Week 10 EOC: What are the benifits vs the features

"A market-oriented firm defines its business in terms of the benefits its customers seek. People who spend their money, time, and energy expect to receive benefits, not just goods and services" (Chapter 1 pg 10). One benefit of getting my product would be the mixture of taste between chocolate and whatever beverage the customer puts into the mug. Mixing chocolate with a drink such as milk has primarily been loved by the American society. This product just makes it easier for my customers to mix chocolate and their drink, plus it gives them even more chocolate to eat. Additionally, the drink that doesn't leave the sides and bottom of the cup would continue the mixed taste even as you eat the cup. "Consumers usually buy a shopping product only after comparing several brands or stores on style, practicality, price, and lifestyle compatibility. They are willing to invest some effort into this process to get the desired benefits" (Chapter 10 pg 176). Another benefit is the lack of dishes that need to be done. Nobody likes the hassle of constant dishes, after using my product the customer will have at least one less dish to do, along with the treat of eating chocolate. One more benefit out of many is the fact that my customers get to eat their entire cup and enjoy the chocolate that they pleasure. "Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotion's role in the marketing mix is to bring about mutually satisfying exchanges with target markets by informing, educating, persuading, and reminding them of the benefits of an organization or a product" (Chapter 2 pg 28)

Week 9 EOC; Creative Content

My plan to showcase my creative content is to create an holiday-themed website. I'm going to upload a screenshot of the homepage in my blog post. There will be options on the bottom to see my fundraisers, locations to buy my products at, and more things you would typically find on a website. I will also put down a link for my company, where anybody can see information about us or even apply for a job, and a merchandise link so customers can buy clothing or bags about my brand. I'm going to make it holiday themed so it appeals to today's audience, since almost everybody is getting in the Christmas spirit. I'm going to have my product stand out, but also incorporate a "Best-Selling Items" list on the page that won't draw as much attention, but since the Chocomug is new product I want sold the most I'll be sure customers see them both. The Chocomug will take up about half a page and have a border around it, and I will also have it especially Christmas themed. I want customers to begin acclimating the cup with their holidays, so I will promote it towards their holidays. I'll also put down the name "Chocomug" and the price of the mug in Christmas colors. I need to make an advertisement that has the perfect mix of detail and quality that will keep the customers interest, and that informs the public about my product. My only challenge will be finding that t mix, but I know I will do it and make a successful and informative website.

Implementation Evaluation Control

"Market segmentation plays a key role in the marketing strategy of almost all successful organizations and is a powerful marketing tool for several reasons. " (Chapter 8 pg 136). I plan to be sure I follow through on my plan by just constantly checking up on my product and seeing how it's selling. If it's overachieving, I'll set new goals so I'm still reaching to be greater. If I'm not doing good enough, I'll check everything and see exactly what's going wrong, then I'll fix it and find new, more innovative ways to market my product. "Few goods or services, no matter how well developed, priced, or distributed, can survive in the marketplace without effective promotion" (Chapter 16 pg 277).

Marketing Mix, Price

"The customer relationship management (CRM) process enables companies to prioritize their marketing focus on different customer groups according to each group's long-term value to the company or supply chain" (Chapter 13 pg 228). Using such research, the price of Chocomug will be $11.99 individually so it's affordable but people also know its not some cheap chocolate, there is some quality to it. Also, since it is affordable and it is a good treat for most people, it is going to sell at a very efficient rate, primarily during the holidays when the most focus is on Chocomug. The reason it isn't priced higher is because I want everyone to be able to afford and enjoy my product, and I know the rate it will sell at will earn me a very reasonable profit. It's a treat that will be enjoyed by every age, ethnic, and sex group, so pricing it perfectly for everyone to afford it is very important for me. "Price is the fourth way to position retail stores. Traditional department stores and specialty stores typically charge the full “suggested retail price”" (Chapter 15 pg 261).

Marketing Mix, Promotion

"Product lines provide economies of scale in advertising. Several products can be advertised under the umbrella of the line" (Chapter 10 pg 177). I will make sure I use as many forms of social media as I can when I am promoting my product. From Facebook and Twitter, to Snapchat and YouTube, I want to promote my product in as many useful ways as I possibly can without completely overwhelming my market with advertisements. "The use of the Internet to facilitate activities between organizations is called business-tobusiness electronic commerce (B-to-B or B2B e-commerce). This method of conducting business has evolved and grown rapidly throughout its short history" (Chapter 7 pg 118). I plan on not needing to come back from customer dissatisfaction because my customers will always be satisfied and pleased with my product. I will also give out a few free products to friends and family so they can show their friends how much they enjoy it, which is a way to get a few more people talking.

