Marketing Communications: Intro to Consumer Behavior

Want to know what really drives your customers?

This non-credit online course in consumer behavior and marketing communications, offered through the University of Arizona Online on Coursera, provides working professionals and adult learners with practical tools to understand customer insights and turn them into action.

Designed for learners who want to upskill, reskill, or explore college-level marketing coursework, this course examines how consumer goals, pain points, personality traits, cultural context, and social influence shape buying decisions—and how these insights inform effective marketing and brand strategy.

Through real-world examples and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn to apply segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) frameworks, create actionable customer personas, and use behavioral science and storytelling techniques to design marketing communications that motivate action and build lasting connections.

This course offers a flexible, low-risk opportunity to engage with college-aligned coursework on a smaller scale, making it an ideal starting point for professionals considering continued education or a future pathway into University of Arizona credit-bearing programs.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Explain how consumer goals, pain points, personality traits, cultural context, and social influence impact buying behavior and marketing effectiveness.

2. Apply segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies to create brands of enduring value.

3. Create actionable customer personas that capture goals, barriers, and influencers to guide marketing decisions and personalization

4. Use behavioral insights and storytelling techniques to design marketing strategies that motivate action and build lasting connections.

This the First course in the Management of Marketing Communications specialization. The other two courses are:

- Marketing Communications: The Customer's Journey

- Marketing Communications: Culture and Messaging

Learners who complete this course and successfully pass the final exam may be eligible to earn University of Arizona credit through the credit‑by‑exam process. This option provides a flexible pathway for those interested in applying their learning toward future academic goals. For questions about eligibility, requirements, or next steps, please contact CAPE‑Info@email.arizona.edu.