Response to Parker Hayes Post

How awesome are .99 Cent Arizona Iced teas?

.99 Cent Arizona Iced Teas are amazing!  There are so many different flavors and their only .99 Cents for a huge can! The ingredients are all natural. Arizona is the number one brewed tea for one simple reason: their drinks taste better! Instead of spending their money on advertisements on the television, on million dollar super bowl ads, Arizona spends their money on making their tea taste the best in a good looking bottle. 

Marketing Research

How to Conduct Focus Groups

The link I provided above, describes how college students are a good focus group. The article says that college students are future and the easiest way to know what type of products they want in the stores is to just ask them. The questions they asked about consumer technology the college students are:What makes one brand more appealing than another? Is price the biggest factor or are features more important? Do they use external hard drives or do they prefer cloud storage? What type of content do they store on their hard drives? The focus group gave insight from the students from their daily basis of personal use to work use.

To read more on the article, click the link above.

Will focus groups bring in valuable information for marketing research?

Response to Allison Ray

Do you buy things specifically because you have a coupon for it? 

Do you go out to eat at a restaurant because you have a coupon for it?

I usually do not buy things specifically because I have a coupon but my dad definitely does. I think going out to eat at a restaurant because you have a coupon is different though. I like using coupons when I go to a restaurant because it lets me enjoy the meal more. Especially coupons to places that are new because it gives me a reason to go and see what the new restaurant is like. I agree with what Allison said about how it gives you a sense of gratification when you get a discount on something.

To Sell or Not to Sell

American Marketing Association

The Mission Statement: The AMA is a professional association for individuals and organizations leading the practice, teaching and development of marketing knowledge worldwide.

Our principle role is to serve as a forum to connect like-minded individuals and foster knowledge sharing, provide resources, tools and training and support marketing practice and thought leadership around the globe.

It is not ethical for John to sell the names of the poll but he needs the money. It just is not fair for the car dealership. I believe this is a common dilemma. People make up survey results and polls all the time because they either don't have time to ask.

As a management major we have had to conduct surveys. Have you made up information just to get a good grade?

In Response to Haley Bannon's Post

Have the high prices at big events ever kept you from purchasing beer? Would you be more apt to buy them now that the price has gone down?

Since I am not 21 years old yet, the high prices at big events have no really kept me from purchasing beer, it is the law. However, when I go to Celtics basketball games I talk to others around me and I have heard of people complain about the high prices for everything especially beer. If the prices went down I would purchase more then one beer during a game. I believe that sporting event revenues will increase. People will purchase two beers for $10.00 instead of one beer for $8.00. That is two more dollars in profit. Fenway is making a good decision to lower their prices. 

Unforgettable Advertisements

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2008/06/28/24-unforgettable-advertisements/

The link above shows all the unforgettable advertisements from Nike to Bic Razor Advertisements. 

Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and is used to encourage and persuade an audience to purchase or take some action. For the examples given above, the commercial advertisements seek to generate increased consumption of their products. Obviously these advertisements are dramatic  but they definitely get their customers attention.

What is your favorite advertisement and why did it catch your attention?

In Response to Will Redding

Do you think this is a good market strategy for Best Buy? Do you think this policy will help with Best Buy's poor stock performance?

Best Buy is a great store to find quality products. Going to the store and actually holding the product makes the purchase easier. I do not think this is a good market strategy for Best Buy. I believe they will lose profit because a majority of their sales occur online. Customers can just go to Best Buys competitors to buy the same product online for a cheaper price. 

Pricing

Profits & Markups in the Fashion Industry  

How does Banana Republic make a profit when they have a line of products that are discounted? 

If Banana Republic discounts their clothing 80% more people will come and buy their clothing so they will make a profit if they sell the maximum number of discounted items. If they do not make a profit, keystoning is an example of what can happen. Keystoning is the practice of marking up prices by 100% or doubling the cost. If people are dedicated customers they will buy their product even if the price went up. All companies want to accomplish in their business is to reach their breakeven point. 

