Connection Post

Yesterday in class, the lecture was regarding managers, leadership, power, and all the different types of functions a manager must posess.

I definatley believe that managers must have the five characteristic skills in order to be considered a good manager. They are listed as Interpersonal skills, conceptual, and technical.

I have had an experience with a manager who had the skills required to be manager...all but one. She had no people skills. She was great at everything else, and in fact was excellent with everything else, just not with communicating to clients. I also think she may have been great in another field involving research in law, but because her job was very similar to mine I know that 80 percent of what we do as a paralegal is consult clients, console clients, and prepare them for the worst and best case scenerios. If you can't properly handle this part of your job it is chaotic. It is as Ms. Adams says "constantly putting out fires". Partly because whatever case you are handling can be the only (or main) important thing going on in that person's life at that exact moment. So you have to adapt your ability to cater to each client differently. One person may be ok with something being done tomorrow, and the next may want it done that instant. You just can't expect the client to cater to you, it's just not done that way, and it's inappropriate.

From all that I have seen, I think it also takes a person who is swift on their feet in reacting to things and who is prepared for the worst but hopes for the best to be a manager.

Ultimately even though this manager I speak of was the most organized, smartest, over achiever in her work, she just couldn't get the people skills together to help put out the fires she would sometimes start. I definately think you need all qualities and appropriate skills in which ever field you may be in. May that be top manager, middle manager, supervisor, or employee, you must have the right skills to be in that line of work.

Connections

We had a test today and the past couple weeks we have gone over marketing, production, branding, etc. One of the marketing measurements is by sales forecasting, which is an estimate of the amount of a product that an organization expects to sell during a certain period of time based on a specified level of marketing effort. I currently work at McAlister's Deli and they are known for there sweet tea, it comes in only one size and it's a large Togo glass. They underestimated their inventory levels of how many cups were going to be sold and used so we ran out for a couple days and had to use smaller cups. Managers rely on these marketing measurements when purchasing things such as McAlister's sweet tea cups or any other type of raw material, schedule production, secure financial resources, equipment purchases, and many other things needed for their business to function properly and smoothly.

Scribe Post

Last time in class we did a jeopardy game for review for our 2nd test. It was over Product, Price Promotion and Distribution. Then we also had a category for last tests as well. Then today in class we will be taking our 2nd exam, good luck. Then the next scribe will be Dee.

Reflections Post 2

The last few weeks we have been covering chapters 12-15.  It really made me realize that there is so much more that goes into things that most of us would normally not think about, such as marketing.  From the marketing mix to product differentiation and branding.  We have also covered distribution, pricing and promotion.  Target markets, etc.

Scribe 10/18/10

On 10/18/10 in class we had our 2nd article presentations. We also had to describe ads in magazines given to us by Ms. Adams. Basically...that's it. Oh yeah! The next scribe is ROBERT.

Reflections 2

Since the last exam we have had we have been going over chapters 12-15. The past few weeks have been filled with a ton of new information and recently we talked about the way different companies choose to get customers interested in their products. I found this very interesting because I never realized how much thought goes into a product when a company is putting it on the market. One thing that has been a little confusing though, is the fact that we have also been learning about the different pricing strategies companies will use. I understand the concept that companies contemplate and decide which strategy will work best for the product but it is just a little frustrating sorting through all the different types of strategies that are out there.

Reflections Post 2

Recently in class we have discussed the concepts of promotion, product and price, marketing, and distribution. All of these concepts are key in making a business/product sucessful. in my opinion marketing is what really puts a product out there, consumers would not know about a service or product if it did not market. What I have found most intersting in the past few weeks is that slogans and characters really can make a brand into something huge. For example the energizer bunny is known all accross the country, its kind of amazing we can hear one jingle or see one specific character that may or may not relate to a brand but instantly know what product or brand it is.

Reflections Post 2

In class lately we have been learning about how companies market new product they are coming out with. The thing that caught my interest the most was how some companies like coke and Pepsi will advertise against each other in the same commercial or advertisement to persuade you that one is better than the other. Then there is the cycle that each company will go through when they want to introduce a new product that will effect how well it sells. I never realized how much time they actually put in to decide on the price of something new.

