Marketing update for 3/4-3/24

So for class on 3/4 we had our mid-term exam which covered all material up to that point, I did much better than I had expected and got a 98% only missing one question! There after we covered new product design and development. There are six types of new products New-to-the-World, New Product Lines, Product Line Addition, Improvements or Revisions, Repositioned Products, Lower-priced Products.  New product success factors are long term commitment, company specific approach, Capitalize on experience, and establish an environment.  The new product development process is as follows,coming up with a new product strategy, idea generation, idea screening, Business analysis, developing, test marketing,commercialization, and you have the new product. Idea generation for new products can come from a variety of places, like customers,Employees, distributors, Competitors, vendors, research and development, and/or consultant. Tips for New Product Development are... Disperse R & D around the globe, keep teams small and empower employees, flatten hierarchy, encourage generation of crazy new ideas, and to welcome mistakes. A lot of times we can use brainstorming which is The process of getting a group to think of unlimited ways to vary a product or solve a problem.

For class on 3/17 we ended up having class cancelled so we did a discussion about a study case online instead of class. The discussion was about the novelty candy market and a company called Kandy Kastle. We also talked about the product called Spin Pop and had to determine which category of new product we feel it would fit under. I decided that since there was nothing else like it on the market that I would say it's a new to the world product, although some classmates felt it would be more of a product revision or improvement since it's still a sucker but I feel that since the product is not only a sucker but a device that spins and rotates the sucker and nothing similar to it was around that it was a new to the world product. We also discussed how Kandy Kastle is integrating Hello Kitty into their products and why that is an important product line. For example, it is a well established trademark that creates instant recognition and that is very popular with children and little girls so it is a huge part of their product line.

Then my last class on 3/24 we covered marketing channels and channels of distribution. Channels for consumer products, producer, agent or brokers, wholesaler, retailers, consumers. Channels for business products: producer, agent or broker, industrial distributor and consumer. A marketing channel is a set of interdependent organizations that ease the transfer of ownership as products move from point of origin to the consumer. One aspect of a marketing channel Is specialization and division of labor which creates greater efficiency, provides lower costs, achieves economies of scale, this process aids producers who lack the resources to market directly, and it builds good relationships with customers. Marketers also have to overcome discrepancies. There are four different types of discrepancies, the first is a discrepancy of quantity. Which is the difference between the amount of a product produced and the amount that the end user wants to buy. Then there is a discrepancy of assortment which is the lack of all the items a customer needs to receive full satisfaction of a product. Temporal discrepancies are situations that occur when a product is produced but the customer is not ready to buy it, a good example of this is seasonal holiday products for christmas or Halloween. Spatial discrepancy is the difference between location of the producer and the location of a widely scattered market. An example of alternative channel arrangements are multiple channels which is the use of two or more channels to distribute the same product to the target markets. There are 3 different levels of distribution intensity, the first is intensive which is aimed at having the product available in every outlet possible then there is selective which is achieved by screening dealers to eliminate all but a few stores within a given area. Lastly exclusive distribution establishes one or a few dealers in a given area. The logistical components of the supply chain are product scheduling, order processing, inventory control, warehousing, and transportation. The trends of supply chain management are advanced computer technology, outsourcing of logistical functions, and finally electronic distribution.

Marketing principles update..

Week of 2/24

During this class we covered product concepts, branding and trademarking. A product is the starting point Of a marketing mix. There are two types of products, business products and consumer products. There are four different types of consumer products. 1. Convenience products- these are inexpensive items which require little shopping effort. 2. Shopping products- these items require comparison shopping and are more expensive. 3. Specialty products- see are particular items that consumers search for extensively and are reluctant to accept substitutes. 4. Unsought products- these are products unknown to the potential buyer or a known product that the buyer doesn't actively seek. Product items are specific versions of a product. The product line is closely related items. A product mix is all products the company offers. The benefits of a product line include simplified marketing since the products are related, package uniformity, and standardized components. The functions of product packaging are to contain and protect the product, promote the item, storage, use and convenience, and to facilitate recycling/reduce environmental damage. Branding/brand name is a term, symbol, or design that designates or specifies the product. Brand mark is a visual image of the brand. Brand equity is the value of the brand. Trademark, is the exclusive right to use the brand. Many parts of the brand and associated symbols qualify for trademark protection and trademark rights comes from use rather than registration. The mark has to be continuously protected, and the rights continue as long as the mark is being used. The final piece we covered was product warranties. A warranty is a confirmation of the quality or performance of the good or service. An expressed warranty is a written guarantee, and an implied warranty is an unwritten guarantee that the product is fit for the purpose which it was sold for.

Marketing principles update...

Week of 2/17

For this class we covered the uses of marketing research, and the types of marketing research. The purpose of marketing research is to improve the quality of decision making, trace a problem, to focus on keeping existing customers, and to understand the market place. The marketing research process is 1. Define the problem 2. Create a plan design/collect primary data 3. Specify sampling procedure 4. Collect data 5. Analyze data 6. Prepare and present the report 7. Follow up. Primary data answers a specific question. The primary data is current and the source of it is know, unlike secondary data. The disadvantages of primary data is that it is expensive to collect, and piggybacking although convenient may confuse respondents. Study research is the most popular technique of acquiring primary data. Other types are observation research which is watching what people do, and ethnographic research which is the study of human behavior in it's natural context. Another form is Internet surveys, which has many advantages, there has been rapid development in this area and also makes real-time reporting available, it allows reduced costs, and personalized questions and data. Not only that but it also allows consumers to do the surveys on there own time when it's convenient for them. Online focus groups is another example, it has fast speed, reduced costs, broad geo-graphic scope, and people tend to be more open and honest when they are in their own environment. The final part is scanner based research. There are two types of scanner research, BehaviorScan- which is panel information from a specific groups of people, and InfoScan- which is information on all products sold. Another are of research is Competitive Intelligenge, which is an intel system that helps managers assess their competition and vendors in order to become more efficient and effective over their competitors.