Syllabus as of 3/29
Class name: Business to Business Marketing 511 A/B, Foster School of Business, UW
Class times: Monday and Wednesdays, 10:30a - 12:20p
Class location: In-person Paccar 395 and Online via Zoom
Office hours: Wednesdays 12:20p - 1:20p and by appointment (you can set a phone or Zoom
meeting at https://calendly.com/elissafink/chat
Syllabus: Below, which will be kept current in Canvas; you will also find this original version at
www.elissafink.com/syllabus2022 and soon in the "Files" section of Canvas in Word form.
Welcome!
Welcome to Business to Business (B2B) Marketing. This is the fourth time I'm teaching this
class, having retired late 2018 as CMO for Tableau, a publicly held B2B software company that
went from under $5 million in revenue to over $1 billion while I ran marketing. I've also held
several executive B2B marketing positions for well over 20+ years in other companies. And now,
I serve on several boards for companies of all sizes (Dataiku, Qumulo, Pantheon, Conversica,
Uberflip, Intellimize and others) and a few not-for-profits (Salmon-Safe, Operation Fistula, and
Mount Baker Housing Authority).
This course was built with the idea that when you finish, you'll be able to have a good
conversation with a B2B CMO about marketing, strategy and execution. I want you to be
someone that not only can understand theory and build strategy but also can be conversant in
the day-to-day language of B2B marketing.
Since this class will have a significant portion of online instruction, we’ll all have to be flexible
and helpful as we work to find the best ways to share information and collaborate. I want to
deliver as much knowledge and learning so I appreciate your understanding, patience and
especially your feedback and constructive ideas for improving. And I want you to know that I am
here for you now as your instructor but I'm also willing to be available to you when you are back
in the workforce building your career.
Overall Course Objectives
Business to Business (B2B) Marketing addresses how to understand, create, and deliver value
when selling goods and services to other businesses, governments, and institutional customers.
In this course, students will learn how business markets differ from consumer markets, how to
assess opportunities in business markets, how to develop a marketing strategy, how to manage
key marketing execution elements and how to make data-driven marketing decisions that
enable a B2B company to generate and deliver value for its customers, itself, and its partners.
This course is a marketing elective that builds upon the frameworks and lessons learned in the
Marketing Core. We will be focusing on issues that are specific to business markets, whether
because of implementation challenges, coordination problems, market conditions, or
pre-existing company or industry norms. In addition, because it’s critical for marketers to play
the prognosticator and general change agent, we’ll be discussing general business trends
particularly affecting customer, marketing and go-to-market strategy.
There are three major themes underlying this course that we will return to time and time again in
our discussions:
1. Marketing to businesses is not so dissimilar to consumer marketing; it’s the science and
art of marketing to people
2. Digital disruption is impacting nearly every aspect of business; data and analytics are
core to insight and speed to act.
3. Leadership is critical to driving change in disruptive times.
Grading Policy and Assignments
Like the world of business, your participation in our discussions is absolutely critical so it is the
heaviest contributor to your final grade. The final grade in this course will be based on the
following components:
● 30% Class participation
● 30% Group assignment
● 40% Quizzes & Exercises
In all elective courses at Foster, the distribution of final grades must satisfy school-wide
requirements. Grades will be curved accordingly at the end of the quarter.
Group project:
For the group project, there will be several small group assignments that lead up to the final
presentation. These assignments should be done in groups of 3-6 students. Groups should
ideally be chosen by the 3rd week of class. You will be able to sign up via a link that will be
posted in Canvas.
You and your group will select a company from a pre-determined list. Each one has a different
market position and marketing problem.
Group assignments are a key part of learning because in business, nearly everything you do is
in the context of a group. In addition, they require a blend of quantitative skills and managerial
intuition — as a result, your groups will benefit if they consist of members with complementary
skill sets.
I expect all students to contribute to the group assignments. At the end of the quarter, I will ask
you to provide peer evaluations of your group members’ contributions to the team. These
evaluations will be reflected in class participation grades.
Individual exercises:
For any exercises or projects assigned (excluding the final group project), students should turn
in a short case memo that covers the discussion questions for the case. The specific questions
we will address will be shared via Canvas - they will not necessarily include all the questions
contained in the cases themselves. Write-ups should be short (1-2 pages max) and should
consist of answers to the specific discussion questions that accompany each case. You are
encouraged to discuss the discussion questions with your classmates, but the documents
should be submitted individually.
For any analytic projects assigned, students should turn in a working spreadsheet, analysis or
model that provides the answers as defined by the problem statement. (The free license of
Tableau is provided as an option and is not required to be used if you prefer some other
analytical tool.) Analytics should be clear and simple. Assignments should be submitted to
Canvas before class. We will be debriefing each assignment during class, so late work cannot
be accepted.
