Mastering Customer Insights (Online)

Unlock the power of customer insights with consumer psychology and customer analytics

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Course Dates

STARTS ON

TBD

Course Duration

DURATION

6 weeks, online
4–6 hours per week

Course Fee
Course Fee

For Your Team

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Empower Your Decision Making with Mastering Customer Insights

Whether you are a marketing professional in a global corporation, an executive at a small non-profit, or the manager of a political campaign, one thing is clear: customer-centric decision making is one of the most critical skills. The Mastering Customer Insights program will prepare you for some of the most pressing questions any decision maker faces, including:

  • How do I derive valuable customer insights and use them to develop better marketing campaigns?
  • How do I leverage behavioral and economic theories to learn new insights about my customers?
  • How do I leverage research and other methodologies to gain unique insights into my customers and help differentiate products, services, and brands from the competition?

85%

Organizations that leverage their customer behavior to generate insights outperform their peers by 85 percent in sales growth.

Source: Microsoft, 2021

83%

While businesses around the world hold customer experience among their top-five priorities, 83 percent are not delivering.

Source: Salesforce, 2021

Key Takeaways

By the end of the program, you will be able to:

  • Adopt a customer-centric mindset, including increased profitability and greater customer satisfaction and loyalty
  • Leverage the power of consumer psychology and behavioral economics to deliver valuable customer insights
  • Perform qualitative and quantitative research and causal experiments, and apply your knowledge using real-world insights to boost sales and maximize profitability
  • Apply your knowledge of customer insights through the expertise of renowned Columbia faculty and guests, as well as a range of cross-disciplinary applications, including for-profit and non-profit organizations and public service and political initiatives
  • Benefit from an interactive learning experience, including crowdsourcing and discussions with a global cohort of peers, as well as other hands-on activities

Who Should Attend?

  • Mid- to senior level professionals in marketing, media, or advertising who want to discover how to derive meaningful customer insights and become proficient at leveraging them to develop better marketing campaigns
  • Business and product leaders or entrepreneurs who want to enhance their research skills and understand the application of customer insights in driving product and business decisions
  • Market research professionals who are interested in elevating their understanding of research methodologies and other techniques to gain unique customer insights, which will ultimately equip them with the knowledge to help develop products, services, and brands that are differentiated from the competition

Program Modules

Module 1:

Becoming a Customer-Centric Organization

Explore what it means to be customer centric and why it is important. Then, discover how customer insights can be used for transformation into a customer-centric organization.

Module 2:

The Psychology of the Decision-Making Process

Understand the consumer decision-making process, identify marketing challenges, examine factors that influence customer behavior, and interrupt the customer decision at just the right time.

Module 3:

Originating Insights with Behavioral Economics

Learn about the relationship between behavioral economics and consumer decision making, and discover how organizations can derive customer insights from the field of behavioral economics.

Module 4:

Qualitative Research Techniques in Theory and Practice

Take an in-depth look at qualitative research methods, and see how organizations have leveraged qualitative findings to become more customer centric.

Module 5:

Quantitative Research Techniques in Theory and Practice

Learn about quantitative research approaches including surveys and big data. Then, take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of surveys, survey design, and best practices for survey administration.

Module 6:

Experimentation and Research for Customer-Centric Decision Making

Insights can be derived using a variety of methods. Dive deeper into experimental research, gain the knowledge you need to use the scientific method, and discover the power of experimentation to yield valuable customer insights for your organization.

Module 1:

Becoming a Customer-Centric Organization

Explore what it means to be customer centric and why it is important. Then, discover how customer insights can be used for transformation into a customer-centric organization.

Module 4:

Qualitative Research Techniques in Theory and Practice

Take an in-depth look at qualitative research methods, and see how organizations have leveraged qualitative findings to become more customer centric.

Module 2:

The Psychology of the Decision-Making Process

Understand the consumer decision-making process, identify marketing challenges, examine factors that influence customer behavior, and interrupt the customer decision at just the right time.

Module 5:

Quantitative Research Techniques in Theory and Practice

Learn about quantitative research approaches including surveys and big data. Then, take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of surveys, survey design, and best practices for survey administration.

Module 3:

Originating Insights with Behavioral Economics

Learn about the relationship between behavioral economics and consumer decision making, and discover how organizations can derive customer insights from the field of behavioral economics.

