Week 7 EOC: Social Networks and Job Hunting

The way that companies are looking for people to fill the empty spaces isn't through job boards anymore, but on social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter and Craigslist. Can this new way of looking for potential employees a good or bad move on the part of the companies. One reason why companies are doing this is because it saves them at least hundreds of dollars of posting to a job board somewhere. "Some recruiters say they have all but eliminated their spending on job boards, which can charge a few hundred dollars per job posting, depending on volume." (Wall Street Journal article dated August 8, 2011, Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates they like.) So saving a few hundreds of dollars per posting is a good upside, but this new program called "brand ambassadors" could cause some trouble. A brand ambassador is a person that the company picks to represent them in a variety of events to help talk about their company. They are given full training, including product and company knowledge. It's not easy to become one of these people since you have to apply and be up to their standards. "Marketers select their brand ambassadors very carefully, based on customers’ devotion to a brand and the size of their social circles."(Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler pg. 143). Why would they worry about the size of your social circle? Oh yeah, it's part of their marketing strategy, the more people the ambassador knows, the more people he can talk to about the company and get them hooked. If one ambassador gets 10 people hooked, those 10 people will get 10 more hooked and so on and so on. It's a never ending chain reaction. Sounds to me like they are using you to get to your inner most circle of friends. But these representatives aren't doing this for free, but they do get paid in vouchers and gift cards for their work. This could cause some huge problems. "some view the practice as underhanded or deceptive." (Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler pg. 143). "Others worry that brand ambassadors will be perceived as hucksters who promote products because they get free stuff—or, worse, as annoying evangelists best avoided." (Marketing: An Introduction. Armstrong/Kotler pg. 143)

Week 6 EOC: Me x 3

 

There are some things in the world that define me as me. I would like to say that my different types of Domo hats is one of them. No matter what season or where I'm going, I will always be wearing a Domo hat. I've always had a thing for Japanese things and ever since I laid my eyes on Domo, I became a huge fan. With his mouth always open looking like he is about to yell something and his arms raised in excitement, even if it's only over something small. I get excited quite easily over things I love and end up yelling and raising my arms in excitement.

When I was in the 6th grade, I had no idea how much the saxophone would become part of my life. At first I didn't like playing the saxophone, all the practicing of endless hours to get better, and most of all lugging around this huge case that held this hunk of metal. As time went on my saxophone started to grow on me. Now I'm playing saxophone for a band named Chug-A-Luv. Seeing a saxophone in a rock band is something you don't see everyday of you life; it's interesting and new. This saxophone is definitely one of the items that defines me. 

My HTC Radar has only been a part of my life for about 5-6 months and it is definitely something that defines me. A small, white, and skinny smartphone that runs Microsoft Windows 7.5. Not many people out there have a phone running Windows Mobile, because everyone else either has an android phone or the iPhone. I love the idea of personalizing your home screen with live tiles of your closest friends. Being able to personalize your home screen with your closest friends defines who I am because I do like being around my closest friends and having a good time.

 

EOC Week 4: B-to-B vs Consumer Marketing

The GE company has been around for a long time. They have been filling peoples houses with many essential products needed in everyday life. GE just doesn't stop at household products to sell, but they are a big company in the diesel locomotives. They know there is a difference between Business to Business Marketing and Consumer Marketing. "At a general level, marketing medical imaging technology or diesel locomotives to business customers is like selling refrigerators to final buyers. It requires a deep-down understanding of customer needs and customer-driven marketing strategies that create superior customer value." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, page 158) When buying a refrigerator, a consumer doesn't take a longtime to make a decision, do a little shopping, compare and make the decision which company will keep their food cold and fresh. That's not how it works in the business to business marketing; making a decision takes time. For GE who is a big player in the diesel locomotive, they have to make sure that their product is far superior than their competitors, without a superior product no one will want to do business with them. "The real challenge is to win buyers’ business by building day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out partnerships with them based on superior products and close collaboration." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, page 158) The business' that look at GE for diesel locomotives are going to look at all the statistics that this engine is capable of. They want to know every single little detail to horsepower, emissions reports, fuel economy, price, and reliability. GE needs to make sure to keep their business associates happy so they can continue to work, if something were to go wrong or their products start to slip, that could cost the company millions of dollars. "In its business markets, rather than selling to large numbers of small buyers, GE sells to a few very large buyers. Whereas it might be disappointing when a refrigerator buyer chooses a competing brand, losing a single sale to a large business customer can mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in business."(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, page 158)

Week 4 BOC: There's an App For That

If I could create an app, it would be a voice calender reminder. Yeah, I put appointments and important dates in my calender way in advance, but as time goes by I end up forgetting about everything I just put in my calender. This app would be highly useful to me. With everything that I put in my phone calender, it gives me the option of setting a reminder, but it only gives me one option. With the voice calender reminder, I would be able to put in my important dates and each and everyday when I wake up, I can open the app and hit a button. This button will then read what is on the agenda for today. Throughout the day I can always check to see what else is going on in the day and also add stuff to my calender. I find it easier to be able to hear the things I need to do than read what I need to do. I'll be able to play the recording as much as I want, no more looking at screens. If it was also a choice you could download extra celebrity voices to help keep track of what you need to do. What a fun and interesting way to stay on task and schedule.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

