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!