Week 15

Price skimming. After reading this chapter, I remembered all the things that I wanted right when they came out and couldn't get because of price skimming. I think however, that price skimming happens more in the industrial sector, than in the retail sector. I know that TV's and clothing, other electronics, and even restaurant foods can be very expensive when they are first introduced into the market; but, what about machinery that is revolutionary? I remember working in the aerospace industry, and those products I dealt with were extremely expensive and not many other companies had the capacity to do what the company I worked for did. I would say price skimming has occurred there for over 20 years.

Week 14

I enjoyed chapter 16. I liked reading about the different sales promotions and thought about times that I have seen and used them. I can't believe how many people don't cash in on rebates. I always send those in no matter what. I also agree with the section on coupons. My wife and I use coupons all of the time and really like it. We save a lot of money and are more enticed to buy products with coupons than those that don't.

Week 13

I think it is interesting what products will have different styles of advertising. The chapter says there is:

-Slice-of-Life

-Spokesperson/Testimonial

-Fantasy

-Humorous

-Real/Animated Product Symbols

-Mood or Image

-Demonstration

-Musical

-Scientific

I really think that different styles attract different consumers. Thinking of advertisements that get to me I really like the lifestyle and the humorous. Other than that, I think that advertisements catch my attention, but I don't pay much attention. I like the ones of certain lifestyles. I think it's amazing how much can be involved with marketing and how to reach different target markets.

Week 11

I think the communication process within marketing has to be a tough job to do. I lived in Asia for a while and the difference in eastern and western cultures makes marketing extremely tough for companies that sell products worldwide. What is not offensive in America, may be very offensive in Asia, and vis versa. But I think there is one thing that is helping the world more understand each other and how products can be beneficial to their markets in all cultures. And that is Blogging and the internet. It is amazing to see how interactions between cultures are taking place now and how people are beginning to more fully understand each other. It is like a new world culture is evolving while people maintain their culture and customs.

Week 10

Well I work in a warehouse so when I read in Chapter 12 about the materials-handling system which is a method of moving inventory quickly and without a lot of handling, the company I work for is failing at that. We have three separate buildings that our product moves through and a trip to another city 80 miles away is in the middle of all that movement. We probably lose millions on handling costs and is drives me nuts.

Week 7

When I read chapter 10, I thought about my job while reading the section on development. I work in the medical industry in a sector where R&D are huge. That is the only thing that we really do. We do make products for customers that must be managed, but they are so customized, that R&D will always play a huge role. So the company I am with currently is always introducing new product into the market and I think in a way renewing their life cycle constantly.

Week 6

I have never thought of products on so many different lights until I read chapter 9 on product concepts. I really thought about the different types of consumer products from convenience products to specialty products to unsought products. I would say that there is a big difference in who buys what products in my household. My wife probably spends a lot of time buying convenience products that we use everyday and maybe some shopping products for herself or for the more expensive things we need. I however am the one in the house who probably buys the most specialty products and deals with all the unsought products. I love to have electronics and guns and other 'toys'. If there is something that I want I usually am going to spend a lot of money on it and take forever finding where to buy and what exactly to buy. I'm just glad my wife takes care of all the things we need because she knows what products to buy. If I were in charge, Mac and Cheese would be dinner for a long time just so I could have the 47" Vizio.