• University of Exeter Business School
• Module

Marketing for Management

Module description

A good understanding of strategic marketing is not just useful for a future in marketing but is essential to a management career regardless of discipline or sector. Having a fundamental understanding of how markets operate and what customers want combined with which drivers are at play and how best to take advantage of them, will benefit your overall management abilities. This module will teach you the fundamentals of marketing planning, strategy and tactics, informed by the emerging synergies and opportunities offered by developments in technology.

This module will enable you to view the function of marketing through the lens of differing business contexts such as Consumer Brands, Business to Business, Not for Profit, Services etc. It will also encourage you to reflect on the skills, characteristics and traits of successful marketing leaders.

You will not need any prior knowledge of marketing, however, if you do have previous knowledge you will find that this module will challenge you to think in different ways about the ways in which marketing theory is used in practice throughout a variety of different organisations and for differing purposes.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to enable students of management to gain a greater appreciation of the role of marketing in the strategic management of organisations. The module will develop their understanding of:

• Consumers needs and wants in relation to developments to wider society as informed by consumer research
• The data and tools required for the design and delivery of marketing strategy
• How to use the marketing mix in a tactical way to achieve strategic objectives
• Marketing communications principles & how to utilise the marketing communications mix
• Identifying, deploying & supporting innovative marketing channels
• Developing value creating relational exchanges with customers
• The role of digital tech in innovating marketing activity
• The way in which marketing is used in different contexts e.g., Service Organisations, Professional Services, B2B, FMCG, Not for Profit etc.

By the end of this module you will have confidence in your knowledge of marketing strategy and your abilities to appreciate how different marketing tactics can maximise consumer/service user engagement.

This module will also be informed by applied business case studies and research currently being undertaken by academics working in the field of marketing and business analytics research.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Identify and assess the key trends in customer behaviour impacting on the practice of international marketing management in relation to wider societal trends
• 2. Evaluate and develop marketing strategies
• 3. Design a marketing mix to use to achieve key strategic marketing objectives

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Explain where marketing theory and practice fits into the overall management approach within organisations
• 5. Understand the relationship between changes in society and the marketing approaches taken by organisations

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Use marketing data to make informed strategic marketing recommendations
• 7. Work as part of a team to produce reports and/or presentations using marketing data suggesting appropriate marketing solutions
• 8. Critically assess Marketing Leadership and its contribution to the Organisation’s success

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

• Why people buy – Consumer and Organisational Buying Behaviour
• Marketing Planning – The Audit – Where are we now? Research, Analysis and Evaluation
• Developing Marketing Strategies – CRM, STP, Ansoff, Competitor Strategy
• Developing value creating relational exchanges with customers
• Deploying the Marketing Mix – the 7 ‘P’s
• Marketing Leadership in different contexts– Managing Performance

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e., a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%. 

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Sharp, B. (2017). Marketing – Theory, Evidence, Practice. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Other resources: Various Readings, Videos, Guest Lectures, Webinars etc

Key words search

Marketing For Managers, Marketing Strategy, Fundamentals Of Marketing