We all have school supplies we use from Kindergarten to High School graduation and even our college educations. Bright colors and a toucan bird are not all that company Yoobi represents. This company represents charity and a bright future for those working towards their education. Their mission is very similar to TOMS which is to donate a product of theirs each time that one is purchased. "Many kids in the U.S. don’t have access to basic school supplies, unless teachers pay for them out of their own pocket. We don’t think that’s right and we bet you don’t either!"-Yoobi.com
I have actually purchased products from Yoobi and never knew that they were a charitable organization. When I did some research on them I found out some really interesting facts and more importantly more about their mission. Did you know that 99.5% of all teachers buy essential classroom materials out of their own pocket which amounts to $485 as a n average per year? This is $1.6 Billion being spent for K-12 teaching per year.
For each product purchased, which can range from pens to notebooks, Yoobi donates an item to a Yoobi Class Pack. Yoobi Class Packs are a number of collected products that are necessary in the class room and consist of 12 Yoobi Products. Once the pack is ready to be taken to a school the Kids In Need Foundation partner up with Yoobi and help distribute these supplies in schools across the United States. They exclusively work with Elementary Schools but have products that anyone can use.
It is really interesting to see how a company that is so simple can accomplish something so great and helpful. School supplies are one of the most important tools a child needs in order to get the education the deserve. There is still much that Yoobi could do to really capitalize on giving back. Their products are only sold on their website and at Target stores. If they moved to other department stores and increased their marketing they would accomplish even more if their consumers were more aware of their mission.
Marketing and advertising can make all of the difference in the success of a company and what they do. "To create value for customers and to build meaningful relationships with them, marketers must first gain fresh, deep insights into what customers need and want. Companies use such customer insights to develop competitive advantage." (Marketing Information and Customer Insights Page 101) Although companies that do charitable things do not need to necessarily compete for profit they need to compete in making their consumers want to become a part of what they are doing. Charity is important and can really be spread if the right attention and awareness are brought to it through marketing and advertising strategies.
Fundamentals of Marketing
Friday, January 29, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games
There are many ways that you can argue or discuss a company, brand, or industries success. Some people may tend to lean towards the opinions and decipher which ones they agree with and which ones they don't. Others may opt to use a more structured and factual basis to conclude how the business is really doing. According to the Boston Consulting Group you can find out what the companies SBU's, or Strategic Business Units, that will help you understand where they stand in their industry. "SBUs are classified as stars, cash cows, question marks, or dogs." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) If you are wondering what these terms mean you can be sure that they all correlate in importance to the business and which concept is going to be better for the company in the short and long term sense.
"Cash Cows. Cash cows are low-growth, high-share businesses or products. These established and successful SBUs need less investment to hold their market share." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) This is a quick way for the company to make enough money to pay their bills and take care of any other financial investments that may be important to the business. The opposing term to a Cash Cow would be the Dogs. " Dogs. Dogs are low-growth, low-share businesses and products. They may generate enough cash to maintain themselves but do not promise to be large sources of cash." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) It is easy to understand which one is more important. Cash Cows are the quick and reliable source that keeps the goods coming while the dogs are not really worth paying attention to. They do not hold as much promise as a cash cow and can often times be a source that needs more care and maintenance to grow, than it can produce profit.
"Question Marks. Question marks are low-share business units in high-growth markets. They require a lot of cash to hold their share, let alone increase it. Management has to think hard about which question marks it should try to build into stars and which should be phased out." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) The Question Mark draws the most attention from the company because it requires the most consideration. The Question Mark that is chosen can make or break whether the investment was good for the company or a complete flop.
When using this approach you must ask yourself, "Is this approach cost effective, and can the companies "SBU's" be measured?" If you can answer yes to both questions you should not have any limitations that make this approach irrelevant or inconsistent. In the case of the video game market, the BCG Analysis approach suggests that the market is growing and expanding in a healthy business aspect but may need to strengthen areas such as their Cash Cow opportunities and Stars. "Stars are high-growth, high-share businesses or products. They often need heavy investments to finance their rapid growth. Eventually their growth will slow down, and they will turn into cash cows." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44)
"As recently as six months ago, the videogame industry was racking up strong growth even as other businesses reported sharp declines in sales and profits. U.S. videogame sales jumped 10% in January as consumers snapped up $60 to $70 games, which can bring dozens of hours of at-home family entertainment." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124865158612682399.html#printMode) This source was written in 2009 and boy has it changed since then.
We now have a clear insight of what brands and components of the video game industry play which role in the BCG Matrix. The Cash Cows in the industry would be the companies that have officially made a name for themselves like PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox. These are the big league players and they do not have to focus on being relevant because they have been for over 10 years now. The Stars are the new game release or consoles within these brands that create attention and also interact with the customer and their needs. The Question Marks are the concepts that may take time to develop like real-life simulation games and new gaming programming. The Dogs in this industry can be identified as the games or products that are not as successful and may not have a broad demographic that the industry currently produces for.
