Blog Post for Dec 11
Sadly, Friday was our last marketing class. Overall, I really enjoyed the class. I LOVED the use of the Shark Tank videos (I know I talk about it in every blog post, but they really helped me grasp the concepts. I liked being able to go back and watch a video, and think "Oh that's right, this video is connected with this concept because..."). I also LOVED the simulation; it was fun, interesting, interactive and different from lectures.
This class actually got me very interested in marketing; even though I'm not going to get the best grade in the class :( =, I'm thinking about taking another marketing class in the future because it really fascinates me.
I also liked presenting our simulations to the class, I was also able to learn a lot through what other groups did, and I liked showing off our $30.89 :)!
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Blog Post for Dec 10
Blog Post for Dec 10
Thursday was easily one of the best classes in the entire marketing semester (three week semester, that is). Thursday was a class full of anxiety, stress, depression and unbelievable happiness. Thursday is the day that Jonny, Ryan and I got a stock price of $30.89!! I was actually so excited that we got such a high stock price, that I called my mom and told her. So exciting! On Thursday, we did 3 more periods, spending probably twice the amount of time on each period than every other group did. As overwhelming as it was, we were actually having a fun time doing it. Over the periods, we found out that we need to even out the amount of people we have in our sales force, maximize shelf space, spend less money on promoting and advertising Allround, and spend more on advertising and promoting Allright (with Prof. Spotts' help, of course), keep the MSRP the same, and so much more. We learned that the price quality pricing strategy worked the best, as long as we prove that the high cost is a fair cost for the benefits.
I also really liked the idea of splitting us up using the whiteboards because the whiteboards were crucial, at least for our group, especially during the last few periods. We used up all three of the whiteboards, writing down our ideas, what we think would work, what we think wouldn't work, everything, and I think it overall helped us because we were able to look back and see what we wrote down and work off of it.
I still find it hilarious how we screamed when our stock price increased by $10 for the last period (our bad!); but it was awesome. We really got into the simulation, and I think that is what helped us grasp the concepts a little better.
Overall, I really enjoyed the simulation; I was able to learn so much through it, and it was extremely enjoyable.
I also really liked the idea of splitting us up using the whiteboards because the whiteboards were crucial, at least for our group, especially during the last few periods. We used up all three of the whiteboards, writing down our ideas, what we think would work, what we think wouldn't work, everything, and I think it overall helped us because we were able to look back and see what we wrote down and work off of it.
I still find it hilarious how we screamed when our stock price increased by $10 for the last period (our bad!); but it was awesome. We really got into the simulation, and I think that is what helped us grasp the concepts a little better.
Overall, I really enjoyed the simulation; I was able to learn so much through it, and it was extremely enjoyable.
Blog Post for Dec 9
Blog Post for Dec 9
During Wednesday's class, we started to work on the Market Share simulation. I was grouped with Jonny and Ryan, and in the end, I don't think I could've been put in a better group. The first day using the simulation, we spent most of the time trying to figure out how to work the site, and trying to create a n underlying plan to increase our stock price. On Wednesday, we worked on our periods, having mini heart attacks and celebratory yells every time we advanced to the next period. We put so much time and effort into the simulation, listing specific details for each aspect of the simulation, advertising, sales force, promotion, and the special portion.
From the start, the simulation was amazingly helpful in connecting the concepts to real life situations; it's amazing the difference in the knowledge you get from sitting through a lecture to the knowledge you get after applying it to real life situations. Being able to own our own company, and make every single little decision having to do with the company was so overwhelming, but also so fun and so interesting. I highly recommend using the simulations for all marketing classes, because it really helps us connect the concepts and learn to apply them.
For future SBC marketing classes, we suggested using the simulation throughout the three week semester, because it was so helpful and enjoyable.
During Wednesday's class, we started to work on the Market Share simulation. I was grouped with Jonny and Ryan, and in the end, I don't think I could've been put in a better group. The first day using the simulation, we spent most of the time trying to figure out how to work the site, and trying to create a n underlying plan to increase our stock price. On Wednesday, we worked on our periods, having mini heart attacks and celebratory yells every time we advanced to the next period. We put so much time and effort into the simulation, listing specific details for each aspect of the simulation, advertising, sales force, promotion, and the special portion.
From the start, the simulation was amazingly helpful in connecting the concepts to real life situations; it's amazing the difference in the knowledge you get from sitting through a lecture to the knowledge you get after applying it to real life situations. Being able to own our own company, and make every single little decision having to do with the company was so overwhelming, but also so fun and so interesting. I highly recommend using the simulations for all marketing classes, because it really helps us connect the concepts and learn to apply them.
For future SBC marketing classes, we suggested using the simulation throughout the three week semester, because it was so helpful and enjoyable.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Blog Post for Dec 8
Blog Post for Dec. 8
Today in class we went over the Market Share simulation. We went over how to maneuver through it, looking at all of the different aspects of it. We also went over how to change different aspects of it and advance to the next period, and how to look at the information and see what changed and see what information stayed the same. I actually really like the idea of the simulation; I like how the user can change different pieces of data, such as the pricing, advertising, promotion, point of purchase, etc., over different periods, and then be able to look at the changes. We can look at whether or not their unit sales, net income, market share, consumer satisfaction and so much more, increased or decreased.
Along with learning about the simulation, we also went over the different analysis and calculations. For example, we went over how to break even in costs (SP per unit - VC per unit), marketing budget breakeven (total fixed costs +total marketing expenses / SP per unit - VC per unit), and break even in sales (break even unit sales x selling price per unit).
We also went over margin calculations - how to get the MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price), the price to channel, the $ margin and % margin.
The worksheet was actually extremely helpful in doing the calculations because it was a step by step process that they walked you through, explaining every step and every calculation.
Overall, this was a very interesting and fun class. I liked being able to play around with the numbers and see how one little difference could change all of the data. It was also helpful to go over the breakeven calculations and margin calculations.
Today in class we went over the Market Share simulation. We went over how to maneuver through it, looking at all of the different aspects of it. We also went over how to change different aspects of it and advance to the next period, and how to look at the information and see what changed and see what information stayed the same. I actually really like the idea of the simulation; I like how the user can change different pieces of data, such as the pricing, advertising, promotion, point of purchase, etc., over different periods, and then be able to look at the changes. We can look at whether or not their unit sales, net income, market share, consumer satisfaction and so much more, increased or decreased.
Along with learning about the simulation, we also went over the different analysis and calculations. For example, we went over how to break even in costs (SP per unit - VC per unit), marketing budget breakeven (total fixed costs +total marketing expenses / SP per unit - VC per unit), and break even in sales (break even unit sales x selling price per unit).
We also went over margin calculations - how to get the MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price), the price to channel, the $ margin and % margin.
The worksheet was actually extremely helpful in doing the calculations because it was a step by step process that they walked you through, explaining every step and every calculation.
Overall, this was a very interesting and fun class. I liked being able to play around with the numbers and see how one little difference could change all of the data. It was also helpful to go over the breakeven calculations and margin calculations.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Blog Post for Dec. 3
Blog Post for Dec. 3
Thursdays class was a little different than the past classes because we went over questions that would be on the exam, which was super helpful. I like the fact that we received example exam questions because they really helped me make my study guide, and it was very useful that we not only learned the concepts, but were able to connect them to real life examples.
In class we talked about the emotional benefits ladder, positioning statements, and fad v. fashion v. styles graphs.
One of the most interesting points that we talked about in class on Thursday was the emotional benefits ladder. We learned that the emotional benefits ladder goes as follows - emotional benefits, rational benefits, brand features and target and insights. Even though I wasn't able to write down all of the notes from the prezi, I was able to find the picture you used in the prezi to help me better understand and grasp the concept. The bottom rung is target and insights, where companies define their target markets and figure out their enemies and insights. The second rung is brand features, or product features. This is where companies look at their product strengths unique offerings and differences from other products. The next rung is rational benefits which is where companies find out what consumers get. The fourth rung is the emotional benefits rung, which is where companies ask how it makes them (the consumers) feel.
![](http://beloved-brands.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Slide09.jpg)
We also talked about positioning statements. A positioning statement is a statement explaining why a product is better than other products and its competitors. A positioning statement is a cookie cutter statement set up like : "[This product] is the best among all [market] for [target market] because [why it is the bet product]." A positioning statement that my group and I put together was "Airpod is the best among all urban cars for urban dwellers because it has the lowest environmental impact for the lowest price."
We also talked about the fad v. styles v. fashion graphs. I found this to be very interesting because I had never really thought about fashions, fads and styles in regards to graphs and how they affect their channels. A fad is when a product is popular for a short amount of time, so the desire increases sharply when it first comes out, then sharply goes down and stays down. An example of a fad is Beats headphones. Those were much desired by a lot of kids, teenagers and even adults, but are now collecting dust on the shelves. A fashion is a product that gets popular slowly, and stays popular for a longer time than a fad, then decreases slowly. An example of fashionable product is something that is shown on a show like "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". Once one of the Kardashians or Jenners wears a pair of clothing/jewelry/shoes, that product sells a lot more for a small while, then eventually the desire for it goes down as another fashionable product comes out. Lastly, a style is a product where the desire for it increases slowly, like the fashion product, then decreases a little, then increases and so on. An example of a style is winter coats and bathing suits, because they are popular during their designated seasons, but hte desire goes down when they're out of season.
Thursdays class was a little different than the past classes because we went over questions that would be on the exam, which was super helpful. I like the fact that we received example exam questions because they really helped me make my study guide, and it was very useful that we not only learned the concepts, but were able to connect them to real life examples.
In class we talked about the emotional benefits ladder, positioning statements, and fad v. fashion v. styles graphs.
One of the most interesting points that we talked about in class on Thursday was the emotional benefits ladder. We learned that the emotional benefits ladder goes as follows - emotional benefits, rational benefits, brand features and target and insights. Even though I wasn't able to write down all of the notes from the prezi, I was able to find the picture you used in the prezi to help me better understand and grasp the concept. The bottom rung is target and insights, where companies define their target markets and figure out their enemies and insights. The second rung is brand features, or product features. This is where companies look at their product strengths unique offerings and differences from other products. The next rung is rational benefits which is where companies find out what consumers get. The fourth rung is the emotional benefits rung, which is where companies ask how it makes them (the consumers) feel.
![](http://beloved-brands.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Slide09.jpg)
We also talked about positioning statements. A positioning statement is a statement explaining why a product is better than other products and its competitors. A positioning statement is a cookie cutter statement set up like : "[This product] is the best among all [market] for [target market] because [why it is the bet product]." A positioning statement that my group and I put together was "Airpod is the best among all urban cars for urban dwellers because it has the lowest environmental impact for the lowest price."