I was one of the 83 million people to be born in between 1977-2000, based on this I would be defined as a Millennial. A person who embraces the technology of today and seeks out information on companies that try to get our business. You can tell which people of the world were born in this time period, just look for a cell phone in one hand and some sort of mp3 player in the other. They are always on their phone, looking at their Facebook or Twitter. The Millennials are always craving technology, looking for the newest little gadget to hit the markets. I do love technology, but with the demographic groups of the Baby Boomers and Generation X, I can't help but I fit some of those characteristics as well. I was a latchkey kid, both my parents were working while I was in grade school and I would ride my bike home and stay home by myself til my parents got home. Also even though most of the time I stuff my face in my phone, computer or video games, I'm always looking for new experiences to help me grow as a person. You can't get world wide experience just sitting behind a screen, you have to get out there and do stuff. I like to think that me being a part of the Millennials Demographic helps me understand the past generations a little better, using the technology of today to better my experiences in the world. 

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

"When consumers buy from Blanket America, not only are they generating automatic donations, but supporting our larger commitment to ending extreme poverty. " (http://www.blanketamerica.com/about-us) This is the goal of the non-profit organization called Blanket America with the help of another non-profit organization called Gifts in Kind International. Blanket America runs the "Buy 1, Give 1" where if a person buys a blanket, quilt, bed sheets, towels off their website they will donate 1 item to a family in need. This is a huge organization, who is open to any company that is willing to work with them. "Large companies have already shown their support for this program. Online sites Amazon.com and QVC.com have already made these patch work heritage quilts available online for those who would want to buy them." (http://ezinearticles.com/?Reaching-Out-to-the-Americans---Blanket-America&id=3838929) Blanket America's reach does not just end in America, but they extended their hand to Haiti. "With choose Haiti, Blanket America is workjing to create sustainable jobs for the people of Haiti - an essential component to the country's economic recovery." (http://www.pr.com/press-release/296816) Blanket America is doing an amazing job in helping the people around the world, giving to those who are less fortunate or who were caught up in a disaster. 

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

I believe music is the universal language that people can communicate through. No matter who you are, everyone and anyone can understand music. Music is all around us, any and all sound is music. I never knew how to express myself very well, but when it came to music, it was a breeze. When playing, I felt that I just put myself out in spotlight and showed everyone who I was. All my worries went away and the only thing that mattered was the music I was getting creating with my band. I want to create and capture sounds for other bands, know what goes on behind the scenes of recording/producing. I'm already on one side of fence, might as well get best of both worlds.

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

The workers of K&K Bowling Company have always demonstrated good customer service. I haven't always gone to them for my bowling needs, but when the occasion rose up, it was my turn to become one of their newest lifetime customers."Marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, page 5) As a potential customer walking into one of their store locations, seeing some familiar faces from the different bowling alleys. I noticed that they were a very tight knit company, based on family and really close friends. I walked up to one of their employees named Joel, he politely asked me what I needed today and I explained my situation of me having wrist problems while bowling. He then immediately started asking me questions, like where I usually go for my bowling needs and who drills up all my bowling balls. He told me the reasons for the problem as he was measuring my hand and span, then he instantly said that my span was wrong and it was off by an 8th of an inch, which makes a huge difference, but I had no idea at the time. My knowledge of work in the pro shop was very minimal. He was very knowledgeable about bowling and made sure he took the time to explain everything clearly. He made a connection with me and it was a very strong one. It's thanks to him on my very first visit to K&K that I am now a lifetime customer. 

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

In the video game world, you have your heavy hitters which are the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and mobile gaming. The two most dominating systems of the video game market. Then you have your handhelds and other home consoles via the PS Vita, Nintendo DS and Nintendo's Wii which usually don't do well in the market. The star of the video gaming world I would say is mobile gaming on iPhones and Android powered devices. No matter where you go, you see people on their phones, playing some game that is very fun and addictive, just a time filler. "According to Mobile Gaming 2012, the latest report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, among all app gamers, 59 percent of total game play is done on a mobile device."(https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/industry-expertise/video-games/). Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have been battling it out in the past couple years in terms of sales. This has always been a huge rivalry in the video game market. These two systems are cash cows especially the Xbox 360 due to the Red Ring of Death ultimately making consumers purchase multiple systems if they did not fix them. Just recently Sony released a smaller version of the PS3 in Europe which has boosted company sales by a huge amount.  "According the MCV, Sony saw a 138% increase in PlayStation 3 sales with the release of its smaller, lighter game console in the United Kingdom. What’s more, MCV says that the 500GB model also accounted for 37% of all PlayStation 3 sales last week, which is particularly impressive since the slimmer model was only released this past Friday."(http://bgr.com/2012/10/02/new-playstation-3-sales-sony-sees-138-percent-increase/) Handheld consoles are easily getting erased from the video game market. With the uprise in mobile gaming, you see fewer and fewer handheld systems in public. Nintendo who has been a huge factor in the video game world is rapidly falling behind. The Wii started out strong, outselling the Xbox 360 and the PS3 when they were first released, but the consumers did not grab on for a long ride. "Nintendo decided that they couldn’t win the hardcore gamers away from Sony and Microsoft, and instead went in a different direction, targeting the extremely large pool of non-gamers, instead of creating a new, powerful console with great online play and a traditional controller." (http://www.nintendojo.com/features/editorials/early-abandonment-how-wii-failed-hardcore-gamers).