EOC: week 10: What Channels are you going to do to get your product noticed?

Few companies sold their products directly to the consumer in the past but now with the use of the internet many companies do use this method, but there are still many companies who still use intermediaries to bring their product to the marketplace. “Marketing channels or distribution channels are a set of independent organizations that help make a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user.”(Armstrong and Kolter. Introduction to Marketing. 10^th Edition. Printed page 311). There are many different channel levels. “A layer of intermediaries that performs some work in bringing the product and its ownership closer to the final buyer is a channel level.”(Armstrong and Kolter. Introduction to Marketing.10^th Edition printed page 313).

You have direct marketing channels and indirect marketing channels. “Direct marketing channels have no intermediary levels and indirect marketing channels contain one or more intermediary levels.”(Armstrong and Kolter. Introduction to Marketing.10^th Edition. Printed page 314). Basically, this means you bring your product directly to the consumer or you use other people to go through to get your product to the consumer. To get my product noticed I will use direct and indirect marketing channels. We will use direct channels of marketing through our website. People can go there, browse through our products, pick what they want, buy it and we will send it to them directly. I think this channel will be very effective in marketing our facial products to the male population because they like things simple and easy. Then we will use indirect marketing channels by using major department stores. We will sell our products to them and they will sell our products to their customers for us. Both ways will be very effective and helpful to expand our productivity and profit levels.

EOC Week 9: Three great mission statements

After reading all my classmates mission statements the three that I liked the most were Mike Kononchik’s, Tharindu Wijesekara’s, and Raymond Otero’s. They all did well including the specifics of their company. “A mission statement should be meaningful and specific, yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the market place.”(Armstrong and Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction. 10^th Edition, Printed page 37).

Mike writes that the mission for his product is to sell and market to a specific age group of men. His company wants men to feel comfortable buying his product for themselves and not need women to do this for them. They want to eliminate the embarrassment factor that a man may have buying a facial wash product. His company wants to connect their product and brand with men in the best way they can. “A brand, product or service is more than just a physical thing. Humans that connect with the brand add meaning and value to it,” (Armstrong and Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction. 10^th Edition, Printed page 210). His mission statement was very specific and motivating.

Tharindu’s mission statement states that his company is the ultimate source of taste, health, and strength. He says what his company sells is healthy and it gives you strength. His goal is to make good tasting products that are healthy. He explains in his mission statement that his company stands behind all their products, not just one specific one. He did a great job of explaining what a mission statement is and incorporating it into his own statement.

Raymond’s product was the Febreeze sport scent. His company’s mission is not only to make things smell better, but to change the way men are depicted by the opposite sex. He states and explains how his company is environmentally conscious and strives to maintain that. They are working hard to make things smell good and be safe when doing it. He did a great job listing the strengths of his company in the market place by explaining their environmental efforts, and he listed the specifics of his product. The statement he put in there saying, “Clean smelling air and clear air to breathe is our mission,” sums it up very well. Great job.

Week 8: EOC Disasterous New Products

For class this week we have to come up with 3 new products and explain why they wouldn’t work. “Product development is a strategy for company growth by offering modified or new products to current market segments”(Armstrong and Kolter, Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10^th Edition).

One product I came up with to develop would be a dog brush/ vacuum. You would brush out your dog when it is shedding and it would vacuum up the hair as you brushed it out. You would have no mess of dog hair to clean up when you were done. This product most likely would not work because the dog would be afraid of the vacuum sounds. Most people buy products like this because they make things easier and more convenient. This product would probably take two people to use, one to hold the dog and the other to use the vacuum brush. Making it not easy and convenient at all.

The second product I came up with is a bra with a clap on, clap off closure. This would be amazing and helpful for someone with arthritis and had a hard time with tiny clasps. This most likely would not go over very well because what if you were out in public and someone started clapping by you, your bra would come open. Not a good idea after all.