We also talked about the fad v. styles v. fashion graphs. I found this to be very interesting because I had never really thought about fashions, fads and styles in regards to graphs and how they affect their channels. A fad is when a product is popular for a short amount of time, so the desire increases sharply when it first comes out, then sharply goes down and stays down. An example of a fad is Beats headphones. Those were much desired by a lot of kids, teenagers and even adults, but are now collecting dust on the shelves. A fashion is a product that gets popular slowly, and stays popular for a longer time than a fad, then decreases slowly. An example of fashionable product is something that is shown on a show like "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". Once one of the Kardashians or Jenners wears a pair of clothing/jewelry/shoes, that product sells a lot more for a small while, then eventually the desire for it goes down as another fashionable product comes out. Lastly, a style is a product where the desire for it increases slowly, like the fashion product, then decreases a little, then increases and so on. An example of a style is winter coats and bathing suits, because they are popular during their designated seasons, but hte desire goes down when they're out of season.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33U4rMNoa4N2oP_56lCceyiSYmmucWeVuog2vsljBYz08kzN3GVlhcrLs9wKQJ0tWmMahKYemmCS9sDa5aDezxhrQtoQiSigFYS5mLFvzPlKe8J8IBH_ONJW6DU9IHVw3Mnmx0Ne64rE/s320/IMG_4171+%25281%2529.jpg)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Blog Post for Dec 2
Blog Post for Dec 2
Today's class was much like our other classes except I brought breakfast, which was an awesome idea, and I presented Beatbox Wine, which was interesting to research and learn about.
A few of the interesting things that we talked about in class were new buy v re-buy, the breakeven graph, and the ethical theories.
I'm pretty sure we talked about new buy and re-buy before in class, but as I said in yesterdays post, writing about it and recapping on it really helps me grasp and remember it. So, new buy is when a company or business is buying the product for the first time. An example of this could be a company buying any product or service that they have never bought before. There are two types of rebuy, modified rebuy and straight rebuy. Modified rebuy is when the purchaser in the situation wants some type of change in the original good or service. A example of this is if a company would like to buy a product or service a second or third time but want the price or quality etc., to change. A straight rebuy is when the purchaser reorders a product or service and doesn't look for new information or changes.
We also talked about the breakeven graph, which is shown below. This graph shows the breakeven for units (bottom axis) and breakeven for price (left axis) To get the breakeven units, you divide the fixed costs by the price-cost. To get the breakeven price, you multiply the breakeven units by price. The place where the point should be on the graph is where the sales revenue and total cost lines intersect. The fixed cost line is always a straight horizontal line, the total cost line is always diagonal but starting at the fixed cost starting point, and the sales revenue line starts at (0,0) and goes up. The region between the sales revenue and the total cost is the profit region, and the region across from that is the loss region. The region between total cost and fixed cost is the variable cost region.
A few interesting things that we didn't talk about in class are open ended questions (161), virtual shopping (a personal favorite), and the advantages of internet surveys (167).
An open ended question is a basic type of question usually located on questionnaires that encourages an answer phrased any was the interviewee wants it to be. The other types of questions usually on questionnaires are close ended questions, which is an interview question asking the respondent to choose an answer from a list of given responses, and scaled response question, which is a type of close ended question that is designed to measure the intensity of the respondents answer. I thought these were interesting concepts because we just finished learning about them in my communications class, and out assignment was to interview someone (I interviewed my roommate) asking them open questions (such as what do you want to do when you're older), closed questions (such as do you like vanilla ice cream), probing questions (such as why do you want to have that specific job when you're older), etc. However, we were not required to ask scaled response questions, so that was definitely a new one to learn about.
Virtual shopping is an extremely poplar way of shopping these days, especially on Cyber Monday. On most sites, you can add items to your cart or to your wish list, which other people can access; you can rotate the product or look at different pictures showing all angles of it; and much more. Virtual shopping has many advantages including duplicating the cluttered market of an actual market, researchers can set up and alter tests quickly, production costs are low and the simulation is very flexible. Virtual shopping is growing each year, and according to the US Department of Agriculture, 45,000 new packaged goods are introduced to supermarkets. Now, other companies are experimenting with virtual shopping, such as telecom, aviation, fast food and more.
Internet surveys are becoming more and more popular and this is the result of the many advantages that come with them. For example, one advantage is the rapid development and real time reporting. Internet surveys are able to broadcast to thousands of people at a time, allow simultaneous completions of the survey by multiple people, and the results can be tabulated and posted so clients can get their results in less time. Another advantage is dramatically reduced costs, because the internet can cut costs from 25-40% and provide results much quicker than paper surveys. Another advantage is that they can personalize questions and data, making the questions more relevant to the respondent. Another advantage is the improved respondent participation, because the surveys can be taken at the respondents convenience, are more stimulating and engaging, and take half as long to complete. Another advantage is the contact with the hard-to-reach aspect, because it makes it easier to get in contact with the most difficult, yet most surveyed, people, such as doctors.
Today's class was much like our other classes except I brought breakfast, which was an awesome idea, and I presented Beatbox Wine, which was interesting to research and learn about.
A few of the interesting things that we talked about in class were new buy v re-buy, the breakeven graph, and the ethical theories.
I'm pretty sure we talked about new buy and re-buy before in class, but as I said in yesterdays post, writing about it and recapping on it really helps me grasp and remember it. So, new buy is when a company or business is buying the product for the first time. An example of this could be a company buying any product or service that they have never bought before. There are two types of rebuy, modified rebuy and straight rebuy. Modified rebuy is when the purchaser in the situation wants some type of change in the original good or service. A example of this is if a company would like to buy a product or service a second or third time but want the price or quality etc., to change. A straight rebuy is when the purchaser reorders a product or service and doesn't look for new information or changes.
We also talked about the breakeven graph, which is shown below. This graph shows the breakeven for units (bottom axis) and breakeven for price (left axis) To get the breakeven units, you divide the fixed costs by the price-cost. To get the breakeven price, you multiply the breakeven units by price. The place where the point should be on the graph is where the sales revenue and total cost lines intersect. The fixed cost line is always a straight horizontal line, the total cost line is always diagonal but starting at the fixed cost starting point, and the sales revenue line starts at (0,0) and goes up. The region between the sales revenue and the total cost is the profit region, and the region across from that is the loss region. The region between total cost and fixed cost is the variable cost region.
We also talked about the different ethical theories and applied them to the shark tank video. There are five different ethical theories that're talked about in the book, and those include Deontology, Utilitarianism, Casuist, Moral Relativism, and Virtue Ethics. The Deontology theory states that people need to adhere to their personal duties and obligations when analyzing ethical dilemmas, because upholding one's personal duty is what is considered ethically correct. An example of a Deontologist is someone who always keeps their promises to a friend or family member. The next theory is the Utilitarianism theory, which we learned about in our business ethics class. This theory states that one can predict the consequences of an action, and the choice that has the greatest benefit on the most people is the most ethical action or choice. An example of a Utilitarian is someone who wants to do the best for the most people. The next theory is the Casuist theory, which compares current ethical dilemmas to examples of similar ethical dilemmas and looks at the outcomes, which allows a person to choose the best possible decision according to others experiences. An example of this theory was the video we watched today. The CEO if the medication wanted it to be a stimulant like adderall, and hopes for similar outcomes as adderall, without testing it first. Another ethical dilemma is the Moral Relativism, which states that the truth depends on the individuals and groups holding them. An example of a Moral Relativist is someone who steals food for his starving family. I remember learning about these in business ethics and psychology, and I find these kind of things fascinating!
A few interesting things that we didn't talk about in class are open ended questions (161), virtual shopping (a personal favorite), and the advantages of internet surveys (167).
An open ended question is a basic type of question usually located on questionnaires that encourages an answer phrased any was the interviewee wants it to be. The other types of questions usually on questionnaires are close ended questions, which is an interview question asking the respondent to choose an answer from a list of given responses, and scaled response question, which is a type of close ended question that is designed to measure the intensity of the respondents answer. I thought these were interesting concepts because we just finished learning about them in my communications class, and out assignment was to interview someone (I interviewed my roommate) asking them open questions (such as what do you want to do when you're older), closed questions (such as do you like vanilla ice cream), probing questions (such as why do you want to have that specific job when you're older), etc. However, we were not required to ask scaled response questions, so that was definitely a new one to learn about.
Virtual shopping is an extremely poplar way of shopping these days, especially on Cyber Monday. On most sites, you can add items to your cart or to your wish list, which other people can access; you can rotate the product or look at different pictures showing all angles of it; and much more. Virtual shopping has many advantages including duplicating the cluttered market of an actual market, researchers can set up and alter tests quickly, production costs are low and the simulation is very flexible. Virtual shopping is growing each year, and according to the US Department of Agriculture, 45,000 new packaged goods are introduced to supermarkets. Now, other companies are experimenting with virtual shopping, such as telecom, aviation, fast food and more.
Internet surveys are becoming more and more popular and this is the result of the many advantages that come with them. For example, one advantage is the rapid development and real time reporting. Internet surveys are able to broadcast to thousands of people at a time, allow simultaneous completions of the survey by multiple people, and the results can be tabulated and posted so clients can get their results in less time. Another advantage is dramatically reduced costs, because the internet can cut costs from 25-40% and provide results much quicker than paper surveys. Another advantage is that they can personalize questions and data, making the questions more relevant to the respondent. Another advantage is the improved respondent participation, because the surveys can be taken at the respondents convenience, are more stimulating and engaging, and take half as long to complete. Another advantage is the contact with the hard-to-reach aspect, because it makes it easier to get in contact with the most difficult, yet most surveyed, people, such as doctors.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Blog Post for Dec 1
Blog Post for Dec 1
CH 3 & 5
Today's class was much like the other classes, expect we didn't watch as many Shark Tank videos as we usually do! :( However, we did watch Beatbox Beverages and I'm really excited to do the update on this company! We also spent a lot of time on the Beatbox beverages price and channeling analysis which I found to be difficult to follow, but I kind of understand it (I talk about it m,ore below).
A few of the interesting things that we talked about in class today were the channel conflicts (which we've talked about before, but it was helpful to get a quick review on them) and Beatbox Beverages price and channeling analysis (which I will break up into multiple concepts).
To start off, channel conflict is a clash of goals or methods of doing things between distribution channel members, and a channel captain is a member from the management team who runs the channel and makes sure things are going smoothly. The two kinds of channel conflicts are vertical conflict and horizontal conflict. Vertical conflict is a channel conflict that happens between different levels in a specific marketing channel, typically between the manufacturer and retailer. Horizontal conflict is a channel conflict between channel members on the same level, and is less serious than a vertical conflict. I can't think of a business example, but when I think of channel conflict, I think of Sophomore Council. There could be vertical conflict in sophomore council when an e-board member has a conflict with another e-board member or when an e-board member gets into a conflict with a general member. There could be horizontal conflict when a general member gets into a conflict with another general member.
