Promotions!

Last week of class!!! We talked about viral marketing and guerrilla marketing today. I think both of these tactics are very interesting. It requires the companies to be much more creative than the traditional ways. I think the ads on the street, like the coffee cup on the man hole and Mr. Clean on the crosswalk are very clever ideas. I would like to have a job coming up and implementing ideas like this. I actually prefer these kinds of promotions rather than just the regular commercials or radio ads.

Being a maven sounds really cool to me. I would love to get free stuff just for introducing my friends to it. Being in a sorority would make it easy for me to talk to others and show them new products. I might look at that website and find out more about becoming one.

Distribution Sytems II

We continued to talk more about distribution systems this week. We also started talking about promotions. Promotions is a very interesting topic to me. I especially like it because we talked a lot about PR and that's what my major is. Promotions are a very important part of selling your product. We also talked about buzz marketing, which I thought was interesting. Buzz marketing is when promotion of a product is done by word of mouth. I think that buzz marketing can be very effective. I am much more likely to believe something my friend tells me about a product than a representative of the product.

In my PR class we are currently learning about viral marketing. I think viral marketing can be very effective. One example of viral marketing we talked about was Fred, that is on YouTube. Fred is a weird teenage boy that started making videos and putting them on YouTube. Zip-It became a sponsor for him for product placement. Fred was the number 1 most subscribed to video of all of time in 2008.

Place: Distribution System

This section was about where to sell the product. A supply chain is all the steps it takes to turn the raw materials into goods or services and getting them to the consumer. It starts with the supplier providing raw materials and parts to the manufacturer. Then the firm manufacturers the product and the products are sent to a distribution channel. The chain must move quickly because some products are perishable. There are independent and manufacturer owned intermediaries.

There are four steps in distribution planning. Step one is to develop distribution objectives. The objectives should support the overall marketing goals of the firm. The next step is to evaluate internal and external environmental influences. This is done to develop the best channel structure. The third step is to choose a distribution strategy. There are different intensities for different strategies. The last step is to develop distribution tactics. In this step partners for the channels are chosen. They are usually long term relationships.

Logistics is the process of working the plan. Logistics include purchasing, manufacturing, storage, transporting, order processing, and inventory control. Things can be transported by airplanes, ships, trains, trucks and even the internet and pipelines.

Pricing

Price is the amount the consumer must pay for the product or service. Price means something different to consumers than the sellers. The consumers view the price as what they have to give up to receive the product or service. The seller views it as the revenue they will receive. The first step in price planning is to develop pricing objectives. There are different types of objectives, depending on what you want to do. The next step is to estimate demand, which is based on previous sales, test marketing and other things. Demand can either be elastic or inelastic, depending on how other factors affect it. The third step is determining costs. Costs can be fixed or variable. The next step is to evaluate the pricing environment, where the price is adjusted depending on cost and competitor's prices. The fifth step is choose a pricing strategy. There are different pricing strategies depending on the company's goals and needs. The last step is to develop pricing tactics. This is where how to charge, bundle and discount is decided.

Marketing Services

Services are acts, efforts, or performances bought by consumers. Services provide benefits such as peace of mind or convenience. Bad service happens when customers aren't satisfied with their service. It may be because the service performed wasn't as good as last time, the service providers are unreliable or untrustworthy or if the tangibles are bad. Services can be B2B or B2C. Radio stations, banks, tv stations, and cell phone companies are all examples of services. Services are a huge part of the US. Services are different from products in four ways. They are intangible, inseparable from consumption, can't be stored for future use, and the quality is more variable. There is a core service and a supplementary service, similar to with products. Services are evaluated using a Gap Analysis Approach. There are five gaps which a service is place in.

Managing Product Lines

I found this week of class to be very interesting. I did not expect to like marketing as much as I do. This week we talked about brands and the attachments we have with them. I think that is very true. Most brands of things I buy, I have some sort of a relationship with. For example, the PINK brand from Victoria Secret, I am especially attached too. I love most things they sell. Many of the products I own are PINK brand, including perfume, lipgloss, sweats and other things. To me PINK is cute and girly. Another brand I am attached to is Nestle, particularly Nestle Quik. Ever since I can remember my dad would make this chocolate sauce made from it and other ingredients to put on my ice cream. It was always a special treat we got to enjoy together. Now when I come home from school, I wait for him to get off work and we make it together. I always dish up the ice cream while he makes the sauce. When he was young, he had the same tradition with his mom. To me Quik represents home and my family and special time with my dad.

Creating New Innovative Products II

Innovation is a product that is thought to be new or different. Continuous innovation is a small modification to an already existing product, such as hybrid cars. Dynamically continuous innovation is a large modification to an already existing product, such as a plug-in car. Discontinuous innovation is a disruptive or major change to how we live, such as the invention of the car. Many innovations do not make it at all.

There are 7 steps to develop a product. The first step is idea generation, where you figure out how to meet unmet needs. Then you develop the initial concept and test it with focus groups. Third you develop a marketing strategy, including the 4Ps. Next is the assessment stage. You analyze competitors, find a differential benefit and analyze potential demand. In step five, the product is refined and a distribution plan is created. Test marketing is the next step. The product is tested in limited markets. The final step in developing a product is commercialization. In commercialization the product is fully launched and full production is made.