Marketing Mix, Distribution

"Most successful relationship marketing strategies depend on customer-oriented personnel, effective training programs, employees with the authority to make decisions and solve problems, and teamwork" (chapter 1 pg 9). For this reason, my product will be distributed to as many retail stores throughout the west coast of the United States as possible to begin sales, but may over time spread to the rest of the country. They will be sold in boxes of one, two, and three, and if there's ever a box bigger then three Chocomug's they will be limited and a special promotion, as the size of the Chocomug and the fact that it's made of chocolate makes it risky to add more then three mugs in one box. They will be stored in the fridges of each retail store, like the pizzas, chicken, and waffles are in most locations. "A new-product strategy links the new-product development process with the objectives of the marketing department, the business unit, and the corporation" (Chapter 11 pg 193).

Marketing Mix, Product

"Today's consumers are demanding, inquisitive, and discriminating. No longer willing to tolerate products that break down, they are insisting on high-quality goods that save time, energy, and often calories" (Chapter 4 pg 51). The product will be called Chocomug. It is a chocolate mug that will be sold all throughout the year, but will be focused on being a holiday treat. It will be a chocolate mug, or glass, that customers will drink whatever beverage they prefer out of, most likely drinks you would dip chocolate in or drinks that go with the holidays, and then they will proceed to consume the cup. My customers can drink hot chocolate, milk, or whatever else they wish to drink out of the chocolate mug, and then they can will the chocolate cup. "Advertising and marketing services, agencies, and other firms that provide marketing and communications services employ millions of people across America" (Chapter 17 pg 297).

Marketing Strategy, Target Market Strategy

"According to the concept of specialization and division of labor, breaking down a complex task into smaller, simpler ones and allocating them to specialists will create greater efficiency and lower average production costs via economies of scale" (Chapter 14 pg 243). I plan on appealing to the senses of children and people in relationships the most during the year, and during the holidays I plan on just using everyone's holiday feelings. During the holiday's, people are in a more "jolly" mood, and that's how I plan on promoting the Chocomug. Appealing to their happiness, and having people feel like they need the Chocomug in order to make their holiday's complete. I will appeal to children's desire to eat and obtain chocolate any way they can by using children in my commercials, and having them playing around and being happy. "Marketing research is the process of planning, collecting, and analyzing data relevant to a marketing decision" (Chapter 9 pg 152).

Situation or SWOT Analysis

"When examining internal strengths and weaknesses, the marketing manager should focus on organizational resources such as production costs, marketing skills, financial resources, company or brand image, employee capabilities, and available technology" (Chapter 2 pg 22). My strengths would have to be the fact that there are a lot of people who love chocolate, and the combination of chocolate with whatever drink my customers put in the cup would taste good to them. Also, since my cup isn't to expensive, they will continue going back to buy more Chocomugs. "When examining external opportunities and threats, marketing managers must analyze the collection and interpretation of information about forces, events, and relationships in the external environment that may affect the future of the organization or the implementation of the marketing plan" (Chapter 2 pg 22).  I have several opportunities being in this business, I can make partners with companies who see the potential my company and products have, as well as the rare opportunity I have to give back to my community and the environment. My only threat are people who try to make their own version of the Chocomug, and that's not a very big threat. I wouldn't put out a product unless I knew it would be hard to top my product, and that means every product released needs to have incredibly quality and taste terrific to people.

Objectives

"If marketers do not properly understand the target market's needs, the right good or service will likely not be produced. An excellent way to understand needs is to view them as job statements or outcome statements" (Chapter 6 pg 92). My objectives are to get my products sold, maintain a relationship with my customers and employees, and to give back to the community, primarily the community that raised me. In order to get things sold, I need to understand what my customers need, or create something that they haven't thought about before but instantly feel as if they need it after thinking about it. That product that my target audience will say they need after hearing about it is the Chocomug. I want my customers to hear about my product and instantly be interested, research it and find out how they can get a Chocomug. "Standardization and training help increase consistency and reliability. In the information technology sector, a number of certification programs are available to ensure that technicians are capable of working on (and within) complex enterprise software systems" (Chapter 12 pg 211).

Business Mission Statement

My business wants to give back to the community around us while making a reasonable profit. We want to maintain healthy relationships with each other, and more importantly, maintain healthy relationships with our customers. Without our customers, we're just a group of people making chocolate to make chocolate, and spending money instead of making it. We want everything we do to be ethical, positive, and to remain a healthy and positive role model for families everywhere. "The law typically relies on juries to determine if an act is legal or illegal. Society determines whether an action is ethical or unethical" (Chapter 3 pg 36). We plan to stay both ethical and legal within the law and within society. "Relationship selling, or consultative selling, is a multistage process that emphasizes personalization and empathy as key ingredients in identifying prospects and developing them as long-term, satisfied customers" (Chapter 18 pg 320).