We also talked about Beatbox Beverages price and channeling analysis. Personally, I found this very difficult to follow not number-wise, but equation-wise, if that makes sense. I understand that you start from the end, in that you start with the retailers selling price and move forward. Also, I understand where the margins came from and how to use the margins to find the cost - (1-margin)*selling price. also, I understand that the cost from the retailer is the distributors selling price, and the distributors cost is the product selling price, in this case BeatBox. Also, I understood how to get the federal tax and how to take it off the sales revenue. (wow, I understand a lot more than I thought I did!!) However,The confusing part for me is where the CGS - purchases, gross margin, marketing expenses, contribution after marketing and operating expenses come in. (In the bottom right corner) Do you get the net profit when you add them all up? That's really the only part I get confused with.
A few of the interesting things from the book that we didn't talk about in class include World Bank (80), global marketing standardization (72) and the pyramid of social responsibility (41).
I thought the concept of the World Bank was fascinating because as sad as it may seem, as a business major, I didn't know there was such thing as a World Bank! The World Bank is an international bank that offers low-interest loans, helpful advice and information to developing nations.The initial purpose for the World Bank was to help developing nations build infrastructure, but now the World Bank offers loans to relieve their debt burdens. However, to receive these loans, developing nations must pledge to lower their trade barriers and aid private enterprises. The World Bank also founded the International Monetary Fund, which is an international organization which acts as a last resort lender, providing loans to needy nations and promoting world trade through financial cooperation, as well as The Group of Twenty, which is the forum for international economic discussion promoting discussions on key problems related to global economic stability. Overall, the World Bank has become a major helper and contributor for developing and needy nations.
I also read about global marketing standardization, which I also found to be quite interesting. Global marketing standardization is the production of uniform products that can be sold the same way all over the world. An example of a product that is standardized globally is smartphones and tablets, except for the languages they come in (however, they make it relatively easy for the user to change the language). This kind of production allows companies and businesses to lower production and marketing costs, while increasing profits. Some other companies that produce some or all of their products this way are Coca Cola, Colgate and McDonalds.
Another interesting concept was the pyramid of corporate responsibility. This pyramid portrays economic performance as the foundation for the other three responsibilities, which are the legal responsibilities, the ethical responsibilities and the philanthropic responsibilities,![](https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/219/flashcards/2302219/png/pyramid-148A84254361F70B706.png)
According to they theory, a business is expected to obey the law and do what is right and be a good corporate citizen wile pursuing its profits.
P.S. I posted an updated blog for Nov 30 because I did the wrong chapters last night, so I redid it and wrote about the correct chapters.
CH 3 & 5
Today's class was much like the other classes, expect we didn't watch as many Shark Tank videos as we usually do! :( However, we did watch Beatbox Beverages and I'm really excited to do the update on this company! We also spent a lot of time on the Beatbox beverages price and channeling analysis which I found to be difficult to follow, but I kind of understand it (I talk about it m,ore below).
A few of the interesting things that we talked about in class today were the channel conflicts (which we've talked about before, but it was helpful to get a quick review on them) and Beatbox Beverages price and channeling analysis (which I will break up into multiple concepts).
To start off, channel conflict is a clash of goals or methods of doing things between distribution channel members, and a channel captain is a member from the management team who runs the channel and makes sure things are going smoothly. The two kinds of channel conflicts are vertical conflict and horizontal conflict. Vertical conflict is a channel conflict that happens between different levels in a specific marketing channel, typically between the manufacturer and retailer. Horizontal conflict is a channel conflict between channel members on the same level, and is less serious than a vertical conflict. I can't think of a business example, but when I think of channel conflict, I think of Sophomore Council. There could be vertical conflict in sophomore council when an e-board member has a conflict with another e-board member or when an e-board member gets into a conflict with a general member. There could be horizontal conflict when a general member gets into a conflict with another general member.
We also talked about Beatbox Beverages price and channeling analysis. Personally, I found this very difficult to follow not number-wise, but equation-wise, if that makes sense. I understand that you start from the end, in that you start with the retailers selling price and move forward. Also, I understand where the margins came from and how to use the margins to find the cost - (1-margin)*selling price. also, I understand that the cost from the retailer is the distributors selling price, and the distributors cost is the product selling price, in this case BeatBox. Also, I understood how to get the federal tax and how to take it off the sales revenue. (wow, I understand a lot more than I thought I did!!) However,The confusing part for me is where the CGS - purchases, gross margin, marketing expenses, contribution after marketing and operating expenses come in. (In the bottom right corner) Do you get the net profit when you add them all up? That's really the only part I get confused with.
A few of the interesting things from the book that we didn't talk about in class include World Bank (80), global marketing standardization (72) and the pyramid of social responsibility (41).
I thought the concept of the World Bank was fascinating because as sad as it may seem, as a business major, I didn't know there was such thing as a World Bank! The World Bank is an international bank that offers low-interest loans, helpful advice and information to developing nations.The initial purpose for the World Bank was to help developing nations build infrastructure, but now the World Bank offers loans to relieve their debt burdens. However, to receive these loans, developing nations must pledge to lower their trade barriers and aid private enterprises. The World Bank also founded the International Monetary Fund, which is an international organization which acts as a last resort lender, providing loans to needy nations and promoting world trade through financial cooperation, as well as The Group of Twenty, which is the forum for international economic discussion promoting discussions on key problems related to global economic stability. Overall, the World Bank has become a major helper and contributor for developing and needy nations.
I also read about global marketing standardization, which I also found to be quite interesting. Global marketing standardization is the production of uniform products that can be sold the same way all over the world. An example of a product that is standardized globally is smartphones and tablets, except for the languages they come in (however, they make it relatively easy for the user to change the language). This kind of production allows companies and businesses to lower production and marketing costs, while increasing profits. Some other companies that produce some or all of their products this way are Coca Cola, Colgate and McDonalds.
Another interesting concept was the pyramid of corporate responsibility. This pyramid portrays economic performance as the foundation for the other three responsibilities, which are the legal responsibilities, the ethical responsibilities and the philanthropic responsibilities,
![](https://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/219/flashcards/2302219/png/pyramid-148A84254361F70B706.png)
According to they theory, a business is expected to obey the law and do what is right and be a good corporate citizen wile pursuing its profits.
P.S. I posted an updated blog for Nov 30 because I did the wrong chapters last night, so I redid it and wrote about the correct chapters.
New Blog Post for Nov 30
I think I wrote about the wrong chapters last night for my blog post for November 30, so I'm going to make a new post. In this post, I'm not going to write about what we did in yesterdays class (because I put it in the other one) or what we talked about in class (also because I put it in the other blog post). Instead, I am just going to write about three interesting things that I learned from the reading that we didn't talk about in class.
Three interesting things from the book are the steps in the selling process (326), social commerce (339), and the different categories of different social media users(345).
First off, the selling process, or the sales process, is the set of steps that a salesperson goes through in an organization to sell a particular product or service.The process can be unique for different business and organizations, but overall they use the same steps. The steps, in order, in this process are generating leads, qualifying leads, approaching the customer and probing needs, developing and proposing solutions, handling objections, closing the sale and following up. According to the book, this process follows the AIDA model, like other forms of promotion. Traditional and relationship selling also follow the same general steps, but differ on the relative importance placed on key steps in the process itself.
Social commerce was another interesting concept that I read about in the book. Social commerce is a subset of ecommerce involving the interaction and user contribution aspects of social online media to assist in online buying and selling of products and services. Social commerce relies on user generated content to help customers with buying products and services online. A good example of this is Pinterest, because they allow a user to "pin" favorited items on individually chosen billboards.The main reason for social commerce sites is to help consumers make educated and informed decisions on purchases and services. Some social commerce sites have rating and recommendations and social shopping tools to help assist buyers in the process.
Another interesting concept were the different categories of social media users. First, are the creators, who produce and share online content. Then there's the critics who post comments and write reviews and ratings of services and products on forums and blogs. Then there's the collectors, who use RSS feeds to collect information and vote for websites. Then there's he joiners who maintain social networking profiles. Then there's spectators who generally consumer media, such as blogs or videos. Lastly, there's the inactives who do none of these things.I think I am an example of a joiner because I have a profile on many different social media sites, but don't do much else.
P.S. will this count as an extra credit post? :)
Three interesting things from the book are the steps in the selling process (326), social commerce (339), and the different categories of different social media users(345).
First off, the selling process, or the sales process, is the set of steps that a salesperson goes through in an organization to sell a particular product or service.The process can be unique for different business and organizations, but overall they use the same steps. The steps, in order, in this process are generating leads, qualifying leads, approaching the customer and probing needs, developing and proposing solutions, handling objections, closing the sale and following up. According to the book, this process follows the AIDA model, like other forms of promotion. Traditional and relationship selling also follow the same general steps, but differ on the relative importance placed on key steps in the process itself.
Social commerce was another interesting concept that I read about in the book. Social commerce is a subset of ecommerce involving the interaction and user contribution aspects of social online media to assist in online buying and selling of products and services. Social commerce relies on user generated content to help customers with buying products and services online. A good example of this is Pinterest, because they allow a user to "pin" favorited items on individually chosen billboards.The main reason for social commerce sites is to help consumers make educated and informed decisions on purchases and services. Some social commerce sites have rating and recommendations and social shopping tools to help assist buyers in the process.
Another interesting concept were the different categories of social media users. First, are the creators, who produce and share online content. Then there's the critics who post comments and write reviews and ratings of services and products on forums and blogs. Then there's the collectors, who use RSS feeds to collect information and vote for websites. Then there's he joiners who maintain social networking profiles. Then there's spectators who generally consumer media, such as blogs or videos. Lastly, there's the inactives who do none of these things.I think I am an example of a joiner because I have a profile on many different social media sites, but don't do much else.
P.S. will this count as an extra credit post? :)
Monday, November 30, 2015
Blog Post for Nov 30
Blog Post for Nov 30
CH 18-19
Today's class was much like the other classes, in that we did a small group activity, watched Shark Tank video's (which I still enjoy!), watched a Shark Tank presentation and took pages and pages of notes. However, today's small group activity was a little confusing to me, but we eventually figured it out and came up with a beautiful (I thought) fish tank drawing. Regarding the Shark Tank videos; they never get old! Barbara is always mean, Kevin is always just Mr. Wonderful, and my favorite shark is Robert Herjavec.
Today in class some of the interesting points that we talked about were the AIDA model, the marketing communications mix elements and the push/pull strategies.
