COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: MARKETING I

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BUS 121	B	3	3	0	3	3	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Besjon Zenelaj bzenelaj@epoka.edu.al , Monday, 11:30-12:30
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	Wednesday, E-211, 11:40
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	75%
Course Description:	Marketing I: This course covers the concepts and topics related to marketing function and management, the qualitative and quantitative aspects of marketing management. Examples to basic topics covered are: Marketing organizations and organizing marketing activities, sales analysis, understanding marketing strategies, marketing mix, marketing environment, behavioral factors, performance criteria, segmentation, marketing plan, and various marketing subjects. A glossary of marketing is developed by all of the students and small individual research exercise by each student leads to a big project
Course Objectives:	Marketing is one of the most interesting fields of business. Today marketing is very challenging and demanding professionally. It requires not only a good grasp of marketing principles and understanding of the global environment, but also how the environment impacts the applicability of the marketing principles. The basic objective of this course is to investigate the marketing issues in a market perspective. Theories or issues related to marketing or global marketing will be presented and discussed. This course is intended to provide students with an understanding of marketing concepts. Emphasis will also be directed toward implications.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	marketing
2	4p
3	strategy
4	product
5	price
6	promotion

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Week 1 Introduction to the course
2	Week 2 Defining Marketing and the Marketing Process (2-30) This chapter introduces you to the basic concepts of marketing. We start with the question, What is marketing? Simply put, marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. The aim of marketing is to create value for customers and capture value from customers in return. Next we discuss the five steps in the marketing process—from understanding customer needs, to designing customerdriven marketing strategies and integrated marketing programs, to building customer relationships and capturing value for the firm. Finally, we discuss the major trends and forces affecting marketing in this age of customer relationships.
3	Week 3 2 Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships (36-60) In the first chapter, we explored the marketing process, the process by which companies create value for consumers in order to capture value from them in return. In this chapter, we dig deeper into steps two and three of that process: designing customer-driven marketing strategies and constructing marketing programs. First, we look at the organization’s overall strategic planning, which guides marketing strategy and planning. Next, we discuss how, guided by the strategic plan, marketers partner closely with others inside and outside the firm to create value for customers.
4	Week 4 3 Analyzing the Marketing Environment (64-90) In Part 2, we’ll look deeper into the first step of the marketing process—understanding the marketplace and customer needs and wants. In this chapter, you’ll see that marketing operates in a complex and changing environment. Other actors in this environment—suppliers, intermediaries, customers, competitors, publics, and others—may work with or against the company. Major environmental forces—demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural—shape marketing opportunities, pose threats, and affect the company’s ability to build customer relationships. To develop effective marketing strategies, you must first understand the environment in which marketing operates.
5	Week 5 4 Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights (96-128) In this chapter, we continue our exploration of how marketers gain insights into consumers and the marketplace. We look at how companies develop and manage information about important marketplace elements: customers, competitors, products, and marketing programs. To succeed in today’s marketplace, companies must know how to turn mountains of marketing information into fresh customer insights that will help them deliver greater value to customers.
6	Week 6 5 Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior (132-160) In the previous chapter, you studied how marketers obtain, analyze, and use information to develop customer insights and assess marketing programs. In this chapter and the next, we continue with a closer look at the most important element of the marketplace— customers. The aim of marketing is to affect how customers think and act. To affect the whats, whens, and hows of buyer behavior, marketers must first understand the whys. In this chapter, we look at final consumer buying influences and processes.
7	Week 7 6 Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior (164-184) In the previous chapter, you studied final consumer buying behavior and factors that influence it. In this chapter, we’ll do the same for business customers—those that buy goods and services for use in producing their own products and services or for resale to others. As when selling to final buyers, firms marketing to business customers must build profitable relationships with business customers by creating superior customer value.
8	Week 8 7 Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers (188-220) So far, you’ve learned what marketing is and about the importance of understanding consumers and the marketplace environment. With that as background, you’re now ready to delve deeper into marketing strategy and tactics. This chapter looks further into key customer-driven marketing strategy decisions: dividing up markets into meaningful customer groups (segmentation), choosing which customer groups to serve (targeting), creating market offerings that best serve targeted customers (differentiation), and positioning the offer ings in the minds of consumers (positioning). The chapters that follow explore the tactical marketing tools—the four Ps—by which marketers bring these strategies to life.
9	Week 9 MIDTERM EXAM
10	Week 10 18 Creating Competitive Advantage (526-246) In previous chapters, you explored the basics of marketing. You learned that the aim of marketing is to create value for customers in order to capture value from them in return. Good marketing companies win, keep, and grow customers by understanding customer needs, designing customer-driven marketing strategies, constructing value-delivering marketing programs, and building customer and marketing partner relationships. In the final three chapters, we’ll extend this concept to three special areas: creating competitive advantage, global marketing, and social and environmental marketing sustainability. In this chapter, we pull all the marketing basics together. Understanding customers is an important first step in developing profitable customer relationships, but it’s not enough. To gain competitive advantage, companies must use this understanding to design marketing offers that deliver more value than the offers of competitors seeking to win the same customers. In this chapter, we look first at competitor analysis—the process companies use to identify and analyze competitors. Then we examine competitive marketing strategies by which companies position themselves against competitors to gain the greatest possible competitive advantage.
11	Week 11 19 The Global Marketplace (550-576) You’ve now learned the fundamentals of how companies develop competitive marketing strategies to create customer value and build lasting customer relationships. In this chapter, we extend these fundamentals to global marketing. Although we discussed global topics in each previous chapter—it’s difficult to find an area of marketing that doesn’t contain at least some international applications—here we’ll focus on special considerations that companies face when they market their brands globally Advances in communication, transportation, and other technologies have made the world a much smaller place. Today, almost every firm, large or small, faces international marketing issues. In this chapter, we will examine six major decisions marketers make in going global.
12	Week 12 20 Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility and Ethics (580-614) In this final chapter, we’ll examine the concepts of sustainable marketing, meeting the needs of consumers, businesses, and society—now and in the future—through socially and environmentally responsible marketing actions. We’ll start by defining sustainable marketing and then look at some common criticisms of marketing as it impacts individual consumers and public actions that promote sustainable marketing. Finally, we’ll see how companies themselves can benefit from proactively pursuing sustainable marketing practices that bring value to not only individual customers but also society as a whole. Sustainable marketing actions are more than just the right thing to do; they’re also good for business. First, let’s visit the concept of social and environmental sustainability in business. Perhaps no one gets more fired up about corporate social responsibility than Jeffrey Swartz, CEO of footwear-and-apparel maker Timberland. He’s on a passionate mission to use the resources of his company to combat the world’s social ills. But he knows that to do this, his company must also be profitable. Swartz firmly believes that companies can do both—that they can do well by doing good
13	Week 13 Introduction to Marketing Mix (222-260) The marketing mix, also known as the four P's of marketing, refers to the four key elements of a marketing strategy: product, price, place and promotion. By paying attention to the following four components of the marketing mix, a business can maximize its chances of a product being recognized and bought by customers: - Product. The item or service being sold must satisfy a consumer's need or desire. - Price. An item should be sold at the right price for consumer expectations, neither too low nor too high. - Promotion. The public needs to be informed about the product and its features to understand how it fills their needs or desires. - Place. The location where the product can be purchased is important for optimizing sales.
14	Week 14 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE SEMESTER

