Marketing Communications: The Customer's Journey

How do customers move from first hearing about a brand to becoming loyal advocates? This non-credit online course in marketing communications, offered by the University of Arizona Online through Coursera, is designed for working professionals and adult learners who want to up-skill or re-skill in advertising and media strategy while exploring college-level coursework on a flexible basis. You’ll learn to map the customer journey, apply integrated marketing communication principles, and select the right mix of traditional, digital, paid, owned, and earned media channels for awareness, engagement, conversion, and loyalty. Through real-world examples and hands-on exercises, you’ll develop media strategies with SMART objectives and KPIs, and gain practical skills to create campaigns that move customers from awareness to advocacy. This course offers a low-risk way to experience college-aligned learning, making it an excellent 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 the stages of the customer journey and how advertising objectives differ at each stage. 2. Evaluate traditional, digital, owned, and earned media channels to select the best options for awareness, engagement, conversion, and loyalty. 3. Develop a media strategy aligned with customer goals, including SMART objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). 4. Apply integrated marketing communication principles to create campaigns that move customers from awareness to advocacy. This the second course in the Management of Marketing Communications specialization. The other two courses are: - Marketing Communications: Intro to Consumer Behavior - 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.