Course Topics
List of topics covered: • Marketing for Entrepreneurs An introduction to marketing as a strategic tool for new ventures. This topic explores how entrepreneurial marketing differs from traditional approaches, emphasizing agility, resourcefulness, and value co-creation. What defines marketing when there are few resources but big ambitions? How can entrepreneurs turn constraints into advantages? • Marketing Approach to Product Development Students learn how marketing insights guide product innovation—from idea generation to market launch. Emphasis is placed on customer feedback loops and iterative development. Can customer insight shape better products than expert intuition alone? What does it take to translate real customer needs into compelling, market-ready solutions? • Market Analysis Equips students with tools to understand market size, trends, competition, and unmet needs. The focus is on opportunity recognition and validation in dynamic environments. How can one identify the right market—not just a market? • Developing Forecasts This module introduces techniques for estimating future demand and performance under uncertainty, with a focus on lean and data-informed forecasting. What’s the balance between visionary thinking and disciplined estimation? • Customer Analysis Explores the motivations, behaviors, and decision processes of customers. Students will learn how to segment audiences based on meaningful psychological and behavioral factors. Do you truly know your customers—or are you just guessing their needs? • Market Segmentation Introduces the logic and techniques of dividing markets into actionable segments, enabling effective targeting and positioning strategies. How do you find the customers who don’t just like your product—but love it? • Market Positioning Focuses on crafting a distinctive market position and communicating it clearly. Topics include competition analysis and mapping, as well as strategy and strategic management. Why do some brands stay top-of-mind, while others vanish without a trace? • Product Life Cycle Teaches the different stages of product maturity and how marketing strategies should evolve accordingly, from introduction to decline. When should a product fight to grow, adapt to survive, or gracefully exit? • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Students calculate and interpret CLV to guide decisions in customer acquisition and retention. Emphasis is placed on long-term strategic thinking. How much should you invest in a customer today to win their loyalty tomorrow? • Pricing Strategy Explores the interplay of value perception, cost structures, and competitive context. Pricing is addressed as both an art and a science. Can pricing signal not only worth, but meaning? • Distribution Channels Examines routes to market, including direct and indirect, digital and physical channels. Topics include channel conflict and value delivery. How do you meet your customers where they are, without losing sight of where you’re going? • Advertising, Promotion and Sales Students explore the full marketing communications mix, including traditional, digital, and guerrilla tactics. Emphasis is placed on persuasive messaging and integrated campaigns. What turns a message into a movement—and a pitch into a purchase? • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Focuses on tools and strategies for managing customer data, nurturing loyalty, and personalizing engagement. Is a loyal customer bought—or earned?

Teaching format
• Frontal lectures • Exercises with group discussions • Team-based project work with intermediate presentations and a marketing plan as final deliverable

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding The student acquires advanced knowledge and understanding of the models and instruments of economic-business analysis for the creation of a new company with particular attention to the identification of new market opportunities, the availability and procurement of economic-financial resources and technological and organisational skills for the development of the company The student acquires advanced knowledge and understanding of the models and tools of economic-business analysis for the management of a new enterprise, from the financial and organisational point of view and with respect to the dynamics of growth and development I/we acquire advanced knowledge and understanding of the theories and tools for the economic analysis of business decisions. I/we acquire knowledge and understanding of theories and tools for the economic analysis of the market, at the level of the individual enterprise and the supply system I/we acquire knowledge and understanding of the theories and tools of statistical analysis for making market forecasts The student acquires knowledge of the legal forms necessary for the establishment of a company and for the legal protection of intellectual property rights Ability to apply knowledge and understanding ability to acquire and select information that may be relevant from an entrepreneurial point of view, also in economic-productive contexts different from those studied ability to analyse the combination of market opportunities and resources of the enterprise and to identify entrepreneurial formulas, also with the elaboration of original, compatible and sustainable solutions and combinations ability to select business economics models, suitable for the appropriate analysis of a specific economic-social and productive context ability to select the tools for the strategy and management of the enterprise, consistent with the enterprise economy models considered appropriate ability to assess the potential and sustainability of new business projects (business plan), from a multidisciplinary (economic, business and legal) perspective ability to assess the entrepreneurial potential associated with the development of an innovation by an enterprise (learning area 2) ability to propose and implement strategic and operational courses of action to favour the birth of a new enterprise Autonomy of judgement Acquire the ability to analyse complex entrepreneurial issues, such as the elaboration and evaluation of a business project (business plan) or the development of a new product. Acquire the ability to make predictions, such as analysing the future consequences of entrepreneurial, managerial and operational choices. Autonomy of judgement is developed in the training activities carried out for the preparation of the thesis, as well as in the exercises that accompany the lectures and that involve group discussions and the comparison of individual analyses carried out by students in preparation for the lecture. Communication skills Acquire the ability to describe and communicate in an intercultural context, in a clear and precise manner, problematic situations typical of the management of a new enterprise and the development of innovation, such as, for example, the conditions for the validation of a problem or solution, the prospects and risks associated with a business model or an innovation project. The development of communication competences assumes heterogeneous situations such as, for example, the presence of internal stakeholders (e.g. colleagues, managers, owners), or external stakeholders (e.g. potential investors, suppliers and other business partners) and the ability to sustain an adversarial process. The achievement of these objectives is assessed in the course of the training activities already mentioned, as well as in the discussion of the final thesis. Learning ability Acquire the ability to study independently, to prepare summaries. Acquire the ability to identify thematic connections and to establish relationships between different cases and contexts of analysis Acquire the ability to frame a new problem systematically and to generate appropriate taxonomies. Acquire the ability to develop general models from the phenomena studied.

