last blog post

What I have learn from this class
It has been a great class in this quarter. I have learned a lots from the class. Here is what I have learned from this class.
1. Two definition of word of mouth maketing: 1. Giving people a reason talk about your stuff2. Making it easier for that conversation to make place. Company need to be innovation and provide special products or services for consumers to talk about it. The conversation should be short and easy like one or two sentences. So, people will easily to remember.
2. Happy customers are your greatest advertisers. I think this is very truth and important for business to remember. These days people are more likely to trust and listen to their friends and family. They no longer trust or listen to traditional advertising or marketers.
3. Your best talker might be your newest customer. Therefore, company need to treat all their customers equally.
4. Not everyone is influence talker even they are your loyalty consumers. Company need to find the right talkers.
5. By building the word of mouth, marketer need to remember the 5T’s : talkers, topics, tools, taking part and tracking.
6. In order to get the trust from consumers, company needs to be honest and respect to their customers. Also, they need to build a significant relationship with their customers.
7. Youtube is very powerful. An interesting video can make people to talk about your product or service.
8. Marketers should listen to consumers. Checking the customer review to see what they say about you to improve yourself.
I have learned a lot in this class, and the clasee is very helpful and useful for the feature marketing plans.

Tara

What I learned in this Class?

Last Blog-

It is hard to hone in on a particular focal point as to "what I learned in this class?" however I can give you an answer as to my highlights. As times change in marketing especially via social media the trends seem to change ever so rapidly as well. When studying social media you have to constantly update your material to be congruent with what is hype. Consumers mentality in today's world very short lived; in other words an average attention span has become very short. With that in order to attract attention with a brand, logo, product or service you have to constantly update parallel with 'word of mouth' trends.

This class helped gave me strategies I can utilize to update parallel with 'word of mouth' trends. Such strategies can be formulated through QR codes, viral YouTube, Social Media, a clever slogan, blogs and the list goes on..My favorite lecture was the supposedly "dry" lecture on ethics. The ethical guidelines were interesting in that it shows how you can use your creativity without getting into trouble.

The five T's presented by Andy Sernovitz was the most significant and useful text I have read throughout this quarter. The five T's applies to any 'word of mouth' trend that currently exists and will exist in the future. As far as my project work goes I have been able to manifest the concepts I have learned in class with Light Rail as well as my personal project. It was a way to put what I have been reading and listening about in lectures into real life scenarios.

Thanks for the your time and effort--I will recommend this class to other Marketing students who have not yet taken this course.

Tim McCauley

What I have learned from this class.

This class stands out as one of the most interesting class I have ever taken. I have definitely learned a lot in this class and also have some enjoyable time. I really like some of the commercial video in shown in the class. They are very creative and effective. In this class I have learned to:

• Think outside of the box: I have learned that sometime a marketer has to be creative and a little bit out of mind to create buzz and topics for word of mouth. Sometimes, traditional way of marketing just cannot work so a good marketer is the marketer who realizes those situations and leave all of the tradition and lecture behind to start thinking differently to catch customers' attention.
• The power of female: I have learned how female can be a leader in consumption and how they drive other customers follow the trend. Female are one of the most powerful segment which marketer should always consider when doing a marketing campaign
• The cause marketing: I have learned how to apply cause marketing to business and how powerful it is in order to build an outstanding image of business in customer's minds.

This class is very enjoyable and helpful for my future. It helps to prepare myself more to be a good marketer in future.

What I learn in this class

I really like all the articles, data and statistic that bring up the facts about recent marketing and digital trends. It is very interesting to know about all the changing consumer behaviors and how marketers need to adapt to this change. After studying this class, the concept of word of mouth marketing becomes more concrete in my mind. I understand how affective and effective word of mouth marketing can bring to businesses. Traditional way of marketing is always about money, however, by understanding and knowing the current trends, marketing is not about money and one way communication anymore. It is all about relationships and conversation. It is very important to monitor every steps for a business now because even one unfavorable comments can impact the business because of the word of mouth.

