...Christine Crocker GS1140 Problem Solving Theory Dr. Tiera Coston 4/7/2012 In the greater Baton Rouge area, there are 270 automotive and collision repair businesses. Within three miles from Fisher’s Automotive, where my husband Paul works, there are 40 shops that are providing some of the same services as Fisher’s. Of those 40, 26 perform collision repair. Before I started school, I worked at Fisher’s with Paul. I was a body technician and helped with some of the office duties. Paul is still currently the head painter. The owner, Vic Fisher, has recently seen a decline in business on the collision side. If the business is to remain open, which will allow Paul to keep his job and provide for his family, the staff at Fishers needs to figure out what they can do to bring in more business. The questions that need to be answered are: How is Fisher’s Automotive going to get a competitive edge on its competition in the greater Baton Rouge area? Is there an untapped source of revenue that can single it out from the other shops? Is there a service currently not being provided in Baton Rouge? Answering these questions may very well be the solution that they are looking for. The building that Fisher’s Automotive is in was designed to be a warehouse and is not suitable for what they are using it for. It is really run down, old looking, and in need of remodeling. One of the first places that they need to remodel is the office area. By doing that, Fisher’s will be able to showcase...
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...such as: Business overview, Business strategy, Human resources, Marketing, Technology, and Accounting. Affordable ATV’s was started in 2005. It was started in a good economy and the owner, Eric Bascom, started the business because he lost his union job that required him to travel all over the country for work. His brother-in-law sold 4-wheelers in a small shop in Indiana and when Eric lost his job he was trained on how to build the 4-wheelers along with many other types of small recreational vehicles. Eric brought his knowledge back to Richland county and started Affordable ATV’s. This company is S corporation, which means they operate like a corporation but are treated as a partnership for tax purposes. ATV’s sells powersports equipment such as 4 wheelers, utility vehicles, motorcycles, scooters, and dirt bikes for adults and children. They sell off-brand units of all the vehicles. Other brands such as: Honda, Kawasaki, or Suzuki, would cost about 4 times as much as the vehicles sold at Affordable ATV’s. This drastic difference in price is a huge competitive advantage for the company. Price makes a big difference when parents are buying a small scooter or child sized 4 wheeler for their kids. Parents don’t want to pay for a name brand that will cost them an arm and a leg when they can buy the off brand that runs just as well for ¼ of the price. The start up costs were paid for straight out of the owner’s savings. The company started out so small that Eric...
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...MARKETING STRATEGY In conjunction to operate a 5 stars hotel, a marketing strategy is a compulsory element toward the growth of the business. In our hotel namely The Venetian Sphere, a marketing strategy becomes an important part in term of gaining profitability from the hotel business operation. Basically, as a definition, marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. A marketing strategy should be centered on the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal. A marketing strategy combines product development, promotion, distribution, pricing, relationship management and other elements; identifies the firm's marketing goals, and explains how they will be achieved, ideally within a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy determines the choice of target market segments, positioning, marketing mix, and allocation of resources. It is most effective when it is an integral component of overall firm strategy, defining how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects, and competitors in the market arena. According to the definition of marketing strategy, clearly to say that, it is very tough activities in our hotel operation whereby, only the right strategy becomes as a key to the hotel business success. TARGET MARKET The first element that we focus in our marketing strategy is target market. Back to our...
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...UNIT – 1 / ADVERTISING Advertising Literal meaning of Advertising: Advertising was originated from a Latin term ―advertire‖ which means ―to turn to.‖ The dictionary meaning of the term advertising is ―to give public notice or to announce publicly.‖ Definition of Advertising: The American Marketing Association has defined Advertising as ―any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of goods, services or ideas by an identified sponsor.‖ Elaboration of the above definition: First advertising is ―paid for‖ that means it involves commercial transaction. Secondly advertising is ―non-personal‖ that means it is directed towards a mass audience not directed towards any individual as it is in the case of personal selling. Finally advertising is identifiable with its sponsoring authority or advertiser. It discloses or identifies the source of opinions and ideas, it presents. Einstein College of Engineering Objectives of Advertising: There are two types of Advertising Objectives, I. II. General Objectives. Specific Objectives. I. General Objective a) Stimulating Demand – It can be done in two ways, first the present users of the product may be persuaded to increase the present rate for product consumption. Second way is to attract the new users into the market by telling them the qualities of the product. b) Increased profits. II. Specific Objectives of Advertising a) Preparing ground for new product. b) Facing competition. c) Informing the changes to the...
