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    • Consumer Behavior

    Consumer Behavior Courses Online

    Explore consumer behavior principles for understanding purchasing decisions. Learn about psychological, social, and cultural factors influencing consumer behavior.

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    Explore the Consumer Behavior Course Catalog

    • U

      University of Minnesota

      Software Testing and Automation

      Skills you'll gain: Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), Cucumber (Software), Software Testing, Selenium (Software), Gherkin (Scripting Language), JUnit, Verification And Validation, Test Automation, Unit Testing, Security Testing, Regression Testing, Test Case, Testability, Behavior-Driven Development, Code Coverage, Performance Testing, Development Testing, Test Planning, Acceptance Testing, Test Tools

      4.3
      Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
      ·
      943 reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      W

      Wesleyan University

      Schizophrenia

      Skills you'll gain: Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology, Mental Health Diseases and Disorders, Pharmacology, Psychotherapy, Psychology, Mental and Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Patient Evaluation, Neurology, Scientific Methods, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Research Methodologies, Medical Imaging

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      2.4K reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of Michigan

      Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products

      Skills you'll gain: Nutrition and Diet, Product Lifecycle Management, Product Development, Food and Beverage, Product Improvement, Environment, Health Assessment, Health Disparities, Sustainability Reporting, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Social And Corporate Governance (ESG), Product Design, Environmental Science, Environmental Management Systems, Public Health, Environmental Monitoring, Chemistry, Risk Analysis, Pollution Prevention, Personal Care

      4.4
      Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
      ·
      86 reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

      Managerial Economics and Business Analysis

      Skills you'll gain: Descriptive Statistics, Supply And Demand, Market Dynamics, Sampling (Statistics), Statistical Inference, Business Analytics, Financial Systems, Financial Policy, Banking, Probability Distribution, Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Statistics, Regression Analysis, Microsoft Excel, Economics, Financial Market, Business Economics, Risk Management

      Build toward a degree

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      4.1K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

      Microeconomics Principles

      Skills you'll gain: Supply And Demand, Economics, Market Dynamics, Business Economics, Policy Analysis, Business, Behavioral Economics, Public Policies, Business Operations, Price Negotiation, Socioeconomics, Consumer Behaviour, Economics, Policy, and Social Studies, Business Strategy, Market Research, Competitive Analysis, Resource Allocation, Revenue Management, Decision Making, Market Analysis

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      3.2K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      U

      Università Bocconi

      Food & Beverage Management

      Skills you'll gain: Food and Beverage, Hospitality Management, Restaurant Management, Product Quality (QA/QC), Global Marketing, Market Dynamics, Business Strategy, Consumer Behaviour, Value Propositions, Competitive Analysis, Innovation, Brand Management, Growth Strategies

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      4.9K reviews

      Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of Virginia

      Pricing Strategy Optimization

      Skills you'll gain: Price Negotiation, Market Dynamics, Product Lifecycle Management, Revenue Management, Competitive Analysis, Target Market, Global Marketing, Market Share, Consumer Behaviour, Business Strategy, Product Strategy, Marketing Psychology, Marketing, Cost Accounting, Customer Insights, Customer Analysis, Value Propositions, Strategic Marketing, Economics, Demand Planning

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      902 reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      T

      The University of Chicago

      Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life

      Skills you'll gain: Neurology, Psychology, Kinesiology, Anatomy, Behavioral Health, Human Learning, Human Development, Blood Pressure, Mental and Behavioral Health, Mental Health Diseases and Disorders, Respiration, Vital Signs, Biology, Speech Language Pathology

      4.9
      Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
      ·
      3.1K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      U

      University of Pennsylvania

      Microeconomics: The Power of Markets

      Skills you'll gain: Supply And Demand, Economics, Market Dynamics, Market Analysis, Resource Allocation, Policy Analysis, Tax, Consumer Behaviour, Decision Making

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.6K reviews

      Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • U

      University of California, Davis

      Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

      Skills you'll gain: Keyword Research, Search Engine Optimization, Web Analytics and SEO, Content Creation, Social Media Strategy, Competitive Analysis, Target Audience, Client Services, Content Marketing, Peer Review, Social Media Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, Google Analytics, Presentations, Marketing, Forecasting, Digital Marketing, Expectation Management, Content Strategy, User Research

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      13K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • R

      Rice University

      Investment and Portfolio Management

      Skills you'll gain: Portfolio Management, Financial Market, Investments, Securities (Finance), Financial Systems, Securities Trading, Asset Management, Behavioral Economics, Capital Markets, Investment Management, Equities, Performance Measurement, Wealth Management, Finance, Financial Services, Performance Analysis, Risk Management, Return On Investment, Market Liquidity, Derivatives

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      2.6K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of Michigan