On the other hand, I was really surprised by the statistics that showed the huge number of Americans are watching videos everyday. This is becuase personally I am not using YouTube a lot and do not know that YouTube can also be a very valuable platform and channel for marketing a product. And I learn from the class on the criteria on how to create a good and remarkable video which is all about fun and entertaining. Moreover, this class also teach me on how to get people involved in the discussion and how to get people's attention on your company. People want to have good feeling, they want to have the feeling of important.

In addition, taking this class allows me to come across some downside of social media and learn how to tackle the problems. And also, I personally feel that as a marketers, we need to keep up to the steps and have to be quick adapters. Otherwise, you will be the one who left behind and may lost in the entire competition. And nowadays marketing are not just existed for providing prduct information to the public but more importantly a more public relationship initiate.

What I learned in this class

From knowing nothing about social media to now developing a creation of social media marketing plan and consulting two companies, I have learned so much knowledge that I can utilize to my future career. As the time changes, the marketing trend changes.  In this class, I realize that social media is a very effective communication method and tool to spread messages and create buzz. Through the reading of Word of Mouth Marketing, Socialnomics, and e-Marketing, it indicates and analyzes how consumer behavior differs and changes in psychological and influential aspects. By the impact of internet, new technology, ways of communication, market trends, and other important influences, a new booming marketing strategy occurs. In a less cost and more effective matter, word of mouth becomes a hot topic nowadays. Thanks to Professor’s preparation and organized lectures, I understand the importance of word of mouth. The identification of 5 T’s, WOMM, FTC guideline, social media, and other interesting articles and chapters has benefited me so much. Also, thanks to the wonderful and well written books of Andy Sernovitz, Erik Qualman, Judy Strauss, and Raymond Frost. This quarter has been so great.

What I Learned In This Class

Hello Everybody,

I would like to start by saying that I greatly enjoyed this class and I am looking forward to using the skills I have learned in my future career. I think the most interesting thing I learned this quarter is the power of the consumer. It is amazing to me how much influence consumers have on the purchase decisions of other consumers, and this is all facilitated through social media. I have seen the power of the consumer in my own personal life, especially when I text friends or post a status asking whether or not I should buy a specific product. They say yes, I do. They say no, I don't. I also have been able to apply the power of the consumer to my new job. I work in retail, and I have already had customers come to me saying they were a friend of another customer and had heard great things about me as a salesperson. I really enjoying seeing this idea in real life.

The second thing I loved about this class was the inspiration it gave me to fully utilize Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I will admit that I already had a Facebook and Twitter account, but many things from this class taught me how to use them properly. I "cleaned up" my Facebook in a sense and am much more aware of what I post on my wall and what type of photos I post. I also try to Tweet on a regular basis, which has upped the people I am following and the people I follow. Finally, I was able to learn how to use LinkedIn in this class and created my own account. I have been able to connect with many people professionally, and I even had a recruiter seek me out on LinkedIn.

Finally, I have thoroughly enjoyed what we have learned about Mobile Marketing in this class, and how companies can use apps to post daily deals and to help get the consumer involved in their brand. It is true that so many people these days have Smart Phones where they can access the internet at the touch of a button, so people are always connected. As a result, companies should focus on being mobile so they can always be connected to their consumers as well. Anyways, I really enjoyed this class, thanks so much for everything!

Rache

Recap

It has been a great quarter, and we have covered many topics. It is time for me to recap what I have learned and attempt to pick out the key points.

Think Outside the Box

This idea has been hammered into our brains from day one. There was never a lecture on thinking outside the box, but this concept found its way into almost every exercise we did throughout the quarter. Professor Barnes urged us to use our creativity and stretch our imaginations in ways we never have in any other class. In today's world, it is important to be crazy, fun, and go beyond the traditional ideas associated with marketing. Learn from the unique YouTube campaign done by Orabrush and the "Mr. Splashy Pants" campaign done by Greenpeace. Thinking outside the box is perhaps the greatest skill that young marketers can have when entering the business world of today.

