics, become familiar with current problems and issues in public relations, analyze several cases, and develop a Christian perspective for the continued study of public relations.
• Introductory Statistics: An introductory course in statistical techniques and methods and their application to a variety of fields. Topics include data analysis, design of experiments, and statistical inference including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Exposure to statistical software and a substantive student project are also part of this course.
• Graphic Design: This course is designed to give students the tools needed to effectively communicate and understand the area of graphic design. Students will be introduced to basic design theory that will help them create effective marketing documents. Adobe InDesign® and Photoshop® will be introduced to the student in a hands on, project-based learning environment.
• Consumer Behavior: A study of how consumers select, purchase, use, and dispose of goods and services. Includes analyses of how markets and others influence these processes. Application of concepts and methods of the behavioral sciences to marketing management decision making. Considerable emphasis on biblical perspectives on wealth, materialism, and consumption.
• Serving through Selling and Retailing: Using lectures, class discussion, and small group activities, you will learn about the exciting fields of Personal Selling and Retailing. The basic areas of retail management will be covered: buying, merchandising, retail promotion, store location, store layout, credit management, and inventory control. Emphasis is on practical application of retail management principles. Also includes a study of the discipline of personal selling, including both sales strategies and sales management. Emphasis is given to both personal as well as business and industry sales applications. Topics include sales training, sales preparation, prospecting methods, types of presentations, handling buyer questions, closing methods, post-sales service, and sales management. Both areas will be approached from the perspective of serving others through these disciplines.
• Digital Marketing: An exploration of the methods businesses use to approach customers in the digital age. This course will equip students with a variety of technical skills and knowledge related to the application of Marketing principles in an online environment. Includes a thorough preparation and testing for three certifications from the American Marketing Association and Google, as well as an exploration of the Sharing Economy - a disruptive movement in the economy today.
• Digital Literacy: An introduction into techniques and tools used to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the
  internet. Topics for discussion include: perspectives on technology, the capabilities and limitations of computing, and issues relating faith, computer technology, and the impact on society.
• Web Page Development: An introduction into programming web pages. The course will focus on the implementation of HTML and CSS. Other topics will include the use of web content publishing platforms.

See the course catalog for more information.