It also depends on the demand. The change in the price will have a big impact on sales. 

Why did Banana Republic discount their products by a large amount?

In response to Lindsey Pinault

Best Green Companies in the U.S.

The link above gives a list of the best green companies in the United States. For example, in the retail industry Kohl's is the leading green company.

They have 137 locations with solar power, 761 energy star labeled stores, 305 leed certified buildings, and 60 electronic vehicle charging stations. Now you tell me what company is more eco-friendly then Kohl's. 

Marketing Channels and Supply Chain

During class we talked about Recycline and their marketing channels and supply chain. Other companies besides Recycline carry their products in stores. Agents and brokers are wholesaling intermediaries who facilitate the sale of a product by representing channel members but do not take title to goods. For an example, Alex and Ani is an eco-friendly, positive energy products that empower the spirit and body designed by Carolyn Rafaelian. She believes it is her lifes work to support communities and organizations while inspiring her customers. Alex and Ani products are sold in other stores such as,  Rumanoff's, Ciao Bella Moda Int'l, The Paper Store, Bloomingdal'es and more. The website attached shows the stores where customers can buy Alex and Ani  jewelry. 

http://www.alexandani.com/locations. 

Do you think that Alex and Ani are a big jewelry company now because of their marketing techniques? 

In Response to Ariana Barone

Would you agree that public affairs is the most important form of public relations?

I definitely believe that public affairs is the most important form of public relations. Companies want to make an impact on community around them. Public affairs should be in important part of a companies overall plan.  This is likely to require a much higher degree of interaction with their target audience. Having someone specifically working on publicity would be a good idea. Getting the name and idea of the product out in a creative way will make others remember the product. Building strong ties with the community is another important factor. 

Gender Segmentation

There are some products that are sold that are specifically for a gender. Below is a youtube video of a Miller Lite commercial. Gender segmentation is the process of dividing a total market into groups with relatively similar products needs to design a marketing mix that matches those need. This commercial displays gender segmentation because light beer is not for men. But in the commercial the man is wearing a scarf that he believes in style so the bartender gives him a light beer because he is not manly enough.

In Response to Kevin Provost

So why are they closed when they could be having their biggest day of the week???

This video is an example of what your explaining. Banks should be open after the normal work hours because everyone works during the normal work hours and are not able to go to the bank. Motorcycle stores are probably closed on the weekends because the workers need to have a break from work to. It wouldn't be fair to have motorcycle stores open on the weekend when the employees have worked all week and want to be with their families. 

Social Influences on Consumer Buying Decisions

When you are buying something important such as a car or a house, the opinions of others matter. People look for help through different reference groups. Reference group is a group in society that influences an individual's purchasing behavior. The primary membership group is usually the group of people where the opinions will matter while purchasing a house or selecting insurance for your car. This group consists of people who interact regularly in an informal, face-to-face manner, such as family, friends, and co-workers.

Do you think reference groups reduce the search and evaluation of decisions?

In Response to Lindsey Pinault

How else do you think technology has changed the way products or services can be marketed? Do you find internet advertising more successful or less successful?

Advertising on the Internet is a crucial way of getting their product out there to those you live outside the community of where that product is distributed. I believe internet advertising is more successful during this time period because everyone has a computer and everyone is always on the internet so I think that the most efficient way of getting products and services out there is through the internet. The internet can allow advertisers to reach significantly a lot more people than traditional advertising such as a bill board on the side of the highway would plus it is a lot cheaper. Internet advertising is ideal for businesses with an international target market. But a disadvantage to advertising on the Internet is that every business does it so there are a lot of advertisements being looked at, at the same time so being in competition with a company to get the best logo or best slogan is a downfall. 

