Week 10 EOC: Benefits vs .Features

Marketing Channels Understanding Consumer and Business

A lot of companies use marketing channels such as Facebook to promote their products. Like for instance companies are starting to incorporate what is called brand promoters to do the promoting on social media site. They give the person different products to try out and have them go on different websites to promote them and sometimes they even get a monetary award for promoting the products in an effective way. The marketing channels allow the companies to gain recognition from consumers to use their brand.

Channel members interact by displaying the product or service showing of the benefits and the features for instance on Facebook, and spark consumers curiosity when they talk about it which makes people want to buy the product or service that is being offered. The brand promoters set out a strategic plan to get people excited and happy about the product or service just as much as them which peaks a person’s curiosity and then they decide to use it.

The major channels available for a company are listed as follows: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.

Companies select people that have the have the ability to influence others with their words, actions and deeds and they choose people that like using the service or product already. They keep them motivated by supplying the service or product to them, allowing them to try it out so they can tell others about it.

The importance of marketing logistics and integrated supply chain is knowing your audience and what they want and supplying it for them as quickly as possible while the demand is there, if you don’t, you run the risk of losing business and people will become dissatisfied.

 

Week 8 : The adventure

The adventure...

It all started when I was traveling through Ethiopia to Uganda for an international business meeting when my Jeep broke down. It stopped in a small town in Ethiopia. I decided to just stay the night there as my jeep was getting fixed so I could start back on my journey to my business meeting in the morning.
I decided to stop that night and get a room. I checked my bags into the hotel. I saw that the hotel had an upscale lounge in it and I decided to stop I to relax and have a drink after long day of traveling.
I put my bags in the room, changed my clothes and proceeded to the lounge. As I entered the lounge I can tell it was for people who had a lot of money, the ambiance was perfect. There were plush couches with designer odd shaped tables. The lounge was futuristic in design.
I walked over to the bar instead of a table sat down and ordered a drink. I then looked over to my left and saw the most beautiful woman that I could have ever seen in my life. She was wearing a white silk gown with silver accessories to match eating a snack and drinking a glass of wine.
She then walked up to me and ordered me a drink and a snack as well.
"Hey there lover boy she says as she sits next to me at the bar. "You look like you needed a drink and a snack." Actually I do and I am very tired. The bar tender lays the drink and snack down in front of me and another drink for her. We were having a pleasant conversation when I felt a tap on my shoulder and a guy say," What are you doing talking to my woman? I can tell you are not from this town because if you were you would have known this already." I turned around and stood up." Excuse me sure but I don't see a ring on the young woman's finger so she is actually a free agent. He drew back as if he was going to hit but I punched him first. Grabbed the woman by her hand and we dashed out of the lounge. By this time, all the men in bar as running after us. And her now ex-boyfriend kept yelling, "Get them !"As we were exiting the hotel I reached into my pants, lit and threw a stick of dynamite between the hotel doors. I ran to a car that was sitting across the street broke the window, jumped in the car, broke the steering column and started the car. "Hop in!!" I told the young woman. She then got into the passenger side. As I was driving off I saw her ex lover running after the car. It just do happened that he made it out of the hotel before it blew up. "Stop him he yelled, he has stolen my car too. As I drove away I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a man pull up beside him and he jumped in. They chased us until they ran into traffic as we sped through a red light and across train tracks right before the train was about to cross.

Implementation Evaluation Control

When you have implementation evaluation control it means several things. "The company should analyze its markets and marketing environment to find attractive opportunities and identify environmental threats. It should analyze company strengths and weaknesses as well as current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue."
page 56 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong/Kotler. An with tis concept you can determine if you are doing everything you can to get to your target audience.


Another great element/concept is: "Marketing control :   

The process of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans and taking corrective action to ensure that objectives are achieved." page 58 Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong and Kotler. If you can control the market that you are trying to target you will be able to dominate it. You have to make sure that your product is in your consumers hands by advertising to the specific market you are trying to reach in order to control the market. Wal-Mart is a great example of implementation evaluation control.

Marketing Mix: Price

You have to have the right price for the right product. That is why I will be selling my snack Sophistique'  at $6. I want the price to be right for the product and want people to purchase it without breaking the bank. I have to affect the right market and my target audience. "It consists of the firm’s marketing mix, the set of marketing tools the firm uses to implement its marketing strategy". page 13 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong & Kotler. 

