Final Blog

This class has been of great value to me, because of this group project. In most classes, there is not a real hands-on approach. Granted, there are group projects and speeches, but who cares? Those projects didn't put much of a real life sense into it, if that makes sense. But to give us a goal “build a prototype for the persona you have created”, was great because we were the actual marketers. We could do everything our own way, whenever we wanted (granted that we had our updates on time, but I assume that's pretty accurate with what real marketers are faced with)! Here are a couple of the things I've learned:

One skill that I really kinda “underestimated” was obtaining feedback. In my head it was kind of like a checklist system. I build the prototype, take it back to the parents and have a few questions, “Would your child play with it, does he like the colors, does he like the overall design”..But to get to the customer insights, you have to dig deeper than that. You have to probe in between the questions to really find out, what they would rather have in a toy. Because if prompted with a “yes or no” question, then they will most often choose yes because they don't want to disappoint you, and then you will end up making a prototype that won't sell on the market. Questions like “tell me a couple of concerns you have with this product”, or “what colors would you rather have on a toy like this” are questions that get the customer to become proactive. Also, to go in and actually see the toys they already play with and take pictures is what gaining customer insight is all about. This experience has exemplified the lecture in class on prototypes and made it real. Its a whole different world from the class room to actually gaining feedback.

Another thing that I've really improved on and understand better is the whole prototype process (idea generation, building, rebuilding, rebuilding, etc.). One thing that was difficult for me to overcome was to understand that the prototypes can look like crap and its ok(except for the final prototype of course). If I build something, I want it to work, and to see it and admire it. But building prototypes and updating them here and there was definitely different for me, because soon as the basic “features and functions” were there, I had to drop it no matter how ugly it looked. But more than anything, the lecture I discussed before greatly helped us in building our prototypes, because we kind of got a peek at what materials are preferable for what. More than anything, building a prototype was fun! This isn't exactly building a bird feeder for mom, we are building a product to attract customers, then getting our feedback and rebuilding, and so on and so on. It really lets the imagination do some work.

I definitely think working with my group contributed to my learning. The topic that my group chose was one that I lacked knowledge in, but its kind of crazy to think that I know a lot about that persona (5 year old boy) and I could design many other things for the bathroom that would probably benefit him and the mother. Usually, when I work in groups there are a couple/few guys in the group so the overall discussion and outcome of the project is male influenced (if that makes sense?). But in this group, working with 4 girls was a challenge at first for me. It was difficult to adapt to, but in the end it was a great learning experience for me, and to be honest, I don't know who else I'd rather be working with on a prototype for a 5 year old, than 4 girls. As far as experiences(emotional) with the group, the girls are really nice and outgoing which made it nice us to get different opinions in. As with the process itself, it was pretty relaxed up until the presentation, which is how it always goes. Then everyone just tries overly hard to prepare for their part of the speech, which isn't a bad thing. And as for the professor, didn't come in contact with him much, but feedback was always good on our updates, so there obviously wasn't any kind of conflict of ideas or anything.

One thing I'd like to mention is the fact that I definitely underestimated this project, because just about every other project in McCombs (that I've done), has been very easy and mundane. And at the start it does seem like a burden, but once I started to find a place in the group, and understand the work, I started to enjoy it and in turn it all became easier.

Just reviewing the suggested sites..I really like the zeitgeist. I am using google trends at the moment, and decided to see how the term "Chris Brown" was doing. Google
trends displays the number of search entries, the term "chris brown" gets everyday, and puts it on a graph. You can use this for any search entry, from anytime on Google. So when I entered "Chris Brown", you can see a very very slow increasing trend over a couple of years and then it skyrockets up in early 2009, when he first went to court on counts of domestic violence. I can see how zeitgeist would be very helpful if you were looking to see the trends of certain products over a period of time. It is definitely a great source of secondary data, if you are looking to see how popular a topic is.
I never really got into blogs until this class, but after not only writing my own, but playing around with the blog search tool, I've found that it has some really cool functions! The benefits to marketers are amazing. If I wanted to see what people are saying about my product/company before and after an update/event, there are numerousss blog entries from as many blog sites as you can imagine, it does not limit itself to a certain amount.
Gaining insight -- Probably one of the best ways to gain insight using social media, is FACEBOOK. Facebook and similar networking sites are ridiculously informative.
Facebook can not only give marketers demographic data, but information about their hobbies, interests, annnnddddd a 1000 photo picture-journal? Almost seems like
Facebook was created for marketers.. Appealing applications lures facebook members to use it, and give up ALL of their information; pretty sneaky huh?
By using social media, there are a ton of ways for marketers to gain customer insight, that cost virtually nothing. So many companies employ traditional marketing techniques that are often costly, and not insightful. The great thing about using social media is that you get a REAL look at someone's interest. It is like the example I heard from the guest speaker (woman)..that whenever you setup an appointment with a family to view their house, you often don't get a very good look into their life, because they clean up, put away their bad foods, etc., basically..they can show you their "fake life". But what facebook and other similar forms of social media do, is give you a real, unedited version of their lives. It's amazing!