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch

My product will be called Chocomug, a combination of chocolate and a glass of milk. Except instead of glass, it will be a mug made out of chocolate. It will be a holiday delight like hot chocolate, and my customers will be able to eat the cup after they use it to drink milk, hot chocolate, or any other beverage of their choice. It will cost around $10 for every chocolate cup, and will be available in most retail stores across the United States. My target audience will be everybody, as the Chocomug is a nice holiday commodity that everyone will enjoy, just like all ages enjoy things such as candy or hot chocolate. Everyone will be able to eat this, so I will target every age group, every ethnicity, every American citizen. It can also be bought when it is not holiday season, but this is the season approaching and this is when my cup will get its most sales. Corporate priorities will to get things sold at a reasonable market value while to maintaining a positive and strong work ethic. We will also give back to society as much as we can while still making a reasonable profit, so we want to keep our marketing team working good enough to get our products sold fast. "Central to any society is the common set of values shared by its citizens that determines what is socially acceptable. Culture underlies the family, the educational system, religion, and the social class system" (Chapter 5 pg 73). My company prides ourselves on our contributions to society and the environment, so we do what we can whenever we can. I will promote the product on social media, both through uses of my page, my company’s page, and my friends’ pages. We will also post advertisements on different social media platforms to show people the product and to show how much people enjoy having and eating the chocolate. "Social media have changed the way that marketers can communicate with their brands—from mass messages to intimate conversations" (Chapter 19 pg 366).

Week 5 EOC: This is what has my interest

https://twitter.com/davidconner1031/status/785475840398155777   
    This tweet interests me because it talks about different modern trends in marketing. My major is Marketing and Entertainment Management, so most things involving marketing management or entertainment management relate to me. I first learned about relationship marketing here, a marketing style based on the customers having a good relationship with the company. It also discusses business marketing, otherwise knows as industrial marketing, which is when a business sells its merchandise to another company for resell or to be part of their products. The last thing it describes is the current trend of societal marketing, which is a company that focuses on the needs, interests, and wants of its market better then its competition. It's important for me to know the differences between each of the marketing types and the direction each type of marketing is heading.
https://twitter.com/davidconner1031/status/785865598907613184
    This article describes changes in the way entertainment and media is used today. Companies are adapting to what the consumers are starting to want, like phone companies such as AT&T and Sprint are emphasizing the fact that they have unlimited data. Companies are also using social media more to release news, since customers are most likely on there and will definitely see it, instead of the greater possibility of people missing the news by releasing it on television. Its useful for me because it lets me know how rapidly trends can change, and how adept you need to be at changing with them. I also know that social media is even more important then I realized, and I'll need to become more accustomed with it if I really want to be successful in my field.(272 words)
https://twitter.com/davidconner1031/status/786921766253895680
    This article is useful because it shows me mistakes other have made, and what I need to learn from. I know not to make the same mistakes they did, and to use their experiences towards my own knowledge of my field and future..

Week 4 EOC: There's an app for that

One good app for people would be a good place to store pictures that you do not want other people to see. Everyone has pictures on their phone that are just for them and/or a friend. There are some people with a lot of private or personal pictures and some people who don’t have many. Everybody does, however, have at least one picture that is either personal to them or they are embarrassed of it and do not want other people to see it. An app to store all these pictures would be perfect for a mass audience, as most people would be happy to quickly obtain it. It should also be able to store videos as well, and it would make the app that much more appealing to the market. Price it at around $.99 and it would be certain to be a hit. Those people that have videos as well as pictures that are personal would be even more inclined to get this app. You would be able to store whatever picture or video you want and it will be for your eyes only and whoever you want to show it to. The name of it should sound secure so people have more of a reason to trust it. If it does not sound secure, there is no reason why people would trust that the app itself is actually secure. The app could be a major hit in any phone’s app store and would be on most people’s phones.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

Some of the stuff this book says about teens does relate to me. I do enjoy being on twitter, social media, and just using things electronically. I am also part of the 98% that do not " have Tumblr accounts". I also do agree that new social media apps such as "Snapchat, Instagram, and Tumblr are growing in popularity among teens". I don't relate, however, to the statement that "shopping has become a social sport whether online or at the mall, though most teens prefer to shop in stores instead of online". I do relate to most of this stuff, like the food we eat and what we value more then what we should value, but some things just do not describe me at all. I do know people who it would describe however, as this is a very vivid picture of my generation. Also, I do like being involved whenever possible, being a part of the action. I agree this is a good way to market towards me and my generation. Interactive contests and voting challenges are also things that I would very eagerly be involved. I do like to be part of the action or whatever is happening, and get very curious whenever something seems at all interesting towards me. Products like the Ipod marketed towards me very well because it is convenient to have music in your pocket, and the Iphone marketed even better towards me because I like always feeling like I have the internet and a way to contact someone. Overall this page describes my generation very well.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