Also you can get to consumers by making a product that offers quality, value, and with the right price you cant go wrong. Sophistique is being offered at $6 at exclusive upscale lounges,  bars and pubs across the country  so I can reach my audience the best way. Consumers not only want a great price but they want to feel important and making a consumer feel important along with the price adds to the value.
"Setting the right price is one of the marketer’s most difficult tasks. A host of factors come into play. But finding and implementing the right price strategy is critical to success." page 275 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong & Kotler.

Marketing Mix: Promotion

Promoting a product is used in many different way. You can advertise a product  through different ways. The way I would promote my audience is through social media sites, billboards and television. I will also show my commercials to certain demographics that I want to use my products and will also tell others about it. "The promotion mix is the marketer’s bag of tools for communicating with customers and other stakeholders. All of these tools must be carefully coordinated under the concept of integrated marketing communications in order to deliver a clear and compelling message." page 377 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong & Kotler.

When you promote it means:" activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it". page 54 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong & Kotler. Promoting can be expensive and that is why using social media is actually cost the less. The more people click on or talk about your product the more you can get free publicity and get the name out there. With my product I plan on using Facebook and YouTube to make sure that when you click or search for certain things my product is recognize. I can even do like Jimmy Fallon and create my own media buzz by making a video that will get people talking about my product.

Marketing Mix: Distribution

There is a lot to distribution and you have to make sure you think smart about it when distributing your product. When you try to distribute a product you have to look for the most effect way to do so. You may have ti create business relationships with other companies in order to get the product out where you need to go. It is very important to make sure you are also making a relationship with distributing companies that may help you to decrease cost.  "Many critics charge that the American marketing system causes prices to be higher than they would be under more “sensible” systems. Such high prices are hard to swallow, especially when the economy takes a downturn. Critics point to three factors—high costs of distribution, high advertising and promotion costs, and excessive markups".  page 513 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong and Kotler.

"Physical distribution firms help the company to stock and move goods from their points of origin to their destinations. Marketing services agencies are the marketing research firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and marketing consulting firms that help the company target and promote its products to the right markets". page 69 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong and Kotler.

 

Marketing Mix: Product

Marketing Strategy: Target Marketing Strategy

"If the company has selected its target market and positioning carefully, then its marketing mix strategy, including price, will be fairly straightforward. Some companies position their products on price and then tailor other marketing mix decisions to the prices they want to charge". page 304 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong/Kotler.

 "Standardized global marketing,     

An international marketing strategy for using basically the same marketing strategy and mix in all the company’s international markets". page 495 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong/Kotler.

Final Project: Situation Or SWOT Analysis

You have to create a SWAT analysis which means: "An overall evaluation of the company’s strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).on page 55 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong and Kotler. My SWOT analysis will show my Strength which is the value that a customer will get in my snack, my weakness:  which would be what I can do to improve the product and what I need to work, my opportunities would be what can I add to my product, and my threat would be a product that is targeting the same demographic than myself and doing a better job at delivering value and quality than myself. My strength I can capitalize on. "Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives. page 55 Marketing: An Introduction Armstrong /Kotler. When you know you have strengths it is good to make sure that you are ready to take on the market without fear and hitting it head on and that is what I plan to do with my product. I will shows my strengths by presenting value and quality for my customer base.

Final Project: Objectives

When I create my management team I will make sure that they understand my objectives. It is important that there is clarity when you are trying to reach a goal, "Top management sets the company’s mission, objectives, broad strategies, and policies. Marketing managers make decisions within the strategies and plans made by top management." page 67 Marketing: An introduction, Armstrong & Kotler.
My objective with Sophistique' is to deliver a product that has value. I want my customers to love the way it taste and recommend it to others and the best way to do that is to create objectives and goals, implementing my idea form my packaging to the distribution and how it is looked at by consumers is very important.
There are many types of research including marketing research.  "A marketing research project might have one of three types of objectives." page 107 Marketing: An introduction, Armstrong & Kotler. The research objective is very important to have. The one I will use for my product is "Descriptive research :  Marketing research to better describe marketing problems, situations, or markets, such as the market potential for a product or the demographics and attitudes of consumers." page 107 Marketing: An introduction, Armstrong & Kotler.  With research you can identify how to combat problems with your product and what consumers really think about it and the best thing I will do is implent it into my business because the consumers voice matters to me

Final Project: Business Mission Statement

The mission statement reflects what the companies intent is. It also helps to guide the company in pursuing what it has set out to do. If a company has no mission statement it doesn't have a way to know where the company s going and how its future will turn out. For instance, Wal-Mart mission statement is "Save money. Live better", and with statement alone that attracts customers' all over the world to shop there and they actually carry this out by trying their best to have the cheapest products on the market and that is why they are so successful.
" A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization."  page 39 Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong and Kotler.

