Response to Colin's Post

Companies that deceive customers risk getting found out which means they may have to pay back their customers, lose customers, and damage their public image. Why then do companies risk it? 

I think companies risk it on the off chance that they will not get caught.  Also, even if they do receive some bad press for their behavior, it generally isn't enough bad press to actually change their sales.  If they get caught 1 out of 5 times, the risk is still worth the payout.  This is similar to when companies choose to not follow government regulations very well because it is expensive. In the off chance they get caught, the company pays the fines.  Otherwise, they cut costs and increase profits. 

Trendy Marketing Tools

We learn a lot about all these new ways to advertise - Facebook, online ads, Twitter, Instagram, and other forms of social media.  This article talks about the potential that these forms of advertising might appear to be more useful than they really article.  The author, Adam Kleinberg, recommends that companies first consider a number of factors prior to pursuing digital media.  These factors include your business problems, your customers, the digital media traffic you are considering, your resources, and your level of awesome.  The article suggests using other forms of media and press, such as when Walgreens lead a program to give free shots.

What kind of these factors do you think would contribute to a positive relationship with digital media?  What kind of factors would be more well suited for an alternative method of marketing?







http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226476

Response to Colin's Post

Do you think that this will help improve creativity and innovation for workers? Is there a better way to inspire and motivate employees to come up with new ideas?

I think that this is definitely a really new and creative idea for trying to stir innovation.  I think that it could help stir creativity in their development, but the question that I would bring up would be whether it would be worth the cost.  

Marketing Through Mission

I read an article about developing a business model integrated with a sense of mission.  The author recommended that entrepreneurs do this by: focusing on a compelling mission, ensuring the mission is authentic and is tied to profits, investing some of those profits back into the mission, finding creative ways to give (including through the giving of talent or investment), and using your mission as a catalyst to create a multiplier effect so that more businesses may participate.  This article made me consider how this type of mission could contribute to the marketing plan of a business. Advertising this mission could help the image of the company which could potentially earn the company loyal customers who also believe in the mission at hand.

What do you think about the ethical implications of using a mission to win customers?
Is it a smart idea? Why or why not?


Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225235

Response to Colin's Post

Do you believe that the initial price of clothing is established with the belief that the clothing will not be sold at that price so that the store may offer discounts to make the customer believe they are getting a better value? Do you believe, as a customer, that you would be getting as good a value or as good a quality product if they started at the lowest discount price? 

I believe that only a portion of clothing is expected to be sold at the retail price. The clothing industry is one of the fastest changing industries and clothing manufacturers realize that a certain style of clothing will only be popular for a short period of time. Therefore, the likelihood of thier clothing becoming discounted is very high.  I do not think that my value in a product would be affected if that item started at the lowest discount price.  When developing loyalty to clothing brands, I consider price, quality and style. If I can get a high-quality, stylish product at the lowest possible price, I would consider that to be a great value.  

Measuring and Quantifying Social Media

Like any form of marketing, social media involves costs and return on investment.  It may seem difficult to quantify such an abstract form of advertising.  The first step to do this is to obtain a baseline of revenues and cost numbers prior to your exploration into social media.  Then, determine the costs involved in your company's participation in such social media in order to calculate your return on investment.  (In order to quanitfy time spent in a new business, multiply hours spent creating media by a fair hourly wage.)  Next, you need to monitor the effects of social media on your business.  You can do this by monitoring the public's comments on your social media outlet, tracking redeemed social media related coupons and tracking this activity on a calendar so you know the exact results by the time period.  After a certain period of time (a year, for example,) take another baseline and compare it to the first baseline. If there were no other significant contributing factors, much of the results can be attributed to the social media involved.

What flaws can you think of in this method of quantifying social media?  Do you think it is still a viable tool?

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219745

Response to Colin's Post

If you were a marketing professional for JC Penney what would you recommend the company and what direction to take?  

I think that JCPenny is headed in a very good direction.  They have lowered thier prices, added a new JCPenny line of clothing, and changed the way thier discounts are run.  Unfortunately, I have difficulty shopping at JCPenny because they have a limited line of petite or smaller sized clothing.  I think they should expand the sizes they offer in stores because there is entire section of the fashion industry that could easily become a client base at JCPenney.  Along with the sizes, JCPenney should also focus more on servicing young adults as a demographic.  