There are so any variables that drive the customers to stay loyal to a company and strictly buy their products. Quality, consistency, and creative ability all are important but there are even more sub-categories that the marketing team of the company must take into consideration. For example, "On the side of system implementations, Microsoft has somewhat locked in customers. Once a customer has purchased a console at, say for example $300, they are essentially making an investment and will most likely purchase games for that specific console in order to get their money’s worth. The games are where Microsoft makes most of its money, so the strategy works. Access to the Xbox platform is said to be ‘rigorously controlled by Xbox’, creating a barrier to entry in an already difficult to enter market. [11] Xbox developers also established a major alliance when one of the most popular game developers, EA Games. This "alliance factor" also holds true with Xbox being the only one to carry Halo and Gears of War." (http://teamxbox.wikidot.com/marketing-strategies) This is only a small fraction of what goes into decision making and investing. You can only imagine what other SBU's there are to look at in the video game industry.
Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Page 44-47
"Cash Cows. Cash cows are low-growth, high-share businesses or products. These established and successful SBUs need less investment to hold their market share." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) This is a quick way for the company to make enough money to pay their bills and take care of any other financial investments that may be important to the business. The opposing term to a Cash Cow would be the Dogs. " Dogs. Dogs are low-growth, low-share businesses and products. They may generate enough cash to maintain themselves but do not promise to be large sources of cash." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) It is easy to understand which one is more important. Cash Cows are the quick and reliable source that keeps the goods coming while the dogs are not really worth paying attention to. They do not hold as much promise as a cash cow and can often times be a source that needs more care and maintenance to grow, than it can produce profit.
"Question Marks. Question marks are low-share business units in high-growth markets. They require a lot of cash to hold their share, let alone increase it. Management has to think hard about which question marks it should try to build into stars and which should be phased out." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44) The Question Mark draws the most attention from the company because it requires the most consideration. The Question Mark that is chosen can make or break whether the investment was good for the company or a complete flop.
When using this approach you must ask yourself, "Is this approach cost effective, and can the companies "SBU's" be measured?" If you can answer yes to both questions you should not have any limitations that make this approach irrelevant or inconsistent. In the case of the video game market, the BCG Analysis approach suggests that the market is growing and expanding in a healthy business aspect but may need to strengthen areas such as their Cash Cow opportunities and Stars. "Stars are high-growth, high-share businesses or products. They often need heavy investments to finance their rapid growth. Eventually their growth will slow down, and they will turn into cash cows." (Armstrong & Kotler 2011 Marketing Page 44)
"As recently as six months ago, the videogame industry was racking up strong growth even as other businesses reported sharp declines in sales and profits. U.S. videogame sales jumped 10% in January as consumers snapped up $60 to $70 games, which can bring dozens of hours of at-home family entertainment." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124865158612682399.html#printMode) This source was written in 2009 and boy has it changed since then.
We now have a clear insight of what brands and components of the video game industry play which role in the BCG Matrix. The Cash Cows in the industry would be the companies that have officially made a name for themselves like PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox. These are the big league players and they do not have to focus on being relevant because they have been for over 10 years now. The Stars are the new game release or consoles within these brands that create attention and also interact with the customer and their needs. The Question Marks are the concepts that may take time to develop like real-life simulation games and new gaming programming. The Dogs in this industry can be identified as the games or products that are not as successful and may not have a broad demographic that the industry currently produces for.
There are so any variables that drive the customers to stay loyal to a company and strictly buy their products. Quality, consistency, and creative ability all are important but there are even more sub-categories that the marketing team of the company must take into consideration. For example, "On the side of system implementations, Microsoft has somewhat locked in customers. Once a customer has purchased a console at, say for example $300, they are essentially making an investment and will most likely purchase games for that specific console in order to get their money’s worth. The games are where Microsoft makes most of its money, so the strategy works. Access to the Xbox platform is said to be ‘rigorously controlled by Xbox’, creating a barrier to entry in an already difficult to enter market. [11] Xbox developers also established a major alliance when one of the most popular game developers, EA Games. This "alliance factor" also holds true with Xbox being the only one to carry Halo and Gears of War." (http://teamxbox.wikidot.com/marketing-strategies) This is only a small fraction of what goes into decision making and investing. You can only imagine what other SBU's there are to look at in the video game industry.
Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Page 44-47
Friday, January 15, 2016
EOC- Best Customer Service Experience
There are many times that we have memorable shopping experiences both good and bad. Many of the experiences help us decide whether or not we want to continue having these types of experiences and can make or break our relationship with the brand and/or company. I frequently shop for clothes for myself and loved ones and have had over a thousand experiences, but one experience will forever stick out in my mind. Your wedding is supposed to be one of the biggest days of your life, and for women picking out your dress is just as important as saying the big "I DO!" My bridal party and I had pre-planned what we wanted to do and what stores we wanted to go to so we could find the perfect dress. I knew what I wanted but had a budget that most women would consider ridiculous. I had $400 I could spend on the dress. Keep in mind this is what you dream of since your about 7 years old. I wanted the classic princess style ball-gown dress that would make me feel special on one of the biggest days of my life. We started out at a thrift store of all places to see if there were any good finds. After trying on two oversized dresses it was time to play ball in the big leagues. We went to David's Bridal because it was the perfect season for discounted dresses and they have virtually every style you could think of by a variety of designers. I tried on several gowns but even after I told the specialist about my budget I ended up falling in love with the puffiest...and prettiest... gown I had seen all day. I had my heart set on it from the moment I saw it but then came crashing down back to reality when the ticket said $900. After that disappointment we all regrouped to justify if this was really the dress and if going over budget was worth it. My friend suggested we try one last stop, trying to pull me out of my discouragement. We then headed to Celebrations which was a shop I had know for many of my friends getting Prom and Homecoming dresses there. I remember always hearing about how much their dresses were and felt even more reluctant looking for a wedding gown which is always more expensive then High School dance dresses. We walked inside and were instantly greeted. I was very honest about my budget but never once felt like I wasn't important. The woman that assisted me was kind and reminded me that anything is possible. She picked a few silhouettes for me that I did not think of trying which helped ease me into trying on more dresses. She could tell I was comfortable now and got the gowns that I had been drooling over previously. The first two ball gowns were gorgeous but they didn't scream what I was looking for. She then pulled the last one in my size and helped my try it on. It fit like a glove and was everything that I envisioned even after my David's Bridal dream dress nightmare. I got the approval from my bridal party and decided this was the one. As I walked up to the register all of the ladies made me feel very confident in my decision and made genuine small talk that made me feel comfortable. They brought the dress out for me and offered complimentary services that I respectfully declined and gave me a gift with my purchase. I had gone through what I thought was going to be a disastrous dress hunt and ended my day feeling happier than ever thanks to the great customer service they offered me. They were attentive the entire visit and were most importantly genuine about what they were helping me with. If I could suggest any place to go dress shopping it would always be Celebrations. Sometimes the smallest shop can make the biggest difference, and they did just that.
Week 1- My Voice
When I wake up in the morning the first thing I think of is what I am going to wear. I get out of bed and run a quick image of the contents in my closet through my mind. After I have decided what to wear I start everything else. Fashion is my life. It is not only the most important part of who I am but the most important outlet in my life. I grew up knowing that I loved fashion. I didn't just stumble upon it one day. Ever since I was a child and could operate a sewing machine, around age 6, I began designing and creating. With my colored pencils in hand and all of the scrap paper I could ever dream of I began drawing. I didn't doodle stick figures and flowers like most girls. I started out with a vision and transferred that vision onto paper. I could create countless outfits for numerous occasions and people.
One day I started creating things for myself. I would take clothes that didn't fit anymore or that I couldn't stand to wear and would make them into something completely knew. The first thing I made was a shirt. I had some material that my mom had given me and decided that it would make a lovely tank top, and it did. Throughout the years I taught myself how to sew basically. Mostly through trial and error I had my successes and failures. It taught me that I could create anything that I wanted to and most importantly that I could do anything that I put my mind to. From that point on I decided that my passion would be my future career.
Now that I am in school for Fashion Retail Management I plan to absorb as much as possible to become a success in the fashion industry. I have worked for some great companies like Carter's, Coach, and now St. John Knits. My aspirations include working for St. John as a designer and eventually owning my own line and boutique in the near future. The Art Institutes is the perfect place for me because it is a place for creativity. There are other people just like me that have the same goal in mind; to fulfill their desire in pursuing their passion. However, I am not just a designer but an artist, a creator, and an admirer for all things fashion related.
One day I started creating things for myself. I would take clothes that didn't fit anymore or that I couldn't stand to wear and would make them into something completely knew. The first thing I made was a shirt. I had some material that my mom had given me and decided that it would make a lovely tank top, and it did. Throughout the years I taught myself how to sew basically. Mostly through trial and error I had my successes and failures. It taught me that I could create anything that I wanted to and most importantly that I could do anything that I put my mind to. From that point on I decided that my passion would be my future career.
Now that I am in school for Fashion Retail Management I plan to absorb as much as possible to become a success in the fashion industry. I have worked for some great companies like Carter's, Coach, and now St. John Knits. My aspirations include working for St. John as a designer and eventually owning my own line and boutique in the near future. The Art Institutes is the perfect place for me because it is a place for creativity. There are other people just like me that have the same goal in mind; to fulfill their desire in pursuing their passion. However, I am not just a designer but an artist, a creator, and an admirer for all things fashion related.
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