Also one important thing that I have found is that "Guided by the company’s mission statement and objectives, management now must plan its creating a business portfolio: —the collection of businesses and products that make up the company. page 43 Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong and Kotler. So the business portfolio is one thing that will make or break a business. With the business portfolio you have to show your work to convince investors to believe in your business. the mission statement and business portfolio go hand in hand to create a successful business.

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

I have a very great snack that is called  Sophistiqué. It consists of a pretzel with a cheese dip that will have your taste buds in a frenzy. You can eat this at the bar with a glass of wine or at the bar or having a party with important guests in your home. Sophitique' is produced by Phileas Fogg foods. The snack is for adults who want to unwind. Every adult in America deserves to relax, drink, and enjoy life after a day of hard work.
 Not many people have traveled to Ethiopia and experienced the good things that Ethiopia has to offer. The pretzels' taste derives from a dish named kit Fu in Ethiopia that is served not only among family but also friends and business partners. It is something that takes your breath away.

When you are in the bar or lounge enjoying yourself, this would be the snack to get. It comes with a story that will allow you to make conversation and meet new people that you wouldn't have known before. The story that backs the product is a story of a lifetime. It is a romance that can never be forgotten and that is one element that makes this product so interesting.

Week 6: EOC: Me Times 3

My sixty inch TV is something that describes me because I love to have nice things. I love to shop and watch TV in my leisure time among other things. I work hard for what I have. I came from nothing when I moved to Las Vegas. I only had a two suitcases, a pillow, two pairs of shoes and a comforter. For months I struggled and this is one thing that shows that I overcame the obstacles that tried to conquer me in the beginning.

This is a picture of my diary cover. I chose to put this on my blog because I love to write about everything I have been through and the day I have had. I love to write because it is very therapeutic for me. I also like writing a diary because I can go back and read  about situations that have happened to me and how far I have come from the time I wrote about it. It also helps me to come up with better ways to handle things and how much I have grown as a person.

I have a picture of a set of pots and pans I have purchased because I love to cook. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. I just recently took an interest in making  different kinds of food from scratch. Cooking also saves money in the end. Eating out can be so expensive and I want to cook also so if one day I decide to start a family I will be able to cook for them. Cooking is an art. I believe you have to be in tune with specific dish you are making. I  also feel you have to like it in order to make the dish come out the best, it helps to bring out my creative side.  have a picture of my set of pots and pans because I love to cook. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. I just recently took an interest in making different food. Cooking also saves money on the end. Eating out can be so expensive and I want to cook also so if one day I decide to make a family I will be able to cook.

Week 5 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

       

Social Networking is one of the efficient ways to stay in contact with friends and family. Not only do people rely on social networking to stay connected with the ones they love but also with retailers. In the past you would look for a job by driving around to different business establishments picking up paper applications and turning them in. Things have changed a lot over the last ten years. You can't apply for a job anymore unless you have the Internet and a computer. Social networking has opened a new avenue on finding jobs such as Facebook. A lot of businesses advertise jobs on Facebook because they know a lot of people use Facebook to stay connected and will see the add. They target people that they think fit into the job description the best.

       But according to The wall street Journal LinkedIn is beating out Facebook hires has accumulated up to a whopping 1% , figure that. I believe it is because Facebook is associated with fun and LinkedIn is associated with business. You can gain more business contacts than social friends on LinkedIn. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner isn't worried. The feedback he has been getting states" our customers prefer to keep their business life and family life separate." I believe that is how things should be mixing business with pleasure isn't always good. "Facebook's use as a job-recruitment tool remains small, but its appeal may be growing," says the wall street journal. It may be growing but I don't think it will get as big as linked in I believe what CEO Jeff Weiner says. To me, comparing Facebook to LinkedIn is like comparing apples and bananas, they may both be fruit but they  are still different in a lot of ways.