Module 6:

Experimentation and Research for Customer-Centric Decision Making

Insights can be derived using a variety of methods. Dive deeper into experimental research, gain the knowledge you need to use the scientific method, and discover the power of experimentation to yield valuable customer insights for your organization.

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Program Experience

Decorative image relating to Live webinars

Live webinars

Cross-disciplinary applications

Case studies

Crowdsourcing

Live office hours with program leaders

Cohort-based learning

Guest insights

Hands-on activities

Immersive discussions

Case Studies and Industry Examples

Assignments, case studies, and lectures will give you the opportunity to incorporate real-world examples into your learning to help you deepen your understanding of some of the core research methodologies you can leverage to generate customer insights and evolve into a customer-centric organization.

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Program Faculty

Image of the faculty Vicki G. Morwitz

VICKI G. MORWITZ

Bruce Greenwald Professor of Business in Marketing; Columbia Business School

Professor Morwitz is a past president and a fellow of the Society of Consumer Psychology and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Association for Customer Research. She also served as the former co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Research.... More info

FEATURED GUEST SPEAKER

Image of the guest speaker Kelly Peters

KELLY PETERS

Former CEO, BEworks

Kelly Peters is the co-founder and former CEO of BEworks, the first consulting firm dedicated to the practice of applying behavioral economics to solving business and policy challenges. Kelly has overseen the design and launch of more than 300 behavioral economics projects in the financial services, health care, retail, and sustainability sectors.

Through the Beworks Method, Kelly has helped companies, including Unilever, Georgia Pacific, CitiBank, and Manulife, diagnose the consumer mindset, enabling them to develop scientifically grounded strategies and validate recommendations through empirically sound experiments.

She combines the rigor of the scientific method with the innovation of behavioral insights and the pragmatism of management consulting to help companies create better products, services, and experiences. Her research lies at the nexus of behavioral science and technology: improving science through better data gathering techniques and measures and improving technology through a scientific understanding of adoption and usage barriers.

Kelly holds a BA in interdisciplinary studies from Florida State University, an MS in Accounting from the University of Toronto, and an MBA with an emphasis in financial services from Dalhousie University, completed in partnership with the Institute of Canadian Banker.

Certificate

Certificate

Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a certificate of participation from Columbia Business School Executive Education and two days towards a Certificate in Business Excellence.

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Your verified digital certificate will be issued in your legal name and emailed to you, at no additional cost, upon completion of the program as per the stipulated requirements. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of Columbia Business School Executive Education.

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FAQs

  • How do I know if this program is right for me?

    After reviewing the information on the program landing page, we recommend you submit the short form above to gain access to the program brochure, which includes more in-depth information. If you still have questions on whether this program is a good fit for you, please email learner.success@emeritus.org, and a dedicated program advisor will follow-up with you very shortly.


    Are there any prerequisites for this program?

    Some programs do have prerequisites, particularly the more technical ones. This information will be noted on the program landing page, as well as in the program brochure. If you are uncertain about program prerequisites and your capabilities, please email us at the ID mentioned above.


    Note that, unless otherwise stated on the program web page, all programs are taught in English and proficiency in English is required.


    What is the typical class profile?

    More than 50 percent of our participants are from outside the United States. Class profiles vary from one cohort to the next, but, generally, our online certificates draw a highly diverse audience in terms of professional experience, industry, and geography — leading to a very rich peer learning and networking experience.


    What other dates will this program be offered in the future?

    Check back to this program web page or email us to inquire if future program dates or the timeline for future offerings have been confirmed yet.

  • How much time is required each week?

    Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page.


    How will my time be spent?

    We have designed this program to fit into your current working life as efficiently as possible. Time will be spent among a variety of activities including:



    • Engaging with recorded video lectures from faculty
    • Attending webinars and office hours, as per the specific program schedule
    • Reading or engaging with examples of core topics
    • Completing knowledge checks/quizzes and required activities
    • Engaging in moderated discussion groups with your peers
    • Completing your final project, if required

    The program is designed to be highly interactive while also allowing time for self-reflection and to demonstrate an understanding of the core topics through various active learning exercises. Please email us if you need further clarification on program activities.


    What is it like to learn online with the learning collaborator, Emeritus?

    More than 300,000 learners across 200 countries have chosen to advance their skills with Emeritus and its educational learning partners. In fact, 90 percent of the respondents of a recent survey across all our programs said that their learning outcomes were met or exceeded.

