Marketing: For the Commom Good

One of the fundamental tasks of a business is to understand the needs of its customers and create products and services that will satisfy those customers. Some firms uncover the needs of its customers through marketing research (e.g., Kellogg) while others create new products based on their vision (e.g., Apple). At its core, marketing deals with activities and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for its customers. In one-half of the Summer Scholars Marketing course, we will help students understand how firms implement marketing strategies to retain customers. Students will explore the basics of the marketing discipline through a variety of presentations, small group exercises, case studies and a field trip to a few Chicago businesses, including an ad agency. Students will also develop a comprehensive marketing plan for a product or service of their choice in a small group setting. While Marketing has a positive impact on corporations in terms of sales and profits, scholars have also been exploring the impact of marketing on the society as a whole. The societal perspective of marketing emphasizes consumer welfare. Marketing leads to a better standard of living and perhaps a socially beneficial distribution of goods and services. We will explore how Marketing can be a force for the Common Good, by looking at how effective it has been in a variety of social contexts such as in the non-profit sector. Thus, a second part of the Summer Scholars Marketing course will explore the larger issues of marketing’s place in the society as a force for common good.