3.0 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

• Define forecasting and differentiate it from related concepts such as prediction.
• Describe the role of forecasting in marketing strategy implementation.
• Outline the differences between qualitative and quantitative forecasting methods.
• Perform forecast calculations such as simple moving averages, weighted moving averages, and exponential smoothing.
• Use associative/causal methods of forecasting for operational decision-making.
• Calculate forecasts using time series analysis and seasonal index.
• Calculate Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) to assess forecast accuracy.