Class participation:
This course requires significant levels of class participation from students. As in the real world,
being well prepared is a crucial component of your ability to participate in a constructive
manner; offering your useful, constructive and collaborative participation is equally as critical.
Please note the following:
● Typically, I will publish any slides or reference materials we’ll be discussing in class the
morning of that class.
● At the end of each class, you will be asked to complete a participation quiz/survey
evaluating your own performance for that day
○ The quiz/survey must be completed on the day of class or it will not count toward
your evaluation. If you are absent, obviously you should not complete the survey.
Please complete the information as objectively as possible.
● We will use Breakout Rooms consistently so please be prepared to have a thoughtful
discussion with your peers. For the first few weeks, you will be assigned randomly to
groups; after final project groups are formed, we will use those.
● Occasionally, we will be using current B2B events as the basis of some of our
discussions; staying current, thinking on your feet, and speaking eloquently and
persuasively are all important to your career as a marketer. We will share a story or
insight and discuss the marketing implications. Your participation grade will be hugely
improved if you make contributions that are well substantiated, persuasively presented,
and insightful.
○ PLEASE NOTE: To give you more options for participation, you can (but are not
required to) post responses to "Discussions" in Canvas. While I very much
appreciate in-class participation (e.g., via open discussion, break rooms,
questions, etc.), if you decide to share your thoughts about a particular article via
posted "Discussions", please note that in the Participation Survey. I will NOT be
grading your posts but will be reading and occasionally commenting on them. I
also appreciate your judiciously "liking" other students' posts. "Discussion" topics
will be posted as needed.
Technology and Process:
Normally I wouldn’t make “Technology and Process” so prominent in the outline but in this
particular time, I want to be clear about how the class will likely run. Class participation is a huge
part of your grade so I do expect you to participate actively. As importantly, I expect that as we
get into the mechanics of the class, how the class operates could change; I appreciate your help
and feedback in making this a worthwhile use of your time. In addition, if you have any
difficulties, technical hurdles, extenuating circumstances, please let me know ASAP. I won’t be
able to be your technical support but we can work together to solve issues.
Online tools:
We will use Zoom for all class meetings. Since I will be tracking participation, you are
required to sign in using your UW ID. Please register in advance; I will share the link in Canvas
as soon as I have access. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing
information about joining the meeting.
● In using Zoom, I expect you to be logged in on time with BOTH audio and live video. Be
prepared to know the following items:
○ To use your registered name as your Zoom name so I know it’s you
○ To have good quality audio and minimal background noise (if possible)
○ To be on screen via live video
○ To mute and unmute yourself (note that I will often place everyone on mute and
will unmute you as needed in class)
○ To answer Zoom polls
○ To use Zoom chat
○ To rapidly raise hand when you want to speak
○ To use emoticons to indicate how the class is going
○ To enter into rooms for sub-group discussions in our class and after, return to the
main class
○ To share your screen if I ask you to
● I will also record each class and post the class recording typically within 1 week. You will
find the link here in the syllabus under each date; also, you often can find the recordings
in Panopto Recordings (provided there have been no technology interruptions).
We'll also occasionally use Poll Everywhere when Zoom polls don't give us enough options.
When I open a poll in class, you can respond to Poll Everywhere polls in 2 ways, either via
Website or Text messaging. I will provide details each time we use a poll.
Class and syllabus format:
The syllabus WILL change. So please check Canvas regularly. And I really appreciate your
flexibility and patience!
The typical process flow or format of the class will be as follows:
● Welcome
● Agenda review
● OPTIONAL: Current news discussion (usually based on WSJ article or news item -
typically, I will send it to you via Canvas email)
● Lecture/content
● Class participation (breakout room, poll, discussions (Canvas), etc.)
● Break
● Lecture/content – either together as a class or separately, where you log off and then log
back in after a specific period of time
● Class participation (breakout room, poll, discussions (Canvas), chat, etc.)
● Wrap up
Course Materials:
Materials in this course consist of a mixture of a coursepack, cases, articles and
videos/webinars. For each week, there are related readings, videos and materials identified for
each topic and set of learning objectives. I expect that you will read the course packets/articles
by the Monday of that week. Note that the topics listed last in each week will most likely be
covered Wednesdays.
● Coursepack and cases: Downloadable from the Harvard Business School Publishing
website. Here's a link to the coursepack: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/927242
● Additional readings: Links in syllabus
● Free student license of Tableau: We’ll use this in our class around analytics and data;
as well, you could find it useful for your group project. Please follow these instructions
○ Download the latest version of Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep Builder here
■ Click on the link above and select “Download Tableau Desktop” and
“Download Tableau Prep Builder”. Tableau Prep is optional.
■ On the form, enter your school email address for Business E-mail and
enter the name of your school for Organization.
