Marketing One Blog Entry # 12 (25 points)

Worth the Higher Price?

It wasn't long after the invention of the movie camera that people started making home movies, chronicling everything from birthdays to weddings, vacations to baseball games.  Over time, the cameras have gotten much smaller and much less expensive.  And now, like so many other products, camcorders are digital.  Panasonic, Hitachi, and Sony all make DVD camcorders that let you record directly onto a mini DVD-R disc compatible with DVD players.  All three companies' models offer useful features, such as screen of thumbnail images that lets you easily find the video you want to play and a mechanism that prevents you from accidentally recording over your saved videos.

More Features

Sony charges $790 for its camcorder, approximately $130 more than its competitors.  Why?  Sony's model lets you know exactly how mch time is left on our battery.  It focuses faster and lets you record in near to total darkness.  It also has a sharper, brighter screen and AC adapter that powers the camera even while the battery is still in place.  The company is betting that consumers will  be willing to shell out extra money for these extra features.

In a two paragraph response (a minimum of 5 sentences for each paragraph), answer the folllowing questions.  In paragraph # 1, what statements migha customer make that would give you reason to show the new DVD camcorder in the product presentation step of the sale?  In paragraph # 2, discuss how you would handle the price objection for the Sony model.

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Global Marketing Blog Entry # 12 (25 points)

Promotion and Soccer

German electronics and engineering company Siemens is know in the United States for domestic appliances.  However, its major businesses worldwide are transportation and communication systems and large power turbines.

Siemens deals mostly with governments and large corporations, not consumers.  The company is huge, with almost $90 billion is sales in 190 countries.

Global Promotion

Siemens is also a cell phone manufacturer in Europe.  To compete with big names Nokia and Motorola, it needs to get the company name in the public eye. 

The strategy Siemens has chosen is corporate sponsorship of sports, choosing teams that are extremely popular in its target markets of Europe, Latin America, and Asia.  Siemens is athe major sponsor of the Real Madrid Spanish soccer team.  Soon after the Siemens deal, Real signed two soccer superstars, Brazilian Ronaldo and Englishman Beckham.  Once the Siemens logo was on the jerseys of the team, Siemens's share of the cell phone market tripled in Latin America.  The effect was strongest in Brazil.

In a two paragraph response (a minimum of 5 sentences for each paragraph), answer the following questions.  In paragraph # 1, what effects on its engineering business could come from Siemens being more visible in consumer markets?  In paragraph # 2, discuss Siemen's marketing strategy to boost its cell phone sales in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.  Do you like what they have done?  Why or why not?  Is there another strategy that you think could add to their already strong presence in consumer markets?

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DECA Member Installation & Student Project Presentations

Marketing One Blog Entry # 11 (25 points)

Case Study...Overcoming the Price Objection

When handling the price objection in a business-to-business situation, sell value, not price.  You can also conduct a comparison between your product and your competitors' lower-priced products.  Take Kellogg Company, which works to educate its customers and potential customers about the benefits fo doing business with them.

To maximize perceived value and respond to price objections, Kellogg uses facts about the company.  It asks customers to consider the research and development that goes into products, the ongoing support the company will provide, the certainty of on-time delivery, the company's history and reputation, and its market knowledge.  Taken together, those factors are worth a lot.

Selling Value as More Than Price

If you want to take this concept a step further, you may use a competitive comparison.  This method of handling objections begins with a comparison of product features and return on investment.  Then it adds all the value-added aspects of doing buseinss with your company to show how price is not the only factor that should be considered.  This competitive comparison method of handling objections can be difficult.  It requires a cool head and thorough preparation.  Showing customers this comparison of the total package helps the customer see that doing business with a company that has higher-priced products may suit its needs and address its overall situation better than the one with lower-priced products.

In a two-paragraph response (at least 5 sentences for each paragraph) answer the following questions.  In paragraph # 1, discuss which of the two methods (perceived value or competitive comparison) you would use to handle a price objection if you were a Kellogg sales representative and why you would use it.  In paragraph # 2, discuss "handling and overcoming objections" in the sales process.  Why is it so important to the sales process?

Please write your name at the bottom of your blog entry.

