4/25/12

This week we discussed pricing strategies. There are three main strategies we discussed:

• Price skimming
• High introductory price and heavy promotion
• Penetration pricing
• Low introductory price in order to reach the mass market
• Status Quo pricing
• Pricing close to the competition

I thought it was interesting that different pricing strategies are used in different situations. We discussed this same thing in my entrepreneur class with Professor Allen, so this information was already somewhat familiar to me.

4/18/12

Discussing promotional strategy was very interesting this week. One of the more interesting things to me was the relevance of what McDonald's does with Happy Meals. In giving away the free toy, they are not only appealing to children, but also appealing to adults who now feel they got a premium purchase. They got something additional for buying a product they were already planning on purchasing.

4/11/12

The biggest thing I took away from this class was when you are advertising, you are selling what is unique to your business, product or service. You are explaining what your competitive advantage is. Also, the three forms of product advertising are pioneering, competitive, comparative.

4/4/12

No Class - E Week

3/28/12

The three main things promotion tries to accomplish are:

o Inform
o Persuade
o Remind

I think the most important of these 3 is the remind part. It seems like even though you inform, and persuade, you have to constantly remind consumers of your product and its competitive advantages.

3/21/12

This week I felt the importance rested on the three main functions of the marketing channels, which are:
o Specialization and Division of Labor
o Overcoming Discrepancies
o Contact Efficiency

3/14/12

Spring Break - No Class

3/7/12

I thought it was interesting this week that we talked about the definition of a new product. It is not necessarily a newly created product, but can be any of the following:

• New-to-the-world products
• New product lines
• Additions to existing product
• Improvements or revisions of existing products
• Repositioned products
• Lower-priced products

2/29/12

Midterms - No Class

2/22/12

I thought the information regarding specialty products was very interesting. I've realized that most high end products don't require much advertising, but I have never thought of companies being selective about their marketing. They are also very selective on who they distribute their product to. I always thought it was a lack of need not to advertise, not that they were purposely selective.

2/15/12

One of the things that caught my eye this week was regarding asking open ended questions. I interview candidates all day for my job and this is one of the most effective ways of getting the information you need. If you ask simple yes/no questions, you get very little detail. However if you ask open ended questions, sometimes the person answering the questions gives you details that they did not intend on.

2/8/12

This week was about segmenting and targeting markets. It was very interesting to learn about positioning, which is a way to influence consumers perception of a product or brand. It is how you emphasize important features or ingredients. I think this is an area where some companies really lack. I have used great products, that I just stumbled upon rather than was urged to buy through marketing.

2/1/12

This week was focuses on consumer decision making. The thing that stood out to me most this week was Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I learned about this first in a science class, but here it is popping up in a business class. It is interesting to think about this from a marketing standpoint as well. If consumers don't have their very basic needs satisfied, they can never satisfy their other needs.

1/25/12

This week we discussed social responsibility and ethics in marketing. I think it was a great discussion and some great points were brought up. The biggest thing I took away from this week is the need for businesses to create a code of ethics. Doing this helps marketing managers as well as other employees make better decisions. I have dealt with companies in my profession that don't seem to have ethics. Sure they may get ahead up front, but their lack of ethical value always seems to come back and bite them.

1/18/12

This week we discussed what marketing is and how it pertains to a firms business. The most important thing to take away from this week is that marketing is in everything we do. It is the start to every sale, and is one of the most important things, if not the most important thing a company can focus on.