Wally World

Question 1:

- Given the enormous amount of data that Walmart captures, do you think they have been successful at converting into an experience that serves as a competitive advantage for them?

“Wal-Mart executives have spent handsomely for their systems . . . well ahead of the pack.” There is no doubt in my mind that Wal-mart has a competitive advantage because they can successfully convert data into an experience for the customer. Have they reached their potential? Most likely not; but they are trying harder than most, that’s for certain.

Wal-Mart is known for being so widespread and still having economies of scale for so long. This is not only because of their logistics setup, but because they have so much data they can continue so satisfy their customers, and their changing habits. Wal-Mart has more data than one could ever imagine, “the Internet has less than half as much data, according to experts.” And without even a loyalty card service!

It is not hard to tell that Wal-Mart is indeed creating an experience for the customer:

In 1962, four new retailers were born. One called Kmart was started in Garden City, Michigan, another called Target was started in Minneapolis, another from Woolworth, the big name in retailing at the time, called Woolco was started, and the final one in rural Rogers, Arkansas, called Wal-Mart.*

As you can see, Kmart and Target were started in the same year as Wal-Mart, but which one do you see as the leader today? Wal-Mart has transformed into it’s own little world. Who would have imagined when Wal-mart opened, that it would be a one-stop shop, for EVERYTHING. Tires, oil change, hunting, clothes, food, tools, furniture, fabrics..it crazy! But Wal-mart has successfully targeted an enormous segment of the market, with their low prices and huge selection.

Question 2:

- What do you think about the privacy issues associated with all of that data and the amount of personally identifiable data they are able to capture. Does it bother you? Do you trust them with it?

Walmart is a GIANT corporation that has been around since 1962, and collecting data for a while as well, with their major jump in 1991 (scanners). It is definitely uncomforting to know that a supercenter (grocery store?) knows more about someone than their mother, but I do not believe anybody will have any issues with leaked information. Don’t get me wrong, just because I believe that we can trust Wal-Mart – it does not mean that Wal-Mart is right. A grocer should not be recording anyone’s information like a SSN, DL number, mortages, etc.. That is extremely PRIVATE information, and something which I believe, only the individual should know, or the people whom the individual gives it to (consentingly). Even if it is more convenient for us not to have to type in our SSN AND our DL number whenever we want to cash a check everytime; who cares? If that minimal convenience is at the expense of us losing a little bit of our privacy, then it is wrong!

"People don't know that Wal-Mart is capturing information about who they are and what they bought, but they are also capable of capturing a huge amount of outside information about them that has nothing to do with their grocery purchases," said Katherine Albrecht, the founder and director of Caspian, a consumer advocacy group concerned with privacy issues. "They can find out your mortgage amounts, your court dates, your driving record, your creditworthiness."

Does it bother me? –It is not that bothersome simply because what else can we do besides not shop there? Marketing research is getting more and more extensive, and with Wal-Mart at the “head of the pack”, their terabyte mainframes will only be spilling over the top with more information about what you’re going to buy for this hurricane, or how much you paid for your house; and some things will probably be more even more private than what is mined right now.

Because of legal obligations and such (didn’t feel like including “moral obligations” was necessary), we can all rest assure that our identity will in fact remain our own, well kind of.

*http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_Walmart_get_its_start

Wally World

Question 1:

- Given the enormous amount of data that Walmart captures, do you think they have been successful at converting into an experience that serves as a competitive advantage for them?

“Wal-Mart executives have spent handsomely for their systems . . . well ahead of the pack.” There is no doubt in my mind that Wal-mart has a competitive advantage because they can successfully convert data into an experience for the customer. Have they reached their potential? Most likely not; but they are trying harder than most, that’s for certain.

Wal-Mart is known for being so widespread and still having economies of scale for so long. This is not only because of their logistics setup, but because they have so much data they can continue so satisfy their customers, and their changing habits. Wal-Mart has more data than one could ever imagine, “the Internet has less than half as much data, according to experts.” And without even a loyalty card service!

It is not hard to tell that Wal-Mart is indeed creating an experience for the customer:

In 1962, four new retailers were born. One called Kmart was started in Garden City, Michigan, another called Target was started in Minneapolis, another from Woolworth, the big name in retailing at the time, called Woolco was started, and the final one in rural Rogers, Arkansas, called Wal-Mart.*

As you can see, Kmart and Target were started in the same year as Wal-Mart, but which one do you see as the leader today? Wal-Mart has transformed into it’s own little world. Who would have imagined when Wal-mart opened, that it would be a one-stop shop, for EVERYTHING. Tires, oil change, hunting, clothes, food, tools, furniture, fabrics..it crazy! But Wal-mart has successfully targeted an enormous segment of the market, with their low prices and huge selection.

Question 2:

- What do you think about the privacy issues associated with all of that data and the amount of personally identifiable data they are able to capture. Does it bother you? Do you trust them with it?

