So it's week two and I'm freezing. All the time.

Week two: Feels like I'm in Antarctica 

            Another week of marketing class down, and quite frankly I’m still very intrigued with the class. The more I go to class, the more I genuinely enjoy the class. To be honest, I've never had a class I really looked forward to going to. It's very different when you have something you're really fascinated in. Only problem I’ve been running into going to these classes is the weather. Holy Moley it is FREEZING in Vermont. Today it’s a balmy -9 so clearly I’m not leaving my bed for the day. Also, I have some exciting news! As of Friday, I’m a declared business administration major with a concentration in Marketing! I’m really excited to finally be taking some of the steps to becoming a real person (as weird as that sounds)

         So this week in marketing was particularly hard for me since I had to present chapter two. Ally, my partner, and I had to go through the chapter, pick out some main topics, and then from there had to design a lesson plan type of presentation. We played three games, which I’m almost positive, made most of the class hate us since they had to get up at 9:45 in the morning when they’re all half asleep. To start off we talked about the four P’s of marketing and played a game. We put the four P’s up and took sup-topics from each and had the students match them up. Game went smoothly except for when Ally and I totally forgot one of the answers. Oops. Then Professor Popovitch had us switch the students to their laptops and go on the McDonald’s website. We went through and asked for examples of cash cows, question marks, dogs and stars. That went really well and it was good to get a look at the way things actually apply to real life.         

            Next week we have our first test on Thursday. I’m nervous because the first test is always tricky since you don’t know how a certain professor tests. It’s only on the first three chapters, which aren’t bad so I’m not too worried about it. I also have my TED talk on February fourth. Which by the way, I cannot believe it’s already almost February! This year is flying by and I keep feeling like I’m forgetting to do some assignments. I guess I just need to try and be on top of my game more. Oh well.

            All in all, I think that this week was good; I really enjoyed working with Ally in our group, although it was hard having to go first. I like getting my presentations over with, but I don’t like having to be the first one. When someone goes in front of you, you have a chance to almost have the waters be tested for you. I also liked learning about the different parts of chapter 2. The deeper we get into the marketing class, the more I know I’ve made the right decision for my concentration with my 

Learning the tricks and trades of Marketing

            Marketing has always been my favorite aspect of business. Between the customer relations, and thinking of ways to intrigue the customers, there’s just something so fascinating about it. Working in retail, I’ve had plenty of experience in the customer relations’ field, as well as the basic knowledge of the different ways customers react in certain scenarios. Marking is a crucial part of the way business are successful in making profit.

            Throughout chapter one of the textbook, basic marketing skills were outlined, as well as the marketing process. First off, marketing was defined as “the process by which companies create value for customers and building strong relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.” The goals of marketing are to attract new customers by promising superior value as well as keeping and growing current customers by delivering satisfaction. Companies want to create customer lifetime value, which is defined as the value of the entire stream of purchases a customer makes over a lifetime of patronage. When a company obtains this value, they have created a customer for life, meaning they will continually make a profit off of this customer. The importance of this is that one happy customer will tell their friends about their satisfaction, creating new business for your company.

There are five basic steps in the marketing process, which are used to create customers for life. The first step is to understand the marketplace and customers’ needs and wants. Secondly, companies must design a customer driven marketing strategy. The third step is to construct an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value. The fourth step is to build profitable relationships and create customer delight. The fifth and final step is to capture value from customers to create profits and customer equity. All of these steps are crucial in the basic marketing strategy. The four P’s of marketing are equally as important. The first P is product. You must have a product that fits the needs and wants of the customer. Second P is price. The price needs to be on point, not being too high or being too low. The third P is placement. As I’ve recently learned, everything in a store is placed there for a reason. The place where the product is put can have an enormous impact on the profit for the company. The final P is promotion. Having a promotion, such as buy one get one is a good idea when your company doesn’t seem to have as much hype as it needs to be successful.

All in all, I’m very excited to see where this marketing class takes me, and what I can learn from it. Being a business administration major, and wanting to go into the field of marketing, this class is going to be an eye opener for me to see what I want to do for my career path. I’m more than excited to work in my group and to have hands on experience with this course which I can apply my skills to my career. The more I learn about marking, the more interested I’m becoming, making me very excited for the future.