Creating New Innovative Products

A product is more than just what is in the package. The product includes everything received along with the product, like the brand name and the benefits. Marketers must focus on the benefits consumers want and then create a product that can offer those benefits. There are different types of benefits a product can offer. The core product is all of the benefits the customer will receive. Emobenefits are emotional based benefits, such as motivational or belonging slogans. The actual product is what you actually get. The augmented product is the support features the product comes with, such as a warranty or insurance.

Products can be classified different ways. The can be classified by how long they will last. Another way they can be classified is by how the consumer buys them. Some products are staples, necessary items and others are impulse buys, which are unnecessary but fun. There are also emergency buys, specialty products, and unsought products, among others. Examples of unsought products are retirement funds and insurances, stuff you don't want until you need it.

Target Marketing

In order to make your product seem special to one group or segment, you can't market it to everyone. In order to be successful you need to adjust your marketing mix to make it fit a specific segment of the population. Once you figure out which one of your segments of your target has the money and need for your product, you can market it to them.

There are 3 steps in the target marketing process; segmentation, targeting and positioning. In the first step you identify and describe each market segment. You divide your consumers into groups based on demographics and psychographics. Another way to segment is by gender. Many products are made specifically for men or women. Then you choose segments you can market to. Claritas is a service that will help find a segment to target. Claritas knows about what products a group is likely to buy.

The next step in the process is to evaluate the segments and decide which to target. There are 3 additional steps within this step; evaluate segment for need and demand, develop segment profile, and choose a targeting strategy. You must make sure your segment needs your product and has the money to purchase it. In the profile, you must ensure your segment is different from other segments. Then you must decide your strategy. It can be undifferentiated which means you appeal to the masses, differentiated meaning a different product for different people, or concentrated, which is for just one segment.

The third and last step in the target marketing process is positioning. Positioning requires you to evaluate your competition and come up with a differential benefit consumers can't get from the competition. Then you develop a marketing mix to appeal to your segment. You then evaluate response to your product and change your strategy if necessary.

Your brand must be positioned in a place where potential customers will see it and want it. Promotional materials are also necessary to make consumers think they need it or that it is better than other options. You also want to create a brand personality for your product. A brand personality is a distinct image that capture's your brands personality.

Victoria's Secret has a brand personality. VS is sexy and classy. Its the way to be desirable.

B2B Marketing

Business to business marketing is much more complex than business to consumer marketing. In business to business, a business sells something to another business who plans to sell it. Teams make the purchase together in B2B rather than an individual deciding to buy a pair of shoes. B2B can involve non-profits, producers, governments and resellers. B2Bs still go through the 5 steps of purchase behavior but their steps are slightly different. B2B can also be done online, called e-commerce.

This chapter is more confusing to me than the others have been. The process seems more complicated than B2C. I was unable to attend class this week which makes things even more difficult.

Consumer Behavior

This chapter focused on why we buy what we buy. There is a 5 step decision making process people go through when they buy things. The steps are recognizing the need, searching for information, evaluating alternatives, making the choice and last post-purchase disorder. Sometime people later question themselves about their purchase and there is a gap between the satisfaction they feel and what they expected. I did not know that this was an actual step people go through. I have often felt this way after buying something, especially something expensive. I use much higher effort when purchasing products that cost more money, even if I know I need them.

People buy products for many different reasons. Some are internal, others are social. Internal reasons include perception, motivation, learning, attitudes, among others. Social reasons are social class, group memberships and other belonging needs. I thought it was very interesting to learn that the temperature of a store can affect your purchase behavior! Psychographics are when companies use our activities, interests and opinions to divide us into market segments. I thought this was the most interesting chapter we have studied so far. I've never given much thought to why I buy the things I do, but next time I am shopping I will probably think about it!

The perfume bottle is a good example of something that would be high effort for me. I really want it but I don't want to spend the money to buy it. The sketchers ad shows reasons why people buy things...if you buy those shoes you can be sexy and Christina Aguilera wears them so you can be like her.

Marketing Research

Marketing research helps companies gather information to find ways to make their product grow. There are 7 steps in Marketing Research. Marketing information systems helps them know what info they need to gather and actions to gather it. There are 4 different ways to gather data in MIS: internal company data, marketing intelligence, marketing research and acquired databases. Marketing decision support system is different than MIS because it can be used to predict consumer behavior and looks for patterns and trends. Data mining is also part of this chapter. It involves sifting through data to create segments of consumers.

I thought that the picture on the left was funny and true in some cases. It seems like some companies believe in "exaggerating" to sell more of their product!

Marketing Planning Process

Business planning is an ongoing process where managers make decisions that guide a business. There are 3 levels of business planning: strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning. Strategic planning is what to do in the next 5 years and involves the mission statement. Tactical planning is for the next 1 to 2 years. Operational planning is about the day to day activities. The market is made up of stars, question marks, cash cows, and dogs.

Intro to Marketing

Marketing is finding what people need and finding a way to meet those needs. We see hundreds of brands everyday and exposed to lots just starting our morning. There are 4 P's of marketing: product, promotion, place and price.