The third product I came up with is a toothbrush that has a little alarm within it that would go off when it was time to replace your toothbrush. You are only suppose to use your toothbrush for about 3 months, then throw it away and get a new one( http://www.ehow.com/facts_5001793_how-often-should-replace-toothbrush.html ). I see people buying this one time and one time only. The first time this alarm went off and they did not have another one to replace it with. They would throw it away and never buy another one because it was so annoying.

Week 6 EOC: 9 Aps

I did a little research in to the iphone and ipad apps.  There are millions of applications out there and many more on the way. There are apps for anything and everything under the sun. Many are to play games, organize your life, monitor your health and fitness, trade stocks and help with your finances or stay in touch through networking on the web.

The top game for iphones or ipads is the crazy game “Angry Birds.” You slingshot the birds to attack the green pigs who stole the bird eggs. It has about 100+ levels and can run as much as $4.99 for this app. I have played this game and it is fun and highly addicting. Another top app. That people are using is the Kindle app. This application allows you to download ebooks to you elibrary and you have them right at your fingertips. No more waiting in line for the new releases or lugging around a heavy book bag. You can shop for a new read at any time or place. Plus the book is lit up so no need for a light to see your pages. This is so convenient and the wave of the future. One favorite that I tried out and also liked was the app. Called “Urbanspoon” This one can help you find a place to eat.  It will show you all the restaurants in your city at the same time. It lets you pick by the type of food you are hungry for say Italian and show you just them. It gives you an idea of the price you may pay too. (http://www.businessinsider.com/best-ipad-apps-2010-12#yelp-for-ipad-is-a-good-way-to-find-restaurants-13).

On the flip side of the coin there are many applications that are worthless and stupid out there too. One of the dumbest is the eShaver app. It shows a picture of a razor and makes noises as you rub it against your face. The developers say it works but we all know rubbing your phone on your face or legs does not shave the actual hair off! You just end up looking like an idiot rubbing your phone on your face. Another stupid one I found is the R U Drunk app.  It gives you a series of five tests to help you determine whether you’re drunk or not. Dah if you have to ask or take a test you probably are drunk!  I honestly think if you need this app. The iFart Mobile, you must be silly. It plays a variety of flatulence sound effects labeled with names like “Burrito Maximo.” I guess if you were ten years old this app. would be the best and completely funny. (http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/smart-spending/technology/15-worst-iphone-apps).

After putting some thought in what kind of app. I would develop; it would have to be something that would help me out in my life. Everyone has a wallet full of rewards cards from grocery stores, department stores, hair product stores; you name it there is a card. They should have an app. That allows you to scan in each one of these cards, and then you just open the app, pick which one and scan your card. You wouldn’t have to carry around 20 different cards, making my life easier. Another helpful app. would be an app. That not only just lets you plug in your health information to track it but say actually took your blood pressure. That would maybe save lives. Last but not least I would develop an app that would work just like a baby monitor or nanny cam. It would stream to some type of device like one hide inside a teddy bear that you set up in a room where the baby is and it would stream you live video and sound directly to your phone. You could check in on the baby at any time or place. These may seem like some farfetched ideas but would be great if they were developed and make life safer and easier.

