My consumer and me

Do situations influence your brand choice?

Yes, I can think of a number of products that I choose depending on certain situations.

Batteries for instance. I have a lot of nephews that I buy Christmas gifts for and they always need some type of battery.

Call me a bad auntie but I buy cheaper batteries for these occasion at a dollar store. On the other hand I buy Energizer batteries for my smoke detectors and flashlights. I am willing to skimp on the kids toys but not emergency equipment.

Cereal is another product that most people switch brands depending on the situation.
 
Fun and sugar filled cereal are a yummy treat however, can add to the waistline. Most people choose to change cereal choices when considering weight loss.

The marketing challenge is to create a brand that can overcome many different types of situations. Alas, this is very difficult but the great thing is that most companies are able to create other brands to fit different situations. Example: Cinnamon Toast Crunch is also made by the same company as Rice Chex.


The Buying behavior of Customer and Travelers.

Oh !....the art of diving into the consumer's brain to figure out what, how, and why they buy the things they do is a tedious process. Get over it, every successful business does it and does it well.
Travelers positions itself much like Target does, away from the competition. Travelers relies on its outstanding customer service in times of need. It uses facts and data from past natural disasters to demonstrate how well the company can take care of its customer. These facts/stellar performances help ensure the distance between the competition and help launch an elite marketing plan.
Another tactic Travelers uses in marketing to influence the customer buying process is the use of long term memory. Travelers is known for their Red Umbrella. Commercials using this umbrella are normally happy and warm sending a message of security. This symbol is used trigger happy memories so that you can assimilate good thoughts with the Travelers product.




How do I purchase over the counter (OTC) cold remedies?
Most times, I stick with Motrin. Colds are a fact of life and I am a true believer that the common cold doesn't need anything but rest, water and Motrin. No, I am not harsh I'm a realist. Working in the health field  I analysis what how I am feeling and choose a medication to help suppress these symptoms.

My fellow Blogger


I read Marketing by Mindy and Marketing Management by Justin.
Mindy's blog is very organized and answers every prompt by the professor. Her writing is not conversational and is in paragraph form. This is much like my own. Interestingly enough I found it to be hard to read. There were no bullet points just breaks in  paragraphs when the subject was changing. Justin's blog is sports based. I like that every topic we discuss in class he relates to the sports world. This allows for a great thread to be wound his blog.
I've learned that I should maybe introduce a common topic in my blog as well as bullet points to make it an easier and fun read.

The Wonderful World of Pharmasim
When conducting the period 2 trial of either dropping alcohol from the formula or switching from a cough suppressant to an expectorant, I had fun while I learned.

Switching from a cough suppressant to an expectorant, I found that I lost market share in the cold suppressant filed.If, I changed the formula than it left only one other company to reap the rewards of that particular field. It also, lost (-0.133) product utility in the conjoint analysis test.

Taking out alcohol in the formula it not only improved the cost of manufacturing but it increase the product utility (+0.187) when I tested the conjoint analysis.

If it weren't for the competition then...

Ah, the debate on the importance of analyzing the competition.

Looking at the competition is required however, these observations do not need to serve as the "end all be all" to a companies marketing strategy. Yes, they serve as an important tool in a marketing strategy but they do not dictate the entire strategy. A marketing strategy can be a wonderful example of a method that strikes a balance between facts and the companies "gut", the key word being CAN. If a company focuses solely on the competitor analysis it may become focus and one again "paint itself into a conrner'. Having a diverse marketing strategy that encompasses internal and external factors will help any company be competitive.

Q: "Who defines the competition? "

A: "Oh, I know!! Is it the customer?"

"Correct!", Drucker has a funny way of drilling it into our heads that the customer is responsible for everything. My favorite Drucker line so far has been "There is only one valid purpose for a business, and that is to create a customer". If a business creates a customer then that customer dictates who the competition will be based on the customers needs and wants. For example: your a business who wants to sell a vacuum. The first part once the product is in place is to define/create the customer. In this example the customer is middle aged women. Now that the customer is defined the competition has also been defined. The competition is anyone and thing marketing to the same customer with the potential to offer the same good you are.
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Traveling through direct and indirect competition


I work for the insurance company Travelers. Yea, the red umbrella company!

Insurance is a complex beast with many competitors.

Our direct compeitiors would be those companies that offer the same service as we do such as other Health, Auto and Liability Insurance companies such as: Aetna, Liberty Mutual and the Hartford. These competitors are easily identified as they are heavily promoted in print and media ads.
The not so easily identified competitors to our health insurance line are health providers, nutritionist and personal trainers. As long as these sources exist and promote well being they pose a threat to our business.
Our Auto line indirect competitors are car makers, drivers education and in some cases traffic laws.
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Is it ethical?  In the class Organizational Behavior we discussed tests for ethical behavior. My favorite test is "The front on the newspaper" test. In summary, when making a decision and you aren't sure if its ethical or not, you imagine the decision on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. If the headline is something that you are comfortable with people outside your firm knowing then it is considered ethical.
The two examples given in the lecture can be applied to this test.
1. Using an ex-coworkers password to obtain competitors secrets.
HEADLINE:  Business X steals password to gain insight on Business Y.