Partner Categories on Facebook

We all already know that Facebook is a platform for many different types of advertising.  New Partner Categories on Facebook give a better opporunity for companies to reach out to potential customers.  This new program sorts Facebook users into 500 unique groups based on interests. Once companies have access to these interest groups, they can target a certain group who may be more likely to be interested in the product.  They will no longer be wasting time advertising to people who have little or no shot of actually continuing the buying process.  This will help cut down expenses and also could potentially help customers because they will only recieve advertisements based on thier interests.  However, this could also be considered an invasion of Facebook User privacy because Facebook and outside companies are tracking users behavior online.

Do you think these new groups are an invasion of privacy or beneficial to Facebook users?
Why or why not?

Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226347

Response to Jocelyn's Post (Robots)

Do you think this is benefical? How do you think his relationships will be when he goes to highschool? Do you think that we'll see this more over the years?

I think that this is very beneficial. The child that uses this robot has a severe allergy and therefore this is a good alternative for him to be involved in a classroom setting.  Of course, his social interaction might be altered as a result of these interactions, but not in a more negative light than a child with no social interaction. (If he had no robot in the classroom to be connected with.)  I think that he will need to adjust to socially interacting in person once he gets to high school, but most people are pretty awkward in high school and I have faith that he will be able to adapt.  

Networking and Marketing

A clear way to increase business and expand a client base is through networking, so why don't all business owners participate in this form of cheap marketing strategy? Some reasons include:  if the business owner is not confident in his/her product or service, if they are too busy to network, if they are too impatient to wait for results that might take a while longer or if they make the mistake of pushing too hard to sell instead of networking.  Networking encompasses developing professional relationships across the board, not only to potential customers.

Do you think networking is important to starting/growing a young business?  What ways can you think of to network in a small town?


Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226359

Response to Colin's Post

How and to who should Pizza Hut market this new pizza to, and what techniques should they implement?

Pizza Hut can easily market this pizza to families with children. The novelty of extra cheese that breaks off into cheesy bites will resonate with children as well as be enjoyable for adults.  They could implement tv advertising as well as coupons and special promotions to attract a lot of attention to this new type of pizza.  

Cheap Marketing

Many of us in the management program have dreams of one day, opening our own business. One of the difficulties with opening a business could be the sometimes extraordinary cost of advertisting.  So what do you do before you have enough money to pay for billboards and television advertising?  One way to create advertising buzz is through direct email from real people.  Potential customers are more likely to read emails that they do not view as "spam."  Your email could read a little bit about your product or service, but brief enough that the customer will actually read it.  Another way to increase advertising is to perform 'webinars,' which are online instructionals on how to use your product/take advantage of your service.  Another way to boost advertising would be to give away free product.  If it's good, people will talk about it and you wil gain a customer base.  (Let's just assume your product is actually good.) :)

What other ideas do you have about cheap/free advertising for new startups?




Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225799

Response to Colin's Post

Do you believe that there should be laws in place to stop this? Also (if you are against the above mentioned practice) in America why aren't there laws that don't prevent models from having unofficial physical requirements?

I do not think that there should be laws in place to prevent companies from choosing employees based on physical appearance.  This company is using a particular gimmick in order to create an image to sell seats.  If that is how they want to present themselves, then that is acceptable.  As Colin said, there are image requirements for models to work in the United States, and that is because the fashion companies wish to project a particular image.  This is just an example of a business strategy.  n

How Ford Uses Social Media

Ford has been on the forefront of using social media to advertise to customers in a variety of ways.  Firstly,  Ford uses Twitter to allow Twitter users to talk about Ford.  In 2009, Ford recruited 100 people to drive the Ford Fiesta, with all expenses paid by Ford. They were then asked to update thier experiences on both YouTube and a website set up by Ford dedicated to the movement. This was an excellent idea to show other potential buyers what real people thought of the vehicle.  Another way Ford has used social media is through a character created to start a dialogue with the public on social media.  This creates more of a conversation than Ford just talking at people.  Therefore, more people will be likely to pay attention.  A third way that Ford uses social media is by creating Facebook pages to celebrate and give credit to Ford's fans.  This creates an image of Ford drivers as fun and therefore the Ford  brand becomes desirable.

To what extent do you think companies should use social media in comparison to other forms of advertisement?

Response to Colin's Post

A company asking for a zip code is just another tool they use to better understand and target their customer. Do you believe that companies should be allowed to ask for zip codes or do you think it should be considered personal information and why?   

Yes, I think that zip codes are considered personal information because it allows companies to send advertisements and catalogs to the geographical area that you live in.  Though this benefits the company by the ability to track sales and target certain geographical areas, it violates the customer's privacy.  Customers should not have to give thier zip codes, but should have the option in case they do want to receive advertisements and catalogs from the companies in question. 

