Marketing (MKTG) 440

Overview

Marketing 440: Marketing Strategy introduces important concepts in strategy formulation and implementation. The notion that organizations should strive to deliver superior customer value while achieving their own objectives in a socially responsible manner is the focal point of market-driven strategies. Despite the fact that many successful organizations now embrace this market orientation philosophy as a way of doing business, delivering superior customer value and creating long-term, mutually beneficial exchange relationships with customers is seldom easy, even when buyer needs are known and the external environment is stable and predictable. With the rapid and unpredictable environmental changes observed in today’s markets, marketing managers have to put in place mechanisms of continuous learning and develop superior skills and capabilities to be able to respond quickly to strategic changes with effective marketing strategies. Integrating the analysis of complex and unfamiliar strategic situations with knowledge about target market and positioning strategies permits marketing managers to anticipate and exploit changes that are largely beyond the control of any single organization.

MKTG 440 is designed to help you develop analytical and decision-making skills, both of which are critical for becoming a successful marketing manager in this era of global competition, continuous emergence of new technologies, and fast-changing markets.

Outline

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Marketing Strategy
• Lesson 2: Markets and Competition
• Lesson 3: Understanding the Organizational Resources and Capabilities
• Lesson 4: Market Segmentation
• Lesson 5: Market Targeting and Strategic Positioning
• Lesson 6: Competitive Advantage
• Lesson 7: Overview of Marketing Mix Strategies
• Lesson 8: Competing Through Innovation
• Lesson 9: Competing Through Superior Service and Customer Relationships
• Lesson 10: Strategic Customer Management and Strategic Sales Organization
• Lesson 11: Strategic Alliances and Networks
• Lesson 12: Strategic Marketing Implementation and Corporate Social Responsibility

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, you will be able to do the following:

• Explain the foundations of strategic marketing management.
• Assess market opportunities and develop appropriate marketing strategies.
• Apply the concepts of market segmentation, targeting, positioning, and competitive advantage.
• Evaluate strategic marketing decisions related to branding, pricing, distribution, communications, people, processes, and physical evidence.

Evaluation

Your final grade in Marketing 440: Marketing Strategy will be based on your participation in five learning forums, and on your work in two assignments and a final examination. The passing grade for the final exam is 50 percent. To receive credit for the course, you must pass the final exam and achieve an overall course grade of D (50 percent) or better. The following chart indicates the credit activities and their weighting toward the final grade.

The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.

Materials

Digital course materials

Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:

Hooley, G., Piercy, N., Nicoulaud, B., Rudd, J., & Lee, N. (2026). Marketing strategy and competitive positioning (8th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 987-1-292-73522-1

Other materials

Students will access all other materials online.

Challenge for credit

Overview

The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.

Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Evaluation

To receive credit for the MKTG 440 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the examination.

Online Exam

Important links

• Academic advising
• Program planning
• Request assistance
• Support services at AU