2. Hiring a executive from a competitor.
HEADLINE: MR. X has recently accepted a promotion with Business X.
This test can be used for any decision.

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This week on PharamaSim-
Please tune in to find the importance of Sales force Reports:

What is a Sales Force? A sales force is made up of customer relation management (CRM). "Those who do the selling". A sales force report will decipher how well theses CRM are accomplishing their job. By setting targets and goals a report can be put together to depict the success or failure to reach these goals.

Why is this important? The sales force has direct contact with the customer. If they aren't preforming well then the customer may be lost. It is important as Drucker always states that the customer needs to come first and the sales force report will be able to tell a company if the CRM needs to change or not.
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Lots of people living in the Pharmasim world approximately 263.9 million.

"What's wrong?" , "Oh, nothing it's just My-opia acting up"

There are many saying and phrases warning against it and yet it is repeated time and again!


Businesses fail for many different reasons.  While this is a scary thought, failure should never be because of stagnate behavior. Getting to the top is a difficult feat while most companies never get there the ones that do typically don't stay there for long. Striving for success drives the business world and all to often compliance accompanies success. The key is innovation, changing with the times and your customer. Over time we have seen business go under for no other reason than failing to seize the opportunity to change with the customers needs. Simple words of advice:  make the most of the journey and learn from others mistakes.

"Don't paint yourself into a corner":

 

 

Blockbuster for example was very successful in movie rentals. Even though, they transitioned from VHS to DVD to accommodate new technology, they lost their edge when netflicts started mailing movies to peoples home. They failed to change with their customers needs and wants. Customers found it more convenient to have movies sent to their home and keep them for an extended period on time.

Blockbuster now is trying its hand with online movie rentals but I firmly believe they lost their footing with their customers. As discussed in class and in the article "Marketing Myopia" top management and marketing developers should never strictly define themselves in terms of a product. Meaning that a company should be able to easily transition in to other markets and products to fit their customers needs. An example in the myopia reading that describes this point is the railroad failure. The railroad business identified itself with being in the railway industry instead of the transportation industry. Being focused on the product instead of the customer is a fast way to failure. Blockbuster could have learned a lesson from the railroad business failure and modified their view from DVD rental industry to the home entertainment industry. This would have allowed them to seamlessly enter into the world of mailing movies to home and online movies.

A strict marketing plan is key to marketing a product and ultimately its success. Likewise a marketing plan for the entire business might be just as successful. Properly identify a business in an industry and marketing it in that industry will allow it to introduce products and become more creative in its ventures.



The wonderful world of Pharmasim:

The Channel Sales Report and how that may help in our endeavor to concur the marketing world of Pharamsim.
Channel sales looks at the percentage of sales a company is doing in a particular channel of retail sales. These channels consist of: Independent drug stores, Chain drug stores, Grocery stores, Convenient stores and Mass Merchants. This report is beneficial to our pharmasim success as it allows us to view in what channels we are excelling and or failing and how we compare to out competitors. Keeping an eye on the competitors and their percentage of sales could lead to insights about our own company's product pricing.

A Happy Customer = A Healthy Bottom line.

This past week we have the opportunity to study, explore and discuss the importance of the customer.  In our reading, we learned that, according to Drucker, one of the big marketing objectives is the customer and that all  business's should be customer focused.  One of the quotes discussed this week made by Drucker was " The purpose of a company is to create a customer.  Therefore, the business has two and only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.".  Innovation used in the context of solving the customers needs is and should be the focus of any business. Solving the problems of the customer will allow a company to stay relevant through the test of time.
While doing some follow up research on the Internet regarding how a business should change or solve customer problems, I found an interesting article that suggested a company may have better success if it moved. I thought this was a great addition to our conversation regarding change.  Drucker suggests that a business should change to fit the customers needs. This article suggests move to a place where your current product can solve customers needs.

6 Brands That Reinvented Themselves Overseas

By Diane Bullock Dec 24, 2012 11:15 am

A look at the products that slide upmarket or downmarket, in perception at least, when they travel

Read more: http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/consumer/articles/6-Brands-That-Reinvented-Themselves-Overseas/12/24/2012/id/46649#ixzz2PoZrjoq5

Another prevalent topic during our class discussion was customer retention and loyalty. A customers loyalty starts with their experiences. We discussed several companies that we were loyal to and why. It was a unanimous decision that it was the perks, the treatment we were given and the general experience that kept us returning to the same company.  Being in the health field I wondered if this type of business loyalty was the same in the medical world.  I found an article that discusses the money people are will to spend on prescriptions.

CVS charges $133 more than Costco for generic drug

Consumer Reports survey sent secret shoppers to 200 pharmacies

Read more: http://www.wcvb.com/news/money/CVS-charges-133-more-than-Costco-for-generic-drug/-/9848680/19571848/-/pqrlnm/-/index.html#ixzz2PoNsaMj3

This article is a great testimony to the idea, customers are willing to pay more if their experience is a good one.