The Coca-Cola company is the biggest beverage company in the world. You can find their drinks almost everywhere, and they've delved into other ventures as well instead of their signature soda. There's new variants of Coca-Cola. They sell Fanta soda, Sprite, juice, and several more beverages. This company has gotten so big that over 90% of the worlds population recognizes their logo. However, instead of letting the fame make this company selfish, they choose instead to give back to the community. They always give back at least one percent of their company's annual income. They support a lot of community programs like arts and culture, community and economic development programs in the United States. They also do their best to support HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness programs in Africa and Latin America. In 2015, Coca-Cola gave back over $117 million to nearly 300 different organizations across over 70 separate countries and territories. They've awarded over $500 million to support global sustainable community initiatives, including water stewardship, community recycling, active healthy living, and education. The Foundation was established in the U.S. as a registered 501 charitable organization. Coca-Cola supports programs offering scholarships, school drop-out prevention projects, and access to educational programming. This very large and successful company does what they can in order to help better the community. They give back wherever they feel necessary and however they can.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

The biggest dog in the video game industry is the Wii U. "The Nintendo console is destined to go down in history as a commercial misfire that flopped harder than King Hippo after a knockout blow" (http://whatculture.com/gaming/9-reasons-why-the-nintendo-wii-u-was-a-commercial-flop). The question mark in the industry is the Virtual Reality Headset, , because it is unknown exactly how well this product will do. It could be a major success but it could also be a major flop.  "There is talk about using nanotechnology as a means of allowing us to push beyond the boundaries of the human body and enter into the digital world" (http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality-games/future-expectations.html). The cash cows are the Xbox One and the PS4, the two consoles currently dominating the video game market. They are coming out with a new and better version of the Xbox One as well called the Xbox One S. "Compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the PS4 and Xbox One are up on a double-digit percentage basis compared to where the last-generation consoles were over the same period of time"(http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-sony-thinks-ps4-is-a-massive-success/1100-6432902/). The star is the games on devices such as tablets and cell phones. Everbody downloads the free games and a lot of people buy things off of the apps, and some people even pay for games on their devices. Games on cellular devices are easily the star of the gaming industry.

Week 1 EOC My Voice

My name is David Conner, and I am a college student trying to achieve my goal of graduating with my major of Marketing and Entertainment Management. I am still open to different options after I graduate, but I would prefer something more in the entertainment industry. That field has always interested me much more then just being a manager of some fast food restaurant, retail store, or grocery store. I prefer to chase the bigger opportunities with bigger rewards, and I will rarely settle for what's being given to me. My goal is to always get better and to continuously become more successful then I was the day before, whether that is in the entertainment industry or in another large market. There will always be more to learn, so I will never pass up the opportunity to gain more knowledge about my field. Marketing has always peaked my interest and I've always wanted to be good at this subject, it is a major component to being a good businessman and managing a successful business. I'm always chasing better things, and when there's an opportunity to further my education and my skills, I'm going to go after that opportunity. I have a strong motivation to be successful.

Week 1 EOC Great Customer Service

The day before my high school graduation, I went to Red Robin with my family. The lady who was chosen to serve us our food did it with exceptional customer service. I asked for the Clucks and Fries meal and a side of barbecue sauce with fries as an appetizer. The waitress made sure all the food we received was freshly cooked and prepared, and was even sure to bring us extra sauces. Not only did she do what was expected of her and bring us the food, but she also exceeded our expectations. The waitress came by multiple times with refills asking if we were in need of anything else, and she also asked to make sure we were enjoying the food. She brought out extra coloring materials for my nephews when my nephews finished coloring their kids menu's, as well as making sure my little brother and sister were enjoying themselves. I feel that going out and spending time with my family has always been a time to relax and bond with them, especially the ones that are only visiting and we rarely get to see each other. You might not realize it but the server is a big part of that experience. She was so nice and welcoming that we had such a great time catching up, but if she was rude, gave off a negative attitude, forgot our orders, or brought out cold food we wouldn't have had such a pleasant experience. When we were ready to leave she heard I was about to graduate and congratulated me and that made me feel even better about my experience. That day at Red Robin with my family is a day that I truly hope I never forget.