The AIDA model outlines the process for achieving promotional goals regarding the stages of consumer involvement with the message. The acronym stands for awareness, interest, desire and action. and in order to achieve these goals you need to inform, persuade, remind and connect (in that order). I liked the idea of the funnel diagram because it makes it easier to grasp that a lot of people are aware of the product, less people have interest in the product, even less people have any desire to buy the product and even less people actually take action to buy the product. I thought this was interesting because I never really thought about the idea that there are four stages in which consumers are located, whether it's the awareness stage or the action stage, or about how much marketers/sellers/distributors need to think about this concept. When I think of the AIDA model, I think of concerts, particularly a Selena Gomez concert. Personally, I love Selena Gomez and when I heard she was performing at a nearby stage, I immediately looked for someone to go with me. I eventually found someone and bought the tickets. I am in the action stage of the model. Some of my friends that I asked were not interested at all, in Selena or spending the money; they were in the awareness stage. A few other friends were interested in the concert itself, but weren't to excited about the cost; they're in the interest stage. A few other friends were interested in both the cost and the concert itself, but were either working or busy with something else; they were in the desire stage. I think when I am able to make connections like that, I have a much easier time remembering the concepts.
![](http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2014/09/aida-funnel1.gif)
Another concept that we talked about in class was the marketing communications elements. The marketing mix elements include advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotions, event marketing, digital marketing and personal selling. I enjoyed the activity that we did in class today where we use the Shark Tank video and saw which marketing communications elements we could apply to the video, then chose one element and made up an example for it. It really helped me understand the elements a little more. However, I did mix up a few of them at one point because I think they're so similar (advertising, direct marketing and digital marketing), but I eventually was able to differentiate them from each other and understand them more. From now on, I feel like whenever I see some type of marketing, I'm going to relate it back to this class and think "oh, that's definitely personal selling!"
Another concept we talked about was the push/pull strategies. The push strategy is a marketing strategy that uses aggressive personal advertising to convince retailers or wholesalers to carry and sell a particular product. An example of a push strategy that I have seen is one of those taste testers in Sams Club or BJs that hand out a piece of food, and if you like it, magically pull out boxes from under their little tables. The pull strategy is a marketing strategy that stimulates consumers to obtain product distribution. A personal example of this is when I go to a store like American Eagle or Victorias Secret and buy something, they always put a little coupon in the bag that says something like "15% of entire purchase" and in smaller letters, "only valid from this date to this date", to make you want to go out and buy more products or services from their store.
Some interesting points that we didn't talk about in class, but that I read in the chapters was institutional advertising v product advertising, interpersonal communication v mass communication, and integrated marketing communications (IMC).
Institutional advertising is when a company or business advertises not to promote a particular product but to enhance their companies image. Product advertising is when a company or business advertises to benefit the selling of their particular product or service. I actually never knew that institutional advertising was a thing, so I can't think of a personal example. The example given in the book does help me understand the concept a little better, though. I have seen beer companies running commercials on safe driving, but I never knew that was institutional marketing! A personal example of product advertising that I have seen are commercials on TV and on the radio (especially Pandora radio!!), talking about a certain product and why one should buy the product. Instead of giving one specific example in the book, they gave several different types of product advertising, which include pioneering advertising, competitive advertising, and comparative advertising. I never knew the advertisements that I see on TV and hear on the radio actually had names!
Interpersonal communication is a direct and face to face communication between two or more people. The benefits of interpersonal communication are that the people see the other persons reactions and can respond accordingly. An example of interpersonal communication that I have experienced was in Sephora (which is oddly the example they gave in the book!). In Sephora, they will sit down and do your makeup, while talking you through it, they answer all of your questions fully and helpfully and sometimes they give away free samples (my favorite part!) Mass communication is the communication of a message to a large audience. The first example of this that popped into my head was the president, standing at a podium, talking to the American people, but the book gave another Sephora example (because they're just plain awesome!)
Integrated marketing communications is the coordination of promotional messages for a product or service that ensures the consistency of messages at every contact point where the company meets the customer. I thought this was interesting because I never thought about how marketing managers think out the roles that various promotional elements play in the marketing mix, like the timing. IMC is a big concept in the marketing world.
P.S. I think I am a little mixed up as to what chapters are due for which days. For example, the chapters that were due today were CH 18-19, but we talked about CH 16-17, so this blog post may be a little messed up! I'll ask for clarification tomorrow!
CH 18-19
Today's class was much like the other classes, in that we did a small group activity, watched Shark Tank video's (which I still enjoy!), watched a Shark Tank presentation and took pages and pages of notes. However, today's small group activity was a little confusing to me, but we eventually figured it out and came up with a beautiful (I thought) fish tank drawing. Regarding the Shark Tank videos; they never get old! Barbara is always mean, Kevin is always just Mr. Wonderful, and my favorite shark is Robert Herjavec.
Today in class some of the interesting points that we talked about were the AIDA model, the marketing communications mix elements and the push/pull strategies.
The AIDA model outlines the process for achieving promotional goals regarding the stages of consumer involvement with the message. The acronym stands for awareness, interest, desire and action. and in order to achieve these goals you need to inform, persuade, remind and connect (in that order). I liked the idea of the funnel diagram because it makes it easier to grasp that a lot of people are aware of the product, less people have interest in the product, even less people have any desire to buy the product and even less people actually take action to buy the product. I thought this was interesting because I never really thought about the idea that there are four stages in which consumers are located, whether it's the awareness stage or the action stage, or about how much marketers/sellers/distributors need to think about this concept. When I think of the AIDA model, I think of concerts, particularly a Selena Gomez concert. Personally, I love Selena Gomez and when I heard she was performing at a nearby stage, I immediately looked for someone to go with me. I eventually found someone and bought the tickets. I am in the action stage of the model. Some of my friends that I asked were not interested at all, in Selena or spending the money; they were in the awareness stage. A few other friends were interested in the concert itself, but weren't to excited about the cost; they're in the interest stage. A few other friends were interested in both the cost and the concert itself, but were either working or busy with something else; they were in the desire stage. I think when I am able to make connections like that, I have a much easier time remembering the concepts.
![](http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2014/09/aida-funnel1.gif)
Another concept that we talked about in class was the marketing communications elements. The marketing mix elements include advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotions, event marketing, digital marketing and personal selling. I enjoyed the activity that we did in class today where we use the Shark Tank video and saw which marketing communications elements we could apply to the video, then chose one element and made up an example for it. It really helped me understand the elements a little more. However, I did mix up a few of them at one point because I think they're so similar (advertising, direct marketing and digital marketing), but I eventually was able to differentiate them from each other and understand them more. From now on, I feel like whenever I see some type of marketing, I'm going to relate it back to this class and think "oh, that's definitely personal selling!"
Another concept we talked about was the push/pull strategies. The push strategy is a marketing strategy that uses aggressive personal advertising to convince retailers or wholesalers to carry and sell a particular product. An example of a push strategy that I have seen is one of those taste testers in Sams Club or BJs that hand out a piece of food, and if you like it, magically pull out boxes from under their little tables. The pull strategy is a marketing strategy that stimulates consumers to obtain product distribution. A personal example of this is when I go to a store like American Eagle or Victorias Secret and buy something, they always put a little coupon in the bag that says something like "15% of entire purchase" and in smaller letters, "only valid from this date to this date", to make you want to go out and buy more products or services from their store.
Some interesting points that we didn't talk about in class, but that I read in the chapters was institutional advertising v product advertising, interpersonal communication v mass communication, and integrated marketing communications (IMC).
Institutional advertising is when a company or business advertises not to promote a particular product but to enhance their companies image. Product advertising is when a company or business advertises to benefit the selling of their particular product or service. I actually never knew that institutional advertising was a thing, so I can't think of a personal example. The example given in the book does help me understand the concept a little better, though. I have seen beer companies running commercials on safe driving, but I never knew that was institutional marketing! A personal example of product advertising that I have seen are commercials on TV and on the radio (especially Pandora radio!!), talking about a certain product and why one should buy the product. Instead of giving one specific example in the book, they gave several different types of product advertising, which include pioneering advertising, competitive advertising, and comparative advertising. I never knew the advertisements that I see on TV and hear on the radio actually had names!
Interpersonal communication is a direct and face to face communication between two or more people. The benefits of interpersonal communication are that the people see the other persons reactions and can respond accordingly. An example of interpersonal communication that I have experienced was in Sephora (which is oddly the example they gave in the book!). In Sephora, they will sit down and do your makeup, while talking you through it, they answer all of your questions fully and helpfully and sometimes they give away free samples (my favorite part!) Mass communication is the communication of a message to a large audience. The first example of this that popped into my head was the president, standing at a podium, talking to the American people, but the book gave another Sephora example (because they're just plain awesome!)
Integrated marketing communications is the coordination of promotional messages for a product or service that ensures the consistency of messages at every contact point where the company meets the customer. I thought this was interesting because I never thought about how marketing managers think out the roles that various promotional elements play in the marketing mix, like the timing. IMC is a big concept in the marketing world.
P.S. I think I am a little mixed up as to what chapters are due for which days. For example, the chapters that were due today were CH 18-19, but we talked about CH 16-17, so this blog post may be a little messed up! I'll ask for clarification tomorrow!
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 24
Blog Post for Nov. 24
CH 16-17
Today's class was a little different than the past few classes have been. Today we were able to go up to the board and write down our answers, consult with our friends about what the correct answer could be and move around a little. I also did my presentation today, and I'm super happy I got one over with! Also, we are almost halfway through the class (week 7!), which I thought was super awesome. I really enjoy the shark Tank videos, although I still cant wrap my head around the fact that Mark Cuban has a net worth of 3 billion dollars, which is two times all of the other members put together! $$$$
During today's class we talked a lot about Freshpatch and their supply and distribution chains,the differences between monopolies, oligopolies, perfect competition and monopolistic competition, and channel conflict.
Throughout today's class, we talked a lot about supply and distribution chains, using mainly Freshpatch, but also Cinnaholic. When I was doing the homework last night, all I could come up with for my supply chains for was Freshpatch--> West Coast distributor --> consumer. Then, Freshpatch--. W.C. distributor --> consumer and Freshpatch-->E.C. distributor--> consumer. And lastly, for Freshpatch with Barbara's contingency, I got Freshpatch delivers to both the W.C. and E.C. distributors, both coast distributors deliver to retail and directly to the consumer, and both retails sell to consumer (a little difficult to put into an actual chain on here!) When we went over supply and distribution chains in class, I hadn't really thought that so much went into the chain, but now, looking at the completed chain, I can't see how they would be successful without any one of the stops! I didn't really like how someone chose our names from a cup, and whoever name was chosen, had to go up and modify the supply chain on the board because I personally freeze when I get put on the spot, and sometimes we just don't know the answer.
