Week 10 EOC What are the benefits vs. the features?

Benefits for a business is the reason for people coming there because you offer something different in a slight way or are unique in what you are selling or the enviroment you provide. The features of a business is the product you are selling that there are many different kinds to it. An example is from the television show called Mad Men and one part in an episode is they have women that work for this advertising business go into a room. The room has a mirror that is one way glass and the men of the company are in the room observing the women. These women go into this room because they are going to be trying the lipsticks from a company. The features of the business is all the different colors that they offer in their lipsticks and one girl was someone trying to find out the benefits of these lipsticks. For my food truck business I have some benefits and features that create my business. The features that the Meals on a Stick food truck offers is all the different kinds of meals that you can get. People will be able to choose from breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with desserts and could even create their own meal that they want to go on the stick. The benefits of Meals on a Stick truck would be that the customers get a meal quick. Also that it is a convinient fast way to get a decent size meal on a stick that you carry in your hand. Instead of eating on a plate that requires most of the time a table to sit at my food truck has the meals that we serve on sticks so people can walk around with a meal and get to their destinations on time because they are not wasting time to sit down and eat.

Week 9 Three Great Mission Statements

Mission statements are important to have when having a business. Having a statement for your business can tell your customers and employees on how the business is expected to run. Mission statements tell you what kind of business it is, the kind of customers you maybe be having, the way the customers are to be treated, and their reason for coming to your business.

"The HI Food Truck mission statement is to ensure that all customers and staff are treated with ALOHA and respect, to maintain a clean, comfortable and well-maintained premises and to provide at a fair price well-prepared and fresh meals. To make sure that all customers can experience the feeling of paradise and the environment of Hawai’i." (http://alanagcaoili.blogspot.com/search/label/Final%20Project).

"To provide the best costumer experience, in a professional and clean environment, friendly staff and providing you with high fresh quality fruits and vegetables in every meal. Giving you the satisfaction keeping it healthy and wanting you to return for more, ensuring you will get a friendly prompt service. Giving you a warm welcome and thanking you every time you come in and allowing us to serve you." Veg&Fruity." (http://silvyamarie.blogspot.com/search/label/Final%20Project?updated-max=2011-08-29T10%3A30%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20).

"To ensure that each guest receives professional, friendly, and prompt service.  To maintain a clean and welcoming environment so our customers feel comfortable within the grounds.  To provide healthy well-prepared meals, using quality ingredients.  To guarantee that all guests and staff are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.  To thank each customer for giving us the opportunity to serve them.  By maintaining these objectives we shall be assured of a friendly and enticing environment that will allow us to give back to the community that we serve." (http://alexisfashionmedia.blogspot.com/search/label/Final%20Project).

These three mission statements I feel are the best ones of the moments because they explain of the type of environment that they will be providing for their customers and the the kind of service that they will be giving their customers. With each of them having these mission statements it makes me feel like they will be successful at their business and build great customer relationships with everyone that comes to their food trucks.

Week 6 EOC Me x 3 Products I Use

Everyday of my life there are many different products and items that I use. Be stuck to one kind of brand is something that I don't do often. I am usually open to use all products at any moment depends on the price that they are at currently. Though one item that I have never switch and prefer over others is Stayfree, a womens product. Every since being a teen I have tried other kinds of this product but all of them were too big and/or fat and just didn't like have they felt. So when it comes to buying my monthly product I always go with Stayfree's ultra thin regular because they have worked the best for me. Another product that I always use is Selsun Blue when washing my hair. Now this product I don't use constantly but when I start getting dandruff this is the hair shampoo I use. I have tried using the top brand Head and Shoulders but it ended up just giving me more dandruff. Then when I used Selsun Blue it took away my dandruff and had it where it doesn't come back for quite a long time. Whenever the dandruff does come back I will always use Selsun Blue shampoo to make it go away. Another item that I use is college ruled notebook paper. I don't like the wide notebook paper because the rows are to big. Also don't give much room to use on one sheet of paper. I like the college ruled paper because it has many more rows to write on which gives more space on the paper. Those are three products and items that I will not change ever. There are the ones I like and will stay with for a long time. With me being a fan of some kind of product or item is hard just. Usually everything is the same with just a different brand on them and I don't go buy brand but by the price of items.