Reflections post Ch. 12-15

The past few weeks have gotten very interesting in Business 1301. The main ideas in the past couple chapters have covered a lot about the aspects of marketing and the basics of getting your business out to the public. I thought the one aspect of the marketing world that was the most unknown to me was the different pricing strategies. I had no idea so much went into determinging the placing and pricing of a product.

Reflections Post 2

Right now in class we are learning about everything having to do with production with a new product. The first thing is marketing. You have to generate awareness of your product to gain a customer base. Marketing strategies inform customers as well as remind them about the product. The next step is to come up with the price for the product. Different companies use different strategies here. They also have to decide what type pf product they will produce. The different types of distribution is also something that companies have to decide over. Once the product is out, the company has to keep the customers aware of the product's availability. that is where promotion comes in

Right now in business we are learning about many different things. We're learning about how to market a product, the different types of marketing, and why people are interested in those products. We are also learning about the different types of categories of a product. Some products are for everyone, and some are only for one type of person. We have also discussed what makes a utility, including time, place and form. Marketing alone is what drives people to buy one product over another, so it is a very important aspect of business to pay attention to.

Refelctions post 2

Now in class we are learning about many different aspects. The most important thing we have learned so far, in my opinion, is how to build relations with customers. Most customers do remain loyal to a certain business if you treat them right. Then we learned about of management and how to market pictures. With marketing products, we learned there life cycle and how the grow and mature. Then in the last chapter, we discussed the five promotion mixes.

Reflections Post 2

The topics we have been covering in class are getting more involved in the overall aspects of business and not just the general basics. We have covered marketing and developement of products, introducing products to build them up and their product life cycle. We have also gone over the different types of products and how they are sold. We have discussed how everything from the environment, personal experience and psychological factors can influence purchase as well as buying power and convenience. We discussed how a product must be available when you need it in the form that you need it, be affordable and in a convenient location. Differnet types of convenient products are sold almost everywhere and are easily interchangable where as other types of products are less likely to be substituted. Marketing in general seems to be very important because it shows that everything influences how likely a product is to be succesful.

Reflections Post Ch. 12-15

In class we have been talking about marketing, building customer relationships and the importance of management and the customers relationships. We also covered utility, the affects of marketing, types of products, the product cycle; which goes through the stages of introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. In chapter 14 we covered wholesaling, the different types of retailers, and we also identified the various channels of distribution that are used for customer and industrial products. And in the last chapter covered we discussed promotion and the five promotion mixes; which include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations.

Ch. 15 Promotion

In class we discussed what Promotion is and how it is effective for the following:

• Brands- help remind you what products exist
• Slogans- "melts in your mouth not in your hands"
• Characters- makes you think of the product, even if it does not relate. Tony the Tiger

Promotion mix

• Advertising- mass media
• Personal Selling- one on one, most expensive, most adaptive, changes for every customer
• Sales Promotion- direct value to customer, offers a direct value to cost. Attracts new customers, encourages trial product, boost sales of current customers
• Public Relations- maintains favorable relationship with the public

Advertising- paid message communicated to audience

3 types of Advertising

1. primary- buy any product like mine!
2. selective- buy only my product
3. institutional- buy from our company

Next Scribe is Steven!!

Connections Post II

In class today we talked about personal selling as a type of advertisement. The description of personal selling is a person who is selling a product one on one to another person. The product could be described one way to one person and another way to fit another person's needs. It is the most effective way to sell your product(s). The very first thing that popped into my mind was The Buckle. They use this method of one on one selling to sell their clothing, jeans, shoes, jewelry, purses, etc. I believe it can be a great approach if done correctly. Of course you always have the Buckle sales person who is a teeny tiny bit over bearing. However, they always greet you happily when you walk in the store, which I think is important for The Buckle because it's what they are known for. You definately get service there you are either not use to or appreciate like never before. They always ask you what you would like in your jeans, and for the most part they do always convince you to buy the extra expensive pair of jeans because it's exactly what you 'need'. The older I've gotten the wiser I have gotten to their tricks, but I couldn't help but connect the dots here. One on one selling will probably always remind me of "Hi, welcome to The Buckle."