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...truly desire to improve Army motorcycle safety. Some basic questions are: ♦ How safe is motorcycling? ♦ How does it compare to driving an automobile? ♦ Are there any special precautions to be observed? ♦ What are the causes of crashes, and how can crashes be reduced? I. BACKGROUND: The United States Department of Transportation, Division of Highway Safety, offered the following information on motorcycles in DOT HS 807 709. “There are over 4 million motorcycles registered in the United States. The popularity of this mode of transportation is attributed to the low initial cost of a motorcycle, its use as a pleasure vehicle and, for some models, the good fuel efficiency. Motorcycle fatalities represent approximately five percent of all highway fatalities each year, yet motorcycles represent just two percent of all registered vehicles in the United States. One of the main reasons motorcyclists are killed in crashes is because the motorcycle, itself, provides virtually no protection in a crash. For example, approximately 80 percent of reported motorcycle crashes result in injury or death; a...
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...[pic] Company Analysis COMPANY BACKGROUND In today’s market economy, American Apparel places a premium on differentiating itself from the competition by creating a unique brand image based on a hip, comfortable line of clothing, and a “Made in the USA” slogan. Founded in California, American Apparel is a company that wants its customers to be comfortable in its merchandise, as well as in their own skin above all else. American Apparel offers clothing and accessories for men, women, children, and even pets. The vertically-integrated company prides itself on providing value to its customers, making them loyal shoppers of their brand. With over 150 retail store locations nationwide and over a dozen more in countries across the globe, American Apparel has earned its reputation by offering fashionable products of high quality at affordable prices. SEGMENTATION The fashion apparel retail market can be segmented using the following factors: geographic, demographic, and psychographic. Before entering the market, American Apparel studied these factors to create segments. In terms of geographic factors, American Apparel could have alternatively chosen to target include those living in rural small towns, far away from a major metropolis, or in the middle of a farming community. While American Apparel operates over 150 stores in the United States alone, there are less than 24 retail outlets located in the Midwest[1]. As far as demographic factors are...
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...Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business Marketing to the Generations, Page 1 Marketing to the Generations Kaylene C. Williams California State University, Stanislaus Robert A. Page Southern Connecticut State University ABSTRACT Each generation has unique expectations, experiences, generational history, lifestyles, values, and demographics that influence their buying behaviors. Accordingly, many companies are reaching out to multi-generational consumers and trying to understand and gain the attention of these diverse buyers. Multi-generational marketing is the practice of appealing to the unique needs and behaviors of individuals within more than one specific generational group, with a generation being a group of individuals born and living about the same time [1]. This means that marketers need to understand the six U.S. generations: Pre-Depression Generation, Depression Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. When a marketer factors in the different characteristics and behaviors of the generations, it should be easier to build relationships, gain trust, and close business. [2, 3] As such, an understanding of multigenerational marketing is very important to the marketer. The purpose of this paper is to describe briefly the U.S. generations in terms of the times in which they grew up as well as the characteristics, lifestyles, and attitudes of the group. However, the primary focus of the paper is to describe various marketing...
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...Advertising, Promotion, and other aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications Terence A. Shimp University of South Carolina Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States Advertising, Promotion, & Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 8e Terence A. Shimp Vice President of Editorial, Business: Jack W. Calhoun Vice President/Editor-in-Chief: Melissa S. Acuna Acquisitions Editor: Mike Roche Sr. Developmental Editor: Susanna C. Smart Marketing Manager: Mike Aliscad Content Project Manager: Corey Geissler Media Editor: John Rich Production Technology Analyst: Emily Gross Frontlist Buyer, Manufacturing: Diane Gibbons Production Service: PrePressPMG Sr. Art Director: Stacy Shirley Internal Designer: Chris Miller/cmiller design Cover Designer: Chris Miller/cmiller design Cover Image: Getty Images/The Image Bank Permission Aquistion Manager/Photo: Deanna Ettinger Permission Aquistion Manager/Text: Mardell Glinski Schultz © 2010, 2007 South-Western, Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, information storage and retrieval systems, or in any other manner—except as may be permitted by the license terms herein. For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Learning Customer &...