Video App "Vine"

Vine is a an app used for creating short six second videos that get posted to Facebook or Twitter. This can potentially be used for marketing because it provides inexpensive means to reach out to social media.  The short lenghth of the video can be viewed as a positive or negative trait.  A positive aspect would be that the user that views the video will only get to see the main points that you wish to convey and (hopefully) remember those main points.  A bad aspect of this short length could be that if you need more than six seconds to make your main point, it may be totally useless for you.  Another huge benefit of Vine compared to other video app services is that it starts creating a video instantly, and is very simple to use.  You just have to press a button to start and lift when you are finished.  This means minimizing the time that goes into these advertisements and therefore thier expense.  A disadvantage of the Vine app is its negative reputation due to an inappropriate use within a few days of its introduction.  This lead to Vine being rated as a '17 and up' app, which limits use.

Do you think Vine would be a useful marketing tool? Why or why not?

Reference:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225872

Response to Lindsey's Post

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?

I think that technology has changed a lot about how products or services can be marketed.  Technology has opened doors for business to track potential customer's internet habits, adapting their advertisements to more accurately target groups.  I think this is both a good and bad thing because it begins to raise questions about privacy and how much information about you that really want these companies to have access to.  I think internet advertising is more effective because companies can accurately target the specific groups of people likely to react to their advertisements in a positive way.  Google knows I shopped for boots on the internet, so now I get constant boot advertisements which may lead me to buy a new pair of boots even though my last pair is fine.  Internet advertising leads to more buying and selling opportunities. 

Response to Corporate Branding Article

I found this article to be fascinating. The author is right about political branding.  I think that this is a brilliant idea for presidents, however, not as good of an idea for America.  When a politician creates a brand of his/herself, that becomes an idea that can stick to the public's mind.  This image may very well be sustained despite actions which counteract that particular brand image.  I also think that when people can easily attach on to a particular image, or brand, they are much less likely to actually do the research to discover what is really going on.  It's very easy to find on the internet about things Obama has done that are the complete opposite of what he said he would do.  There are many appalling events that have happened in his presidency, and I very rarely hear the average person discussing these events.  Most people I know believe that the president is doing and acting in the way he promised, or they don't care at all.  I find the author has an interesting point when she says that young people who rallied for him during the elections will become jaded and less likely to vote again.  I believe that a lot of these young people aren't involved enough to know exactly what is going on, and many of those who do know will give up on politics for at least the time being.

Question:  How do you feel about the relationship between President Obama's actions and the brand image he portrays?

Response to Drew Fararr's Post About Starbucks

I think that Starbucks often get a bad reputation without good reason.  (Does anyone remember the half a dozen totally false rumors about Starbucks not supporting United States troops?)  Starbucks does a lot to try and help socially.  If you watch reviews on Glassdoor.com, you will see that Starbucks is a company full of mostly happy employees.  Starbucks provides advancement opportunities and bonuses, along with pay above minimum wage.  Starbucks also has recycling programs in place and community involvement programs.

Rainforest Alliance

I frequently purchase Naked Juice smoothies.  Not only do I feel good about what is in the packaging (fruits with no preservatives) but also I feel good about supporting the company.  Right on the package is a stamp of approval from the Rainforest Alliance and a very cute frog.  This got me to thinking about that stamp as a marketing tool.  The Rainforest Alliance certifies companies based on sustainability friendly policies. These certifications are designed to generate ecological, social, and economic benefits.  I find the Rainforest Alliance to be a very useful tool.  It is a form of marketing for companies, but also helps generate more sustainable practices and encourages companies to be more environmentally friendly.  Though today not everyone always considers whether a product is environmentally friendly when we purchase it, this is a step in the right direction.  The more prevalent such a program becomes, the more likely it will make a difference in buying patterns, which will encourage more companies to participate, which will fuel the cycle and [hopefully] eventually create a more sustainable world.

Additional info:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/certification-verification

Response to Ariana's Post

Flash Mobs

I think that flash mobs are a good marketing technique as long as they are not overused.  As Ariana stated, this technique attracts a lot of attention.  Also, it's pretty refreshing entertainment that will be circulated as people record it on their cell phones and post it to YouTube or Facebook.  However, I have a mild concern that flash mobs could be overused to the point where people begin to treat them as a nuisance, like commercials.  This would counteract the best aspect of the flash mob technique - its innovative attention-grabbing.  

Customer Service as Marketing Technique?

