Marketing principles, class on 2/3 & 2/10

On 2/3 we cover consumer behavior, which is pretty much how people come about making a purchase. There are about 5 steps to the decision process, first is need recognition, then information search or research on the product, after information search we evaluate our alternatives, then we make the purchase, and the final part is post-purchase behavior, whether we show post-purchase remorse or we are satisfied with the purchase. In the first step with Need Recognition, marketing helps consumers recognize an imbalance between their present status and their preferred status. The job of marketers is to convince consumers that when they reach their preferred status, that they aren't actually at their preferred status, we need to always make sure that consumers are wanting more. When we do the information search we use both internal information,which we recall from memory, and external information which we seek from the outside Environment. We also covered how consumer involvement and the decision making process is influenced by social factors. Social influences can be reference groups, like family or friends we go to for advice about a purchase. Individual factors that influence purchase decisions are age, gender, life cycle stage, race, personality, self-concept,pyshological factors, faith, and perception. With perception, part of that is selective exposure, which is when consumers notice certain stimuli and ignores others. Another part of perception is selective distortion, when the consumer changes or distorts info that conflicts with feelings or beliefs. Selective retention is when the consumer remembers only that info that supports personal beliefs. Marketers try to change attitudes or beliefs or add new beliefs to the consumer.

Week of 2/10. We covered marketing segmentation, which gives us a more precise definition of wants and needs of our target market. A market is a group of people or organizations that have needs or wants, and the ability and willingness to buy a product or service. The criteria for segmentation is 1. Sustainability 2. Identifiability and measurability 3. Accessability 4. Responsiveness. We also talked about how the price of a product or service only accounts for 10% of marketing. When we do segmenting we use bases, which are characteristics or variables. The steps to segmenting are first, select a market to study,chose bases for segmentation, select descriptors, profile and analyze segments, select target markets, and lastly is to design, implement and maintain marketing mix. The three types of marketing are undifferentiated, concentrated, and one-to-one marketing. Undifferentiated is a sort of mass marketing, were you just try to sell to the entire population which is typically ineffective. Concentrated focuses on a few different groups but with the same approach, an example of this is selecting a niche, or one segment of a market for target marketing efforts. One-to-one marketing is more individualized and more information intensive, one size fits all marketing is no longer effective. Direct and personal marketing will grow to meet the needs of busy consumers, and consumers will be loyal to companies that have earned and reinforced their loyalty. On top of that, mass media approaches will decline as technology allows better customer tracking.

Marketing principles 3500

For my first class this semester one of the first things we covered were the 4 pillars of the huntsman school of business. Of these 4 pillars the first is entrepreneurial leadership. Second, is global vision. Third, is analytical rigor, which means to process facts to come up with decisions and ideas that are successful. Fourth, is ethical leadership. We also covered that when learning new concepts the best retention occurs when you teach someone else that concept.

During my second class we went over how leadership is key to the success or failure of businesses. We also covered that an example of analytical rigor would be to spend a few thousand dollars on focus groups or small market groups, than to spend millions on rolling out a product that could potentially fail. Marketing is not just selling, the 4 P's of marketing are product, price, place, and promotion. Marketing- is an activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering,and exchanging offerings that has value for others. One of the fundamental principles of marketing is Exchange, which is people giving up something to receive something else they would rather have. Lastly there are many reasons to study marketing... Marketing affects or everyday lives, it's important to society and business, and also has great career opportunities.

During my third class we went over how sales features focus on what the product is going to do for you, and why you would want that product. The 4 principle responsibilities of a business are 1. To be profitable or economic 2. To obey the law or be legal 3. To do what is right or be ethical 4. To be a good citizen or to be philanthropic. To remain successful companies must learn to adapt to how consumers buying habits may change during recessionary periods. The most effective means of improving ethics is through self governance, starting at the top of the corporation on down, and by setting standards. On another note, we covered how the external marketing environment is uncontrollable, but you can change and adjust your approach to your target market, or "the people your products appeal to".