Thursday, January 9, 2014

Day 4: 1/9/2014

Day 4 we talked a lot about chapter 5, which looked at the marketing mix and plan.  Though I already discussed the four P’s of a marketing mix, I will talk about them a little more today.  The four P’s are product, place, price, and promotion.  There are basically two different types of businesses, product and service.  Product is an object that people buy.  A service is an intangible action that is often done in exchange for a fee.  We also talked about how to successfully create and maintain a brand.  This can be done in many different ways, but to condense it, you want to always provide the customer with the best service or product on a consistent basis.  You can also do things such as advertise to put your name out there. 

One of the most important facets of any new business is the place.  When it comes to place, the key is location, location, location.  On the other hand, the invention of the internet has made this a little less important because now you can find new product or services all around the world with the click of a button.  However, where you are located at is still very important, especially if you are a service business.  Judy gave us the example of the cool building that has been around seven different restaurants in the past ten years simply because it was located a block off Hamilton Avenue.  It might have had delicious food, but because people did not see it all the time, out of sight, out of mind, they did not think of going to eat there. 

We moved a little bit into chapter 6 before the end of class.  Chapter 6 really focused on the selling of your new product or service.  There are many different ways to try to help your business sell itself.  You can advertise and wait for customers to come to you, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  You are only going to be truly successful at selling your product if you get up and go out and try to sell your product.  Go talk to managers of big stores and set up meeting with owners of companies.  Even if they are not thrilled about your new product, they will love that you got up and took action to make your business successful.   Even if they do not want to buy your product, you can still learn from your failure.  Maybe ask them why they don’t want you product, or what improvements they think you should make. 

I thought the two videos we watched were very interesting.  I think a food truck is a great idea.  But, I believe that the most important concept I learned from this video was that even though the owners had to work really hard, they still enjoyed their work because it was their own.  They owned their own business and that made the long hours and hard work worth it.  The second video about the microlending was very interesting as well.  I had never heard of microlending before this, but it sounds like a good idea to me.   I believe that giving loans to immigrants and helping them start their own business is not only righteous, but also truly embraces the American spirit.  This country was founded by immigrants and we wanted to be free, not only from other countries, but also free do what we want, even on work.  I believe that this is an amazing concept that is not only good for the immigrants and women it directly helps, but also good for the country as a whole.  I love the United States and I am extremely glad to see this kind of entrepreneurship and kindness take place in the greatest country on the planet!

God Bless the U.S.A.!!!!!

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