      Finding Purpose and Meaning In Life: Living for What Matters Most

      Skills you'll gain: Goal Setting, Self-Awareness, Stress Management, Personal Development, Lifelong Learning, Resilience, Mindfulness, Positive Behavior Support, Liberal Arts, Decision Making

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      2.7K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

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    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular consumer behavior courses

    • Software Testing and Automation: University of Minnesota
    • Schizophrenia: Wesleyan University
    • Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products: University of Michigan
    • Managerial Economics and Business Analysis: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Microeconomics Principles: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Food & Beverage Management: Università Bocconi
    • Pricing Strategy Optimization: University of Virginia
    • Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life: The University of Chicago
    • Microeconomics: The Power of Markets: University of Pennsylvania
    • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): University of California, Davis

    Skills you can learn in Marketing

    Market (economics) (28)
    Social Media (15)
    Marketing Strategy (14)
    Analytics (13)
    Brand (13)
    Digital Marketing (13)
    Marketing Analytics (11)
    Plan (11)
    Advertising (9)
    Modeling (9)
    Social Media Marketing (9)
    Brand Management (7)

    Frequently Asked Questions about Consumer Behavior

    In marketing, consumer behavior is the study of how - and why - individuals and groups make purchasing decisions. These are the fundamental questions of the field of market research, as these important insights can drive business decisions into what products and services to sell as well as the best ways to sell them. And, while these questions aren’t new, researchers today have new tools to gain valuable insights into consumer behavior.

    The migration of so much of our buying behavior to online platforms, from product research to comparison shopping to purchase and post-purchase reviewing, has created vast amounts of information for data analysis. Sophisticated customer analytics can harness this data to describe consumer shopping habits in great detail - and, when combined with regression analysis and other statistical techniques, predictive analytics can be created to forecast and influence future purchasing decisions.

    The field of behavioral economics has also revolutionized the study of consumer behavior. This relatively new discipline combines economics with psychological insights into cognitive biases to better understand economic behaviors ranging from the decisions of individuals to global investment patterns. The emerging subfield of consumer neuroscience focuses on explaining buying behavior, creating opportunities for so-called neuromarketing approaches that leverage these insights to create more effective branding and advertising.‎

    The study of consumer behavior is the principal concern of market research analysts, who are responsible for understanding what products people want, who will buy them at what price, and what type of marketing strategy can reach them most effectively. While traditional market research approaches have relied heavily on consumer focus groups and surveys, the new world of marketing analytics is increasingly demanding a strong understanding of digital marketing tools and data analysis techniques as well.

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, market research analysts made a median annual salary of $63,790 as of 2019. These jobs are projected to grow much faster than the average across all occupations, as more and more industries and companies seek to gain a competitive edge by using data-driven market research approaches to better understand consumer behavior.‎

    Yes, you can. Coursera offers a number of courses and Specializations on consumer behavior and related topics, including cutting-edge customer analytics and neuromarketing approaches. These courses are offered by top-ranked business schools from all over the world, including the University of Pennsylvania, Copenhagen Business School, and IE Business School. By learning online with Coursera, you can get a high-quality education remotely at a significantly lower cost than on-campus students - a combination that makes for an easy purchasing decision for a growing number of students as well as mid-career professionals.‎

    The skills or experience you may need to already have before starting to learn consumer behavior include having a basic understanding of marketing strategies, the ability to grasp basic supply and demand concepts, and some knowledge about data analytics (consumer browsing and buying patterns, for example). You may also want to know a bit about how to develop spreadsheet modules to analyze data, evaluate risk, and optimize business decisions.‎

    The kind of person who is best suited to learn consumer behavior is one who is interested in understanding, analyzing, and dissecting customer browsing and buying patterns to use for business purposes. A person who may benefit from learning consumer behavior is interested in what psychologists call “heuristics,” which are the mental shortcuts we take to make the choices we do daily. Someone who would be best suited to learn consumer behavior may want to research, extract, organize, and describe data to support business decisions, product launches, and product sales. In addition, the type of person who may be well suited to learn consumer behavior is interested in the emerging fields of consumer neuroscience and neuromarketing and how it is used in businesses. A person who works, or plans to work in a corporate setting, or who plans to be an entrepreneur or product designer may be well suited to learn about consumer behavior and what makes consumers tick.‎

    Learning consumer behavior may be right for you if you want to continue on a career path in sales, if you want to understand the consumer decision-making process, or if you need to make managerial decisions by analyzing how consumers make choices. If you need to develop product marketing strategies such as viral marketing, develop a brand’s visual identity and benefits to customers, or learn to derive customer insights from sets of data, learning about consumer behavior may be right for you. In addition, if you would like to work in a global setting where you explore international markets and industries for new ideas or expansion, learning about consumer behavior may be beneficial for you.‎

    Online Consumer Behavior courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Consumer Behavior skills. Choose from a wide range of Consumer Behavior courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.‎

    When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Consumer Behavior, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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