Great Ideas are Crafted in Teams

Throughout the quarter, we have had team exercise after team exercise dealing with our given clients. What I have learned from this experience is that it only takes one person to come up with an idea, but it takes a team to perfect it. I have heard some excellent ideas in this class, and I know these ideas would not have been as great as they were if not for the team environment that they were created in. In business, most everything is done in a team, and the skills we have learned during this class will carry over to each of our careers.

The Importance of Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning

A man named Alvin Toffler once wrote, "The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." We live in an innovative world, and this fact does not appear to be changing anytime soon. As business individuals, it is our job to keep up with the times and adapt as new technology is brought about. Ten years ago there was no Facebook or Twitter. The concept of social media meant nothing. And look at the world now. A business cannot survive without utilizing the various social media outlets available today. Looking to the future, whether it be five, ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now, there will be continuing innovation that will change the world of business forever, and we must be ready to change with it. Those who resist will fall behind and eventually disappear. To survive, we must master the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn as each new technological change comes about.

What I learned from class

I have never realized how important and useful about MOW marketing nowadays. The advertising strategy has been changed. It is not a one way communication process anymore where company put Ads on TV, radios and newspaper. Rather, the trend is to create a two way communication with interactions. Companies started to realize how important it is to let customer talk rather than make them listen. This is why companies started to care more about customer services. On the other hand, I found the 5Ts strategy is very useful for WOM marketing. We have to determine who our talkers are and create topics for each of them specifically and target them with a specific tool.

With the trend of using social media as a tool, companies now can reach and connect with different groups of customers. The budget is cheaper than traditional advertising. Also company can keep track of the customers easily. On the other hand, I have learned that the power of youtube is very big. I am impressed by the coca-cola video on youtube. It is remarkable and it still sticks in my head. As long as the video is interesting, it can attract people’s sights and stick in their head for a long time.

Furthermore, I found that mobile application is another big trend in the coming years. With the advance of technology, more and more people will use smart phones. Thus, mobile app will be something that companies should invest in.

My Last Blog: What I Learn in this Class!!

The last couple weeks, I was amazed how the social media really impact everyone’s life that most of the people won’t really notice it at all. Before I walked in to the class, I kind have idea about Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, LinkIn and YouTube video is another new trend to the marketing and advertising industry; however, I have no idea that social media could deliver much information 24/7 anywhere anytime compare traditional marketing strategy. I have learnd the 5T’s word of mouth marketing plan, social media Ethical stander, Twitter, Facebook, LinkIn, QRcode, Mobile advertising, children and adult online consumer behavior and of course the twice a week blogging.

In this class, personally I think the most interesting and cool part is the QR code. After writing my individual project, watching couple YouTube Video and Japanese magazine, I find out that all the product in Japan such as drinks, food, cloth, automobile or even movie evens all have unique QR code which convenience customers’ research but also create internet traffic and buzz marketing. In addition, Delta Airlines QR code boarding pass also make me shock. QR code truly saves a lot people’s time from check-in but also save a lot environmental sources such as paper and ink.

Overall, I enjoy being amazed by understand those new technology and trends, and I am looking forward to see how those digital method to change the global connection and create more efficiency world!!

Blog #17 – What have you learned from this class? (Final Post)

I have learned so much from this class that there’s no way I will be able to put it all down, but here it goes…

I have learned:

1. Facebook is can actually make its users more productive.

2. People just want to feel like they are a part of something bigger.

3. Companies with a conscience really do make a difference.

4. Being interesting is the basis for success.

5. Simple and free tools, such as tell-a-friend forms, can end up making your business successful.

6. Social media is here to stay; it’s an epidemic.

7. What “Twitter” is.

8. Blogging is much more popular that I had once thought.

9. Consumers are now in control.

10. Something as simple as a thank you note sent out to loyal “talkers” can become the difference in WOM marketing.

11. What “QR codes” are.

12. Much of the implements social media and WOMM offers are completely free.

13. What “LinkedIn” is.

14. What “Groupon” is.

15. Online, everything lives forever – so be careful what you put out there.

16. “Are you on Facebook?” is the new “What’s your phone number?”