Another concept (or concepts) that we talked about that I found to be interesting were the differences between monopolies, oligopolies, monopolistic competition, and perfect competition. A monopoly is when one major business controls most, or all of a product or service; an example could be (Kaitlin brought it up in class, and I remember learning about it in economics) the major glasses company that owns thousands of glasses products and services. An oligopoly is when a market is shared by a small number of businesses or companies. I liked the example of the cell phone providers, where cell service is mainly run by a few companies, with a few smaller, less popular companies lagging behind. Oligopolies usually use status quo pricing (pricing for all companies is relatively the same) because it is close competition and none of the companies can afford to make higher prices, and potentially lose consumers. Perfect competition is when there are so many companies/businesses and consumers in the market that no one is in control of the prices and the products are a commodity. An example of a perfect competition is fast food restaurants like Burger King and Mcdonalds. The last one is monopolistic competition, which is when there are many companies/businesses selling products that aren't the same, or niche products. Monopolistic competition businesses/companies scare off other businesses because there's not a big enough market, sets their own price, and are able to keep the government off their backs. An example of a monopolistic competition is books or restaurants.
Another concept we talked about was something I had never heard about before, and that was channel conflict. A channel conflict is a clash of goals and methods between distribution channel members. Channel conflicts usually arise from channel relationships, and because traditional members refuse to keep up with changing times. Channel conflict can be horizontal or vertical. A horizontal conflict is a conflict that occurs between channel members on the same level, while vertical conflict is a conflict that occurs between different levels in a channel.
A few ideas and concepts that we didn't talk about in class but that I found to be interesting were the four goals of promotion (282), the AIDA Model (288), and the tools for consumer sales promotion (315).
The four goals of promotion are informing, persuading, reminding and connecting. Most marketers try to accomplish at least two of these tasks at the same time. When marketers inform, they are trying to convert an existing need into a want or stimulate an interest in their product. Informative marketing is good at promoting complex or technical products or services, such as cars or computers. When marketers persuade, they are trying to stimulate a purchase or action, and persuading consumers to buy their brand rather than their competitors brand. When marketers remind, they are trying to keep the brand name and their product in the consumers minds, creating a type of brand loyalty and brand equity. An example of a company that uses reminding marketing is Colgate. The last goal of promotion is connecting. When marketers connect, they are trying to for relationships with present and potential customers, and hopefully become brand advocates to promote their brand. An example of a company that uses connecting marketing is Starbucks.
Another concept that we didn't talk about in class is the AIDA model. The AIDA model proposes that consumers respond to marketing messages in a cognitive, effective and conative sequence. The AIDA model assumes that marketing and promotion propels consumers along the four steps; attention, interest, desire, and action. The attention portion of this model says that the advertiser/marketer must gain the attention of the target market. An example of this step in the process is apple using a number of media outlets to gain the attention of their target market, people who want iPads and iPhones. The next step is the interest step. Attention and awareness are not enough to want to make consumers want o buy a product or service, people need interest in it. This step was created to peak interest in the product. Going off of the Apple example, Apple demonstrates their products and develop target messages to create interest. The next step is desire. Attention and interest are still not enough to make a consumer want ot buy a product or service, they want to know that it is better than their competitors. So, Apple needs to prove that their iPhone is better than the galaxy and any other popular phones, in order to create desire in their consumers. The last step is the action step. Now that potential customers have the attention, interest and desire for this product, all they need to do is take action. For this step, the consumer needs to feel motivated to go out and actually buy the product. Those are the four steps in the AIDA model.
Another concept we didn't talk about was the tools for consumer sales promotion. The tools for consumer sales promotion are coupons, rebates, premiums, loyalty programs, contests, sampling and point of purchase promotion. Marketing managers need to decide which consumer sales promotion to use for specific campaigns, because the methods chosen have to suit the objective and ensure success of the promotional plan.
Have a good Thanksgiving!
CH 16-17
Today's class was a little different than the past few classes have been. Today we were able to go up to the board and write down our answers, consult with our friends about what the correct answer could be and move around a little. I also did my presentation today, and I'm super happy I got one over with! Also, we are almost halfway through the class (week 7!), which I thought was super awesome. I really enjoy the shark Tank videos, although I still cant wrap my head around the fact that Mark Cuban has a net worth of 3 billion dollars, which is two times all of the other members put together! $$$$
During today's class we talked a lot about Freshpatch and their supply and distribution chains,the differences between monopolies, oligopolies, perfect competition and monopolistic competition, and channel conflict.
Throughout today's class, we talked a lot about supply and distribution chains, using mainly Freshpatch, but also Cinnaholic. When I was doing the homework last night, all I could come up with for my supply chains for was Freshpatch--> West Coast distributor --> consumer. Then, Freshpatch--. W.C. distributor --> consumer and Freshpatch-->E.C. distributor--> consumer. And lastly, for Freshpatch with Barbara's contingency, I got Freshpatch delivers to both the W.C. and E.C. distributors, both coast distributors deliver to retail and directly to the consumer, and both retails sell to consumer (a little difficult to put into an actual chain on here!) When we went over supply and distribution chains in class, I hadn't really thought that so much went into the chain, but now, looking at the completed chain, I can't see how they would be successful without any one of the stops! I didn't really like how someone chose our names from a cup, and whoever name was chosen, had to go up and modify the supply chain on the board because I personally freeze when I get put on the spot, and sometimes we just don't know the answer.
Another concept (or concepts) that we talked about that I found to be interesting were the differences between monopolies, oligopolies, monopolistic competition, and perfect competition. A monopoly is when one major business controls most, or all of a product or service; an example could be (Kaitlin brought it up in class, and I remember learning about it in economics) the major glasses company that owns thousands of glasses products and services. An oligopoly is when a market is shared by a small number of businesses or companies. I liked the example of the cell phone providers, where cell service is mainly run by a few companies, with a few smaller, less popular companies lagging behind. Oligopolies usually use status quo pricing (pricing for all companies is relatively the same) because it is close competition and none of the companies can afford to make higher prices, and potentially lose consumers. Perfect competition is when there are so many companies/businesses and consumers in the market that no one is in control of the prices and the products are a commodity. An example of a perfect competition is fast food restaurants like Burger King and Mcdonalds. The last one is monopolistic competition, which is when there are many companies/businesses selling products that aren't the same, or niche products. Monopolistic competition businesses/companies scare off other businesses because there's not a big enough market, sets their own price, and are able to keep the government off their backs. An example of a monopolistic competition is books or restaurants.
Another concept we talked about was something I had never heard about before, and that was channel conflict. A channel conflict is a clash of goals and methods between distribution channel members. Channel conflicts usually arise from channel relationships, and because traditional members refuse to keep up with changing times. Channel conflict can be horizontal or vertical. A horizontal conflict is a conflict that occurs between channel members on the same level, while vertical conflict is a conflict that occurs between different levels in a channel.
A few ideas and concepts that we didn't talk about in class but that I found to be interesting were the four goals of promotion (282), the AIDA Model (288), and the tools for consumer sales promotion (315).
The four goals of promotion are informing, persuading, reminding and connecting. Most marketers try to accomplish at least two of these tasks at the same time. When marketers inform, they are trying to convert an existing need into a want or stimulate an interest in their product. Informative marketing is good at promoting complex or technical products or services, such as cars or computers. When marketers persuade, they are trying to stimulate a purchase or action, and persuading consumers to buy their brand rather than their competitors brand. When marketers remind, they are trying to keep the brand name and their product in the consumers minds, creating a type of brand loyalty and brand equity. An example of a company that uses reminding marketing is Colgate. The last goal of promotion is connecting. When marketers connect, they are trying to for relationships with present and potential customers, and hopefully become brand advocates to promote their brand. An example of a company that uses connecting marketing is Starbucks.
Another concept that we didn't talk about in class is the AIDA model. The AIDA model proposes that consumers respond to marketing messages in a cognitive, effective and conative sequence. The AIDA model assumes that marketing and promotion propels consumers along the four steps; attention, interest, desire, and action. The attention portion of this model says that the advertiser/marketer must gain the attention of the target market. An example of this step in the process is apple using a number of media outlets to gain the attention of their target market, people who want iPads and iPhones. The next step is the interest step. Attention and awareness are not enough to want to make consumers want o buy a product or service, people need interest in it. This step was created to peak interest in the product. Going off of the Apple example, Apple demonstrates their products and develop target messages to create interest. The next step is desire. Attention and interest are still not enough to make a consumer want ot buy a product or service, they want to know that it is better than their competitors. So, Apple needs to prove that their iPhone is better than the galaxy and any other popular phones, in order to create desire in their consumers. The last step is the action step. Now that potential customers have the attention, interest and desire for this product, all they need to do is take action. For this step, the consumer needs to feel motivated to go out and actually buy the product. Those are the four steps in the AIDA model.
Another concept we didn't talk about was the tools for consumer sales promotion. The tools for consumer sales promotion are coupons, rebates, premiums, loyalty programs, contests, sampling and point of purchase promotion. Marketing managers need to decide which consumer sales promotion to use for specific campaigns, because the methods chosen have to suit the objective and ensure success of the promotional plan.
Have a good Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 23
Blog Post for Nov. 23
Today's class was another informative marketing class, with a few quirks that I really enjoyed. First off, I liked the quick recap of everything we had done the day before; it really helped me remember what we had learned the day before, and get a quick review session to really grasp and understand the concepts. Also, I liked the worksheet that we got today that we filled in together (with the sales revenue, retail price, wholesale price, etc.) Walking through the worksheet and the math to get to the solution was extremely helpful in understanding the whole idea of prices. Lastly, I liked the cartoons we created. Not only were they a good and funny start to the morning, they also helped me understand the Gaps much, much better.
Today in class, a few of the more interesting things that we talked about were retail price, wholesale price, and Freshpatch sales revenue/CGS/gross margin/etc.
During class, we filled out the price/budget worksheet using FreshPatch as a guide. We first looked at the retail price, which is the price that the product is sold at. Then we looked at the wholesale price, which is the cost of a good sold by a wholesaler. The retail price is 7.99, and the wholesale price is 3.99. We also did out the sales revenue, which is price*units, and the math came out to be 100,000$. The sales revenue came out to be 100,000 for both the 3000 sq ft space and the commercial kitchen. We then did the CGS, which came out to be 38,000 for the 3000 sq ft space, and 25,400 for the commercial kitchen. Lastly, we did the gross margin which came out to be 62,000 for the 3000 sq ft space, and 74,600 for the commercial kitchen. This goes to show that the commercial kitchen would've been a better solution than using the 3000 sq ft space.
A few interesting things that we didn't talk about in class are the several criteria that supply chain managers use to choose a mode of transportation (236), reverse channels and drop and shops (248), and the multiple different types of in-store retailers (261).