Week 5 EOC: Best and Worst Superbowl Commercials

With more than 100 million people tuning into watch the Super Bowl, mad men working for different companies rolled out all sorts of goodies from rock stars to pooches, all in the attempt to snag us hook, line and sinker. I think the commercials most people were talking about on the days to follow after the big game, were some of the Doritos commercials. Doritos launched a contest called Crash the Super Bowl, which allowed customers to create their own Doritos commercials. This was smart because it got the consumer involved and thinking about your product. The Pug Attack ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjaOUjUPUc  ) one was hilarious and the Guy Licking the Fingers (  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBNnD5kuHUE&NR=1 ) was funny too.  They were both tasteful and made you relate to the product in a great way. Pepsi (who owns Doritos) did the same contest. This is a smart thing to do by involving the customer in your product. The Love Hurts Pepsi Max commercial was funny ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iCryRWyEcc&feature=relmfu ).  Even though the other spots were funny and made you want to watch them again, the Volkswagen commercial starring the young Darth Vader was one of my favorite ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kkyGyZD-D0&feature=fvwkrel ). It seems the public felt the same way because the commercial was leaked before the game and it had over 5 million hits on YouTube and 62,000 likes on face book. I wonder if Volkswagen leaked it on purpose. Hmm? The people who came up with linking Volkswagen to Star Wars were smart. Star Wars is an iconic movie and by making that connection to their product was smart. This spot may turn out to be a classic. Everyone relates to Star Wars in one way or another.  Then there was the commercials you just did not quite get or thought they were completely stupid.  So it makes you wonder if the $3 million dollar price tag for a 30-second spot was worth it for the companies willing to pay that much for air time. The worst commercial of the day was for the web phenomenon Groupon, starring Timothy Hutton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFT2yjk0A ). Critics called it offensive, tasteless and patronizing by mocking the Tibetan Crisis at such a sensitive time. Many people can’t even believe Timothy Hutton agreed to do the commercial himself. Another one that was ridiculous and a big mistake was the Joan Rivers, GoDaddy.com spot ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQnhFxyikXg ). It was meant to be funny but it left a bad taste in your mouth, which is now associated with their product.  The Bieber/Ozzy spot was plain stupid and what was the company they represented….Oh yeah! Best Buy.  I would think when spending this kind of money on advertising  your product during one of the most watched events on TV, you would want to make sure it made a great impact on the consumer. The marketing department could blow their whole advertising budget and leave the consumer thinking about your product in a bad way.

Week 4 EOC Business to Business VS Consumer Marketing

Business to Business marketing is the practice of individuals or organizations including commercial, government and institutions to resell or use their product.  Consumer marketing is all the individuals that buy and acquire goods and services for personal consumption (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management, Armstrong and Kotler).

GE is a very familiar brand to most of us and you probably have one of their consumer products in your home as we speak, but most consumers would be surprised to find out that GE’s consumer products that range from refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers and hundreds of other products bearing their name, contributes to less than one-third of the company’s total $183 billion in annual sales. Most of GE’s business comes not from final consumers but from commercial and industrial consumers across a wide range of industries. Beyond light bulbs and electronics, GE sells everything from medical imaging technologies, security solutions, aircraft engines, and diesel locomotives (Pg. 39, Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management, Armstrong and Kotler).

To GE marketing to the general consumer who purchases home goods compared to a big business consumer purchasing a locomotive with a price tag of $2.2 million is quite a bit different. Losing the sale of a washer and dryer is disappointing but compared to losing the sale of the big business consumer could mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Another big difference between B2B marketing compared to consumer marketing is the decision making process. A regular consumer may go online and do a little research on what refrigerator to buy and compare prices. Where the big business consumer buying jet engines may have hundreds of decision makers involved in the process at all different levels.

GE works hard to build their relationships with consumers. They feel the real challenge is to win buyer’s business by building day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out partnerships with them, based on superior products and close collaborations(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management, Armstrong and Kotler). That’s probably why they have stuck around so long and their cash follow has remained strong through these tough economic times.

