This course is intended to help developing the basic skills necessary to understand and study consumers in order to take effective marketing decisions. The course kicks-off with a summary of basic components of customer-centric management: Marketing planning (e.g., industry, competitor, customer analysis) and Marketing implementation (e.g., strategy & objectives, 4Ps). This is followed by a discussion of key consumer behavior models and variables and their interplay with customer-centric management. The course then proceeds with experimentation as an effective tool to study consumers and the effectiveness of marketing strategies and campaigns in the lab and in the field.

Course attendance is monitored troughout the semester (attendence in 80% of the classroom sessions is mandatory).

Grading is based on (1) individual class participation (10%), (2) several group projects (45%), and (3) a final, written exam (45%). The projects will be centered around practical applications of experimentation, e.g., students will develop an interesting, causal hypothesis, translate it into an operational research design, and test it empirically. Project work will be guided by coaching. The exam covers theory-based as well as problem-centered questions. Exam-relevant materials consists of a collection of academic journal articles and book chapters, teaching slides, and student notes from class discussions.