■ Activate with your product key: PRODUCT KEY TO COME
■ Already have a copy of Tableau Desktop installed? Update your license in
the application: Help menu → Manage Product Keys
○ Special notes:
■ We will be getting a cloud version of Tableau to analyze data without
installed software and to more easily analyze and share our work. More
information to come soon.
■ If you need help getting started, use the Tableau Resources page or find
more support at the Student Resource Page.
■ You can continue using Tableau after the class is over by individually
requesting your own one-year license through the Tableau for Students
program.
● Lecture slides/notes/recordings: When available, distributed on Canvas or via Zoom
links.
● Additional course material: Distributed on Canvas as needed
The syllabus and as much of our course materials referenced above are posted on Canvas. All
material is organized by week it belongs to. If any, lecture notes will be posted on Canvas.
There is no required textbook for this course. See above for the required course packet. If you
would like a reference book, there are a number of options that provide additional information on
business to business marketing, depending on your specific area of interest
1. Hutt and Speh: Business Marketing Management: B2B (11th ed: 2012) is the classic
textbook focusing on business to business marketing.
2. Brennan, Canning and McDowell: Business-to-Business Marketing (4th ed: 2017) is a
solid textbook covering both strategic and tactical B2B marketing.
3. Anderson, Narus, and Narayandas: Business Market Management: Understand,
Creating, and Delivering Value (3rd ed: 2008) is a textbook that uses the lens of
customer value to analyze business markets.
Honor Code:
Group assignments should not be discussed with members of other groups or with people from
outside the class. The other cases can be discussed with other students in the class, but the
case memo must be your work alone.
For the group assignments, the cases, and the exams, do not use any discussions or case
solutions that you find online or that are shared by people who have taken similar courses in the
past. To ensure that future classes benefit from a similar learning experience, I also ask that you
do not share any case or assignment materials with students outside the class.
Course Syllabus Including Learning Objectives:
The course is divided into three major sections: strategy, foundation and execution. Note that
we will find that many of these topics are intertwined and similar topics may be addressed in
more than one section of the course.
Strategy
The first section of the course is focused on understanding the key elements that drive B2B
strategy.
WEEK OF 3/28
● Getting to know this class (M)
→ In-Class Survey: https://forms.gle/9Feb1yBZYRHkcrky6 or
www.elissafink.com/survey2022
● Defining your company – mission/purpose and culture - and how that is both shaped by
and reflected in your marketing (M)
→ Course Packet: “Purposes and Functions of a Mission Statement and Guidelines”
● Understanding B2B marketing and strategy (as compared to B2C) and stakeholder
priorities (W)
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Business-to-Business Marketing”
→ Course Packet: "Scope and Challenge of Business-to-Business Marketing"
WEEK OF 4/4
Note: No class April 6 - watch class video - link to be provided
● Segmentation including global and industry considerations (M)
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Segmentation and Targeting”
● Organizational buying behavior including buyer personas (W)
→ Course Packet: “How to Market a Product When Your Buyer Isn't Your User”
→ Web Article/Download: “What Sales Should Know About Modern B2B Buyers”
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/what-sales-should-know-about-modern-b2b-
buyers/
→ Web Article/Download: “A Guide to Buyer Enablement [Infographic]”
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/a-guide-to-buyer-enablement/
WEEK OF 4/11
● Understanding and modeling customer value (M)
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Customer Management” pgs 1-12
● The customer experience - customer success (M)
● Understanding channels of distribution including partner marketing (W)*
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Developing and Managing Channels of
Distribution”
→ Course Packet: "B2B Relationship Marketing"
Foundation:
The second section focuses on areas that make up the foundation, including goals and
objectives, needed to begin planning and then executing your plan.
WEEK OF 4/18
● Crafting and implementing your brand identity, message and content (M)*
→ Course Packet: “Branding in the B2B World-New Opportunities”
● Performance management and the importance of data, analytics and technology (W)
→ Website Download: “Why Your Data Strategy is Your B2B Growth Strategy”
https://hbr.org/sponsored/2018/02/why-your-data-strategy-is-your-b2b-growth-strategy
→ Course Packet: “Use Data to Accelerate Your Business Strategy”
→ Course Packet: “Letting the Computers Take Over: Using AI to Solve Marketing
Problems”
WEEK OF 4/25
● Managing product marketing, innovation, product development and the competitive
landscape (M)*
→ Course Packet: “Developing a Superior Positioning Concept for a Product, Service,
Idea, or Experience”
● Setting pricing strategy (W)
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Pricing Strategy”
→ Course Packet: “A Survey of 1,700 Companies Reveals Common B2B Pricing
Mistakes”
WEEK OF 5/2
● Marketing planning and budgeting (M)
→ Web Video: “Anatomy of a B2B Marketing Plan”
https://intelligentgrowth.siriusdecisions.com/ondemand-webcasts/the-anatomy-of-a-b-to-
b-marketing-plan-webcast-replay#
→ Course Packet: “The Big Lie of Strategic Planning”
● Integrating sales and marketing organizations and processes (W)*
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Sales Force Design and Management”
Execution:
The third section focuses on areas that make up execution, including planning, refining and
executing your plan.