Product Life Cycle

The product life cycle is the progression of a product through 4 stages; introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. An example of a product in the introduction stage is the Holographic Projection. It was recently just introduced into the market. It allows any flat surface into a touch screen interface.In the growth stage, an example of a product would be Tablet PCs. This product is growing and multiple competitors are coming into the market developing Tablet PCs. Laptops are in the maturity phase. This product has been around for a while and the majority of the population that obtains a computer has a laptop and there are diverse features that make people want to keep buying them. A good example of a product in the decline stage is the typewriter. Typewriters do not have much functionality. Consumers are demanding more from the electronic department and typewriters are a product no one is purchasing anymore unless it is an antic. These are just a few example of products that progressed through the Product Life Cycle.

Do you think Holographic Projection will eventually be in the decline stage?

In Response to Caitlyn Croasdale

Do you think this could be the start to a new beginning? Less emphasis on buying foreign over local?

I do not think this is start to a new beginning. Walmart has been in business for so long and I do not really think that they are going to change their strategy because they have been profitable. Walmart sells foreign and local foods so they will emphasize both. 

Self Regulation Vs. Governmental Regulatory agencies

I believe self regulation is less effective than governmental regulatory agencies because business needs government regulation to protect innovators of new technology, the interest of society in general, one business from another, and consumers. Government makes laws and restrictions to help make guidelines for new businesses and help to accomplish the organizations marketing objectives. 

Do you think state laws for to strict?

In Response to Ariana Barone

Is a flash mob an effective form of advertising? 

I believe that flash mobs are an effective form of advertising for younger generations. Flash mobs are really entertaining but I think that older adults will watch for a few seconds and leave but teenagers are always intrigued about them. I would think flash mobs would be a long process to create an advertisement since you have to gather a group and learn and perfect a choreography which is time and money that a company can not waste. 

Role of Women in the workplace

I think it is great how the roles in families and the role of women are changing. Having 59% of women in the workforce is a dramatic increase from hundreds of years ago. Women are getting more experience in their field and it is changing the way women are judged in the world. Women have been challenged by inequality in the workforce ever since women started working. We are the primary caregivers for children, the elderly, and the sick, and this is a burden on those women who want to join the business field. Men have not made it easy on women. Women need to fight for freedom, equality, and to have a job.

Do you believe that the percent of women in the workforce will increase or decrease in the next couple of years? Why? 

In Response to Pan Galante

In today's technological age, do you think that an online social networking presence (ie: Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is extremely important? Can it ever be a bad thing?

I believe that online social networking is extremely important now. I recently read of Forbes.com that Facebook is the best advertisement of the future. Millions of people have a Facebook and go on it constantly to chat with friends but people also go on Facebook to find out the latest news. There are ads upon ads on the side of the screen that help other companies get their products out. But Facebook knows everything about us, from what our favorite movies are to our age, all the data that Facebook holds has some value to marketers. Every ad that is on the side of the screen will be targeted at us based on our personal data. So maybe there is a downside to Facebook when it comes to advertising for other companies. 

Ethics

Ethics refers to the moral principles or values that generally govern the conduct of an individual or a group. It seems that everyone has a different definition of what they believe ethics is.The chapter states that there is no law against cutting a line but is it really ethical? That's a good question to think about. There are ethical conflicts within the work place because not every employee have the same morals. For example, top managers influence good ethical behavior within the workplace by individual ethics. Your individual ethics start to form as a child reacting to their parents behavior. What is your definition of ethics?  Do customers notice when a company makes bad ethical decisions?

In Response to Kristen Shea

Do you believe that giving people a smaller amount of options will make the market go up or down? 

I believe that giving people a smaller amount of options will make the market smaller. The less the options, the smaller the markets. If there are more options then the market will have a wider range of customers. 

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction and customer value are mutually exclusive. To have your customers satisfied with your product or service you need to have customer value requirements to follow to make your customers happy. Examples of customer value requirements are to earn the trust of the customer and give the buyer facts about the product. Once you have trust with the customer and have provided the customer with facts they did not know about the product then the customer is more likely to leave the store satisfied. Satisfaction could occur simultaneously with low customer value but realistically it will not because customers like good customer service when they are buying something.

Are companies looking beyond their competitors and customers for inspiration for their next product?

http://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/social-media-marketing-and-diminishing-returns/