       Companies such as JetBlue not only look for employees through social networking, they look for brand ambassadors too. A brand ambassador is someone who gets free products and discounts in exchange for promoting a company's products and/or services. “Marketers select their brand ambassadors very carefully, based on customers’ devotion to a brand and the size of their social circles.” So not only being a brand promoters is beneficial to the person promoting it can possibly lead to a job in the future, you never know. My have things changed, everything is surrounded by social networking and companies are now honing in on this aspect because the internet and web sites such as linked and Facebook aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Week 4 EOC: Differences between Business to Business and Consumer Marketing

General Electric is a very remarkable company. They know who to do business with consumers and other businesses. They really know the meaning on marketing. Consumers don't contribute as much s you think they would, "consumer products contribute less than one-third of the company’s total $183 billion in annual sales?" as quoted in marketing: an introduction on page 158. GE knows how to market their products effectively by offering a range of appliances to entertainment. GE not only does good business it does clean business. They have over 40% less emissions than its competitors which equates removing 48 million cars from the road each year.  That is phenomenal, no wonder they were able to strike a deal with CSX Transportation on locomotives in 2010. GE has learned the value of business marketing and consumer marketing. The consumers love GE because they offer products that consumers want coupled with the experience of being in business for over 130 years.

GE has struck deals with Kazakhstan National Railway which was very lucrative bringing in more than $650 million in revenue which is the "largest order ever delivered in North America". They aren't the best looking locomotives but they are the most efficient. GE has capitalized on the market with different business by showcasing their products in a way that makes them want to invest in their company. GE is a prime example of value. Value is one of the most important aspects of business along with performance. Their products prove to be one of the best in the market.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographic

My demographic Background...

I have a very different demographic background than a lot of people I know. I come from a small town with no more than 146,000 people with different ethnicities and backgrounds. I also come from a two parent home with one older sister. We stayed in a small bungalow home located in an urban area. I come from a very educated family. My parents always believed in education. Both of my parents have Doctorate degrees and my sister has her masters degree. My parents are a baby boomers and my sister and I are apart of generation y. My parents haven't always had the best in life. for the most part my sister and I lived in a home where at least one parent was working at all times. My father was off of work for a while when I was little and my mother has always been in and out of work, either company would go out of business or she would quit. We haven't had all the luxuries in life but I believe education has played a huge part in my life and how I think.

   

    My parents has always pushed education, even to the point of affecting our extended family. My parents always told me education is the key to success. I never understood the concept of education until I was in fifth grade and it caught on. Now that I am older I understand the true meaning of being educated and striving for the best and the best job you can no matter what the circumstance.  My parents also came from two parent homes and from a large family unlike our 4 member family. My father had 8 brothers and sisters and my mother 5 brothers and sisters. My parents have always been family oriented and instilled strong family values that I will pass on to my children. I come from a very religious home with both my parents in ministry and also working full time. My parents taught me how to pay bills early, cook, clean and to be responsible. I think due to my upbringing I have learned much abo9ut myself and life and I am determined to do the best that I can in life because that is the example I have seen all my life through my parents.

Week 3 EOC: Making money for Good

Companies that give back, making money for good: Habitat for Humanity

     Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller. They left a lucrative business in Alabama and came to Georgia. When they moved to Georgia they saw a need for housing and that is how Habitat for Humanity began. they started building houses for people who couldn't otherwise afford a home. Habitat for Humanities has now served over 600,000 people in ten different countries including the United States. Habitat has partnered with various companies to ensure that they have all the supplies they need. In order for them to continue to build these homes for low income people, they also use donations and the homeowners mortgage payments to support the cause. They charge no interest on the mortgages and approve people with decent to good credit only.

     I think it is wonderful for this company to build and renovate homes for people who need them all around the world. This company supports people of different backgrounds, religious beliefs and ethnicities even though the company was based on Christian principles and values. It is great that people now get a safe place to live, with mortgage free payments and one year of free maintenance on their new home.The homes consist of three bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, a 2 car garage and a living space of 1,050 square feet. Depending on the part of the country or world you live in, you may get a finished basement that has bedrooms and a storage area.

     If it wasn’t for Habitat for Humanities giving people a chance to be homeowners, I feel a lot more people would miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime and would have a harder time of becoming homeowners.Thank goodness for people like the Fullers who saw a need a didn’t hesitate to act and give a dream for a better life and home to people around the world.