Reflections Post II (Chapters 12, 13, 14,15)

We are learning how to build customer relationships through effective marketing in class. The most interesting part to me that we have covered up to this point was the situational, psychological, social, and buying power factors that come into play regarding your buying behavior. I think society plays a bigger role on our mindsets than we actually believe it does. I find this significant because it makes you evaluate how much control you actually have and how much control you really don't have. I mean you are restricted to a certain degree when it comes to your disposable income, however the perception you carry of a brand really sticks with you.

Reflections Post Ch. 12-15

I think this section of the course, dealing with marketing, is fairly important. The first month of class went over more of the basics of business, but now I'm starting to learn how to conduct business and get my product to consumers.

Marketing is about getting your good or service to the public. The marketing mix gives steps and ways of accomplishing that goal. It consists of the: product, price, promotion, and distribution.

Product deals with: classification, brand name, trademark, its own life cycle, line and mix, and packaging

Price: the main goal is to maximize profit, but there are different strategies to go about doing so

Promoting is about getting the public to know about your products. Dealing with advertisement, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion

I found distribution interesting because I never knew to much about retailing. Distribution is concerned with getting goods or services to the people that want or need them. Depending on the product a sort of marketing coverage is needed, wether it be intensive, selective, or exclusive. Today there are many types or retailers to choose from. Having a retailer makes things much easier than buying from original source.

Scribe Post for Monday, Oct. 11

Today in class we finished discussing pricing strategies.  We covered the following 5 categories for pricing strategies:

• New Product - which is used in the introductory phase of the product life cycle
• Differential - which is charging a different price for the same product to different buyers
• Product Line - which is when other products in the same product line (or mix) determine the price
• Promotional - which is when price is used as a form of promotion

Then we began discussing Chapter 14 on Distribution.  Distribution is how a producer gets the product to the consumer.  This fills the TIME and PLACE utility.

There are 3 types of market coverage:

• Intensive - used for convenience products, all possible outlets chosen
• Selective - used for shopping products, multiple outlets chosen
• Exclusive - used for specialty products, only one outlet

Then we discussed channels of distribution:

• Producer to consumer
• Producer to retailer to consumer
• Producer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer

The retailers and wholesalers help to improve efficiency in the distribution system and because they can buy in bulk, actually drive the price of the product down for the consumer.

Finally we ended with a discussion about different types of retailers.

In next class we will discuss Chapter 15 on Promotion.  Also, the bonus assignments given are due by next Monday.  (They are listed in the announcements in eCampus.)

The next scribe will be COURTNEY!!

just playing around

just wanted to see how this thing works....

Scribe Post

Today in class we discussed products and their packaging. We discussed the product classification which is determined by the purchase of the actual product. Convenience products are generally universal and easily substituted. Shopping products are more along the lines of clothing and other products that are somewhat interchangable but more time is spent considering the purchase and Specialty products are high price and a long time is spent in the purchase and research process along with brand loyalty taken into consideration.

We also discussed the product life cycle and how the price, production cost, and amount of sales change throughout the introductory phase, growth phase, maturity phase, and the decline phase of a products life. We discussed branding and product line and mix as well as product modifications and packaging.

the next scribe will be courtney

SCRIBE POST 10/4

Today in class we discussed marketing. We went over how to create utility. The four types of utility are form, place, time, and possesion. Buying behavior was also discussed and the factors of that behavior which are, situational, psychological, social, and buying power. We also learned about marketing mix which is the most important part of getting people to buy your product. Product, price, promotion, and distribution make up the marketing mix. The last thing we covered was the approaches to marketing; undifferentiated, concentrated, and differentiated.

The next scribe will be Justin.