Sales and Promotion

An overview of the functional areas of business in a global society. Students will complete the course with knowledge of the general business environment, economic systems, business ethics, operations and project management, and technology and information systems. In addition, students will learn the fundamentals of economics, business ownership, entrepreneurship, finance, management, leadership, and marketing. Key themes woven throughout the course include exploration of career options and development of business problem-solving skills.

Principles of Marketing examines the organization's functions for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers. The course also examines the role and importance of marketing in the firm and other organizations. Topics include marketing plans & strategies, digital marketing, marketing research, market segmentation, distribution, pricing, promotion, marketing ethics and product development.

ENGL 1 recommended

See the full list: SMC GE Area IV-A Course (opens in new window)

This course provides an exploration of intellectual, psychological, social and physical factors that impact lifelong learning, well-being and success. Topics include motivation and self-efficacy; critical thinking, academic integrity and active study strategies; health issues and lifestyle choices; relating to others as a global citizen; written and oral communication; time management; career exploration; and educational planning.

This course addresses strategies marketers may use to best communicate with their customers and other stakeholders. By applying an Integrated Marketing Communications perspective to marketing promotion, all aspects of communication are pulled together, thereby providing a more complete treatment of advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling, public relations, publicity, and interactive media.

This course explores the fundamental sales process of analyzing customer needs and satisfying those needs with a relevant product or service. Topics include prospecting and qualifying potential buyers, preparing for sales calls, delivering sales presentations, handling customer objections, negotiating sales transactions, closing sales, and providing effective follow-up.

This course introduces students to digital marketing. Students will learn how to develop and implement various digital marketing channels, such as search-engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, pay per click (PPC) advertising, affiliate marketing, email marketing and content marketing. The course will emphasize the strategic role of digital marketing in traditional marketing; its impact on the customer experience; and how to track its effectiveness.

Advertising psychology, strategies, and methods are covered in this introduction to the field. Topics include planning advertising campaigns for all types of media. Class projects give the student practice in creating and communicating ideas using advertising strategy and techniques.

This course surveys the principles and techniques of current and evolving business communication as a process in a variety of business situations. The course emphasizes planning, organizing, composing, and revising business documents using appropriate utilization of a variety of technological platforms, business related internet writing contexts, and web resources. Also, this course will incorporate a variety of internet-based communication tools relevant to doing business in today's world. This course is designed for students who already have college-level writing skills.

ENGL 2 recommended for transfer options

See the full list: SMC GE Area III Course (opens in new window)

This course provides students with an overview of the fundamental legal principles pertaining to business transactions and related topics. It also encompasses introductory subjects concerning the U.S. legal system such as the court structure, sources of law, legal reasoning and case analysis. To give students a broad perspective on the various laws and areas impacting business, the following topics are also explored: criminal law, torts, civil procedure, administrative processes, contract law, ethics, constitutional law, agency and the legal principles pertaining to business entities.

This course navigates the current business environment and identifies the key legal challenges that an entrepreneur faces in starting and operating a business. It is ideal for business majors and for students who have an interest in starting their own businesses. The following topics are explored: basic legal concepts, dispute resolution, tort liability, contracts, managing risk, employment law, agent liability, legal form of business ownership, legal challenges with marketing, and intellectual property law.

This course provides an introduction to retailing concepts and strategies used by contemporary merchandisers. Special attention will be given to the theory and practice involved in such merchandising activities as sales transactions, customer services, types of merchandising institutions, store operation and policies, store layout and fixtures, advertising, and display.

This class surveys the techniques, styles and variations of presenting tangible merchandise in physical, print and electronic formats. Color theory, design principles and consumer psychographic interests blend with advertising and sales techniques to highlight how hard and soft goods are sold in the brick-and-mortar and virtual retail sectors.

Students will learn the technological and strategic aspects of electronic commerce essential to succeeding in today's internet-based economy. No background in e-commerce is necessary. This is a lecture and theoretical course which covers the key technologies used in e-Commerce, the history of internet and web technologies, infrastructure, and the economic forces behind e-Commerce. Business goals and constraints, technology and process tools, business strategies and tactics, and underlying economic theories relating to successful e-Commerce will be discussed.

This course is an exploration of the business of Hip-Hop from localized exhibition to a domestic and international phenomenon. With the emergence of new technology, there is a need for a new criterion in the analysis of Hip-Hop as an entertainment industry leader. Students examine the business practices of moguls and pioneers, such as Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Master P, and Sean Combs. This course emphasizes the evolution of the business elements of hip-hop: urban entrepreneurialism, sales & marketing, and intellectual property.

This course introduces students to the problem-solving and innovation methodology called design thinking, using an approach called “Design for Delight” that was developed at Intuit. Design for Delight (D4D) uses deep customer empathy, strategic brainstorming and idea selection methods, and rapid experiments with customers to build products and solutions that create value for businesses and stakeholders, and ultimately improve people’s lives. Emphasis will be placed on experiential learning, with students learning and practicing specific behaviors and skills that enable entrepreneurs to creatively solve customer and business problems in all types of organizations including for-profit, non-profit, healthcare and education.

This course provides concrete guidance in using human relations skills in the workplace that will promote working effectively with others. Strategies are integrated throughout the course that will enable students to apply human relations theories and applications to the real world of work. Ethical issues in business are addressed where students will learn an explicit process of ethical reasoning that will aid in defining and dealing with dilemmas in the workplace. Current events and case studies will be used to develop critical skills as students apply theories and principles.

Digital marketing enables an individual or business to promote an organization, brand, product or service using a variety of online marketing strategies: content marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing and e-marketing. Numerous tools and applications are utilized to deliver these strategies, such as a content management system; blogging; content creators and editors for images, posts and videos; crowdsourcing; podcasting; RSS feed and directories; social media business accounts and ad managers, like Facebook Ad Manager; search engine advertising, like Google Ads; SEO techniques and tools; third party tracking and analytics tools, such as Google Analytics; email and direct message marketing; and event promotion. This course provides the skills to use these tools and applications for a successful digital marketing campaign.