The course introduces Marketing as both a professional and an academic discipline. As a profession, marketers identify consumer needs, determine which target markets to serve, and develop an optimal product, pricing, promotion, and distribution strategy that best satisfies consumer needs, relative to competition. These decisions—product, price, promotion, and distribution—flow from a rigorous analysis of the constantly evolving market environment and consumer needs (for example, the recent rise of ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible consumption). Marketers serve a vital role in the long-term success of all organizations, profit-oriented as well as not-for-profit, small as well as large. Academically, marketing is a multi-disciplinary field involving the concepts, theories, and methods used to understand exchanges and long-term relationships between buyers and sellers.