    All the contents of the course would be made available to students at the commencement of the course. However, to ensure the program delivers the desired learning outcomes the students may appoint Emeritus to manage the delivery of the program in a cohort-based manner the cost of which is already included in the overall course fee of the course.

    A dedicated program support team is available 24/5 (Monday to Friday) to answer questions about the learning platform, technical issues, or anything else that may affect your learning experience.


    How do I interact with other program participants?

    Peer learning adds substantially to the overall learning experience and is an important part of the program. You can connect and communicate with other participants through our learning platform.

  • What are the requirements to earn the certificate?

    Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week, so you can gauge what will be required before you enroll. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page. All programs are designed to fit into your working life.

    This program is scored as a pass or no-pass; participants must complete the required activities to pass and obtain the certificate of completion. Some programs include a final project submission or other assignments to obtain passing status. This information will be noted in the program brochure. Please email us if you need further clarification on any specific program requirements.


    What type of certificate will I receive?

    Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a smart digital certificate. The smart digital certificate can be shared with friends, family, schools, or potential employers. You can use it on your cover letter, resume, and/or display it on your LinkedIn profile.
    The digital certificate will be sent approximately two weeks after the program, once grading is complete.


    Can I get the hard copy of the certificate?

    No, only verified digital certificates will be issued upon successful completion. This allows you to share your credentials on social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.


    Do I receive alumni status after completing this program?

    No, there is no alumni status granted for this program. In some cases, there are credits that count toward a higher level of certification. This information will be clearly noted in the program brochure.


    How long will I have access to the learning materials?

    You will have access to the online learning platform and all the videos and program materials for 12 months following the program end date. Access to the learning platform is restricted to registered participants per the terms of agreement.

  • What equipment or technical requirements are there for this program?

    Participants will need the latest version of their preferred browser to access the learning platform. In addition, Microsoft Office and a PDF viewer are required to access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts.


    Do I need to be online to access the program content?

    Yes, the learning platform is accessed via the internet, and video content is not available for download. However, you can download files of video transcripts, assignment templates, readings, etc. For maximum flexibility, you can access program content from a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile device.

    Video lectures must be streamed via the internet, and any livestream webinars and office hours will require an internet connection. However, these sessions are always recorded, so you may view them later.

  • Can I still register if the registration deadline has passed?

    Yes, you can register up until seven days past the published start date of the program without missing any of the core program material or learnings.


    What is the program fee, and what forms of payment do you accept?

    The program fee is noted at the top of this program web page and usually referenced in the program brochure as well.

    • Flexible payment options are available (see details below as well as at the top of this program web page next to FEE).
    • Tuition assistance is available for participants who qualify. Please email learner.success@emeritus.org.

    What if I don’t have a credit card? Is there another method of payment accepted?

    Yes, you can do the bank remittance in the program currency via wire transfer or debit card. Please contact your program advisor, or email us for details.


    I was not able to use the discount code provided. Can you help?

    Yes! Please email us with the details of the program you are interested in, and we will assist you.


    How can I obtain an invoice for payment?

    Please email us your invoicing requirements and the specific program you’re interested in enrolling in.


    Is there an option to make flexible payments for this program?

    Yes, the flexible payment option allows a participant to pay the program fee in installments. This option is made available on the payment page and should be selected before submitting the payment.


    How can I obtain a W9 form?

    Please connect with us via email for assistance.

  • What is the policy on refunds and withdrawals?

    You may request a full refund within seven days of your payment or 14 days after the published start date of the program, whichever comes later. If your enrollment had previously been deferred, you will not be entitled to a refund. Partial (or pro-rated) refunds are not offered. All withdrawal and refund requests should be sent to admissions@emeritus.org.



    What is the policy on deferrals?

    After the published start date of the program, you have until the midpoint of the program to request to defer to a future cohort of the same program. A deferral request must be submitted along with a specified reason and explanation. Cohort changes may be made only once per enrollment and are subject to availability of other cohorts scheduled at our discretion. This will not be applicable for deferrals within the refund period, and the limit of one deferral per enrollment remains. All deferral requests should be sent to admissions@emeritus.org.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of our Academic Advisors or call us at +1 315 387 4431 (US) / +44 203 838 0836 (UK) / +65 3163 9288 (SG)

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