Prerequisite(s):	-
Textbook(s):	- KOTLER, Philip and KELLER, Kevin Lane (2011). Marketing Management. (14th Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education. - KOTLER, Philip and ARMSTRONG, Gary (2016). Principles of Marketing (16th Edition). Harlow: Pearson Education.
Additional Literature:	Articles: THE CONCEPT OF THE MARKETING MIX- Neil H . Borden THE GENERAL THEORY OF MARKETING - Robert Bartels MARKETING IN AN AGE OF DIVERSITY - Regis Mckenna THE MARKETING CONCEPT: WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT - Franklin S. Houston THE MARKETING REVOLUTION - Robert J. Keith MARKETING AS EXCHANGE - Richard P. Bagozzi THE GLOBALIZATION OF MARKETS - Theodore Levitt MARKETING MYOPIA - Theodore Levitt WHY BUSINESS ALWAYS LOSES- Theodore Levitt MARKETING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Peter F. Drucker
Laboratory Work:	NA
Computer Usage:	NA
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	The students are able to define the importance of marketing as a business function.
2	Students get information on the principles of marketing management (marketing environment, consumer behavior, marketing mix)
3	Students are able to understand the importance of marketing function as an essential part of overall strategy of the business (organization, institution).
4	Students gain useful insights on the marketing activities carried out by the firms; activities which they witness every day.
5	Students get more confident and improve their communication skills by sharing their ideas on the topic with their peers.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years) Program
1	The students gain the ability to look at the problems of daily life from a broader perspective with an increased awareness of the importance of moral/ethical considerations and professional integrity in the workplace.	4
2	They develop their knowledge and understanding of banking and finance including concepts, theories, and analytical tools that serve both in national and international markets.	4
3	They gain an understanding of the role of financial management in business firms and the essentials of corporate finance and further develop their knowledge in the field.	1
4	They are able to apply valuation models to estimate the price of different financial assets, measure risk and describe the risk-return tradeoff.	1
5	They are provided with the knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework and functioning of banking system and central banking as well as international banking system.	1
6	They are able to understand and use fundamental economic theories and tools to solve economic problems in banking and financial services industry.	1
7	They have the ability to develop and utilize accounting, financial and economic data as well as other information to solve different business problems by making use of basic mathematical and statistical models.	1
8	They are expected to develop their numerical and IT skills as well as knowledge of databases in order to address the significant development in the delivery and use of financial services known as FinTech.	1
9	They develop their ability to think critically, do research, analyze, interpret, draw independent conclusions, and communicate effectively, both individually and as part of a team.	4
10	They are provided with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to develop professionalism in the banking and financial services industry or to move on to further study within the discipline.	4

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Project	1	40
Final Exam	1	30
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	3	48
Mid-terms	1	3	3
Assignments
Final examination	1	3	3
Other	23	1	23
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

Everything was Ok from my side.