17. Customer service is the key to survival.

18. Full disclosure could be the difference in owing thousands of dollars.

19. 1 in 4 Americans have smartphones.

20. I’m a lot better at creating campaign ideas than I had once thought.

21. Interactivity or an engaging experience will keep site visitors coming back; two-way communication is what the people want, not to be told what they want.

22. The different forms of digital property and what they cover.

23. The newly constructed facets of mobile marketing.

24. Websites need to have navigational flow.

25. The internet has changed virtually all aspects of the business world.

I’m sure as soon as I publish this I will think of even more of what I have learned from this class, but this is a quick overview of what I have learned from the resources we have read in class.

What i have learned from MKTG 491 class

Well, i have certainly learned a lot from this class. Up until i started taking this class i didn't know what word of mouth marketing is and how important it is. I thought at first marketing is all about advertising, and more advertising, but since this class introduce us about word of mouth, i started thinking WOW! word of mouth is really important for a marketer.

The 5T's are one of the most important in how to create the word of mouth to spread the word about your business. Certainly we need Talker, Topics, Tools, Tacking Part, and Tracking to build those 5T's.

Then there are four rules of word of mouth marketing. They are Be interesting, Make it Easy, Make People Happy, and Earn Trust and Respect. What i have learned from those 4 rules is as a marketer and it can also be apply to everybody in your everyday life, just be an interesting and happy person. that way people will like you and of course you will earn trust and respect as well.

I didn't know up until i take this class that social media such as facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogs, and so on are a very powerful tools to advertise your product or service. i thought at first those social medias are just to see what are your friends are doing, and update status. But then after seeing many videos on how powerful those tools are, i am start thinking as a marketer we need to focus more on those tools since today is a digital era.

Least but not last, i have never done any blogging before up until i take this class. Joe forced us to blog and blog and blog every tuesday and thursday. what i learned is it is pretty interesting to share your ideas with everybody in the world. Blog is also a great tool for a marketer to promote its product because in blog you can share what you have, ideas, opinion, thoughts and many more.

At last, i just want to say thank you to Joe Barnes and the other students in class for the ideas you guys have shared.

Cheers and good luck in whatever you guys are doing!

Last Blog: What I Learned In Marketing 491

Social Media is not a fad:

A statement worth repeating - social media is not a fad. (Socialnomics) Businesses today do not have a choice on whether or not to do social media. The choice for businesses to make is how well they will use social media because consumers and competitors will continue to talk about businesses with or without the business’ participation.

5’Ts:

In my introduction to marketing class sophomore year, I remember learning about the four P’s of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion). However, I did not know the 5T’s of marking existed. The 5T’s include:

Talkers: Find people who want to talk about you

Topics: Give people a reason to talk about you

Tools: Use tools that will help your message travel

Taking Part: Join the conversation

Tracking: Track and understand the conversation. Know what people are saying about you.

Four Rules Of Word Of Mouth Marketing:

1.) Be Interesting: Don’t be boring. People want to be entertained and engaged. Either be interesting or be invisible.

2.) Make It Easy: People do not want to deal with complication. People want to live stress free lives.

3.) Make People Happy: People want to be happy. Instead of having people search for happiness, make it easy for the customer and bring the happiness to them.

4.) Earn Trust and Respect. Preserve the trust equation. To preserve the trust equation, you need to trust and respect the customer first.

Blogs:

I have never blogged before and I was unaware of who bloggers really were. From this class, I have learned that bloggers can be anybody including myself. From taking this class, I have also improved my writing and blogging skills.