Global Marketing Blog Entry # 11 (25 points)

Market research and determining the needs and wants of your target market are of primary concern to any company.  Read the following case study.

Skateboarding in Brazil...

Skateboarding might seem like an all-American sport, but it is also very popular and competitive around the world.  Brazil has a thriving skateboarding market.  Brazilian skaters started out by making their own skateboards with roller skate trucks and wheels.  Insipired by American products, they often could not afford.  However, what started as tinkering has become a national industry.

Homegrown Success...

Brazil's government is protective of small firms and trademarks and offers incentives to promote internal commerce (business).  Skateboard products are sold mostly through specialty stores.  With imports heavily taxed, domestic brands sell far better than U.S. competitors.   Government policies and taxation were determining factors in the creation of domistic skateboard brands and in the growth of the Brazilian skateboard market.  Skateboarding shoes, accessories, and clothing are now also manufactured in Brazil for Brazilian brands.  The largest brands are Son, Formigao, Perfect Line, and Stage.  Truck brands are Crail, Tracker, and Crazy.  The largest wheel manufacturer is Moska.  Some of these companies have now expanded into exporting their goods throughout South America and to the USA. 

In a two-paragraph response (a least 5 sentences for each paragraph) answer the following questions. In paragraph # 1, discuss the market research process as it relates to determining the needs and wants of customers in a growing market for skateboarding products.  In paragraph # 2, discuss how knowledge regarding a customer's motivation to buy and value system can help in determining needs.

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TV Global Advertising Project Videos! (Global Marketing Students)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfZ9THopNy4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GwZtb5OZJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3aoZ2T1Nfo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4at454NtET4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_60ExYnzBjk

Marketing One Blog Entry # 10 (25 points)

A Matter of Ethics...

From Wikipedia...

"Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole."
Read the following business/selling ethics scenario.
 
Sealing a Deal...

A software firm in a medium-sized city has been growing, in part thanks to its popular sports-based video games.  The company has decided to sell stock and become a publicly traded company.  It can use the money it raises to fund new research and development, but it will have to meet a lot of new accounting requirements.  The people who own the company stock will want complete information about the company's financial performance.

Pitching and Wooing...

Accounting firms in the city are desperately trying to get the contract with the software company.  They treat executives and software designers to expensive dinners and tickets to NBA games.  One company is so determined to win the contract that it makes a secret offer to one of the senior executives.  It promises to hire the executive's daughter, who recently graduated from college, but has been having trouble getting a job.

In a two paragraph response (a minimum of 5 sentences for each paragraph), answer the following questions.  In paragraph # 1, discuss the role of ethics in business and how important you think ethics are to a company's success.  In pargraph # 2, discuss how far you think a company can go to win over a potential customer. 

Please sign your name to the bottom of your blog entry.

Global Marketing Blog Entry # 10 (25 points)

Going Global...

Samsung was founded in 1938.  The name means "three stars" in Korean.  The company originally sold dried Korean fish, vegetables, and fruit to Manchuria and Bejing.  It expanded into several other markets over the years, but it wasn't until the 1980's that Samsung started focusing its efforts on the electronics market.  In the 1990's, Samsung decided to create a global brand name for its products.  it increased the quality of its products through design and innovation.  By 2005, Samsung was rated as the twentieth top brand in the world, ahead of SONY.  Samsung has set a goal of being the world's best.  It has the largest global market share for thirteen of its products.

Samsung has used a variety of strategies to create its global brand image.  It used product placement in the movie The Fantastic Four.  It also tripled the size of its global design staff to meet the design needs for a global marketplace.  Samsung's efforts have paid off.  From 2001 to 2002, Samsung's brand value increased by almost $2 billion.  Its global brand ranking increased by almost 20 percent from 2004 to 2005. 

In a two paragraph response (at least 5 sentences for each paragraph), answer the following questions.  In paragraph # 1, describe the strategy that Samsung is using to create a global brand image.  Describe how this strategy is helping Samsung.  In paragraph # 2, discuss another company you are familiar with that has created a global brand image.  Why do you think this company has been successful and how has their global branding strategy helped them?

Please sign your name to the bottom of your blog entry.