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...Approximately 500 automobiles are fabricated annually in the company's plant in northern England. However, the company turned a loss in the previous biennial; which is resulted from declining sales and market share in the prior half decade. Factory workers' morale fell as they felt underpaid and treated unfairly. They objected to the management's decision to expand production, which will impair the quality of the cars, resulting in the escalation of malfunctioning automobiles in the last few months. Solutions available to curb the situation include tolerating lower profit margins, updating the plant, increasing manufacturing significantly, introducing in the United States, undertaking with a South East Asia engine manufacturer, devising green vehicles and obtaining capital plus skills from a European manufacturer. Step 2 Mind Map of Problems 1. Declining sales and profit Change in consumer preferences Insufficient advertising Low demand 1. Decreased reliability Increase in number of broken cars Substantial increase in production 2. O utdated design Change in demographics Younger generation Market wants more modern models 2. Losing mar ket share Rising competition Declining brand loyalty Uncompetitive prices 3. Insufficient mar ket Only 60 million people in United Kingdom Small market of English sports car collectors Only sold locally 3. No service after sales Consumers need to fork over their own money after buying Higher overall cost for consumers...
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...UUBLUJJBH MJnd 句 uB|d 6u!J8>|jblju j|-68d Foundations of Marketing Theory GSBS6010 Trimester 3, 2010 Lecturer and Course Coordinator: Penny Crittall Group 11: Ruth Hartmann Siu Wai Da Wang Xiao Wen Marketing Plan for Peg-It [pic] patent pending Name： Ross Merkel Business name： Ground breaker Pty Ltd ABN: Address: Telephone： +61 419336847 Email： niigrkfil^bigpQinLcQiiLau Internet： http://www.peg-it.com.au Date: Prepared: November, 2010 Executive Summary This marketing plan has been prepared by Group 11，comprised of post-graduate students of the University of Newcastle undertaken as part of the requirements of the Foundations of Marketing course, for Ross Merkel the inventor of Peg-It. Group 11 conducted a situation analysis involving a review of internal and external environments that could impact on the marketability of Peg-It and have identified opportunities for the company to improve customer awareness and market position for Peg-It in the next year. Despite a decrease in the amount of time people spend on recreation and outdoor activities in Australia there has been a contrasting increase in weekly expenditure on recreation and camping equipment. In line with this trend and based on strategic directives it is expected that sales for Peg-It will increase by 30%in the next year. Corresponding with this increase, an improved market share will enable a potential return of investment. Marketing objectives and strategy...
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...Honda Motor Co, Ltd. The Beginning From a young age, Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda (本田 宗一郎, Honda Sōichirō) (November 17, 1906 – August 5, 1991) had a great interest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at a Japanese tuning shop, Art Shokai, where he tuned cars and entered them in races. A self-taught engineer, he later worked on a piston design which he hoped to sell to Toyota. The first drafts of his design were rejected, and Soichiro worked painstakingly to perfect the design, even going back to school and pawning his wife's jewelry for collateral. Eventually, he won a contract with Toyota and built a factory to construct pistons for them, which was destroyed in an earthquake. Due to a gasoline shortage during World War II, Honda was unable to use his car, and his novel idea of attaching a small engine to his bicycle attracted much curiosity. He then established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan, to develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Calling upon 18,000 bicycle shop owners across Japan to take part in revitalizing a nation torn apart by war, Soichiro received enough capital to engineer his first motorcycle, the Honda Cub. This marked the beginning of Honda Motor Company, which would grow a short time later to be the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964. The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck, which went on sale in August 1963. Powered by a small 356 cc...