Conversation:

Conversation matters. “The best use of social media is to create two-way conversations---engagement” (Marketing 491 Lecture Notes). Conversations is what makes one interesting and worth listening to. Conversation is what connects us with each other. Conversation is life. Without conversation, people lose interest and without interest, one becomes invisible.

Happy Tuesday!

Connie Rae

My Takeaways from MKTG 491 Class

Until now, I still feel that I made a right decision to join this class. I have learned so many things from this class since the first day I attended. All the class exercises help enrich my experiences in word of mouth marketing field. All together, here are some lists of what I have learned so far:

• What are the 5T's and how to utilize them



• Know the new trends in consumer behaviors and new trends in marketing



• How to apply ethical standards from both WOMMA and SocialMedia.org



• How to use cause, mobile, and internet marketing including social media.



• What's is the tipping point and how to apply "what made to stick"



• How to keep the relationship with customer last long by using many methods including CRM



• How important it is to create customer experiences through the engagement of customers which has been emphasized in class many time



• People perform some practices unconciously. They don't even know at the moment they're posting comment, concerns or complaints relating to companies or firms on social media Web Site is part of word of mouth marketing. They're automatically being a free talker.

I believe, everything I've learned from this class will not go away and I absolutely will have to use them in the future if I want to be successful in any kinds of business.

What I have learned

Much like my personal selling class with Mike Eguchi last quarter, this class has been in constant application at my internship with NWIRP. I enjoyed this class because I was able to move outside of theory and actually test concepts in real life to assess their potential for success.

Though my time at NWIRP will be ending soon, the lessons I learned from reading Sernovitz and from the class lectures were valuable and new. I have a whole new approach when it comes to marketing that emphasizes the importance of the consumer and deconstructs traditional precepts about target marketing.

It's exciting to look at my future profession with new eyes, and to share with others what I have learned about the relevance of social media. I had initially approached entities like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with caution, but after learning the exponential benefits that can occur just from engaging others, I am more inspired than ever to use social media now and in the future (Though I haven't really gotten around to using the Twitter account I created).

I have also learned that innovative ideas are not complex or expensive, the best ideas are simple and easy to communicate. The best ideas are accessible. Thanks prof. Barnes for an amazing class!

Closure for WOM class

This class is unlike any other class that is boring,so "in the box", and useless I should say. MKTG 491 class taught by Professor Barnes has been very useful for me that I can use and benefit me in my future career. Actually, I have used some of the lessons taught in this class and gave my brother some ideas to spark up his business' marketing section. I gave him the idea of putting QR codes in several items, ideas of making apps and to use LinkedIn to recruit potential staffs. He loved my idea and I quote "to the max" and in return, he gave me some of my favorite material goods in the world. So basically the lessons taken from this class has benefit me even before I start working.

There are so many things that I learn in this class but these are the remarkable ones (for me):

• Ethical standards
• CRM
• Evolution in technology world
• Mobile marketing
• Be out of the box or you wont win the prize (can be money/customer and much more)
• Honesty and Credibility is very important
• Take advantage of the booming social media and social networking websites
• Build and maintain relationship as it will lead to loyalty and free markeing (WOM)
• Be everything or nothing

I am very happy that I took this class. I have not only learn lessons taught in this class;however, this class has brought me great, unique ideas that I will never have thougth of if I hadn't take this class. Basically,it was very exciting (none of a dull moment), useful (for now and later) and worth of the tuition fee,it is as simple as that.

CRM

Leverage customers loyalty

Its very important to gain loyalty because without it, you will never be able to succeed in your business. Since T-station is a family owned company, it should be easier for them to gain loyalty. When they've gain customer's loyalty, these customers are likely to share their experience and spread about T-station using the power of word of mouth. This is like a free marketing that will result T-Station is higher net profit.