WEEK OF 5/9
● Understanding the marketing funnel – or flywheel (M)
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Can No Longer Rely on the Funnel”
→ Web Article/Download: “The Consumer Decision Journey" (M)
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-cons
umer-decision-journey
● Planning for content (M)
→ Web Article/Download: “Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends –
North America”
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2020_B2B_Research
_Final.pdf
→ Course Packet: “Technical Experts Need to Get Better at Telling Stories”
→ Video: Watch “Win More Sales Deals with Sense Making Sellers”
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/win-more-sales-deals-with-sense-making-se
llers/
● Brand communications including public relations, analyst relations, social media and
crisis communications (W)*
→ Course Packet: “4 Questions to Boost Your Social Media Marketing”
→ Course Packet: "The New Rules for Crisis Management"
→ Web Article/Download: "Brand Marketing Through the Coronavirus Crisis"
https://hbr.org/2020/04/brand-marketing-through-the-coronavirus-crisis
WEEK OF 5/16
● Planning for demand generation and campaigns including account-based marketing (M)
→ Course Packet: “Marketing Reading: Digital Marketing”
→ Web Article: “Understanding Internet Advertising: The Basics” (M)
https://www.disruptiveadvertising.com/marketing/internet-advertising
→ Web Article: “The Ultimate Guide to Account-Based Marketing (ABM)”
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/account-based-marketing-guide
● Field marketing and events (W)*
→ Web Article: "These eight charts show how COVID-19 has changed B2B sales
forever"
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/these-ei
ght-charts-show-how-covid-19-has-changed-b2b-sales-forever
→ Web Article: “Year In Review: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Shaped Event Marketing
in 2020”
https://www.eventmarketer.com/article/year-in-review-covid-19-shaped-event-marketing-
2020/
WEEK OF 5/23
● Sales enablement and customer success enablement (M)
→ Web Article/Download: “Demystifying Sales Enablement: What It Is, Why It Matters,
And How To Do It Right” (M) https://www.saleshacker.com/what-is-sales-enablement/
(Links to an external site.).
→ Web Article/Download: “How To Make Sales Engagement Work For Your Company”
(M)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/serenitygibbons/2019/03/09/how-to-make-sales-engageme
nt-work-for-your-company/#7d94f8ce2341
● Community and influencing customers with marketing (W)
→ Web Article/Download: “How to Build a Successful B2B Customer Community”
https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/how-to-build-a-successful-b2b-customer-
community/
→ Web Article/Download: "Is There Glamour & ROI in Semiconductor Marketing?"
/www.slideshare.net/SanderArts2/stanford-marketing-in-semiconductors-for-publications
a
● Customer experience and digital transformation - the big drivers now (W)
→ Web Article: "Improving the business-to-business customer experience" (M)
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/improvin
g-the-business-to-business-customer-experience.
WEEK OF 5/30 LAST WEEK OF INSTRUCTION (Memorial Day week)
Note: No class June 1 - watch class video - link to be provided
● Understanding the impact of diversity, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), social
issues and purpose-driven marketing (M)
→ Course Packet: “Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and
Corporate Social Responsibility”
→ Web Article/Download: "B2B Buyers Demand Authentic, Consistent Investments In
Philanthropy From Brands" (M)
https://www.demandgenreport.com/features/industry-insights/b2b-buyers-demand-authe
ntic-consistent-investments-in-philanthropy-from-brands
● Final reflection: Leadership - earning your seat at the table (M)*
→ Course Packet: “What Makes A Leader?”
WEEK OF 6/6
Note: No class June 8
● Final presentations
Key Due Dates:
CLASS EXCEPTIONS
● NO CLASS April 6 - watch class video
● NO CLASS June 1 - watch class video
● NO CLASS June 8
QUIZZES & EXERCISES
● HOMEWORK DUE 4/11: Quiz - To be published in "Assignments"
● HOMEWORK DUE 4/29: Take-home Analytics Exercise - To be published in
"Assignments."
○ Optional video for Tableau tutorial will be available.*
● HOMEWORK DUE 5/9: Quiz - To be published in "Assignments"
● HOMEWORK DUE 5/23: Quiz - To be published in "Assignments"
ASSIGNMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH FINAL
HOMEWORK DUE 4/22: Your team members for the group project and selected company
(credit for this attributes to your group project); 1 submission per group
OPTIONAL PROGRESS REVIEW DUE BY 5/23: Your team will sign up for a 20 minute session
with me to share where you are with the project and get any feedback/advice. This is optional.
Link will be provided.
FINAL PRESENTATIONS Week of 6/6
