Balancing Supply and Demand with Marketing

In today’s business world, it’s critical that companies balance supply and demand. Too little demand and companies incur costs associated with operating at a sub-optimal level. Too much demand and not enough supply, customers are unhappy and companies lose market share and suffer loss of profitability. With a degree in marketing, you have the option of experiencing the demand and supply side of a business.

With a focus in three critical areas, you build the skills needed to manage supply and demand to create and deliver value in the form of goods and services for your customers. The professional sales focus allows you to develop core skills in selling and sales management, which help generate demand. The supply chain management major will help you gain knowledge of marketing channels and operational methodologies that manage the supply of goods and services to meet demand. The digital marketing focus will teach you to gather and analyze customer intelligence using market research and consumer analytics.

Whether you want to work for a for-profit or nonprofit organization, our marketing faculty will engage and guide you through the marketing process so that you can have a successful marketing career.

Majors

Our Marketing Major is structured to offer two distinct areas of focus – Professional Sales and Digital Marketing, each designed to cater to different interests and career paths within the field.

The Professional Sales Focus is ideal for those drawn to the interpersonal and strategic aspects of sales. This track offers specialized courses such as MKT 3180 Professional Selling and MKT 4190 Sales Management, which hone your skills in creating effective sales strategies and managing sales teams. Additional courses like MKT 4200 Customer Relationship Management and MKT 4210 Advanced Selling Techniques further refine your abilities in cultivating and maintaining client relationships. Students specializing in this track are advised to complete an internship in sales to gain practical experience, enhancing their understanding of real-world sales environments.

For students intrigued by the evolving digital landscape, the Digital Marketing Focus provides a comprehensive exploration of digital marketing strategies and tools. Courses like MKT 4250 Digital Marketing and MKT 4260 Marketing Analytics immerse you in the nuances of online marketing and data-driven decision-making. Supplementary courses such as MGT 3100 Foundations of Business Analytics and MGT 4260 Data Mining for Managerial Decision Making equip you with critical analytical skills, enabling you to interpret complex data and market trends.

You’ll delve into the core aspects of supply chain management with our Supply Chain Management major. You’ll learn how to effectively manage and synchronize the flow of goods and services, from the point of origin to the end consumer. This includes gaining proficiency in pivotal areas like forecasting, which plays a crucial role in predicting demand and planning supply accordingly.

We place a strong emphasis on understanding and applying statistical process control methods. These skills are vital for maintaining quality and efficiency in production and distribution processes. You will also explore the nuances of process and capacity management, learning how to optimize operations for peak performance.

Internships

Marketing and Supply Chain Management majors are required to complete at least one internship for academic credit through BUS 3985. Examples of internships students have completed include asset management product governance for Fidelity Investments, marketing and promotions for NASDAQ OMX, B2B sales for AT&T, food service sales at PepsiCo, and market research for Trakid.

Graduation Outcomes

A degree in marketing provides a multitude of opportunities in a diverse selection of professions. A few of the many job opportunities available to individuals with a marketing degree include marketing associate, purchasing agent, sales consultant, account representative, brand manager, marketing researcher, business development representative, and product development executive trainee.

Elon Marketing alumni work for employers such as ADP, Bank of America, CEB Global, Credit Suisse, Cushman and Wakefield, Dell EMC, Gartner, FactSet Research Systems, Kraft Heinz, Hershey Company, Neiman Marcus, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Liberty Mutual, Macy’s, NetSuite, Oracle NetSuite, Paycom, Proctor & Gamble, Red Ventures, SAP, Staples, T. Rowe Price, The Advisory Board Company, TJX Companies, XPO Logistics, Wayfair, and UBS.