Course Duration: 4 weeks
Weekly study: 3 hours

This course is part of The Digital Economy program, which will enable you to thrive in the digital economy as well as earn 15 credits towards an MBA.

Tailor your offers to your customer’s needs

Marketing is all about putting the customer at the centre of the business. But what exactly does that mean today? And what challenges do marketers face in satisfying ever more demanding customers in the digital age?

In this online course, you will look at how marketers can gain a competitive advantage, by using the vast amount of customer data available, to segment, target as well as personalise products for their customers.

The course provides an in-depth grounding in market segmentation as a process, revealing how you can adapt it to improve the performance of all businesses.

What topics will you cover?

• What the digital economy means for the function of marketing.
• Also what market segmentation is as well as why market segmentation matters.
• The link between business strategy as well as marketing.
• The process of segmentation, targeting as well as positioning.
• Ethical issues in market segmentation.
• The explosion of information as well as data in the digital age.

Academic credit

If you are aiming to use your study of courses in the Digital Economy program to obtain academic credit, please be aware that the final planned presentation of the Open University Assessment Course BXM871 Managing in the Digital Economy starts July 2020. Also ensure that you allow yourself enough time to obtain all four Certificates of Achievement from courses in the program before registering for the Assessment Course.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:

Identify and understand the impact of the digital economy on why and how market segmentation is used by organisations.

Produce and use market segmentation to improve your organisation’s performance in the digital world.

Summarise and link segmentation strategy to an organisation’s overall strategic direction, recognising the impact of the digital economy.

Demonstrate sensitivity to ethical issues arising from market segmentation in the digital economy.

Who is the course for?

This course is intended for learners wanting to know about how the digital era is affecting market segmentation strategies of organisations, their customers and stakeholders. You do not require any previous knowledge or experience of marketing to study this course but you could benefit from having some knowledge of business in general. Find further information about OU registration, the assessment module and MBA in the entry requirements.

Who will you learn with?

Who developed the course?

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning, with a mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.