Please note that this course description is from Spring 2016 and should be used as reference only.

COURSE NUMBER: MBA260.1

COURSE TITLE: Customer Insights

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 units

INSTRUCTOR: Ellen Evers

E-MAIL ADDRESS: evers@haas.berkeley.edu

PREREQUISITE(S): N/A

CLASS FORMAT: A mix of lectures, and in-class exercises and discussions.

REQUIRED READINGS: Articles

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: A combination of projects, quizzes and a final exam.

CAREER FIELD: All career fields.

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this course is to investigate how customers make their choices and respond to marketing campaigns and government policies. The primary focus will be on understanding why consumers behave in certain ways and how this understanding can be applied to develop more effective marketing campaigns and public policies. During the course we will experimentally test insights taken from this literature to several consumption-settings to learn how data-driven approaches can lead to valuable insights when trying to optimize persuasion and/or consumer satisfaction.

During the semester, we will first focus on individual decision-making processes that influence customer behavior, by addressing how basic cognitive processes (e.g., attention, self-control, and emotions) shape consumer decision-making. Then we will look at how social processes affect consumers. For example how social groups, cultural differences, and recent developments in technology play an important role in understanding and influencing consumer behavior.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Ellen Evers is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Haas. Her research interests are judgment and decision making with a focus on how categorization affects consumer decision making. For more information, visit http://facultybio.haas.berkeley.edu/faculty-list/evers-ellen