Over the past decade, marketing has evolved at a lightning speed. Gone are the days when companies would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on mass mailings while crossing their fingers and praying for a high response rate to their promotion.

Fast forward to 2016. You are browsing the fall collections at your favorite online stores, when you simultaneously open Facebook. The same sneakers that you were looking at moments ago now appear as an advertisement on the side of your newsfeed. Coincidence? Definitely not.

Today, corporations have access to infinite amounts of customer data and can specifically target consumers based on that information. Companies are looking for employees who have experience in marketing analytics in order to create meaningful campaigns for both their company and their customers. The marketing analytics definition comprises the process and technologies tools that allow marketers to evaluate the success of campaigns and measure performance using metrics such as ROI, marketing attribution and overall marketing effectiveness.

If you are interested in the benefits of marketing analytics and how companies are using data to strengthen customer relationships through marketing efforts, a master of science degree in marketing analytics from Bentley University’s McCallum Graduate School of Business might be for you.

Learning Marketing Analytics

The amount of data companies have about their customers is overwhelming, and right now, there is a shortage of employees who have the skills to both effectively analyze and make meaning out of it while presenting analysis reports to the appropriate audiences.

According to a McKinsey report on big data, “by 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.”

The marketing analytics program at Bentley was specifically designed in consultation with a variety of marketing firms to fill this void. By the end of the program, you will learn how to become more engaged with consumers, how to design and deliver robust statistical analysis, and how to effectively communicate the resulting insights.

In learning marketing analytics, you will develop a firm grounding in the essentials of strategic marketing, as well as an understanding of analytical software such as SPSS, SAS, JMP and R that are needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving, information-driven business environment.

Daniel Stasin MSMA ’16 specifically sought out Bentley’s program because of this balance.

“Bentley’s Master of Science in Marketing Analytics program is made up of a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative marketing courses,” says Stasin. “Most of the other university programs I considered were geared toward data science and quantitative engineering, but I was looking to build a niche skill set to prepare me for a role such as a business analyst.”

Stasin graduated from Bentley in May of 2016 and was offered a position as a business technology analyst at Deloitte.

“Coming out of the marketing analytics program, I felt that I had a rounded portfolio of skills,” he says. “The curriculum of quantitative classes, statistical software experience and supplemental marketing coursework was a valuable combination.”

Real-world applications

Bentley’s Master of Science in Marketing Analytics degree is made up of three foundation courses, five core courses and five electives that focus on marketing, statistical analysis or both. When you enter the program, you can expect to gain experience by analyzing real-world data sets and business problems. The ongoing collaboration between faculty and industry practitioners ensures a curriculum that will introduce you to the field’s most compelling issues and trends.

“The course I learned the most from during my time at Bentley and peaked my interest in analytics was taught by PhD student, industry leader and adjunct professor Joseph Dery,” says Stasin. “It was extremely valuable having someone who is working in the field teach concepts in an applicable way.”

To prepare graduates for delivering quantitative analysis that improves decision-making, the master’s in marketing analytics program also makes extensive use of the Center for Marketing Technology.

Throughout your time at Bentley, you can use the center’s sophisticated tools to gain skills in advertising creation, media placement, database marketing, product design, sales automation, and other key marketing tactics. In addition, the center includes a lab where you and your classmates can conduct focus groups and product tests.

Professors will also bring corporate executives into the classroom and the Center for Marketing Technology to discuss how analytics are being utilized in their marketing practices. Previous students have had the opportunity to learn and network with executives from Starbucks, EMC, Wayfair and more.

Learn at your own pace

When you are accepted into the Marketing Analytics program, you will have the flexibility to choose whether you want to enroll full time or part time. While the program is made up of roughly 70 percent full-time students, the part-time schedule meets the needs of those who are still looking to stay at their full-time job during the day, and return to school in the evening.

Many of the marketing analytics courses are also offered as a “hybrid” model. These online courses allow students to choose how they attend class, either by physically coming to campus or by “virtually” attending from a remote location, using only their computer and an Internet connection. Each week you can decide whether you want to attend class on campus or online, depending on what best fits your schedule that day.

Benefits of marketing analytics and career outcomes

As a graduate from Bentley’s Marketing Analytics program, you will benefit from the longstanding recruiting and placement relationships that the university has with regional, national and global companies and marketing firms. Bentley’s placement rate for the Marketing Analytics program consistently averages 92 percent each year.

Bentley’s Office of Graduate Career Services will provide you with an extensive array of online and in-person resources that can help develop skills and strategies to meet short- and long-term career goals. Resources include self-assessment tools, workshops such as Strategies for Career Success, which guides you in establishing a professional presence in person, online and in writing, and BentleyLink, a web-based program through which you can apply for jobs and internships as well as schedule interviews with the many organizations that recruit on campus. As a graduate of Bentley’s McCallum Graduate School of Business, you are also entitled to lifetime career services.

Recent graduates of the Marketing Analytics program have accepted positions at some of the world’s leading organizations — Arnold Worldwide, Chadwick Martin Bailey, Cognos, Digitas, eDialog, EMC Corp., Epsilon, Fidelity Investments, Global Gillette, Marriott International, Members Plus Credit Union, and State Street Corp., among others — with positions including marketing analyst, senior research analyst, manager of strategy, and director of Internet marketing.

You will also have access to Bentley’s powerful global alumni network with thousands of fellow alumni eager to aid your job search and ongoing career development.

Learn more about Bentley’s Marketing Analytics program.