Ramona's Blog

This blog post is in response to Adams, found here, https://blogs.ubc.ca/adamspottiswood/2011/09/26/loyalty-rewards/.

I agree that loyalty cards will help in gathering transactional data for data warehouses and using data mining tools to make strategic decisions. However one thing that concerns me is privacy.

Most loyalty cards, like the shoppers optinum, are coded with a bar code. Bar cards are very easy to scan, so unless the file is encrypted, it is simple for any employee to swipe the bar code and access the data inside. Employees, if not properly trained, by accidentally or purposefully used this data for unethical purposes, such as identity theft.

Another concern for me regarding loyalty cards would be the inability to put a stop into the mass amounts of e-mails they send out to try to engage the customer and invite the customer back for another visit. Customers may feel as if this is an invasion of privacy, while others may be delighted to learn about the newest promotions. It is very hard to cater to every single customers needs. However, if the company used recommendation agents, which needs a high initial investment, they would be able to identify which customers open the emails, and which customers just delete them. This way they can only send e-mails to customers who are more likely to read them.

Loyalty cards are a small step towards the Owellian society, where there is a Big Brother always watching over us. However customers want personalization, and the only way for companys’ to start gathering information about you and send you discounts catered directly to you, we must allow them to access and monitor our shopping data.

In YanJie’s blog, found here https://blogs.ubc.ca/hyj1216/, Starbucks low prices are discussed.

I agree with YanJie in that Starbucks had no intention of degrading the brand by lowering their prices. Therefore they still charged a premium on their coffee, looking at the long run picture of their company.

However I disagree with the fact that starbucks is ‘differentiated’. Starbucks is slowly losing its competitive advantage. For example, baristas such as Blenz Coffee and Waves Coffee offer hand made lattes, not done with a press of a button like Starbucks. Blenz Coffe makes their hot chocolates from authentic belgium chocolate, whereas Starbucks still uses powder and milk.

I also disagree that Starbucks should be viewed as a cash cow. I believe they are almost at the mature stage of the product life cycle, and if they do not continue to innovate, improve, and deliver a more barista like experience, such as Waves Coffee or Blenz, their market share will begin to shrink.

One thing that Starbucks is ahead of than its competitors is their global expertise. They have expanded to many different countries, and they choose not to franchise. This helps reinforces standards, and assures alignment of products, services and promotions all across the globe.

Starbucks recently implemented a ‘rewards’ card, which enables customers to collect points. This is an example of lowering the price of their coffee. For ever 10 coffees you buy, you can receive 1 for free. As Starbucks is facing rivalry that it has never encountered before, it has to think of new ways to deliver their brand experience of ‘sharing great coffees with friends’, while justifying their high prices.

This blog is in response to an external marketing Blog,

The source can be found HERE.

The blog reflects on the idea of Free. It believes that if things are truly ‘free’, it should come with no strings attached, ‘A gift says; take this, it’s yours.’ Which is different than an incentive offer, which says ‘take this, then do something for me‘.

What is free?

I agree that the definition of free, or gifts, have been somewhat distorted within the last decade. Many things are only FREE with a purchase of something.

For example, take a look at this McDonalds ad. It offers a free burger, however you have to buy one first. Is that really free then?

I believe that there is no such thing as free in this word. What may seem free to you, always has been produced at the expense of others.

As in the external blog, it mentions that once a consumer discovers that what they are being offered is not totally free, with strings attached, they may change their view of the company. That is indeed true, nobody likes being lied to or tricked into doing something.

In the external, Staples was praised for offering a genuinely free item. Yes, the item was indeed free, however it was within the best interest of Staples. Marketers, accountants, financial analysts of the Staples company must have gotten together beforehand and determined that this course of action would lead to a return in greater revenues eventually in the long run.

So What?

A free item that a company offers should be evaluated to determine WHY they are offering the item for free, at the same time, incentive items should not be looked too harshly upon. Sometimes they are the door to great deals and promotions. Nothing in the world is free.

After reading a blog post about generation Y on https://blogs.ubc.ca/angelopanas, I realized WHO the generation Y really was. It’s our parents.

Our parents have always been teaching us to be skeptical of marketing tactics, to NOT buy things that are commercially advertised, to seek background information and do research before buying anything. Parents stress the VALUE of their products, and they look down on others who participate in conspicuous consumption. Their influence has leaked into our generation.