I stumbled upon an article from Forbes about the concept of customer service as the new marketing field.  I definitely agree with this.  With the internet and social media rapidly expanding, companies must now, more than ever, impress every single customer they provide a good or service to.  On the internet, you can easily search a particular product, read reviews about the product, and make a buying decision based on what other people are saying about the product.  Whenever I consider making a substantial purchase, I consult the  internet to properly judge if I am paying for a quality product.  Also, a company's reputation is highly dependent on both the quality of it's product/service and the company's other decisions that involve ethics or the environment.  One mistake can end up splattered all over Facebook, and suddenly a huge portion of your customer base is lost.  Marketers need to be a part of every step of the product development, because the product's own quality will help to market itself on the internet.

Link to article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2011/12/28/why-customer-service-is-the-new-marketing/

Respond to Matt DaCosta's Post

Cause-related marketing relationships are good for the community in the ways you described and more.  The more subtle effects include bringing the affected community together (because everyone likes to see famous people, especially if they are helping a cause close to their hearts.  Also, cause-related marketing relationships raise awareness and money for a particular cause.  A disadvantage that you could consider regards the corporation's reputation.  If a reputable company chooses to support a particular charity, and later that reputable firm is caught red-handed or even just suspected of unethical behavior, that controversy will negatively affect the reputation of the non-profit organization despite that organizations participation status in the questionable behavior.

Case of John Smith

Case of John Smith.
Questions: Should John smith sell the names?  Also, Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue? Go to the AMA website (American Marketing Association) and look at their Statement of Ethics. What in the Statement relates to John Smith's dilemma?

No.  The AMA Statement of Ethics does address this type of issue when it states "Foster trust in the marketing system."  Selling the names may seem like it could be ethical because he would be saving those jobs; however, it would clearly destroy trust between the company and the public.  If such trust was destroyed, the public could react in a negative way toward John's company.  It would not end up mattering if he had or had not sold the names - the bad press would lead to bad business and more layoffs eventually.  

Response to Drew's Post

Drew brings up an interesting point regarding a product that is marketed and advertised as amazing and turns out to be a piece of junk.  This type of product would be subject to negative word of mouth publicity.  I often try products if someone recommends them to me, and deliberately avoid those that I have heard negative comments about.  An example of this type of publicity is when purchasing items online.  Often, the product has a rating by users and comments underneath.  I am an obsessive comment reader because I relate to "real" people who aren't trying to make a profit off my purchase.  So if I was thinking about trying our some new shampoo, I might look it up online.  Then I might see that Drew made a comment about how it makes your hair smell like rotten sushi.  I doubt that the customer value proposition of the sushi shampoo would claim to have a displeasing stench.  The discrepancy between what the company had promised and what Drew had experienced would affect both the customer value and the customer satisfaction.  Also, his word of mouth advertising would negatively affect the company because the potential customer decided to go elsewhere.    

1/29/13 Question

Question: Can the marketing concept reach a point of diminishing returns?  That is, is there a point at which marketers can offer too much choice to too many consumers (try to satisfy too many needs/wants), or is the proliferation of product choices indicative of successful implementation of the marketing concept? 

A vast variety of choices for the consumer indicates a successful implementation of the marketing concept.  By the time  products hit the shelves, those products have already been scrutinized and researched and developed.  Even a product that flops will provide a learning experience for those marketing team members,  helping them to focus on discovering exactly what modern customers want and need.  Also, a variety of options appeals to most customers and could persuade them to buy more than they even knew they needed.  Take the beauty industry, for example.  I am a 21 year old female.  My hair is dry and color damaged.  When I go to the grocery store to pick up shampoo,  I can easily find shampoo that has a label reading "For DRY and COLOR DAMAGED hair".  Now I feel special, because this particular shampoo brand is looking out for me and my individuality.  Then I notice that next to this very special shampoo is some very special conditioner (also made just for me) and next to that is extra-super intensive conditioner for dry hair(I need that too!), leave-in conditioner for color damage (need it), super shine serum for frizzy hair due to dryness (hm, I didn't think of that.. They have a good point, I'll get that too!) and much, much more.  Suddenly,  my anticipated $3 bottle of shampoo just quadrupled, and I go home hopeful for a magical hair transformation.  (I'm still waiting.)  Through all that nonsense, I do have a point.  The more products available  the more the consumer can discover and tailor to their particular needs. (Happy Customers.) The more products available  the more money companies stand to make who provide good quality products paired with good quality marketing. (Happy Manufacturers.) 

Professor Johnson's Blog, with access to the student master list.  http://mo-blog-kjohnson.blogspot.com