In Week C, we will focus on two units of study: Unit 4: Global Vision & Unit 5: Consumer Decision Making 

In Unit 4: Global Vision we will learn about why it matters for organizations to think beyond the confines of their local customer base and market their products and services more broadly. We’ll also examine the challenges that arise from global expansion, and how organizations and marketers need to be sensitive to cultural differences across country borders.

We’ll learn about some marketing mistakes that have been made when organizations have failed to understand norms in new countries they expand to, and share examples of marketing campaigns that as a result did more harm than good.

Unit 5: Consumer Decision Making, where you will learn more about the choices that you as consumers make every day. In this unit, we will learn more about customer behavior which describes how consumers make purchase decisions and how they use and dispose of the purchased goods or services.

We’ve all gone through this process — identifying a need, searching for options, evaluating alternatives, and making a decision about what to purchase — and often, we reflect on our purchase and determine whether or not we are satisfied. Sometimes, if not, we’ll return the item if possible. Other times, we cannot return the item (food, for example) and we have what’s called buyer’s remorse. Ever had that feeling?

In this unit, you’ll review Consumer Decision Making through the lens of the consumer, and through how a marketing department has to consider each stage of this process in order to adequately position goods and services to consumers.

Use the Week C links in our Course Schedule to access our Course Materials and Assignments for this week. As a reminder, all assignments must be submitted by Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.