Using Experiential Learning in a Principles of Marketing Course: An Empirical Analysis of Student Marketing Audits

Experiential learning typically is incorporated at the end of most marketing curricula. Can experiential learning be effectively incorporated earlier into the marketing curriculum, i.e., into a Principles of Marketing course? An experiential learning project called a Student Marketing Audit (SMA) was developed to address this question. A SMA is a student-based review of environmental influences and current marketing strategies with one or more marketing functionaries of a local business. Implemented over five sections of a Principles of Marketing Course with 87 different participating businesses, SMAs were found to result in increased business skills for students and the development of more positive attitudes toward the college of business by client organization personnel.