The first criteria that supply chain managers use to choose a mode of transportation is relative cost. Relative cost is the total amount a carrier charges to move a product from one place to another. The next criteria is transit time, or the total time a carrier has possession of the products, including everything from pickup, handling, delivery and movement. The next criteria they use is reliability, which is the consistency which the carrier delivers goods on time and in acceptable condition. Another criteria is capability. The capability criteria looks at the ability of the carrier to provide appropriate equipment and conditions for moving specific products. Another criteria is accessibility, which is the carriers ability to move goods over a specific route. The last criteria that supply chain movers use to choose a mode of transportation for their products is traceability, which is the ease which the product can be located and transferred.
Another concept that I found interesting was the reverse channels and drop and shop system. The reverse channel allows consumers to return a product when it reaches the end of its usable life. The retailer or manufacturer then recycles the useless product and uses bits of it to make new products or refurbished and resellable products. Many companies and consumers use this system to reduce environmental impacts and better financial opportunities. Some companies that use this product are Walmart, Apple and Best Buy, and they recycle items such as batteries, tv's phones, etc. A drop and shop system is pretty much the same idea as a reverse channel, but allows consumers to drop off electronics at the entrance of a retailer. I never knew reverse channels and drop and shop systems were a thing, but now that I do, I may return and recycle some old and unused electronics!
Another concept that we didn't talk about in class but I found to be very fascinating was the tens of different in-store retailers. I never really thought about how many retailers there were, but now that I think and read about it, there's a ton! They are department stores, such as Marshalls (a favorite of mine), and specialty stores, such as Famous Footwear (another big favorite). Some others are supermarkets (I usually shop at Big Y), drugstores (I hate CVS, and usually use Walgreens), convenience stores (I don't really have a favorite!). Some other in-store retailers are full-line discount stores (Walmart), supercenters (my mom LOVES Target), specialty discount stores (like Foot Locker, did I mention I love shoes?), warehouse clubs (my mom also loves BJ's). The last few are off-price retailers (Marshalls comes up again!) and restaurants (love Friendly's!!). I never really thought about the multiple different types of in-store retailers and which stores go into which category, but now that I know all of the different ones, I feel like every time I go into a store, I'm going to try and figure out which category they fit into!
Today's class was another informative marketing class, with a few quirks that I really enjoyed. First off, I liked the quick recap of everything we had done the day before; it really helped me remember what we had learned the day before, and get a quick review session to really grasp and understand the concepts. Also, I liked the worksheet that we got today that we filled in together (with the sales revenue, retail price, wholesale price, etc.) Walking through the worksheet and the math to get to the solution was extremely helpful in understanding the whole idea of prices. Lastly, I liked the cartoons we created. Not only were they a good and funny start to the morning, they also helped me understand the Gaps much, much better.
Today in class, a few of the more interesting things that we talked about were retail price, wholesale price, and Freshpatch sales revenue/CGS/gross margin/etc.
During class, we filled out the price/budget worksheet using FreshPatch as a guide. We first looked at the retail price, which is the price that the product is sold at. Then we looked at the wholesale price, which is the cost of a good sold by a wholesaler. The retail price is 7.99, and the wholesale price is 3.99. We also did out the sales revenue, which is price*units, and the math came out to be 100,000$. The sales revenue came out to be 100,000 for both the 3000 sq ft space and the commercial kitchen. We then did the CGS, which came out to be 38,000 for the 3000 sq ft space, and 25,400 for the commercial kitchen. Lastly, we did the gross margin which came out to be 62,000 for the 3000 sq ft space, and 74,600 for the commercial kitchen. This goes to show that the commercial kitchen would've been a better solution than using the 3000 sq ft space.
A few interesting things that we didn't talk about in class are the several criteria that supply chain managers use to choose a mode of transportation (236), reverse channels and drop and shops (248), and the multiple different types of in-store retailers (261).
The first criteria that supply chain managers use to choose a mode of transportation is relative cost. Relative cost is the total amount a carrier charges to move a product from one place to another. The next criteria is transit time, or the total time a carrier has possession of the products, including everything from pickup, handling, delivery and movement. The next criteria they use is reliability, which is the consistency which the carrier delivers goods on time and in acceptable condition. Another criteria is capability. The capability criteria looks at the ability of the carrier to provide appropriate equipment and conditions for moving specific products. Another criteria is accessibility, which is the carriers ability to move goods over a specific route. The last criteria that supply chain movers use to choose a mode of transportation for their products is traceability, which is the ease which the product can be located and transferred.
Another concept that I found interesting was the reverse channels and drop and shop system. The reverse channel allows consumers to return a product when it reaches the end of its usable life. The retailer or manufacturer then recycles the useless product and uses bits of it to make new products or refurbished and resellable products. Many companies and consumers use this system to reduce environmental impacts and better financial opportunities. Some companies that use this product are Walmart, Apple and Best Buy, and they recycle items such as batteries, tv's phones, etc. A drop and shop system is pretty much the same idea as a reverse channel, but allows consumers to drop off electronics at the entrance of a retailer. I never knew reverse channels and drop and shop systems were a thing, but now that I do, I may return and recycle some old and unused electronics!
Another concept that we didn't talk about in class but I found to be very fascinating was the tens of different in-store retailers. I never really thought about how many retailers there were, but now that I think and read about it, there's a ton! They are department stores, such as Marshalls (a favorite of mine), and specialty stores, such as Famous Footwear (another big favorite). Some others are supermarkets (I usually shop at Big Y), drugstores (I hate CVS, and usually use Walgreens), convenience stores (I don't really have a favorite!). Some other in-store retailers are full-line discount stores (Walmart), supercenters (my mom LOVES Target), specialty discount stores (like Foot Locker, did I mention I love shoes?), warehouse clubs (my mom also loves BJ's). The last few are off-price retailers (Marshalls comes up again!) and restaurants (love Friendly's!!). I never really thought about the multiple different types of in-store retailers and which stores go into which category, but now that I know all of the different ones, I feel like every time I go into a store, I'm going to try and figure out which category they fit into!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 20
Blog Post for Nov. 20
CH 20-21
Friday's class was another extremely informative, and sometimes confusing, class. As I said in my last blog, I really enjoy the structure of this course, but at the same time, I sometimes feel like it is so much information at once. I can't think of a muddiest point from this class, which is really good! I'm super excited to get into the BZBox Shark Tank video because that is my product that I am going to be doing my presentation on!
CH 20-21
Friday's class was another extremely informative, and sometimes confusing, class. As I said in my last blog, I really enjoy the structure of this course, but at the same time, I sometimes feel like it is so much information at once. I can't think of a muddiest point from this class, which is really good! I'm super excited to get into the BZBox Shark Tank video because that is my product that I am going to be doing my presentation on!
In Friday's class we talked about the stages in product life cycle (370), the three price strategies (378) and the differences between margin business and volume business.
The first stage in the product life cycle is the introductory stage. During this stage, management sets high prices (hoping to recover its development costs quickly), and demand only originates from the customers who directly need the product or service (and therefore, is inelastic). The next stage is the growth stage, which is where prices stabilize for multiple reasons (competitors have finally entered the market, the product is beginning to appeal to a broader market, instead of just to the people who directly need it, and the economies of scale are lowering costs). The next stage in the cycle is the maturity stage. During this stage, the price further decreases and competition increases and high cost firms are eliminated. Also, distribution becomes a high cost factor, and dealers necessarily absorb high-volume production. The last stage is the decline stage. This is the final stage in the Product Life Cycle, and is when prices continue to decrease and the few remaining competitors fight for the market. When there's only one competitor left, that is when the prices will begin to stabilize, and possibly increase.
According to the book, there are three price strategies; price skimming, penetration pricing, and status quo pricing. Price skimming is when a firm charges a high introductory price, coupled with heavy promotion(s). Penetration pricing is when a firm charges a low introductory price as a way to reach the mass market. Status quo pricing is when a firm charges a price identical or very close to the competitors price. Every time we watch a shark tank video, I feel like I'm going to try and figure out which price strategy they are going to use!
Another concept that we talked about in class that found to be interesting was the differences between margin business and volume difference. First of all, an example of a margin business is Apple, and an example of a volume business is Walmart. One difference between the two is that a margin business has a few units for a bigger price, while a volume business has a lot of units for a smaller price. Another difference is that a margin business has a differentiation cost competitive advantage, while a volume business has a cost competitive advantage. Another difference between the two is that margin business focuses on target markets and brand equity, while volume businesses don't focus on those points as much.
A few concepts that we didn't talk about in class are the multiple different discounts (383), unfair trade practice acts (380), and joint costs (391).
According to the book, there are seven different discounts/allowances in the marketing world. The first one is a quantity discount, where buyers get a lower price when they buy multiple units or paying above a specified dollar amount. In addition to this discount, there are two more sub-discounts which are cumulative discounts and noncumulative discounts. A good example of this discount can be shown by looking at Bath and Body works, because they always have discounts such as "buy three, get three". The next discount is a cash discount, which is when there is a price deduction is offered in return for prompt payment of a bill. The next discount is a functional discount which is when distribution channel intermediaries perform a service for the manufacturer and must be compensated. This discount is usually called a functional discount, or trade discount. The next discount is a seasonal discount which is a price reduction for buying merchandise out of season. An example of this discount could be buying summer clothes in winter time. The next discount is a promotional allowance, which is a payment to a dealer for promoting their products. This is also known as a trade allowance. The next discount is a rebate, which is a cash refund given for the purchase of a product during a specific period. The last discount is a zero percent financing discount, which allows consumers to borrow money to pay for a product with no interest. A good example of this discount is consumers buying from a car dealership.
Another topic we didn't talk about in class, but I found to be interesting was unfair trade practice acts, which are selling below the cost. Unfair trade practices were put in places to protect small, local firms from giants like Walmart, because small businesses can't operate on "razor thin profile margins", like Walmart can. The most commonly used markup figures used are six percent at retail level and two percent at the wholesale level. The only way a wholesaler or retailer can lower prices is if they can provide conclusive proof that the operating costs are lower than the minimum required figure. Fascinating stuff.
Another topic we didn't talk about, but that I thought was important was joint costs. Joint costs are costs that're shared in the marketing and manufacturing of multiple products in a certain product lines, and usually pose a problem in product pricing. In the book, there was a great example of joint costs and how joint costs have several affects, making it a lot easier to understand than a simple definition.