Week 2: EOC: Boston Consulting Group Video Games

In My opinion.....

I was reading an article written by Boston Consulting Group Video Games and I feel it is true and accurate even though it was written back in 2009. The gaming industry is definitely seeing a decline of 15% percent year over year  according to The NPD Group as of July 19th, 2013. From the research I have done, the gaming industry has taken a massive hit in sales every since the recession started.  As far as the PlayStation, Xbox 360 and the Wii are concerned they are now dogs of the industry. Also, gaming analyst on gamepolitics.com speculate that  the way of the future is going to the tablet. Game makers better starting thinking of a way to not only entertain their customers, but also make games more appealing on tablets. It is a good thing that games and consoles aren't a necessity because of pricing. I would suggest that the industry make products that are more conducive to the consumers budget and develop apps that can compete with the millions of apps on the android and iPhone products.

The problem with game makers I feel, is that they are stuck in a time warp, reminiscing on the 90’s and early 2000’s where people didn't mind going to the store to purchase games. Fast forward to the year 2013, people are lackadaisical. Consumers no longer have the initiative to go to the store and buy games, unless the game store is in a stuffy crowded mall that is next to a Forever 21 or Macy’s . If you are like me, you rather have the convenience of getting a game at a more affordable cost at your fingertips right at home. The sad thing is, children don't even play outside anymore like they use to. That is one reason why I favor the Wii U. The Wii U gives you that extra kick to get you up and going and trims the body fat at the same time. But I still believe it is over for the Wii U and by the time I have children that are old enough to enjoy it, it will be like the first Nintendo that came out back in the early 90’s. What a sad state of affair for all game console makers and game makers, unless they change the way they do business and soon.

Great Customer Service

On Valentine's Day my boyfriend and I visited Texas De Brazil which is a local restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada. We did have to wait a while to get a table because it was so packed but it was a pleasant wait. The customer service I experienced waiting and at the table was impeccable. They offered us drinks while we waited and we could also sit at the bar in  waiting area and watch television. We finally got our table and I was more than satisfied. There was a beautiful salad bar laid out with all the fix-in's,  any side dish you would ever want and all you can eat. The best part was when the servers came around with the meat. The way it works is: they give you a card that you lay on the table per person. On the card there are two sides; one green, one red. When the red side is facing upward on the table the servers don't give you meat, when the green side is facing upward, the servers come around with different types of meat to choose, just to name a few: premium steak, lamb,  filet mignon, bacon wrapped chicken etc. The meat was superb, it melted in your mouth, it was also very tender,  juicy, and full of flavor. The server was on top of things. My boyfriend and I  never had to ask for anything and no matter what was going on the server was attentive to our every need. He gave us a great description on how the everything worked. I was also told by a woman that worked there that the owner fed their employees before the restaurant opened every day, how neat and wonderful. I have never heard of a place that had great service, food, and  treats their employees well. I would recommend this place to anyone I know and I know a lot of people.

The bill ran about $120 but it was worth it, they definitely have a long time customer with me. I plan on going back there as soon as I have time to.

Week 1: EOC My Voice

The first time I designed my own web page I fell in love with the field. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I wasn’t living life, I just existed. I never thought about web design until I attended Kansas City Kansas Community College where I use to live, back in the year 2000. I took a class on web design as an elective. I enjoyed it so much that I decided that I wanted to do that for the rest of my life. I have tried to pursue web design at other schools thereafter, but never really got a chance to finish. I searched for the right program for years until I discovered The Art Institute which is located in Las Vegas where I now reside. I eat, sleep and breathe web design.

To me, web design isn't a fad or just a job, it is my life. I have done different things, tried other majors and even looked into law but nothing appealed to me more than web design. Attending the Art Institute has made me not only a professional but innovative, inspirational, pulling out the web design aspects as well as the creative side in me. Designing isn't easy, but nothing in life is easy.

In the business of web design it isn’t about yourself, it is about what the client wants, if you don’t give them what they want, you won’t last long in this field. I consider myself an expert with a passion for helping people and this is one of the reasons why I do what I do. It brings life to my soul to share a piece of myself in the work I produce. Web design to me is exhilarating, fulfilling and exciting. I am a perfectionist and won’t stop until I know the work is done right.