Required for all students, unless waived by passing an exemption examination. The format of the examination is a series of questions based on the content of the course. The course content is described in the syllabus for the course, which can be found on the link above. Students should not attempt the exemption examination unless they are thoroughly versed in the course content.

Marketing activity is the engine that creates value in a business. It provides the focus for interfacing with customers and the source of intelligence about customers, competitors and the general environment. Further, marketing focuses on the long-run relationship of a company to its customers as well as on short-run sales. Thus marketing is critical to the revenue and profit streams for a company. This course emphasizes the role of marketing in creating value for customers, which in turn creates value for owners, shareholders and employees.

Tools and Concepts Taught in the Course

• Basic quantitative analysis in marketing
• Analyzing cases
• Analyzing market opportunities
• Competitive analysis
• Customer decision making
• Customer value
• Value of brand
• Segmentation and target selection
• Product positioning
• Customer acquisition and retention

Gita Johar

Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business

Gita V. Johar (PhD NYU 1993; MBA Indian Institute of Management Calcutta 1985) has been on the faculty of Columbia Business School since 1992 and is currently the Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business. She served as the school’s inaugural Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from 2019 to 2021, Faculty Director of Online Initiatives from 2014 to 2017, Senior Vice Dean from 2011 to 2014, and as the inaugural...

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