Design of an ideal direct marketing course from the students’ perspective

Abstract

The field of direct marketing has experienced tremendous growth in recent years offering various career options to students graduating from business schools. Although the practice of direct marketing has become more sophisticated in identifying and satisfying customer needs, educators in this field rarely make a systematic effort to measure the needs and preferences of their students and their potential employers. This article uses conjoint analysis to design an “ideal” introductory course in direct marketing based on students’ preferences. For this purpose, students’ preferences, we have obtained various course concepts based on different combinations of the levels of four salient attributes. These are: course content, teaching methods, teaching aids, and real-world experience. The results of conjoint analysis are discussed in the light of improving the teaching of direct marketing in business schools.