Week 3 EOC...Making Money for Good

In doing research to find a company that donates part of their proceeds to help out a cause, I found the company called FleasKnees. They sell designer T-shirts with different expressions on them. Their sole purpose is to raise money for animal rescues and no-kill shelters. They are trying to have a voice for our furry friends that do not have a voice for themselves. Their newest line of shirts is imprinted with the phrase, “Puppy Mills Bite,” and for every one of these shirts they sell; FleasKnees will donate $5.00 to the Puppies Aren’t Products campaign. This campaign exposes the link between pet stores and puppy mills, and encourages people to adopt and never stop, for the dogs. This is close to my heart because I bought my English bulldog from a pet store in my neighborhood. My dog got deathly ill from the pet store, which cost me a lot of money in vet bills. After returning to her store many times to complain I realized that many of her dogs were sick and reported her to my vet. I later found out the owner was purchasing dogs from puppy mills. Since then she has been closed down thankfully. Modern Dog magazine writer and creator Mary-Jo Dionne supports this company especially after she wrote an award winning article titled, “Puppy Hell”, which was all about puppy mills (http://network.bestfriends.org/campaigns/puppymills/13698/news.aspx). The t-shirts made by this company are being sold at retailers from Vancouver, Canada to New York.  Animal lovers like Oprah, Jessica Biel, Martha Stewart and many other celebrities support the company FleasKnees and are involved in making it happen. Their goal for the New Year is to sell over 20,000 t-shirts. I personally went on their website to purchase a t-shirt. We all got to help out our furry friends that cannot help themselves.

week 3...EOC..My Demographics

I am a Generation Xer as they call us because for one I was born between 1965 to 1976. I personally was not one of the first latchkey kids, since my mother was a stay at home mom and my father worked. They claim that there is an increased parental divorce rate but, my parents did not divorce. They say, “Generation X seeks success, but is less materialistic: they prize experience, not acquisition.” (Pg.73 Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation).This I feel is very true. I tend to always be thinking of how I can succeed and have always prized the many experiences I have had along the way.  Generation Xers that are now parents think family first, putting children and their parents first and careers second. I personally have never had children but my siblings and parents come first. The book says we are a skeptical bunch when it comes to marketing and tend to research products before we purchase and prefer quality over quantity. This is completely me, I am always researching products first and I always am skeptical of what is being offered. We tend to be more educated which is true. I myself have two degrees and am working on a third. Most of my friends went to college and have continued on to further their educations in some way or another.  Like the baby boomers the Generation X is spending more carefully with the growing economic pressures. What Charles Schwab says about the Generation X being saddled with debt or living on tight budgets is completely true(Pg.73 Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation). At this point saving for retirement seems unimaginable. I think our approach at this time is like what Charles Schwab suggests is by paying down student loans and trying to put our money in high yield accounts. Whatever it may be for Generation X to have a retirement plan is different than that of the baby boomers had and is going to have to be way different from the Millennials Generation Y).

EOC week 2 Boston Consulting Group- Video Games

The video game industry as a whole is down. After doing a BCG growth analysis on the video game market the top three front runners like the Nintendo Wii, the Microsoft Xbox 360, and the Sony Play station 3 all have plummeting sales. According to the NPD Group sales on the Sony Playstation 3 fell 59%(http://venturebeat.com/2009/07/16/video-game-sales-plunge-for-the-fourth-month-in-a-row/). Making it the dog.  The Nintendo Wii sales inflated but is it over(http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10396932-52.html). Making it a big question mark because it could come back. The Xbox 360 is suppost to boost hardware and software sales through the end of the year(http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/peripherals/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227900618). Making it more of a cash cow. But all in all people are buying less games and playing their old ones because of the economy. The major players need to lower their prices of games.

Week 1 EOC....great customer service

My greatest customer service experience just happened. I went to the Apple store to check out the new iPad. I was in the store 15 minutes and no one checked on me and I couldn’t get anyone’s attention because it was so busy. I finally left because they were not concerned with me at all. I know the demand for Apple products is high but they should still care about the consumer. I drove to Best Buy and went in to their iPad display. I wasn’t in there two minute without being approached by a really nice sales associate. He spent a lot of time with me answering my many questions. I have always had this type of experience with them. “Obviously customer value and customer satisfaction are key building blocks for developing and managing customer relationships,” (page 7 Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation). Every time I go to Best Buy I am always treated as a valuable customer and I leave feeling my needs are met. The guy even told me they are working on and marketing to the consumers needs from the moment they walk in the door. Guess what I did not plan on buying the iPad that day and I did!