2024-2025 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Marketing grows out of the concept of exchange between buyers and sellers. Driven by the needs and wants of the consumer, marketing managers develop new products, assign effective price levels, create promotional strategies, and develop the best distribution plans to guarantee that products reach the final consumer. Marketing also plays a crucial role in managing the efficient flow of goods and services from businesses to businesses. And managing marketing is growing even more exciting as technology and the internet enable managers to stay in closer contact with their customers and better manage this relationship. Marketing by manufacturing firms is well-known. Service industries such as banking and health care, however, are increasingly relying on marketing to improve service quality and delivery. Non-profit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross, also use marketing to deliver social goods and services. All of these organizations benefit when they are able to use marketing concepts and tools to better understand their clients and design unique offerings that can meet their clients' needs.
The undergraduate program in marketing management is designed to offer the student a broad business education with an emphasis on professional training for development of marketing strategies and managing marketing operations. Virginia Tech Marketing graduates pursue a range of careers. They take jobs in marketing management, sales, advertising, retailing, and consulting positions in companies small and large. The curriculum is designed to provide core skills in marketing and to support this broad range of potential career interests.
In addition to the undergraduate program, the faculty in marketing management offer a master's and a doctoral degree for those students interested in more technical positions, such as marketing research; more rapid promotion with certain employers; or positions in higher education.
The department participates in the Cooperative Education Program in which qualified students may alternate semesters of study with semesters of professional employment.
The Marketing Department currently offers three degree options: Marketing- no concentration, Marketing- Sales concentration, and Marketing- Digital Marketing Strategy Concentration. In addition to the major, Marketing offers minors in Professional Sales and Digital Marketing Strategy to non-Marketing majors within the College of Business only.
The Professional Sales concentration and minor provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully enter the field of professional sales. Students will learn the necessary knowledge and skills needed to compete successfully in the respective field.
The Digital Marketing Strategy Concentration and minor provides students with the knowledge and skills to enter Marketing and related fields with technical experience in Digital Product delivery and developing, analyzing, and enhancing firms' products on the web, mobile, and social networks.
Department Head: Rajesh Bagchi
Richard E. Sorensen Junior Faculty Fellow and Professor of Marketing: Rajesh Bagchi
Virginia-Carolinas Professor of Purchasing Management and Professor of Marketing: Paul M. Herr
Graduate Program Director: Mario Pandelaere
Kathleen Grega Digges Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies: David Brinberg
Robert H. Digges Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies: Dipankar Chakravarti
Mary F. McVay and Theodore R. Rosenberg Junior Faculty Fellow and Prof. of Marketing : Frank May
Professor and Real Estate Fellow: M.J. Sirgy
Associate Professors: E. Coupey, Frank May, and M. Pandelaere
Assistant Professors: S. Goenka, J. Jiang, S. Madan, B. Turner, and Y. Xu
Visiting Assistant Professor: R. Crabbe
Emeritus Faculty: N. Klein, J. E. Littlefield, M. M. Bird, and J. E. Keith
Professor of Practice: B. Collins
Associate Professor of Practice: Donna Wertalik
Advanced Instructor: T. Reilly
Instructor: C. Swayne
Adjunct: J. Hsu
Advising: Pamplin College of Business, Undergraduate Programs Advising Center is located at 1046 Pamplin Hall. Students may schedule appointments by calling (540) 231-6602.
Provide students with an early start on understanding the many career options within the marketing major. In-depth focus in developing an online professional branded website and career map. Enhance and broaden the understanding of customer’s needs, while gaining the sense of ownership over the product and/or service to meet customer’s needs through communication of marketing strategy. Serves as a foundational course in preparing students for career success in the Marketing field. Pass/Fail only.
This course provides students with an international business experience. It is only offered as part of a program outside of the United States. Students will learn from the structured educational experience developed by the faculty leader. This course is intended for students who want to develop marketing-related free electives. Pre: Instructors consent and the completion of 24 semester hours with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or departmental consent.
Honors section.
Study of the marketing process from a macro and management viewpoint. The macro viewpoint includes the role of marketing in society. The management viewpoint includes the product, distribution, promotional, and pricing decisions. Junior standing required.
Study of the marketing process from a macro and management viewpoint. The macro viewpoint includes the role of marketing in society. The management viewpoint includes the product, distribution, promotional, and pricing decisions. Junior standing required.
In-depth study of the science of well-being and stress management for business and business professionals from multi-disciplinary perspective (Positive Psychology, Consumer Research, Behavioral Economics, Neuroscience, Sociology). Includes relevance of well-being data in marketing and business contexts. Application of well-being and stress management strategies to overcome wellbeing barriers, ensure work-life balance and create positive work environments. Exploration of policy implications of well-being data.
Study of the principles of digital marketing and its applications. lntegration of digital strategies with overall business and traditional marketing plans. Emphasis given to critical digital knowledge in inbound marketing, identifying and creating buyer personas, email marketing, search engine optimization, planning and executing digital content marketing calendars, social media marketing, web analytics and digital compliance legislation and regulations, and their ramifications.
Survey of advertising principles and its applications. The course covers advertising history, the impact of advertising on society, and ethical and regulatory issues. The process of creating and placing advertising is explored including advertising objectives, budgeting, media planning and mix, creative objectives and strategy, copy execution and production, and copy testing. Junior standing required.