Week 5 EOC Social Networks and Job Hunting

So many people are going towards or if not already part of social networking. They have profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and others for personal and/or professional use. Also there are some companies that go job hunting for employees through these websites. "More companies are trying to tap Facebook Inc.'s 750-million-plus user base to find new employees, threatening traditional job boards and competing with LinkedIn Corp., which has dominated the online professional networking arena." (Recruiters Troll Facebook for Candidates They Like, Joe Wright, Wall Street Article). Personally I think that doing almost everything on the internet is not a good idea just because having that person one on one views are better. Right now I don't do the social networking like I don't have a Facebook and do not try getting a job by online but have a job so don't need to be looking. With the social networking thing such a big craze I will probably end up getting into that stuff to help build a business for myself. JetBlue is a company that gets their ambassadors through the social online resources along with other companies. "Companies such as JetBlue, Sony, Microsoft, and McDonald’s, among others, are now developing a new breed of brand ambassador programs that organize and supercharge consumer to-consumer interactions about their brands. These programs employ everyday consumers who are passionate about their products to act as part PR agents, part sales reps, and part evangelists. Marketers select their brand ambassadors very carefully, based on customers’ devotion to a brand and the size of their social circles. They sometimes search blogs and online social networks to identify individuals who are already functioning as brand advocates. Once selected, the ambassadors are trained with real brand knowledge to go along with their passion for the brand. The ambassadors then tap into friends, family, groups, and broader audiences through personal conversations, blogs, live events, and online social media." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th Edition, Armstrong Kotler, page 15). I think this social networking thing is personally getting crazy. So many people feel like they have to do it because that is what is popular and if they don't no one will like them. I even hate the fact that one day I will have to start getting into the social networking field to be successful in what I plan on doing. Personally wish that networking would die down just like lots of really popular things eventually do but social networking will get more and more popular and will probably be how anything is done to the point of getting jobs, selling yourself for a business, and even talking to people.

Week 4 EOC Consumer vs. Business Marketing

Consumer marketing and business marketing are similar in ways but also very different in many ways as well. The consumer market is many people and/or households that buy services for personal use. The business market is organizations of buying goods and reselling them to others as a profit. One difference between consumer and business marketing is what influences the purchases. "Often, consumers themselves don’t know exactly what influences their purchases," and "Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by cultural, social, personal, and psychological characteristics, shown in Figure 5.2. For the most part, marketers cannot control such factors, but they must take them into account." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th Edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 6). As for the business market make their decisions by many different people or sources such as the economy. "Business buyers are subject to many influences when they make their buying decisions. Some marketers assume that the major influences are economic. They think buyers will favor the supplier who offers the lowest price or the best product or the most service. They concentrate on offering strong economic benefits to buyers. However, business buyers actually respond to both economic and personal factors." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th Edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 48). Other ways that consumer marketing is different from business marketing is done by more people who are professionally good at buying purchases. "Compared with consumer purchases, a business purchase usually involves more decision participants and a more professional purchasing effort. Often, business buying is done by trained purchasing agents who spend their working lives learning how to buy better." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th Edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 41). Also the business market have have many different things to consider when making a decision. "Business buyers usually face more complex buying decisions than do consumer buyers. Business purchases often involve large sums of money, complex technical and economic considerations, and interactions among many people at many levels of the buyer’s organization. Because the purchases are more complex, business buyers may take longer to make their decisions." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th Edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 41).Consumer market doesn't really look for specifics or other things when purchasing. Unlike the business market they look for detail information on the purchases that they are making for making the purchase. "The business buying process also tends to be more formalized than the consumer buying process. Large business purchases usually call for detailed product specifications, written purchase orders, careful supplier searches, and formal approval." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th Edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 41).

Week 3 EOC Demographs MINE

In the U.S. today the generation is put into three different groups. These groups are the baby boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. The population of the U.S. is put into these catergories by the years they were born in. The baby boomers are people who were born during 1946 and 1964. The Generation X group were born during the years of 1965 and 1976. The last group called the Millennials were born in 1977 from 2000. The generational group that I would be categorized into would be the Millennials since I was born in the year of 1989. One thing that they say that all people in this group have in common with is the digital technology that is around today. "One thing that all of the Millennials have in common is their utter fluency and comfort with digital technology. They don’t just embrace technology, it’s a way of life. The Millennials were the first generation to grow up in a world filled with computers, cellphones, satellite TV, iPods, and online social networks." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 17). I agree that I fit into this group because I am alright in the digital technology that is out today. Cell phones I'm not the best with personally I'm more with the older flip phones that didn't have all the internet and apps stuff that phones now a days have. I kind of feel that I am part of the Generation X group because of being less materialistic and putting family first. "Although they seek success, they are less materialistic; they prize experience, not acquisition. For many of the Gen Xers that are parents, family comes first—both children and their aging parents—and career second." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 15). Also think that I fit into this group is because my mom had to get a job to support my brother and me. Even though my parents aren't divorced my dad lived with us on and off and it seemed like that they could of been divorced. "The Generation Xers are defined as much by their shared experiences as by their age. Increasing parental divorce rates and higher employment for their mothers made them the first generation of latchkey kids." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation 10th edition, Armstrong and Kotler, page 15).

