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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 Colorado System

      School Health for Children and Adolescents

      Skills you'll gain: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Individualized Education Programs (IEP), Special Education, Nutrition Education, Community Health, School Psychology, Chronic Diseases, Student Support and Services, Nutrition and Diet, School Counseling, Public Health, Public Health and Disease Prevention, Mental and Behavioral Health Specialties, Care Management, Child Health, Patient Evaluation, Care Coordination, Disabilities, Medical Emergency, Social and Human Services

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      3.3K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • C

      CVS Health

      Introduction to Customer Service

      Skills you'll gain: Active Listening, De-escalation Techniques, Customer Service, Empathy, Verbal Communication Skills, Oral Comprehension, Transaction Processing, Customer Complaint Resolution, Retail Store Operations, Problem Solving, Time Management, Oral Expression, Root Cause Analysis, Non-Verbal Communication, Communication, Positivity

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      224 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • I

      IESE Business School

      Foundations of Management

      Skills you'll gain: Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Statements, Income Statement, Organizational Leadership, Organizational Change, Product Management, Accounting, Team Motivation, Cash Flows, Operational Analysis, People Management, Financial Accounting, Marketing, Brand Management, Brand Strategy, Balance Sheet, Financial Analysis, Business Analysis, Business, Complex Problem Solving

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      5.2K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • U

      University of Pennsylvania

      Foundations of Positive Psychology

      Skills you'll gain: Resilience, Goal Setting, Emotional Intelligence, Positivity, Personal Development, Optimism, Research Methodologies, Overcoming Obstacles, Research Design, Empathy, Productivity, Cognitive flexibility, Relationship Building, Self-Awareness, Qualitative Research, Research, Positive Behavior Support, Psychology, Self-Motivation, Critical Thinking

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      8.1K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      Y

      Yale University

      Introduction to Psychology

      Skills you'll gain: Psychology, Mental and Behavioral Health Specialties, Child Development, Mental Health, Human Learning, Social Sciences, Behavioral Health, Neurology, Biology, Scientific Methods

      4.9
      Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
      ·
      31K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • I

      IE Business School

      Marketing Mix Implementation

      Skills you'll gain: Product Lifecycle Management, Marketing Communications, Integrated Marketing Communications, Advertising, Marketing, Brand Strategy, Marketing Budgets, Strategic Decision-Making, Brand Management, Customer experience strategy (CX), Price Negotiation, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Strategies, Marketing Channel, Strategic Marketing, Product Strategy, Revenue Management, Merchandising, Conflict Management, Market Opportunities

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      5.9K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: New
      New
      V

      Vanderbilt University

      AI Agents and Agentic AI in Python: Powered by Generative AI

      Skills you'll gain: Prompt Engineering, ChatGPT, Generative AI Agents, OpenAI, Productivity, Python Programming, Agentic systems, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Modeling, Creative Thinking, Ingenuity, Brainstorming, Software Development Tools, Application Development, Prototyping, Business Logic, Automation, Application Programming Interface (API)

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      5.8K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      C

      Coursera Instructor Network

      Voice of the Customer (VoC): Enhancing Experiences

      Skills you'll gain: Customer Engagement, Customer Insights, Customer Analysis, Market Research, Surveys, Customer experience strategy (CX), Customer Service, Data Collection, Active Listening, Continuous Improvement Process, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Focus Group, Team Oriented, Social Media

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      106 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • 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

    • E

      Emory University

      Weight Management: Beyond Balancing Calories

      Skills you'll gain: Nutrition and Diet, Stress Management, Behavior Management, Personal Care, Biology, Mental and Behavioral Health, Goal Setting, Mindfulness, Resilience, Planning, Scientific Methods

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.2K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • M

      Meta

      Social Media Management

      Skills you'll gain: Social Media Management, Social Media Marketing, Content Creation, Social Media Strategy, Social Media Campaigns, Instagram, Content Management, Content Performance Analysis, Brand Management, Facebook, Branding, Customer Engagement

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      5.6K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    • R

      Rutgers the State University of New Jersey

      Demand Analytics

      Skills you'll gain: Demand Planning, Data Collection, Forecasting, Supply Chain Planning, Statistical Modeling, Data Processing, Market Dynamics, Time Series Analysis and Forecasting, Trend Analysis, Regression Analysis, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Validation, Data Analysis Software

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      289 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

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

    • School Health for Children and Adolescents: University of Colorado System
    • Introduction to Customer Service: CVS Health
    • Foundations of Management: IESE Business School
    • Foundations of Positive Psychology: University of Pennsylvania
    • Introduction to Psychology : Yale University
    • Marketing Mix Implementation: IE Business School
    • AI Agents and Agentic AI in Python: Powered by Generative AI: Vanderbilt University
    • Voice of the Customer (VoC): Enhancing Experiences : Coursera Instructor Network
    • Healthy and Sustainable Foods and Products: University of Michigan
    • Weight Management: Beyond Balancing Calories: Emory University

    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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