Week 4 EOC: Business to Business Marketing

The consumer market involves much of meeting customers demands and needs. The Xerox comany is a great example of this idea. Xerox was the first company, and for a while, maybe the only company making large profits in the photocopying business. It seemed as the market for these products started to change, Xerox did not change with it. This cost them a lot of business until they decided to reinvent themselves as a company. "As a result of this new thinking, Xerox now offers a broad portfolio of customer-focused products, software, and services that help its customers manage documents and information" Marketing: An Introduction pg. 66. Apple is the best example of meeting consumer demands. Although considered highly expensive, Apple still has loyal customers willing to pay for their products. "The American consumer market consists of more than 300 million people who consume more than $14 trillion worth of goods and services each year, making it one of the most attractive consumer markets in the world." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 136. The buyer decision process is as follows: Need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post purchase behavior. So basically a consumer finds out what he needs. Searches for what that is and finds out where it can be obtained. Looks at all the options he has for that product and options to obtain that product. The adoption process is "The mental process through which an individual passes from first hearing about an innovation to final adoption." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 154. Basically the consumer finds out information about the product, decides wether he needs it or not, tries the product and last decides if he needs this item for regular use. The business market is all about businesses deciding what product they can sell for a profit. Although their products end up in the hands of consumers, the most important part of business-tobusiness sales is getting the product to the large resellers of their product. That is where the bulk of their profits are made. The most important factor in the business market is probably the desire for the product or service. The demand for the goods through consumers is their entire market for sales. This decision process is much longer and more complicated than consumer sales. "The buying business usually calls for detailed specifications of the product. "Marketing: An Introduction pg. 160. The buyer and seller in business to business sales are much more dependent on each other. They work much more closely together to make sure both sides of the deal are satisfied with the outcome.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

I fall into the category of Millennials (or Generation Y). Supposedly there was around 83 million children born in this time frame. So basically, my generation are the children of the baby boomers.  A huge part of my age group is our enviornment as kids. We grew up in the rise of technology. My generation has very different thinking skills and problem solving techniques as our ancestors did. "They don’t just embrace technology, it’s a way of life" Marketing: An Introduction pg 74. According to the book, my age group or demographics are key targets for advertising campaigns. This has to do with our age and views. Apparently companies think our views and beliefs are much easier swayed or changed than people in older generations. "Reaching these message-saturated consumers effectively requires creative marketing approaches." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 74. Barack Obama's campaign directly targeted this audience through social networking sites commonly used by this generation. Things like Facebook, Myspace, and his own website were tools associated with targeting this audience. "A recent study found that 91 percent of Millennials are on the Web, making up 32 percent of all U.S. Internet users. According to another study, 77 percent of Millennials frequent social networking sites and 71 percent use instant messaging." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 74. President Obama went out to so far to draw in this audience that he even drew people as friends on Facebook to watch his video presentations on Youtube. Youtube is a popular website for people in the Millennials demographic. Many younger voters that supported Obama's campaign received text messages directly from the Obama team on election day, reminding them to go out and vote. For this age group, this had to be the easiest way to get ahold of them and remind them to vote. Some of them might not have been home, or if not reminded, might not have even gone out and voted. Obama did a fantastic job targeting this age group to go out and place their votes for him. "Young people turned out at the polls in record numbers, with fully 66 percent favoring Obama, turning the tide his way in several key states." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 74.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

People should understand that you can make money, help people, and enjoy what your doing all at the same time. Some companies now days are getting involved with work that helps others as well as themselves. "These days, every product seems to be tied to some cause." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 86. These charitable companies are truly interested in making their livings by helping other people around the world live better. "TOMS shoes was founded as a for-profit company—it wants to make money selling shoes. But the company has an equally important not-for-profit mission—putting shoes on the feet of needy children around the world." Marketing: An Introduction pg. 86.  Toms company was started by a man, when in 2006 visiting Argentina, noticed all these children walking with no shoes. He wanted to make a difference in the world, and make a living at the same time.  I would love to start a company similar to this. To make a solid wage by helping other people and making their lives a little better and easier. I think i could have a successful business by bringing books and other reading materials to these children in poor countries who don't have the luxury of reading material. If people could just donate their old books that they never read, other children would have a chance to learn how to read. Also, I believe companies would sponsor events and fundraisers for this charity. I would be helping people, and making a wage at the same time. “We don’t just drop the shoes off, as the name might imply,” says Mycoskie. “We place the shoes on each child’s feet so that we can establish a connection, which is such an important part of our brand. Marketing: An Introduction pg. 87. I believe this is how Toms took off. This idea that they themselves are down there in these countries putting the shoes on these children's feet. That shows it is not all about the money for these guys. That they genuinely want to help. "By mid 2009, TOMS had sold (and therefore given away) more than 150,000 pairs of shoes. With sales in excess of $8 million, the company is profitable and growing exponentially."Marketing: An Introduction pg. 87. I don't know of many people who would not support a company entirely based on helping other people in need.