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...AutoNation: Now Offering Navigational Service Plans and Agreements Cornelius L Davis (D01407581) Keller Graduate School of Business University Marketing Management MM522 Professor Lynn Szostek 09/11/2011 AutoNation: Now Offering Navigational Service Plans and Agreements Executive Summary AutoNation hired our firm, Cornel’s Strategic Marketing Incorporation to develop a marketing plan to sell global positioning systems (GPS) and offer an additional service program to service GPS systems. Cornel’s Strategic Marketing Incorporation has been in business since 1956 and has provided marketing plans to all types of businesses with great success. The following market plan sets the foundation to a successful project deployment. AutoNation is the top automotive retail industry with a strong brand name. Applying a new service for GPS systems will enhance the operation and provide an extra service to its customers. The additional service is in-line with AutoNations mission objectives. The GPS system is a hot commodity that gives customers an additional feature and benefit. Establishing a partnership with the top GPS manufacturers (TomTom, Garmin, and Magellan) increases the success rate of the marketing plan. Then the additional servicing programs of extended warranty, replacement program, upgrade program, installation, and set-up gives an added incentive with competitive pricing. Strategic development of the plan identified strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are magnified...
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...Chapter 1 : Introduction To Marketing Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves. Marketing is the key factor behind the success of a company. Generally a company produces many things which may include different kinds of consumer products, electronic goods or may be many services. Every company spends huge sums of money to these marketing strategies. They employ these specialized people in the field of marketing in lieu of huge remuneration. The chief responsibility of these marketing is to make these products popular and to prepare new marketing ventures so that people develop some sorts of understanding about the company and its products or services. When it comes to marketing, most if not all marketing professionals have a different approach on how to reach consumers. Despite the differences in how consumers are reached, the goal is often the same; encourage consumers to purchase a specific product or service. The obvious way to increase your consumer base is to increase the amount of consumers you reach. Evolution of Marketing Earlier approaches The marketing orientation evolved...
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...channel members on goals, roles, and rewards—who should do what and for what rewards. Horizontal conflict occurs among firms at the same level of the channel. For instance, some Ford dealers in Chicago might complain that other dealers in the city steal sales from them by pricing too low or advertising outside their assigned territories. Or Holiday Inn franchisees might complain about other Holiday Inn operators overcharging guests or giving poor service, hurting the overall Holiday Inn image. Vertical conflict, conflicts between different levels of the same channel, is even more common. In recent years, for example, Burger King has had a steady stream of conflicts with its franchised dealers over everything from increased ad spending and offensive ads to the prices it charges for cheeseburgers. At issue is the chain’s right to dictate policies to franchisees. What are major functions of logistics? Discuss Given a set of logistics objectives, the company is ready to design a logistics system that will minimize the cost of attaining these objectives. The major logistics functions include warehousing, inventory management, transportation, and logistics information management. Warehousing Production and consumption cycles rarely match, so most companies must store their goods while they wait to be sold. For example, Snapper, Toro, and other lawn mower manufacturers run their factories all year long and store up products for the heavy spring and summer buying seasons. A company...
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...Course Modules Online Courses Simulations 2012 MATERIALS Harvard Business Publishing serves the finest learning institutions worldwide with a comprehensive catalog of case studies, journal articles, books, and eLearning programs, including online courses and simulations. In addition to material from Harvard Business School and Harvard Business Review, we also offer course material from these renowned institutions and publications: Babson College Business Enterprise Trust Business Expert Press Business Horizons Magazine California Management Review Darden School of Business Design Management Institute HEC Montréal Centre for Case Studies Ivey School of Business International Institute for Management Development (IMD) IESE Business School INSEAD John F. Kennedy School of Government Kellogg School of Management Perseus Books Princeton University Press Rotman Magazine Stanford Graduate School of Business Sloan Management Review Social Enterprise Knowledge Network Thunderbird School of Global Management Tsinghua University University of Hong Kong Customer service is available 8 am to 6 pm ET, Monday through Friday. Phone: 1-800-545-7685 (1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada) Tech support is available 8 am to 8 pm ET, Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 7 pm ET Friday. Phone: 1-800-810-8858 (1-617-783-7700 outside the U.S. and Canada) Email: custserv@hbsp.harvard.edu Web: hbsp.harvard...
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