Course focus is on the integration of technology and data analytics to advance sales. Study of how technology is leveraged in the social sales process which includes how to successfully utilize technology in social selling situations. Emphasis given to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies, benefits, operations, and application across the customer life cycle. Students demonstrate proficiency in CRM technology, through experiential learning by earning Salesforce, Hubspot and Smartfox badges.
Study Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning concepts, myths vs. facts, and barriers associated with AI. Explore the need and uses of AI in marketing and sales. Includes strategies for firms to identify AI opportunities, and the pitfalls and barriers associated with AI implementation. Consider how to implement AI, measure AI success, and gain competitive advantage through AI. Analyze the consumer, firm, and societal impacts of AI from marketing and ethics perspectives, and suggest corrective strategies for firms. Pre: Junior standing.
Business strategies and industrial marketing concepts, and their application in the chemical, pharmaceutical and related process industries. The course is designed for engineers and other students planning a career in the process industries. Junior standing required.
This course is a study of the scientific process of problem solving in a marketing context. It includes concepts of problem definition, hypotheses generation, questionnaire development, research design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of statistical findings. Junior standing required.
Study of social media channels and content creation processes and strategies. Integration of inbound marketing methodologies with social and digital media marketing. Emphasis given to content marketing distribution strategies, influencer marketing, social media advertising, and key content marketing tools including blogs, vlogs, and podcasts, as well as employee advocacy programs and social media and crisis management plans for organizations.
Study of the assessment of digital marketing analytics and metrics and their applications. Optimization of digital marketing results across all digital marketing strategies and tactics. Emphasis given to digital marketing measurement models, data-driven decision making including application of the decision-making framework, predictive analytics and data visualizations, website analytics, organic search analytics, social media metrics, email marketing metrics, as well as paid, owned and earned media analytics.
An integrated analysis of individual and environmental influences on consumer decision making, purchase, and consumption behaviors with strong emphasis on implications for developing, executing, and assessing marketing strategy. Junior standing required.
An integrated analysis of individual and environmental influences on consumer decision making, purchase, and consumption behaviors with strong emphasis on implications for developing, executing, and assessing marketing strategy. Junior standing required. Honors section
Emphasis on strategic branding and product planning within the context of marketing management. Analysis of economic, financial, legal, and marketing principles to make effective pricing decisions. Examination of relationships between product and price management. Junior standing.
Integrates conceptual and quantitative aspects of marketing. Provides concentrated emphasis on the role of analytical and computer models to enhance marketing decision making. Emphasis on managerial decision making in key areas, including segmentation and targeting, positioning, forecasting, new product design, forecasting and pricing. Role of consumer perceptions and behaviors on decision making. Hands-on experience with model building and using analytical tools.
Theory and application of an organizations marketing communications function. Includes traditional and digital channels. Development of a marketing communications plan, situation analysis, setting communication goals, creating message strategy, implementing the strategy using promotional mix variables, planning traditional and social media, and determining the communication budget. Junior standing.
Management of the firms distribution function. Study of the structure, functions, interactions, and activities of marketing channels. Analysis and development of integrated physical distribution and logistics systems for the firm. Junior standing required.
Application of marketing concepts and theories to a specific business concept. On-site performance of marketing activities and a written analysis of the firms marketing strategy and execution. Junior Standing
Integration of behavioral research to provide an understanding of the role of the salesperson within the sales organization and in relation to the buyers. Personal selling examines the dyadic interaction between buyer and seller. Managing the sales force covers planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the activities of the sales personnel. Junior standing required.
Learn about the management of relationships between buyers and sellers to effectively build partnerships, including the importance of understanding buyer behavior to facilitate the sales process. Explore the concepts of prospecting for customers, planning for the sales call, presentation skills, as well as the formal negotiation process and how these areas relate to adaptive selling. Address common sales management issues including how to manage cross-functional teams and their time and territories, as well as explore the ethical and legal issues that often arise throughout the sales process. Discuss the various career paths and opportunities within sales.
Analysis of managerial problems in retailing establishments, including traditional and online formats. Focus is on operational problems, retail and e-retail store organization, location analysis, buying, selling, sales promotion, and merchandise handling. Junior standing required.
The impact of marketing on society from a multi- disciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspective. Marketings role in solving societal problems is explored. Topics include at-risk market segments, controversial products and practices, and issues of social justice.
Assessing international markets, comparing marketing systems; management of international marketing operations; focusing on distribution, promotional, and pricing problems faced by firms engaging in world trade. Junior standing required.
This course extends the fundamental concepts of marketing into the study and practice of real estate. The course is concerned with the topics of demographic analysis, market information systems, market research, and marketing strategy of residential and commercial real estate, with particular emphasis on the important area of real estate personal selling. Junior standing required.
An integrative course in marketing policy and strategy, employing comprehensive case problems in the formulation of marketing action programs and business policy. Senior standing required. Any one of the following Marketing prerequisites--4304, 4354, 4554--may be taken concurrently with 4754.
An integrative course in marketing policy and strategy, employing comprehensive case problems in the formulation of marketing action programs and business policy. Senior standing required. Any one of the following Marketing prerequisites - 4304, 4354, 4554 - may be taken concurrently with 4754H
Advanced theory and practice of professional selling with primary focus on the professional sales process, analysis of associated strategic and ethical issues, and acquisition of critical skills required of successful salespeople. Builds on foundation created in Buyer/Seller Relationship (MKTG 4554) to expand knowledge and skills of students considering career in professional sales.
Honors section.
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