Marketing for Managers

Q1.Week 1: discussion forum: 1.3
The aim of any business set up is to make a profit. The profit realized in a business system, for example, is directly proportional to the number of customers. In this case, the more the number of customers that a company has the higher the profit realized by that particular company (Herschel 2012, p. 178). Therefore, many companies are now adopting customer-focused business to maximize profit. This will help such companies to survive in a competitive market. Therefore, building a customer-focused culture in a Company would give it an added advantage over other companies which have not yet adopted the culture.
My interaction with many companies that have a strong customer orientation like Sweetwater Company was essential for the growth of my Company (Samson, & Bevington 2012). I had identified several elements that need to be adopted in order for me to build a strong commitment to customer service in my Company. These elements include careful hiring of expertise that would help in giving ideas towards manufacturing products in relation to market demand. The Company hired to implement this culture should have a clear record of building a customer-focused culture. In addition, I would take new employees through a thorough training before they can be allowed to work with the customers. Besides, there should be a proper communication channel within the Company to ensure that the Company’s culture and its commitment towards customers’ satisfaction are adhered to (Kincaid, 2003, p.

89). Furthermore, I would also reward dedicated employees to motivate them. This would make them prioritize the welfare of the Company thereby, increasing the Company’s production.
Q2.Week 2: discussion forum: 2.3
The term competitive advantage is used in comparing different companies by making one Company to be superior to other companies in persuading customers’ minds (Hamilton, & Webster 2012, p.53). Competitive advantage comes in after knowing what to produce, the target market, and the competitors.
Most businesses depend upon the intangible competitive advantage as oppose to tangible competitive advantage. The intangible competitive advantage is gained by changing the production system through adopting advanced technology (Nieuwenhuizen, Rossouw, & Badenhorst 2008 p. 343). Some of the examples of intangible competitive advantage in a business include the ability to create a one to one customer relationship, ability to innovate, the quality of management, and so on. Intangible characteristics have helped companies like Microsoft which monopolizes the market to have market capitalization. Tangible competitive advantage, on the other hand, refers to the visible and quantifiable things which are done by Companies in order for them to outshine their competitors.
Q3.Week 3: discussion forum: 3.2
Data refers to the collection of observations. It can either be collected by the organization through sample surveys or by carrying out interviews. Data can be categorized as primary and secondary data. Primary data are raw data that has just been collected and has not gone through any statistical treatment whereas secondary data are those data that have gone through statistical treatment (Goodwin 2012, p.56).
Primary and secondary data can both be used in an organization to ensure the data collected is credible. In this case, the researcher collects raw data and he passes it through the primary data to evaluate if there are any inconsistent in the observations. These data are then sorted, tabulated and they undergo statistical treatment (Barnes 2008, p. 163). When both the types of data are used in an organization, the management would be able to know what needs to be done in order to maintain their statistical value to the higher side, and improve the value if need be (Groth-Marnat 2009, p.84).
Q4.Week 4: discussion forum: 4.2
Consumers have been categorized in different groups in the market. These groups are called the Innovation Adoption and they include innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 2008, p.373). Being an innovator is the kind of innovation adopter that I am. Before I could make any critical decisions regarding the welfare of the organization, I had tabled the ideas I had to the management and listen carefully to their opinions. This helps in coming up with good decisions as opposed to forming them for oneself. Although, the kind of the innovation adopter I used normally changes with a change in the product type. Furthermore, I adopt a new product because some of my friends have adopted them earlier on. I become a late majority adopter.
Q5.Week 5: discussion forum 5.2
The American constitution is critical in regulating the business platform (Ford 2013, p.68). Politics is practiced in the modern marketplace and it has made unfavorable and favorable business environment (Mullin 2010, p.238). Political products, therefore, are the products designed to influence people’s votes in elections. These products are set for campaign strategies to support one’s favorite election candidate in the current election and beyond (Rogers 2010, p.389). For example, branding a T-Shirt with a photo of preferred candidate’s at the front of the T-Shirt. Consumer product, on the other hand, refers to the items that an individual buys daily for use and for private consumption. In addition, these products are tangible and they include handbags, music players, computers, and music players (Porter 2008, p.56). Besides, there are those products that an individual does not need most like luxury goods, and toys. They are also referred to another type of consumer product.
Q6.Week 6: discussion forum: 6.1
Price performs so many functions including wages, rent, fees, and much more. It exists in many forms. Price is, however, a product of the negotiation between the buyers and the sellers (Roy 2008, p.85). Consumer behavior, on the other hand, is the reaction of an individual towards buying and using the products or services after a price has been set (Kham 2007, p. 3). What determines the behavior of a customer is the price and this will tell if the firm is making a profit. For instance, my purchase behavior is affected by price in a way that, when the price of a commodity is high, I will purchase goods which are necessary for my sustenance. Besides, I will make judgments about a given price that is relative to the other market prices before I could purchase an item. This would save me from buying substandard goods at a very high price.
Q7.Week 7: discussion forum: 7.3
Sales promotion tools are some temporary events and seductive way of persuading potential customers to buy a given brand of product (Mali 2007, p.23). It is a way of supporting marketing strategies and it is done through promotion, and advertisement. The main intention of adopting sales promotion tools by most businesses is to motivate customers to spend, and spend more (Enz 2009, p.450). Firms that have adopted a variety of sales promotions increase their revenue collection annually. Some of these sales promotions read that “buy two, get one free,” “free samples,” and “point of purchase display.” For instance, the sales promotion that works for me and motivates me more to buy a given product is buy two, get one free. It enables me acquire more product at a low price.
Q8.Week 8: discussion forum: 8.4
All businesses are committed to maintaining their customers and this call for the employees within the Company to maintain good customer relation. The negligence of customers welfare will result in their dissatisfaction toward the services offered hence they become frustrated. Above all, poor products frustrate customer more as their intention is to get high-quality goods (Vivek, Beatty & Morgan, 2012, p 395). Besides those, processes such as customer care center may be operated by those who communicate with the callers without any show of respect. Customers can also be frustrated when they have to deal with the ineffective service representative (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel 2008, p.312). This can cause misunderstanding between the caller and the service representative making the callers to repeat their issues over and over again. Lastly, if the sounding system is of low quality the customers will be frustrated as most of them adore systems with high optimal sound quality (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel 2008, p.312). Therefore, no organization can operate best without emphasizing on the above processes. This is because each and every organization is mandated to put customers’ interest first by ensuring that all the activities that are carried out by the organization cannot in any way frustrate any customer.
Q9.Week 10: discussion forum: 10.3
Planned obsolescence is a situation when a given product is designed in such a way that it has a specific life span (Fitzpatrick 2011, p. 217). The design is put in so that after a given period of time the goods bought can become obsolete. After which it is taken back to the manufacturer to purchase another product of up to date version. Take for example a printing machine can be designed to break two years after the purchase in order for the Company to benefit from repairs or when a customer decides to purchase a new printer (Samson, & Bevington 2012, p.1).
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