The first stage in the product life cycle is the introductory stage. During this stage, management sets high prices (hoping to recover its development costs quickly), and demand only originates from the customers who directly need the product or service (and therefore, is inelastic). The next stage is the growth stage, which is where prices stabilize for multiple reasons (competitors have finally entered the market, the product is beginning to appeal to a broader market, instead of just to the people who directly need it, and the economies of scale are lowering costs). The next stage in the cycle is the maturity stage. During this stage, the price further decreases and competition increases and high cost firms are eliminated. Also, distribution becomes a high cost factor, and dealers necessarily absorb high-volume production. The last stage is the decline stage. This is the final stage in the Product Life Cycle, and is when prices continue to decrease and the few remaining competitors fight for the market. When there's only one competitor left, that is when the prices will begin to stabilize, and possibly increase.
According to the book, there are three price strategies; price skimming, penetration pricing, and status quo pricing. Price skimming is when a firm charges a high introductory price, coupled with heavy promotion(s). Penetration pricing is when a firm charges a low introductory price as a way to reach the mass market. Status quo pricing is when a firm charges a price identical or very close to the competitors price. Every time we watch a shark tank video, I feel like I'm going to try and figure out which price strategy they are going to use!
Another concept that we talked about in class that found to be interesting was the differences between margin business and volume difference. First of all, an example of a margin business is Apple, and an example of a volume business is Walmart. One difference between the two is that a margin business has a few units for a bigger price, while a volume business has a lot of units for a smaller price. Another difference is that a margin business has a differentiation cost competitive advantage, while a volume business has a cost competitive advantage. Another difference between the two is that margin business focuses on target markets and brand equity, while volume businesses don't focus on those points as much.
A few concepts that we didn't talk about in class are the multiple different discounts (383), unfair trade practice acts (380), and joint costs (391).
According to the book, there are seven different discounts/allowances in the marketing world. The first one is a quantity discount, where buyers get a lower price when they buy multiple units or paying above a specified dollar amount. In addition to this discount, there are two more sub-discounts which are cumulative discounts and noncumulative discounts. A good example of this discount can be shown by looking at Bath and Body works, because they always have discounts such as "buy three, get three". The next discount is a cash discount, which is when there is a price deduction is offered in return for prompt payment of a bill. The next discount is a functional discount which is when distribution channel intermediaries perform a service for the manufacturer and must be compensated. This discount is usually called a functional discount, or trade discount. The next discount is a seasonal discount which is a price reduction for buying merchandise out of season. An example of this discount could be buying summer clothes in winter time. The next discount is a promotional allowance, which is a payment to a dealer for promoting their products. This is also known as a trade allowance. The next discount is a rebate, which is a cash refund given for the purchase of a product during a specific period. The last discount is a zero percent financing discount, which allows consumers to borrow money to pay for a product with no interest. A good example of this discount is consumers buying from a car dealership.
Another topic we didn't talk about in class, but I found to be interesting was unfair trade practice acts, which are selling below the cost. Unfair trade practices were put in places to protect small, local firms from giants like Walmart, because small businesses can't operate on "razor thin profile margins", like Walmart can. The most commonly used markup figures used are six percent at retail level and two percent at the wholesale level. The only way a wholesaler or retailer can lower prices is if they can provide conclusive proof that the operating costs are lower than the minimum required figure. Fascinating stuff.
Another topic we didn't talk about, but that I thought was important was joint costs. Joint costs are costs that're shared in the marketing and manufacturing of multiple products in a certain product lines, and usually pose a problem in product pricing. In the book, there was a great example of joint costs and how joint costs have several affects, making it a lot easier to understand than a simple definition.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 19
Blog Post for Nov. 19
CH 10, 11, 12
Today was another day full of marketing concepts and Shark tank videos (which I still enjoy a lot!). One thing I love about the class overall, not just today's class, is the structure. The shark tank videos and how they apply to the concepts is super helpful in grasping and remembering concepts (and I like how they're available on Kodiak), the fact that you use different colored markers for your notes and diagrams (helpful in keeping up), and the overall strict structure of the class. In a few of our other classes, there was no structure whatsoever and I think that caused my grade to suffer a little. Also, I really enjoyed the Buzzy shark tank video today because I think it is a brilliant idea. I am actually terrified of needles (fun fact, my doctor used to have to hide the shot in his jacket and catch me off guard), and I think if she was a little nicer, and a little more cooperative, she would've paired with one of the sharks, and made big money!
Today in class a few of the interesting points that we talked about were the service quality gap model, the five characteristics for a product to be successful, and the difference between product mix and product line. The gap model of service quality is a model that identifies the five "gaps" that can cause problems in service delivery and therefore affect customer evaluations of service quality. The model is shown below
![](http://mason.gmu.edu/~jharvey/ch11/img015.gif)
The first gap is the knowledge gap, or the gap between what customers want and what managers think their customers want, resulting from a lack of understanding or misinterpretation. The second gap is the standards gap which is the gap between what management thinks customers want and tghe quality specifications that management develops to provide the service, resulting from the managements inability to translate customers needs into delivery systems. The third gap is the delivery gap which is the gap between the service quality specifications and the service that is actually provided, resulting from the inability of management/employees to do what should be done. The fourth gap is the communications gap which is the gap between what the company provides and what the customer is told it provides, resulting from misleading/deceptive campaigns. The last gap is the service gap which is the gap between the service customers receive and the service they want, and can be positive or negative.
A few concepts that we didn't talk about in class that I found to be interesting were UPC's and their purpose (187), test marketing (198)and the five ways to evaluate service quality (211). An Universal Product Code is a sets of thick and thin vertical lines, also known as bar codes, that are readable by computerized optical scanners that represent numbers used to track products. UPC's are important because they're used in scanner based research, to print information on cash register tapes, and to match codes with brand names/package sizes/etc. They were introduced in 1974, and have been crucial for marketing and product development/shipment since. Test marketing is the limited introduction of a product and a marketing program to determine the reactions of potential customers in a market situation. Test marketing allows management to seek alternative strategies and to see how well their marketing mix fit together. However, test marketing can take up to a year and cost over one million dollars, so some companies like to use alternatives, such as simulated market testing or P&G. Lastly, the five ways to evaluate service quality are reliability (performing a service dependably, consistently,etc.), responsiveness (ability to provide prompt service), assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees), empathy (individualized, caring attention to customers), and tangibles (physical evidence of a service). According to research, these are the five ways that customers evaluate service quality, and the overall service quality is measured by combining customers' evaluations for all five aspects.
CH 10, 11, 12
Today was another day full of marketing concepts and Shark tank videos (which I still enjoy a lot!). One thing I love about the class overall, not just today's class, is the structure. The shark tank videos and how they apply to the concepts is super helpful in grasping and remembering concepts (and I like how they're available on Kodiak), the fact that you use different colored markers for your notes and diagrams (helpful in keeping up), and the overall strict structure of the class. In a few of our other classes, there was no structure whatsoever and I think that caused my grade to suffer a little. Also, I really enjoyed the Buzzy shark tank video today because I think it is a brilliant idea. I am actually terrified of needles (fun fact, my doctor used to have to hide the shot in his jacket and catch me off guard), and I think if she was a little nicer, and a little more cooperative, she would've paired with one of the sharks, and made big money!
Today in class a few of the interesting points that we talked about were the service quality gap model, the five characteristics for a product to be successful, and the difference between product mix and product line. The gap model of service quality is a model that identifies the five "gaps" that can cause problems in service delivery and therefore affect customer evaluations of service quality. The model is shown below
![](http://mason.gmu.edu/~jharvey/ch11/img015.gif)
The first gap is the knowledge gap, or the gap between what customers want and what managers think their customers want, resulting from a lack of understanding or misinterpretation. The second gap is the standards gap which is the gap between what management thinks customers want and tghe quality specifications that management develops to provide the service, resulting from the managements inability to translate customers needs into delivery systems. The third gap is the delivery gap which is the gap between the service quality specifications and the service that is actually provided, resulting from the inability of management/employees to do what should be done. The fourth gap is the communications gap which is the gap between what the company provides and what the customer is told it provides, resulting from misleading/deceptive campaigns. The last gap is the service gap which is the gap between the service customers receive and the service they want, and can be positive or negative.
A few concepts that we didn't talk about in class that I found to be interesting were UPC's and their purpose (187), test marketing (198)and the five ways to evaluate service quality (211). An Universal Product Code is a sets of thick and thin vertical lines, also known as bar codes, that are readable by computerized optical scanners that represent numbers used to track products. UPC's are important because they're used in scanner based research, to print information on cash register tapes, and to match codes with brand names/package sizes/etc. They were introduced in 1974, and have been crucial for marketing and product development/shipment since. Test marketing is the limited introduction of a product and a marketing program to determine the reactions of potential customers in a market situation. Test marketing allows management to seek alternative strategies and to see how well their marketing mix fit together. However, test marketing can take up to a year and cost over one million dollars, so some companies like to use alternatives, such as simulated market testing or P&G. Lastly, the five ways to evaluate service quality are reliability (performing a service dependably, consistently,etc.), responsiveness (ability to provide prompt service), assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees), empathy (individualized, caring attention to customers), and tangibles (physical evidence of a service). According to research, these are the five ways that customers evaluate service quality, and the overall service quality is measured by combining customers' evaluations for all five aspects.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 18
Blog Post for Nov. 18
Today's class was another fun and informative class. I still really enjoy the shark tank videos, and I love how they connect to the concepts and help make the concepts easier to grasp and understand. I really enjoyed splitting up into the two groups and I like how we moved seats around today. I will go more in depth later on in the blog, but my muddiest point today was the B2B and B2C. Overall, I'm really enjoying this class!
Today in class we learned a bunch of different things (as usual!) and a few of the more interesting ones were B2B v. B2C by looking at Melni Connections and Buck Mason, the Customer Journey Map through Buck Mason and perceptual mapping. I thought the B2B v B2C was very interesting, and I got some notes, but some times I was a little confused as to what went where. I understood that B2B demonstrates the Melni Connections company, and B2C demonstrates the Buck Mason company. Also, B2B generally has less customers because they only sell to big businesses/corporations, while B2C has more customers because it is selling to all consumers.Other than those few factors, I didn't get much more notes, because I would be confused as to what fact went with which. That's my muddiest point for the day, by the way!
We also learned about the Customer Journey Map by looking at the Buck Mason company. The Customer Journey Map is the before, during and after circle diagram that shows what a customer does before, during and after shopping. I really enjoyed how we went into groups and talked about how men shop regularly (it's crazy that guys don't try on clothes in-store to see if they fit!!) and how men shop when shopping through Buck Mason.
Today's class was another fun and informative class. I still really enjoy the shark tank videos, and I love how they connect to the concepts and help make the concepts easier to grasp and understand. I really enjoyed splitting up into the two groups and I like how we moved seats around today. I will go more in depth later on in the blog, but my muddiest point today was the B2B and B2C. Overall, I'm really enjoying this class!
