Course Syllabus
Course Instructor
Stephan Sorger, MBA, MS, PE is an award-winning serial marketing executive, an adjunct faculty member of several major universities, the author of multiple marketing textbooks, including the recommended textbook for this course, "Marketing Analytics: Strategic Models and Metrics," Opens in new window a popular speaker on marketing topics, and a member of several advisory boards.
Contact: If you have a non-technical question about the course content, please post it in the discussion forum. The course team will be monitoring the discussions closely, providing individual responses when possible, and addressing general questions in weekly emails. By asking your question in the discussion forums, everyone can benefit. Besides, if you have a question on something, other people probably do as well. In the discussion forums, you can discuss content, ask questions, and comment on other student posts. You might even be able to do some networking!
Course Description
This course is the fourth of a four part MicroMasters. This fourth course covers four essential topics in marketing analytics: 1) Conjoint Analysis, where we show you how to identify the features that customers want; 2) Resource Allocation, where you will learn which of the products and services in your organization deserve future investment; 3) Distribution Analytics, where we evaluate and select different distribution channels to maximize profit and ongoing customer appeal; and 4) Sales Analytics, where we show how to improve sales effectiveness through analytics techniques.
Learning Outcomes
After successfully completing the required course content, students will be able to:
- Execute conjoint analysis to pinpoint features most in demand by customers
- Analyze profitability and other characteristics of different distribution channels
- Analyze each step in the consumer sales process to improve sales conversion rates
- Exclusive for Verified Learners: Apply the R programming language to marketing analytics
Weekly Time Commitment
- Audit students: Approximately 5 hours each week for 4 weeks.
- Verified students: Approximately 10 hours each week for 4-6 weeks.
Prerequisites and Course Materials
- This course does not have any particular academic discipline prerequisites; although, proficiency using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets will be helpful.
- All instruction is in English, so students should be sufficiently fluent to understand written and spoken English.
- This course is self-contained, meaning all content necessary to successfully complete the course certification requirements are shared in the course, no additional materials need to be purchased.
Recommended Textbook (Optional)
If you are having problems in the course, or simply want a more thorough learning experience, we recommend purchasing the recommended textbook: Marketing Analytics: Strategic Models and Metrics Opens in new window by Stephan Sorger (Admiral Press / CreateSpace, 2013). Each module in this course (and in the other courses that make up this series) includes reading assignments from the book. The book is packed with examples and illustrations to relate the content to real-world problems. Again, this book is not required for completion of the course, but is a good reference for any learners looking to go deeper into the course content.
Course Structure
This self-paced course consists of four modules of study plus a summary assessment. All of the course lectures are pre-recorded.
Each module consists of:
- A short overview
- An optional reading assignment
- One or more recorded lectures
- A case study assignment
- A discussion forum for questions about the module's case study
In addition to the case study discussion forums, the course also includes a discussion for students to introduce themselves to one another, and a general discussion. Students also have access to pre-recorded Q&A sessions with Instructor Sorger from a prior run of the course.
Grading
The course contains 5 graded activities:
- 4 case study assignments worth 20% each (4 x 20% = 80%)
- A final course summary assessment worth 20%
In order to receive a Verified Certificate students must pass the course with an average score of 70% or higher on these graded activities. Verified students can then request and download their certificates from their progress page.
In order to receive a MicroMasters Certificate, all four courses in the series must be passed with a score of 70% or higher.
Please note: On all graded activities, students will have only 1 opportunity to provide a correct answer, and all graded activities must be completed before the course end date.
Proctored Exam for Verified Certificate
Students pursuing a verified certificate for this course must take the Course Summary Assessment as a Proctored Exam. Please carefully review the Overview of Summary Assessment page for details.
Course Schedule and Outline
Module 1: Product and Service Analytics - Conjoint Analytics
- Module 1 Lectures:
- Product Analytics: Conjoint
- Handout: Conjoint Analysis Using R
- Module 1 Case Study
- Module 1 Case Study Q&A Discussion
Module 2: Product and Service Analytics - Decision Trees
- Module 2 Lectures:
- Product Analytics: Decision Trees
- Product Services
- Exclusive for Verified Learners: R basics
- Module 2 Case Study
- Module 2 Case Study Q&A Discussion
Module 3: Distribution Analytics
- Module 3 Lectures:
- Distribution Analytics
- Channel Evaluation and Selection
- Multi-Channel Distribution
- Exclusive for Verified Learners: Conjoint Analysis in R
- Module 3 Case Study
- Module 3 Case Study Q&A Discussion
Module 4: Sales Analytics
- Module 4 Lectures:
- Sales Analytics
- Ecommerce Sales Model
- Sales Metrics
- Exclusive for Verified Learners: Conjoint Analysis in R (continued)
- Module 4 Case Study
- Module 4 Case Study Q&A Discussion