Walmart is a GIANT corporation that has been around since 1962, and collecting data for a while as well, with their major jump in 1991 (scanners). It is definitely uncomforting to know that a supercenter (grocery store?) knows more about someone than their mother, but I do not believe anybody will have any issues with leaked information. Don’t get me wrong, just because I believe that we can trust Wal-Mart – it does not mean that Wal-Mart is right. A grocer should not be recording anyone’s information like a SSN, DL number, mortages, etc.. That is extremely PRIVATE information, and something which I believe, only the individual should know, or the people whom the individual gives it to (consentingly). Even if it is more convenient for us not to have to type in our SSN AND our DL number whenever we want to cash a check everytime; who cares? If that minimal convenience is at the expense of us losing a little bit of our privacy, then it is wrong!

"People don't know that Wal-Mart is capturing information about who they are and what they bought, but they are also capable of capturing a huge amount of outside information about them that has nothing to do with their grocery purchases," said Katherine Albrecht, the founder and director of Caspian, a consumer advocacy group concerned with privacy issues. "They can find out your mortgage amounts, your court dates, your driving record, your creditworthiness."

Does it bother me? –It is not that bothersome simply because what else can we do besides not shop there? Marketing research is getting more and more extensive, and with Wal-Mart at the “head of the pack”, their terabyte mainframes will only be spilling over the top with more information about what you’re going to buy for this hurricane, or how much you paid for your house; and some things will probably be more even more private than what is mined right now.

Because of legal obligations and such (didn’t feel like including “moral obligations” was necessary), we can all rest assure that our identity will in fact remain our own, well kind of.

*http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_Walmart_get_its_start

Wal-Mart, an aggressive marketing approach

Blog 3 - Innovation

It is very interesting to look back 10 or 20 years ago at the processes companies went through to obtain better sales. With much less saturated markets, the companies that were out there did not have to be as innovative and creative as they do now, to compete. Even “Five years ago, for instance, a leadership team might have reviewed two or three "big" innovation proposals from consulting gurus; executive teams today might compare the outcomes of 50 or 60 real-world experiments to decide which ones to act upon” (BRYNJOLFSSON). Through the years companies have been learning to adapt at an exponential rate, and one that I saw early on that really stuck out in my mind was Monster.com.

What does it mean to be innovative or creative? Searching for jobs used to be such a pain, and very inefficient for both the prospect and the company; Monster.com changed that. They utilized the most global and easy to access tool for communication, the internet, to make job hunting a snap for everyone! Obviously this isn’t a replacement for interviews and such, but it can eliminate a lot of unnecessary time spent reviewing resumes for unqualified prospects. It has led the way for many other companies to do something similar! In fact, this hits home for every UT student, especially McCombs students because of the UT job board, and McCombs job board that is available. This is where we can upload our resumes and coversheets, and much, much more!

The assigned article explains how quickly companies have been becoming more innovative due to technology. “Technology is transforming innovation at its core, allowing companies to test new ideas at speeds—and prices—that were unimaginable even a decade ago. They can stick features on Web sites and tell within hours how customers respond. They can see results from in-store promotions, or efforts to boost process productivity, almost as quickly” (1). It has been amazing to see, through this article and everyday life, the evolution and modernization of businesses, even the small local businesses on the corner! Everyone is going digital, and as the article says, and the population will only continue to grow.

Blog 2

Blog 2

The primary lesson in the chapter is that we are all biased. Whenever we have knowledge of something before we experience it, it will completely alter that experience. The author goes through various examples in the book, but the one I would like to relate to is beer. Every college student who drinks occasionally has a favorite beer, and for most people that usually consists of Budlight, Miller light, Coors light, or Keystone light. If you go to a party, you will always hear some drunks swearing up and down by their beer and that they will never drink the competitor’s, ever. But bring out an unmarked keg and everyone is standing around and drinking as if it was their favorite, and they don’t even know what’s inside. This is what the author refers to as a “blind” condition. Whenever a consumer cannot relate the product they are about to try, to a previous brand/image knowledge, they will give you, for the most part, an unbiased opinion.

This realization provides valuable insight to marketers, because they can see what the consumer really thinks. For instance, after the experiment done with Coke and Pepsi, Pepsi should realize that it is not their product that needs enhancing, it’s their image. “How do we improve our image to better compete with Coke?” If your product is still losing in total sales, and the majority of consumers think your product tastes better, you have a serious problem. This kind of information enables Pepsi marketers to better position their product.

The main example that Ariely uses in this chapter is the experiment involving Budweiser vs. MIT brew, the difference? Just 2 drops of balsamic vinegar per ounce of beer. The example he uses is somewhat similar to mine, but in his example, they are using the same beer and finding out if they still the think product is tastey after they tell them. Which the consumers do. I think an interesting experiment would be to get 20 sorority girls, and let them try out the new pair of Prada sunglasses for 2 weeks to see how they like them, and keep a journal; then after 2 weeks report back. Except, the glasses are fake. Separate the groups so that you tell them before and after you hand them out to the girls. Would be interesting to see the differences in journal entries from the girls who knew they were fake from the ones who didn’t!

Ariely wrote a very good chapter, something that every marketer should read. Every one is biased and has preconceived notions, and they affect almost, if not every buying decision we make! Knowing how consumers view your product versus the competitor’s can give the company valuable insight.