Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

I was born in ’76 and I think that I still fall into the Millennials era only because I do love technology. “One thing that all of the Millennials have in common is their utter fluency and comfort with digital technology.” (page 74). I actually have more gadgets than my kids and I show them how to use it at times. I think it’s because of the type of career that I am in that makes me have to be conscious to social media. I’m an Audio Engineer and student and it involves marketing, even on an industry level. Marketing my music forces me to be involved in social media. “Both the baby boomers and Gen Xers will one day be passing the reins to the Millennials (also called Generation Y or the echo boomers). Born between 1977 and 2000, these children of the baby boomers number 83 million, dwarfing the Gen Xers and larger even than the baby boomer segment. (page 73). “ This observation confirmed my justification because I’m a part of the Millennials. Even if I had a career that did not involve much social media, I believe I would still have a particular interest in technology. Within Generational Marketing (page 74) it is questioned: “Do marketers need to create separate products and marketing programs for each generation? Some experts warn that marketers need to be careful about turning off one generation each time they craft a product or message that appeals effectively to another.” I agree with this statement because it’s hard to predict what people will want and what age they will want it at. The demographics, cultural background, and race do play an unpredicted part in this decision. Good market feedback is vital; depending on the product. Smart phones are an example, because it is a common product but the applications that are downloaded can be separated into different categories, due to accessibility.

Citations: Marketing: An Introduction, 10^th Edition; Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing                                                      

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

During my research, I found that Wal-Mart gave away $311, 607, 280 in 2012.  They also donate to over 50,000 different charities according to FORBES magazine. www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/07/16/americas-most-generous-companies/.

Walmart’s corporate website says: “It’s our mission to create opportunities so people can live better. Wal-Mart is a household name that is popular with all cultures in almost every major city in the United States.

Walmart also highlighted some of their achievements in the “Walmart Highlights Progress in 2015 Responsibility Report”. http://corporate.walmart.com/_news_/news-archive/2015/04/22/walmart-highlights-progress-in-2015-global-responsibility-report. According to some of their quotes they stated on their page - “Every day, Walmart brings affordable products and services to 260 million customers in 27 countries around the world.”

As I observed before that Walmart has a good presence within the inner cities in America, but they also reach out to other nations. I think they feel the responsibility would be of a great benefit to the human race through the products that they sale.

According to another source (http://www.moultrienews.com/article/20150519/MN01/150519733/1088) they reported that Walmart donates $1.47 billion in FY15 to advance commitments to economic opportunity sustainability. So it seems that the company tries to diversify it’s donations to improve not only social responsibility but also to the economic growth. They are keeping track of all of their donations from different sources.

My fourth source of information about Walmart donations comes from The Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2011. It records that Walmart was number one on the list of giving the most cash to through charities and donations. I only reported this source to show the history of Walmart’s giving and the leadership they present to other companies who would like to give in the future.  https://philanthropy.com/article/10-Companies-That-Gave-the/156355 Their reports indicate that they gave over $342, 350, 428 in cash and $616, 591, 031 in 20111. Their pretax profits were at 4.1%. They were also expected to donate another $20 million within the following quarter. They accomplished this as well.

Marketing Fundamentals Peers

http://heyheydaddio.blogspot.com/

Boston Consulting Group-Video Games

I have researched and reviewed the following video game consoles and according to the BCG outlay,

this is what I have researched and agreed with.

Sony PS4- I gave this console a "Star" because of the poplarity of their previous consoles.
This console has WIFI access, numerous games that are playable on the newsest PS4 versions, and the

ablility to watch movies and get online. This is a common trend amongst consoles, so this seems to

be  still leading the way in it's market share. "Andrew House, chief of Sony’s videogame unit, told

The Wall Street Journal last month that the Sony console was outperforming their rival even without

a price reduction, but offering customers the best possible product value was its long-held

commitment."

Quotes are sited from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/sony-cuts-playstation-4-prices-1444291359

Nintendo Wii- I gave this console a "Dog" because of the limited access it has in comparison to the

other video games consoles. The top video games contain war like simulations and cosumers are able

to play with each other online. Wii does not seem to come in mind when consumers play these types

of games. "Tatsumi Kimishima, the new chief executive of gaming publisher Nintendo, predicted the

Wii U would fail, according to a report from the Japanese news outlet Nikkei (via analyst Serkan

Toto). He noted that it is too similar to its predecessor the Wii, which is a criticism that gamers

also hurled at Nintendo. But the company went ahead with the Wii U, and that is one of the main

reasons its market share has fallen well behind that of its rivals Sony and Microsoft."

Quotes are sited from: http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/14/nintendos-new-president-predicted-the-

wii-u-would-fail/


Microsoft XBox1- I placed this console with a "question mark" because their sales seem to be

consistent and their link to Microsoft seems to leave opportunites open for consumers in the

future. This console also is placed at #2 under the PS4, so it makes one wonder "when" will this

opportunity present itself. "Separating out Xbox One sales from the Xbox 360 in the reported "Xbox"

numbers is still an inexact science, but we gave Microsoft's older system an estimated range of

350,000 to 560,000 sales for the three-month period. That's down from the 500,000 to 800,000 range

we estimated for the 360 last year at this time, and it parallels a roughly 30 percent drop in

second-quarter PS3 sales from 2013 to 2014."

Quotes are sited from: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/07/analysis-sony-pushes-past-50-percent-

of-the-worldwide-console-market/

Xbox one the original I placed as a Cash Cow because of the number of games it has and also it's

association with Microsoft company. Consumers still purchase accessories for the console and it's

exclusive rights to Halo is also a continued anticipation from it's fans. The games that it has

exclusively will always keep the console in the collectors possesion at a minimuim.

Great Customer Experience

               I had a very good customer experience recently at a music store when I purchased a musical instrument. The instrument was used so, I asked for the sales person to open the box for me even though it was sealed for quality. He opened the box for me and to our surprise there were some things missing from the boxed item. The USB and the power cord were both missing.

         The sales person was really impressive because he went to the back to get the missing items from another brand new box. I informed that he didn't have to take a piece from another item and that I could buy the piece elsewhere if he could grant me a discount. He insisted that I take the piece and he still gave me the discount.

         I wondered why he was being so generous and it was because he knew how to take care and build repeat customers because of the type of industry we work in. Also, the fact that there are only a few music stores in the city, he knew that building a relationship with me that went over and beyond would make me feel comfortable at that music store.

         Also, many of the items there are expensive and limited. The internet is a good source to find some of these items, even at a lower price. But most musicians and producers who have an idea want the music equipment right then and there. This creates a demand for store employees to serve their customers a little different from the average customer service that you may find at a convenient store (as an example).

           Being in a niche market, it is hard to find a good service and that also has good expertise in their field of work. I was really impressed with how they offered their service. I knew I needed the item no matter what, but I felt better when I had the instant customer support from the staff.

           Normally in the music industry, the people have a certain mentality because of the desired status; so for me to see someone who put the customer first was a big plus and made me want to become a repeat customer. I also would tell my other music friends about the experience at that particular place.