Response to Nicoles Dr Pepper entry

I agree with your statement that clearly the target market for this product is men because the promotional side of the product has been pushing to TV stations as well as magazines that are more masculine based. I also agree with the notion about people not wanting to drink diet as opposed to the real thing because studies have shown that diet soda is in fact "worse" for you than regular soda. In general, men are more likely to drink soda than woman so in that regard I believe Dr. Pepper is marketing to the right people by trying to create a product just for men. I don't think its a bad thing to target just men in this scenario, however to market that the product is only intended for men is going to hurt them.

What would happen if Dr. Pepper introduced a product that was "for women" or "not for men".

Product Concepts

As discussed in chapter 10 of the book, there are many ways for a company to "brand" a product to the market. The most common way would be individual branding which would mean using different brand names for different products, but within the same company. For example Nike makes several different sneakers under different brand names such as, Nike Air Force, Nike Air Max, and Nike Air Huarache. There is also family branding in which a company markets several different products under the same brand name, example being Apple which uses its brand and logo to help consumers find its product easier. The last branding strategy would be co-branding, when two or more brand names are on a single product. An example of co-branding would be a box of Betty Crockers brownie mix, which markets that every box conatains hershey's chocolate syrup.

Which of the three discussed forms of branding would be the most successful in a target market for Generation Y's?

Response to Matt Sobocinski's post

In what scenario would a customer get the product or service and not be happy with it, but then there are satisfied with the company?

My first reaction to this question was that there is virtually no scenario where a customer would be unhappy with a product/service but then be satisfied with the business/company in which it was provided by. However I believe that there is a small window of businesses and companies that can provide products or services to consumers that may not meet the consumers values, wants and needs. I believe that Hotels and Resorts are an example of where this could be true, as well as Disney World.
Think about all of the complaints you here from consumers about waiting in lines all day in the scorching heat of Orlando, but yet you rarely hear of people saying that their particular experience in Disney was a fail or did not meet their standards. Im not saying this is true of every consumer but I do believe that a consumer can be satisfied with a company even if the product or service did not necesarily meet the wants/needs of the consumer.
Think about this question flipped around.
Do you think a consumer can get a product/service that they are satisfied with, but then not be satisfied with the company/business?

Response to Evan Millers "Can you think of how customer value and satisfaction can be used in producers business plan rather than the consumers idea of price, quality, and need?"

Can you think of how customer value and satisfaction can be used in producers business plan rather than the consumers idea of price, quality, and need?

Most producers business plans are going to focus on the consumers wants and needs. This will definitely vary considering the target market they are after, or based upon which product(s) or service(s) they are trying to sell. Most every business most important aspect is the consumer. One way I think that customer value and satisfaction can be used is by introducing new products that can be beneficial.

When consumers purchase a product and/or service, they have predetermined expectations for what that product/service will be like. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, you must know what exactly the customer values. This will vary based on the target market you select. I believe that there are ways these two can be used in business plans rather than the main marketing idea of the four P's.

Which one(s) of the four P's do you consider the most important when it comes to selling a product/service?

Do you pay for the food or the atmosphere when you go out to eat?

Going out to eat is can be considered a luxury, however I believe in the U.S. it is more of a norm than anything else. When going out i fully believe that you pay for the atmosphere rather than the food. For example if your picking between to steakhouses, one is located in a city, and the other located right on the beach. There is no doubt in my mind that your bill will be quite a bit higher if you chose to eat by the beach. The reason being is the setting, the relaxtion. I believe that in our country people dont go out to eat for a good meal, but rather a good time. Going out gives people a chance to leave their stress from home or work behind for the night. Another example could be going to the same restraunt such as Applebees or Longhorn but in different locations, you would certainly pay more money going to one of these restraunts in New York City as compared to Keene.

Why wouldnt people being paying more for the food than the atmosphere?

Product RED

Do you think a partnership with Product (RED) can improve Gap’s image? Is it a sign that they are making a commitment to corporate social responsibility or do you agree with critics who say their involvement is an attempt to spit-shine the company’s image while continuing to do business as usual?

The Product RED launch is a great idea for a company to invest in to improve its reputation, however I believe that Gap is too far in the hole already. Because of all of the reported labor laws that the Gap factories violate, this is going to reflect on them for quite some time especially since the company has failed inspections as recent as 2005. Although the image may not be completely clean, the revenue this product has created for the Gap is unmatched, with the Product RED t-shirt being the best selling item in the company's thirty-five year history. From the company's point of view I believe the decision to join a partnership with Product RED was for a dual purpose; to spit-shine the company's image, and also improve the company's revenues and profits.

What else could Gap do to help improve their image?

Response To Rolands post

How do emotions factor in your buying decision?

 

I believe emotions play a huge factor into most buying decisions, especially when what you are considering is a personal product. Most people are annoyed by commericals or dont even bother to pay attention to them but they are meant to cause a reaction in an individual whether it be positive or negative. When a person has a particular interest in an item or product there is a general sense of excitement about the product. The example that first comes to mind when I think about this question is when you go shopping and are having an inner-debate with yourself about whether or not to purchase the item. If you do not purchase the item you second guess your decision once you leave, thinking to yourself "I should have gotten that", or on the other hand you purchase the item and have a sense of happiness that arises from the purchase. In our era of technology I believe our emotions have a lot to do with anything we purchase because there are always "newer" and "better" items that arise causing an emotional reaction.

 

Whats more important in a buying decision, emotional value or price?