The Center for Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) and Sales
Sales and Marketing Undergraduate Research Program
The sales and marketing professions are experiencing dramatic new challenges. Customers are taking on tasks that the salesperson once completed, and technology is performing tasks for customers at the beginning and end of the buying process. These changes represent transformative forces but also opportunities to refine the role of sales and marketing in the firm. The shape of interpersonal relationships will change but remain important to firm success even as the impact of digital marketing strategies on customers grows in importance. The Sales and Marketing Undergraduate Research Program offers students the opportunity to investigate these challenges through high-quality and creative academic research. Students will develop the ability to define and propose data-driven and research-based actionable strategies for businesses aiming to optimize their sales and marketing performance.
Students will be guided by their mentor professor to learn to conduct research using a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques. Students will conduct surveys and interviews with professionals from marketing companies and sales force management firms to gather insights into their perspectives, strategies, and challenges. Additionally, students will learn advanced data analysis techniques and apply marketing analytics on sales metrics and digital marketing measures to identify correlations and trends. Collaboration with marketing companies and sales force management firms is integral to the research project process. By engaging with industry experts and practitioners, students will gain practical insights and access to real-world data. This will better prepare students for a career in sales and marketing or for graduate school for advanced studies in business.
The Sales and Marketing Undergraduate Research Program is a one-year long program that spans Fall 2024 and Spring 2025. Students have the opportunity to enroll in an elective course for 3 credits in Fall 2024 and 3 credits in Spring 2025 that count towards their degree completion. The program is selective, students must apply then be interviewed by Professor Gonzalez before being accepted into the program.
The Sales and Marketing Undergraduate Research program objectives:
- Demonstrate an understanding of marketing research, scholarship and/or creative practices in sales and digital marketing.
- Utilize research, scholarship and/or creative practices and tools to complete marketing projects.
- Identify and gather information relevant to their research, either from published sources or direct observations.
- Evaluate the quality of the information obtained for their projects and apply appropriate analytical techniques to conduct analyses in marketing projects.
- Present research findings and recommendations orally and in writing. Effectively communicate their vision or conclusions as part of activities with faculty mentor, sales and marketing managers, and peers.
- Articulate and defend their work, vision, and/or conclusions to peers and superiors at campus or regional undergraduate research competitions.