Week 2 EOC Boston Consulting Group-Video Games

Over the years the video game market has started to decline in profits. According to the Boston Consulting Growth Share chart there are four categories that help place products on where how much should go into advertising an item. The star category is the one product that is doing the with popularity. For the video game industry the games that people are able to download and get for free sometimes on their phones are in the star area. "From a standing start, and in just one year, iPhone games captured 5% of the mature U.S. video game market.  A year later, we revisit how the increasing popularity of iOS (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) and Android games continue to increase their U.S. video game market share.  With an additional year of trend data, the magnitude of disruption is increasing, in particular within the portable gaming category." (http://blog.flurry.com/bid/60307/Apple-and-Google-Capture-U-S-Video-Game-Market-Share-in-2010). In the cash cow area would probably be the Playstation 3 from Sony. The Playstation 3 is a great system where you get online for free unlike the Xbox 360 and can play Blu-ray dvds. "It plays Blu-rays, upconverts standard-definition DVDs to near 1080 quality - and is a top-of-the-line video-game system to boot. Add to this wireless Internet capability and an ability to upgrade the operating system, and it’s the Blu-ray system par excellence." ( http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/12/sabataging-the-sony-playstation-three/). For the question mark one the Nintendo's Wii system would be a part of that. Even though it does great selling just seems that many don't seem to like the Wii system as mush as others. The Wii console only seems to be good for familys who want something to do together is they are at home. "Finally, we would like to add that we believe the retail business is doing reasonably well given the slowdown in Wii software sales and the utter collapse of the music game genre." (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35923/Analysis_Is_The_US_Video_Game_Industry_Really_Declining.php ). The Micorsoft Xbox systems are the ones that would fall under the dog category. At first these consoles were the one everyone wanted to get but now they seem to be just not getting peoples attention. The Xbox 360 has seem to have problems such as the 3 rings of death every sense they came out. Also to be able to play online you have to pay to a membership that just seems a bit expensive when the Playstation lets you get online access for free.

Week 1 EOC Great Customer Service

While having many car problems for the past few months makes it a bit difficult in trying to get a new vehicle. After losing two vehicles I went looking around for another car. I was going to many different dealerships. All of them just kept trying to sell me a brand new car when I had even told them about the budget I was in. They would also say that I couldn't even get a car without a cosigner. Finally I went to Carmax to look for a used car to buy. When arriving there one of the employees came to me and asked if I need help with anything. Told him that I was looking for a vehicle and gave him my price range. Then he took me to a selection of vehicles they had on the lot that fit into what I wanted and my budget. After finding a car that I liked I asked if I would be able to purchased the vehicle without a cosigner. When telling the employee how much I was going to put down he said definitely I could. While doing all the paper work and purchasing the car he was very friendly and didn't try to make me spend more than what I wanted to. "Satisfied customers buy again and tell others about their good experiences. Dissatisfied customers often switch to competitors and disparage the product to others." (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, 10th Edition, Armstrong/Kotler, page 8). After having a great experience there I will go back there when I have money to buy a vehicle again and tell others of how nice the employees there are and that they will meet your needs or get close.

Week 1 EOC My Voice

While I was younger I have always enjoyed taking pictures while on vacations with family. It wasn’t until a friend of mine showed me what photography was and let me use the camera she had. That’s when I found out that photography was the career I wanted to pursue in. In about a year I will have my Bachelors degree in digital photography. The fashion or editorial part of photography is what I am more interested in though I’m not stuck to just one category of photographs. I have taken photos of landscapes to portraits from fashion/editorial shots and other types of photographs. My goal one day is to own my own business in creating stunning photographs for any occasion, person, or company. Creating a unique beautiful photograph that people will remember and enjoy is what I want to accomplish in every image that I shoot. In the photos I want a story to be told whether it is a happy/funny one or depressing/hurtful one. Even with a good amount of knowledge on the field of photography there is still a whole lot more to understand and know about creating that perfect photograph.