market research courses

Outside USA: +1‑607‑330‑3200

Market Research Cornell Certificate Program

Overview and courses.

Master the art of market research with this online certificate program designed to empower you with the insights and knowledge needed to create winning marketing strategies. By understanding your target audience, identifying opportunities, evaluating the competition, and making data-driven decisions, you will gain the essential skills to drive your organization's success in today's competitive marketplace.

This comprehensive certificate program will equip you with the tools, techniques, and methodologies to excel in the field of market research and analysis. Throughout the courses, you will discover how to conduct effective research, segment and target customers, position brands, and communicate brand value. You’ll come away from the program armed with the knowledge and skills to create a lasting impact on your organization's growth and success.

For the best experience in this program it is recommended to take these courses in the order that they appear.

Course list

• Essentials of Marketing Strategy

Analyzing Segmentation and Targeting

In this course, you'll use the statistical method of cluster analysis to meaningfully segment and target your market based on customer needs and preferences. Through interactive, applied activities, you'll analyze how customers naturally segment themselves within your market -- and how to predict and target the most profitable segments for your business. Customer data analyzed are similar to what is typically commissioned from market research firms.

Using Data for Positioning Brands

To improve sales and market share, knowing what consumers want isn't enough. You also need to know what they believe your product or service, and your competitors', provides. In this course, you'll create and use perceptual maps to identify which dimensions consumers use to differentiate among products, and how they perceive your products relative to competitors'. These maps are valuable for identifying opportunities to introduce and position new products, repositioning existing products, and identifying your true competitors.

Market Research and Analysis

Marketing professionals rely on clearly defined goals to determine the course of action when placing a product in the market. Leveraging research to learn more about your target audience is the focus of this course. In it, you will learn how to be an intelligent consumer of information when it comes to market research and analysis so you can become a more effective decision-maker. You will first look at market research, including the purpose and goals of research; how to balance the ideal with reality in doing research; and how to apply the six stages of research to a marketing situation.

You will then examine different ways to analyze the data acquired through market research. Using formulas to determine how cannibalization affects the profitability of new products and the value of a long-term customer, you will perform a basic sensitivity analysis to assess the robustness of your results.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

Creating and Communicating the Value of Your Brand

An organization's brand is one of its most valuable assets. Your organization's brand represents the themes and ideas that your customers associate with the organization. The value of your brand, otherwise known as brand equity, impacts everything from consumer awareness to the salience of your brand in the market. Creating and communicating the value of your brand across channels can improve the value of your organization and the return on your marketing.

In this course, you will look at the value of a brand through brand equity from both the firm's and the customer's perspective. You will make the connection between customer loyalty and building brand equity. You will also discuss marketing communications: how they work, what forms exist, and how you use them to build brand equity.

Marketing Symposium   LIVE

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Marketing Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of marketing work. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the marketing field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

Upcoming Symposium: April 9th – 10th, 2024

• Tuesday, April 9, 2024 11AM – 1PM ET
• Wednesday, April 10, 2024 11AM – 1PM ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.

How It Works

• View slide #1
• View slide #2
• View slide #3
• View slide #4
• View slide #5
• View slide #6

Faculty Authors

• Certificates Authored

Sachin Gupta is Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Marketing at the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management. Professor Gupta’s research focuses on marketing research, healthcare, privacy of marketing data, nonprofits, and marketing analytics.

In 2020 Professor Gupta’s paper published in the Journal of Marketing Research received the AMA-EBSCO Annual Award for Responsible Research in Marketing. The award honors outstanding research that produces credible and useful knowledge that can be applied to benefit society. In 2014 his paper in the International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing received the Outstanding Paper award. In 2008 his paper published in the Journal of Marketing Research in 2003 received the O’Dell award of the American Marketing Association. This award is given to the authors of the best article published five years earlier. Professor Gupta also received the Paul Green award of the American Marketing Association in 2003. In 2007, he received the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly’s best paper award for his article on customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry. Five of his other published papers have been finalists for the O’Dell award, the Paul Green award, and the John D.C. Little award of INFORMS.

In 2020 Professor Gupta was appointed Editor in Chief of the Journal of Marketing Research, where he had been co-editor since 2016. From 2010 to 2013 Professor Gupta was Johnson’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. In that role he was responsible for recruitment and development of faculty, and for the school’s research function. From 2014 to 2018 he was director of Cornell’s PhD program in Management.

At Johnson, Gupta teaches a popular MBA elective course called Data Driven Marketing. He has previously taught MBA elective courses in Marketing Research and Pricing, and the Marketing Management core course in the MBA and EMBA programs. He teaches in a variety of non-degree executive education programs. In 2009, he received the Stephen Russell Distinguished Teaching Award, given by the Johnson class of 2004, at their fifth reunion. In 2007 the graduating MBA class selected him to receive the Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. Gupta is the author of eCornell’s Data Driven Marketing certificate. He previously taught at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he received the Sidney Levy Award for teaching excellence and was recognized in the Dean’s four-star list on multiple occasions.

• Demand Marketing

Market Research

• Digital Marketing 360
• Data Privacy Strategy
• Digital Leadership
• Management 360
• Integrated Marketing 360
• Marketing Analytics

Professor Douglas Stayman is an associate professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of advertising and consumer decision making. He came to Johnson from the University of Texas at Austin. His research has focused on the study of emotional responses to advertising and the role of affect in decision making. His work has involved methodological and measurement issues in studying emotions. He is also interested in theoretical accounts of the effects of emotions on people’s preferences. His research has been supported by grants from the Ogilvy Center for Research and Development, the Marketing Science Institute, and the American Academy of Advertising. He is currently involved in research into the future of professional, most specifically management, education.

• Product Marketing

Key Course Takeaways

• Use systematic processes to define a market strategy
• Create a strategic customer segmentation plan
• Apply the concepts of segmentation, targeting, and positioning to a product or service
• Position new products, reposition existing products, and identify competitors
• Analyze market research to learn more about customers and products/services
• Explore the value that brands provide to the consumer

Download a Brochure

What You'll Earn

• Market Research Certificate from Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business
• 50 Professional Development Hours (5 CEUs)

Watch the Video

Who should enroll.

• Marketing professionals and analysts
• Business analysts
• Managers using data insights to make business decisions
• Account executives
• Product managers

“I was really able to harness that technology and have a classroom right at my kitchen table with eCornell.”

“ecornell’s certificate in marketing helped me leap ahead in my career, become more knowledgeable, and feel like more of a significant contributor to my team. i use the skills i learned in the program every day to forward my goals and company initiatives.”.

• View testimonial #1
• View testimonial #2

Request Information Now by completing the form below.

Enter your information to get access to a virtual open house with the eCornell team to get your questions answered live.