There are only a few ads out there that really reach the older generation. I agree with Angelo, ‘marketing techniques don’t affect [Generation Y] as much as they are constantly bombarded with advertisements everywhere they go and look’. Only products or services that have been recommended by friends or family members usually result in an immediate purchase. The older generation has become rather numb to marketing techniques.

However what really will reach out to them are pictures. Pictures are subtle, they do not disturbe you, you can choose not to look at it, and there is no annoying person standing in front of it selling you the product. Pictures let you interpret the advertisement to however you like.

Take this picture for example, this is what inspired by Parents to buy new pairs of shoes (eventhough they did not needed). They were awed by the graphics and they wanted to fit in with the new cool. At the end of the day, marketing techniques are indeed hard to measure and cater for so many different people who appreciate different things. But it all comes down to one word. Creativity. Although generation Y may be hard to please, and have lots of purchasing power, anyone will be awed by new techniques. Everybody wants to look cool, especially our parents.

Walking by the McDonalds on a busy saturday morning, I decided to pop in for some breakfast. What surprised me was that many of the customers were familiar with the menu, I was one of the few who actually took the time to study the menu before lining up.

How does McDonald do it? Even the children, already knew what they  wanted in their happy meals. This trend was not only witnessed in Canada, but while I was on vacation in Taiwan, Hong Kong, almost all of their customers walked into McDonalds as if walking into their second home.

From sponsoring Olympics, to donating to charity, McDonalds positions and differentiates their name all around the world. In Taiwan, McDonalds serves soup and deep friend chicken that resembles KFC. In Hong Kong, McDonalds promotes a wider selection of salads and healthy foods. McDonalds successfully targets each country with different menus.

“The Happy Meal” is a controversial marketing scheme. The children go to McDonalds so they can collect toys and gadgets from their meals, however this opens a new front in the escalating war about marketing unhealthy foods to kids.

McDonalds catches the kids while they are young, and they grow up lovin’ it because it is the norm, and the golden arch is literally everywhere.

Hello,

My name is Ramona, I’m taking this marketing course this term because I would like to understand the mechanics behind the word “marketing”. My only experience with marketing has been watching advertisements during commercial breaks on TV, and clicking away at pop-ups while I am surfing the internet.

One of the ads that I like the most includes this one,

It is funny, catches your attention and delivers a message at the same time.

Something personal about myself that I would like to share is that I enjoy taking photos and working on photoshop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ramona

In Comm 299, I have learned that I have acquired many transferrable skills though my previous work experiences. I also learned that how to improve my networking skills and that at every networking event, it gets better than the last one. Comm 299 has also taught me that I enjoy informational interviews more than job interviews. Also that I learn much more information about the company in a relaxed setting during informational interviews. From the class on networking, I learned that my handshake was far too soft and I did not remain eye contact for a long enough time during handshakes.

Comm 299 helped me surface many of my skills and interests that were hidden beneath the surface. This course will be a great asset for next year’s students.

my mom stuck and supported me through all my life, helping me with decisions and always remaining supportive. She has always inspired me to work my hardest even when I am unmotivated.

I don’t know if you remember this, my best friend. One thing that really stuck to my mind was how you offered to accompany me in spending one night with my grandma at the hospital which I didn’t know why you wanted to do that because you didn’t even know anyone in my family. I don’t know if you were actually serious about it, but obviously, that didn’t happen. I still think it’s the thought that counts. While you might’ve been joking about it, but I found it a really nice gesture on your part to even think about it anyway. So that’s one big thank you to you.

Groupon offers deep discounting for local entrepreneurs who need to jump start their businesses. It is a great way for small firms who are just starting to get noticed.

The offers are too good to be true.

In the end, there is no such thing as a free meal!

For this particular advertisement, it is promoting a 50% off discount.

If stores continue with deep discounting, demand will eventually escalate, and not keep up with supply. The deep discounts lower the average total revenue. Consequently the more the firm produces at the discounted rate, the more money they will lose. However most of the discounting offered at groupon is for intangible services or one time uses. On the website there are very little discounts for tangible merchandise. In a way the firm is discounting their services not their products.

This tactic is very smart. If customers are satisfied with the business, they will tell their friends and the firm is already building brand name.