Meet Our Professors: Michael Kroff, Marketing
Posted: October 27, 2017 | Author: Miles Anderson | Read Time: 2 minutes
Anyone who has ever set foot into the classroom of Dr. Michael Kroff knows just how excited he is about marketing. The unpredictable nature of the decision making process with all of its rational and emotional components is what draws Kroff to the people side of business.
Kroff started his education at BYU and graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in business in 1992. After working in retail sales, he realized that he enjoyed interacting with people, but the stress of working on commission, and raising three children, became too much. While working full-time, he decided to go back to school to pursue an MBA, where he discovered his love for marketing and teaching.
“A distinct impression came to my mind while looking at the professor that screamed, ‘I want to do what he is doing!’” said Kroff.
With newly discovered career goals, Kroff sold his home and moved his family to Texas A&M where he earned his Ph.D. in marketing in 2006. After teaching at Montana State University for 10 years, Kroff and his family moved to Cedar City in 2016 to begin work at Southern Utah University.
Kroff teaches the following classes:
- MKTG 3010- Marketing Principles
- MKTG 3930- Advertising & Promotion
- MKTG 4900- Digital Marketing (Special Topic)
- MKTG 6200- Strategic Marketing
Kroff’s research involves consumer behavior. He is specifically interested in how consumers behave when faced with unexpected or novel information or products. He also has ongoing research that looks at how consumers and brands interact on social media. But for Dr. Kroff, the most important aspect of his work is his students.
“My favorite thing about teaching is each moment that I see ‘the light go on’ with my students,” said Kroff. “There just isn’t anything as satisfying for me as knowing that I have helped someone learn something. It’s a challenge and doesn’t always work the way I want it to, but finding creative ways to help students ‘connect the dots’ is a rush!”
Awards and recognition have followed Kroff throughout his teaching career, the most recent of which was the Influencer Certificate he received from the SUU Division of Student Affairs and Career & Professional Development Center. This award is given in recognition of dedicated service and leadership for the benefit of and influence on the lives of SUU students.
Kroff gives this advice to his students.
“Finding what you really want to do for a career may take time (years for me, actually). While you’re waiting, however, do the absolute best you can in whatever you’re doing. The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. When you’re finally being interviewed for your dream job, you want to be able to point to how hard you worked in the past, regardless of how much you did or did not enjoy what you were doing, as evidence of how hard you will work in the future.”
Learn more about the Marketing program.
This article was published more than 5 years ago and might contain outdated information or broken links. As a result, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Tags: Marketing School of Business Faculty