Today in class we learned a bunch of different things (as usual!) and a few of the more interesting ones were B2B v. B2C by looking at Melni Connections and Buck Mason, the Customer Journey Map through Buck Mason and perceptual mapping. I thought the B2B v B2C was very interesting, and I got some notes, but some times I was a little confused as to what went where. I understood that B2B demonstrates the Melni Connections company, and B2C demonstrates the Buck Mason company. Also, B2B generally has less customers because they only sell to big businesses/corporations, while B2C has more customers because it is selling to all consumers.Other than those few factors, I didn't get much more notes, because I would be confused as to what fact went with which. That's my muddiest point for the day, by the way!
We also learned about the Customer Journey Map by looking at the Buck Mason company. The Customer Journey Map is the before, during and after circle diagram that shows what a customer does before, during and after shopping. I really enjoyed how we went into groups and talked about how men shop regularly (it's crazy that guys don't try on clothes in-store to see if they fit!!) and how men shop when shopping through Buck Mason.
The top picture is a diagram of how guys shop regularly/ in-store shopping, and the bottom picture is how guys shop when shopping through Buck Mason.There was a huge difference! (even though men don't try on their clothes in either situation??)
The last concept that I found interesting that we talked about in class was the concept of perceptual mapping. Perceptual mapping is when businesses measure consumers thoughts on brands/attributes/etc. by surveying them. The diagram on Walmart/Walgreens and high cost/deep was very helpful in understanding this concept.
Three concepts that we didn't talk about in class that I found to be interesting were Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (pg. 112), NAICS (pg 125), and measuring online success (pg 119). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has always been an interesting concept to me, even back in high school. I learned about it in Anatomy and Physiology in high school, psychology in freshman year, and now in marketing; it's fascinating how it can be intertwined with so many different subjects. I also love how Maslow was able to condense all of the needs of the normal human being into 5 levels, ranging them from most important to least important. Another concept that I found to be interesting that we didn't discuss in class was NAICS, or the North American Industry Classification System. NAICS is a classification system that was made to replace the standard industrial classification system to classify North American business establishments by their main production processes. The last concept that I found to be interesting was the calculation to measure online success. I never knew that there was an actual way to measure online success, but now I know businesses use Google Analytics and other web analytic sites. The measurement for a sites effectiveness is stickiness= frequency X duration X site reach, who knew?? Business use this stickiness measure for multiple different reasons that will help keep their business efficient and effective.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 17
During today's class, we learned about the importance of geography and innovation (through Storm Stoppers), the environmental externalities (social/cultural, economic, technological political/regulatory/legal, and competitive) through Bambooee, and positioning and how it affects companies and consumers (through Frill Clothing). Also, we took our first quiz today, (love how it is at the end of class and not the beginning!) and I'm hoping i did relatively good!!
One concept that we talked about in class today that I found interesting was positioning. Positioning is when businesses or companies develop a specific marketing mix to influence potential customers' overall perception of a brand, product line or organization in general; in simpler terms, when a business puts an image in the heads of the consumers regarding their organization. I found this to be very interesting, especially when paired with the Shark Tank video "Frill Clothing" (loved their business, by the way!), because businesses are in complete control of how consumers and buyers view their business and products. Another concept that we talked about in class that I found to be interesting were the necessary accessories for market segmentation, which are (SMAIR) substantial/size, measurable, accessible, identifiable and responsive. Even though I didn't answer this question completely on the quiz, (I forgot the SMA!) I still found it interesting that businesses need these five things to able to do market segmentation. Another concept that we discussed in class was the three segmentation strategies, which are the undifferentiated strategy(a strategy where everyone buys the same product) concentrated strategy (a strategy that meets different peoples needs), and the multi segmented strategy (a strategy that modifies the original strategy to fit specific needs).
One concept that we didn't discuss in class that I found to be interesting was perceptual mapping (149). Perceptual mapping is a means of displaying or graphing, in two or more dimensions, the location of products, brands or groups of products in customers' minds. An example of this is when Saks Incorporated used customer demographics, like spending levels and preferred styles, to build a matrix that charts the best mix of clothes and accessories to stock each store. Another concept that we didn't discuss in class, but I found interesting was the Family Life Cycle (FLC), found on page 140. The Family Life Cycle is a series of stages determined by a combination of age, marital status, and the presence or absence of children.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mMpVBOma_fhvjmvPDQd6uyvybEs2kspjNuVR6jZ7r2cTPa0IS04uclDcWmqvGK0Q9iJIfT6207wmJVt91fv4aq_eQI4BzRFlxAVqQKJTXdoUMvk2F2BeSkhDYxtYKOIxwq0nTXVHxPI3/s640/family+lifecycle.png)
I found this to be very interesting because in the U.S. the "traditional family" is considered a married couple, but according to the book, married couples make up less than half of households. Along with this diagram shown in the book, a table is given with characteristics of each yellow square. For example, "young single" has few financial burdens, while "older married" has a drastic cut in income. Another concept that we didn't discuss in class, but that I thought was interesting/important were the Millennials/Generation Y, Generation X and the Baby Boomers, and their characteristics.
Overall, I learned a lot both in the classroom and out of the classroom, and I am really enjoying the class!
P.S. Pairing the marketing concepts with the Shark Tank videos is SUPER helpful in grasping and remembering the concepts!!
One concept that we talked about in class today that I found interesting was positioning. Positioning is when businesses or companies develop a specific marketing mix to influence potential customers' overall perception of a brand, product line or organization in general; in simpler terms, when a business puts an image in the heads of the consumers regarding their organization. I found this to be very interesting, especially when paired with the Shark Tank video "Frill Clothing" (loved their business, by the way!), because businesses are in complete control of how consumers and buyers view their business and products. Another concept that we talked about in class that I found to be interesting were the necessary accessories for market segmentation, which are (SMAIR) substantial/size, measurable, accessible, identifiable and responsive. Even though I didn't answer this question completely on the quiz, (I forgot the SMA!) I still found it interesting that businesses need these five things to able to do market segmentation. Another concept that we discussed in class was the three segmentation strategies, which are the undifferentiated strategy(a strategy where everyone buys the same product) concentrated strategy (a strategy that meets different peoples needs), and the multi segmented strategy (a strategy that modifies the original strategy to fit specific needs).
One concept that we didn't discuss in class that I found to be interesting was perceptual mapping (149). Perceptual mapping is a means of displaying or graphing, in two or more dimensions, the location of products, brands or groups of products in customers' minds. An example of this is when Saks Incorporated used customer demographics, like spending levels and preferred styles, to build a matrix that charts the best mix of clothes and accessories to stock each store. Another concept that we didn't discuss in class, but I found interesting was the Family Life Cycle (FLC), found on page 140. The Family Life Cycle is a series of stages determined by a combination of age, marital status, and the presence or absence of children.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mMpVBOma_fhvjmvPDQd6uyvybEs2kspjNuVR6jZ7r2cTPa0IS04uclDcWmqvGK0Q9iJIfT6207wmJVt91fv4aq_eQI4BzRFlxAVqQKJTXdoUMvk2F2BeSkhDYxtYKOIxwq0nTXVHxPI3/s640/family+lifecycle.png)
I found this to be very interesting because in the U.S. the "traditional family" is considered a married couple, but according to the book, married couples make up less than half of households. Along with this diagram shown in the book, a table is given with characteristics of each yellow square. For example, "young single" has few financial burdens, while "older married" has a drastic cut in income. Another concept that we didn't discuss in class, but that I thought was interesting/important were the Millennials/Generation Y, Generation X and the Baby Boomers, and their characteristics.
Overall, I learned a lot both in the classroom and out of the classroom, and I am really enjoying the class!
P.S. Pairing the marketing concepts with the Shark Tank videos is SUPER helpful in grasping and remembering the concepts!!
Monday, November 16, 2015
Blog Post for Nov. 16
Blog Post for November 16th Class
- Today in class we learned about
- the four P's (Price, Place, Promotion, Product) and how those are internally focused
- the four C's (Customer Cost, Customer solution, Convenience, Communication) and how those are externally/our focus
- the marketing strategies (market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification)
- cost competitive advantage (Walmart), differentiation competitive advantage (Apple) and Niche competitive advantage (Falcon)
- innovation matrix, and where to plot points on the innovation matrix
- GE Matrix (Business strength vs Market Attractiveness
2. 3 concepts that're interesting/important
The four P's
GE Matrix
The marketing strategies
3. 3 concepts that we didn't talk about
An exchange can only take place only if five conditions exist (there must be at least two parties, each party has something that might be of value to the other party, each party is capable of communication and delivery, each party is free to accept or reject the exchange offer, each party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party.
Production orientation v sales orientation, v market orientation v societal marketing orientation all influence organizations marketing processes
Relationship marketing - strategy that focuses on keeping and improving relationships with current customers
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Introduction to Jenna Beahn
Hello!
My name is Jenna Beahn and I am a sophomore General Business major and Education minor at Western New England University. At WNE, I am a part of the Sophomore Business Cohort, a general member in Sophomore Council, a Peer Adviser and a Student Assistant in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development.
In the past, I was a student at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School in Worcester, MA. At AKF, I was a member of the basketball team from freshman to senior year, and captain my junior and senior year. I was also a member of the softball team, MVP my junior and senior year. I was also a member of the field hockey team, before I tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder and had to quit so I could make it through the softball season. Also, I was a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) my junior and senior year. I ended my high school career with a 3.8 GPA and a ton of lifelong memories and friends.
At home, I have three siblings. I have twin two year old brothers, Jack and Eli, and a three year old sister, Madelyn. I also have two dogs, Asa and Bailey, who are both 11 (they're getting old! :( ). My mom and dad are both child abuse investigators at the Department for Children and Families in Worcester, MA, but I have no idea what I want to be when I get out of college!
My name is Jenna Beahn and I am a sophomore General Business major and Education minor at Western New England University. At WNE, I am a part of the Sophomore Business Cohort, a general member in Sophomore Council, a Peer Adviser and a Student Assistant in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development.
In the past, I was a student at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School in Worcester, MA. At AKF, I was a member of the basketball team from freshman to senior year, and captain my junior and senior year. I was also a member of the softball team, MVP my junior and senior year. I was also a member of the field hockey team, before I tore my rotator cuff in my shoulder and had to quit so I could make it through the softball season. Also, I was a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) my junior and senior year. I ended my high school career with a 3.8 GPA and a ton of lifelong memories and friends.
At home, I have three siblings. I have twin two year old brothers, Jack and Eli, and a three year old sister, Madelyn. I also have two dogs, Asa and Bailey, who are both 11 (they're getting old! :( ). My mom and dad are both child abuse investigators at the Department for Children and Families in Worcester, MA, but I have no idea what I want to be when I get out of college!
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