Additional educational objectives and learning outcomes
How do innovations find their market? How can you make a product known, loved, and trusted—when time, money, and resources are scarce? And what makes marketing truly entrepreneurial? Entrepreneurial Marketing is where bold ideas meet smart execution. This course provides an in-depth exploration of Entrepreneurial Marketing, emphasizing how innovative thinking, strategic insight, and efficient use of limited resources shape successful market approaches in entrepreneurial settings. Building on scientific and applied foundations in general marketing, we explore the unique challenges entrepreneurs face, such as launching innovative products, reaching early adopters, or designing campaigns with minimal budgets and maximum impact. Designed to equip students with both cutting-edge knowledge and practical tools, the course blends theory and application through three key elements: • Expert input through interactive lectures to build a conceptual foundation. • Real-world reflection via case discussions and group dialogue. • Hands-on experience in project-based teamwork, where students apply their learning to real entrepreneurial problems. Students leave this course not only with a toolkit of proven marketing techniques but with the mindset and confidence to shape their own market. The following learning objectives will be met by the course: • Knowledge and understanding: The students grasp the most important and practice-relevant knowledge of marketing and, in particular, marketing in entrepreneurial ventures. The students have a systematic understanding of this content, are able to integrate this knowledge and are familiar with the current state of research on the subject. • Applying knowledge and understanding: Students are able to put the knowledge of Entrepreneurial Marketing into practice. They solve specific problems in marketing for entrepreneurial ventures by themselves and are able to develop and apply new and innovative solutions. In particular, they are able to conduct in-depth market research on various entrepreneurial opportunities and to develop a tailored marketing plan. • Making judgments: The students can deal with the complexity of the challenges in marketing entrepreneurial ventures. They can assess existing marketing strategies in a qualified manner and reflect on them critically, both technically and ethically. • Communication skills: Students will be able to communicate their knowledge of entrepreneurial marketing to both lay and professional audiences. In doing so, they can logically and coherently weigh up, argue about, and explain their decisions. • Learning skills: The students know the most important sources of reliable and up-to-date knowledge on entrepreneurial marketing. This enables them to learn new things independently. The knowledge acquired in the course is organized in such a flexible way that they are able to link new contents and trends in this field to the existing knowledge and thus comprehend and apply them.

Assessment
The achievement of the learning objectives is assessed through three outcome measures: • Written exam (45% - 15 points): A written exam in multiple choice format is designed to measure both the knowledge of the contents and their deeper comprehension (classical knowledge questions) as well as the initial application of what has been learned (case scenarios with alternatives to choose from). • Team-based project work with intermediate presentations and a marketing plan as final deliverable (45% - 15 points): For each unit of the course, students will directly apply the knowledge and skills learned in that unit to an entrepreneurial opportunity (a pre-defined business idea). The rigors of this team-based project work go beyond mere application of what has been learned and require the development of a new mix of marketing strategies, course prepared but now self-directed learning of marketing tools and their application, and critical judgment of various marketing approaches. The results of the project work in groups will be mapped as a project report and in virtual form. • Class participation (10%- 4 points): Assessment of participation in class and accompanying project units will relate to oral and written (e.g., team discussions) contributions by students. This includes critical reflection, guided discussion, synthesis, and further development of course content. Non-attending students are required to engage in an in-depth study of the full course literature and will be assessed through an extended and comprehensive written examination. NOTE: Project work and classroom contributions are valid for 1 academic year and cannot be carried over beyond that time-frame.

Evaluation criteria
The following evaluation criteria are essential for the assessment: • Correctness and reliability of the statements • Structure and clarity of the statements • Logic and coherence of the statements • Quality and extent of the research as a basis for the statements • Integration and interconnectedness of the learned content • Activity and proactivity regarding the contributions • Evidence-based choice and application of the learned content • Quality, applicability and innovativeness of the results

Required readings

(Only for non-attending students)

Selected chapters from:

• Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2017). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. McGraw-Hill.
• Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing.McGraw-Hill
• Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., & Cunningham, M. H. (2018). Principles of marketing. Pearson.

Supplementary readings

Selected chapters from:

• Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2017). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. McGraw-Hill.
• Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing.McGraw-Hill
• Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., & Cunningham, M. H. (2018). Principles of marketing. Pearson.

In addition, practitioner-oriented literature and tools, e.g.:

• Aulet, B. (2013). Disciplined entrepreneurship : 24 steps to a successful startup. John Wiley & Sons
• Bland, D. J., Osterwalder, A., Smith, A., & Papadakos, T. (2020). Testing business ideas. John Wiley & Sons
• Gruber, M. & Tal, S. (2017). Where to play: 3 steps for discovering your most valuable market opportunities. Pearson.
• Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation. John Wiley & Sons. Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., & Smith, A. (2015). Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Wiley.

Further information
None