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

“Video games in general have always been in a continuous growth phase,” said Jesse Divnich, vice president of insights and analysis at game industry research firm EEDAR. “We consistently grow every year. Some years more than others, but we've consistently grown.” It seems as some people think the industry is taking a huge hit, when others just simply say it is changing."I bristle when people suggest as much," says Adrian Crook, a game design consultant. "Consoles will grow again and will never go away." I believe that the money is still there but just going to different areas of the industry. Anyone who already owns a game console has no need to buy a new one. When new consoles first come out, they generate a huge revenue. This is caused by such a high price and high demand for the console. Now when everyone already owns it, that revenue drops drastically. The money is not being spent on the consoles themselves, but now in other areas. Size of global traditional video game market revenue, excluding mobile games on smart phones and tablets: $58 billion, up slightly from $57.2 billion in 2012 .http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/06/10/gameshow-e-idINDEE9590DW20130610. The video game market might be taking a hit, but mobile phone game sales are steadily increasing.

I think there's probably natural attrition occurring in the market," said Edward Williams of BMO Capital Markets. "What you're wrestling with here is there are several currents. The category is evolving—in terms of how people are playing games and how they're paying for the games

The market for video games, i believe, is still there. Perhaps targeting different audiences will help generate sales. Most games being put out are specifically designed for younger males. Maybe designing games for girls and women would help generate more money while continuing to design the games for the young male audience. 

Week One Eoc: Great Customer Service

One time I was browsing online looking for a new computer. I knew i wanted to have a awesome computer that would be capable of doing everything audio related that i needed it to do. I had to get a Mac. I went to the apple website and started to chat with a customer service representative. I told him exactly what i would be using it for and all the minimum specifications that it would need. He suggested a computer that to me seemed very expensive. Even though the professional told me exactly what was needed, i decided to go with a less expensive computer. This one was significantly cheaper, but also lacked in certain areas that really were needed to be top notch for what was the desired use. Apple shipped the computer and I received it in no time. At first it was great. It ran quickly and was having no trouble with the programs I had on it. As a few months past i installed a couple more audio programs on it. These ones, as the Apple rep told me, needed more RAM memory and a quicker processor. I was very upset at myself and thought i had just wasted 900 dollars. It had been about 4 months since I had purchased it and was way past the return date. I had nothing to lose so i figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to Apple about it and just ask what could be done. I got on the phone with a manager and explained my situation. In no time the manager had a paid for postage stamp sent to my e-mail and told me to take it to a post office to be sent back. About two weeks later i had my brand new computer sitting on my front porch. I have never received anything close to such wonderful customer service. Just the fact that i was able to talk to a manager so quickly and he was so understanding of my situation blew my mind. I tell people about what great customer service Apple has and i know that brings them more business. In the end, having the wonderful customer service might cost a company some money at first, but in the long run they keep their customers close and continue to gain new ones every day, Thats's what great customer service is all about to me. "Web seller Zappos is obsessed with creating the very best customer service and customer experience. In return, customers reward the company with their brand loyalty and buying dollars. The result: Zappos’ sales have grown astronomically." Marketing: An Introduction" pg. 4

Week One EOC: My Voice

As an audio professional I strive to keep up to date skills and talents that keep me talented in this always changing field. The competition for money in this industry causes newer and better technology to be released on almost a weekly basis. It is essential as an audio professional to be aware of the newest technology, and get familiar with it as well. Being comfortable and skilled with technology from 5 years ago will keep you behind and sometimes out of work. The big names in this business are always upgrading their studios and equipment to be more time and money efficient. Just being up to date on the skills in the always changing software of the industry will keep you a job. Now how good you can be with it will most likely determine the money you choose to charge if you are working freelance. Currently only a sophomore, I can consider myself a professional. My skills and talents include everything from mixing and recording great quality sound, to recording and editing video. I am comfortable with the latest version of Pro Tools, which is an industry standard program for mixing and doing post production.  I also have acoustical studio experience, and have skills in creating some great sounding rooms for either mixing or just listening. Whatever it may be, i consider myself an artist in all aspects of audio.