Drive Sales Effectiveness

T-station can do a much better job by driving up customer's sales desire. Before this project was started, what my client wanted is to increase their sales which should also to lead to higher net profit. I told her the only way you can do that is to be have a smart,honest accountant and "sly" marketer to achieve her goals. My client's problem is that she does not have this marketer to tell her to drive up people's desire o purchase her products. My client should use take advantage of Facebook,game nights, twitter and much more to attract current and prospective customer to come in my client's store.

What I learned in WOM Marketing class

What I learned in WOM Marketing class

- WOMM is about giving people to talk about my stuff and making it easier for them to do it. There are also incentives. It is also about finding the influencers in the market.
- 5Ts: talkers, topics, tools, taking parts, and tracking.
- It is important to be ethical when engaging in social media marketing.
- In mobile marketing, it is important to recognize the personal nature, keep it simple, and integrate with existing marketing.
- Digital storytelling is to inspire, influence, surprise, touch hearts, and it is about drama, humor, and emotions.
- Impacts of online digital revolution are power to the people, too much choice, and information overload.
- Self-branded connection is about self-esteem and experience of how we feel about something.
- Social customer relationship management is about putting the customers first. It is a collaborative conversation that provides mutually beneficial values to both parties.


This class has been so much fun and different from other classes. I could learn something real and fun and something that I can apply to my real life about Word of Mouth Marketing. I think I made a right decision to take this class as there are so many takeaways from this class!

Thank you Professor and class!

Regards,
Lee

Now, what have I learned from all this?

I can honestly say that now that we are nearing the end of the quarter (and the last in my college career), I thoroughly enjoyed this class. The information was applicable to my career, interests, and major. It's not a frequent occurrence to learn something that is actually something you can directly apply to your life moments later or during an interview the next day.

To begin, I learned that word of mouth marketing is marketing that gives people a reason to talk about you. More importantly, marketers can no longer control the message like they used to. Instead, it takes two-way communication and active involvement to spread a message that is ultimately controlled by the customers.

Here are the top ten things that come to mind when I look back on what I've gained from this class:

1. The 5 Ts are: Talkers, Topics, Tools, Taking Part, and Tracking. Each are very important to creating a strategic marketing plan.
2. Building relationships will help build sales.
3. If you treat people well, they will return the favor by doing your marketing for you... for free.
4. You can either be interesting, unique, and fresh, or be invisible.
5. Keep topics fresh and simple.
6. Honesty in all communication is key.
7. Sticky ideas resonate with audiences because they are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and tell a story.
8. Media isn't social, people are.
9. To be successful with social media, you must exist in the space between planning and improvisation.
10. Power lies in real-time everything.

Thanks for a great class, Professor Barnes!

What I Learned In This Class.

1. "Marketing is what you do, not what you say." (Thank you Andy Sernovitz.)

2. Become relevant to your customer's lives.

3. What can you do with social media? Connect-Collaborate-Communicate--Converse

4. Think as an internet user rather than as a marketer.

5. Respond to every blog post, comment, and question.

6. Two-way conversations are key. Really.

7. "Ethics is what you do when no one is looking." -George Bernard Shaw

8. Don't forget to say thank you to your talkers.

9. Disclosure. Honesty. Transparency. Follow those FTC guidelines!

10. Always thank your Twitter followers for following you.

11. Make sure your ideas are sticky: simple, UNEXPECTED, concrete, credible, emotional, and involve a story.

12. It is absolutely necessary for traditional business models to shift and adapt to the new social media and technology-oriented environment.

13. "Reality social media" is replacing reality tv. who knew?

14. "Some people are assholes." -David Armano

15. What matters now is social capital.

16. Americans spend approximately 2.7 hours each day socializing on mobile devices. That's a lot of time.

17. Cause marketing is using social media for social good.

18. Social media marketing is all about creating a unique and memorable experience.

19. Attention is no longer guaranteed by interruption.

20. The three major effects of the digital revolution are: a. power to the people b. too many options? c. information overload.

This quarter has been great!

Cheers,

End of the year post!

This quarter was awesome, but I'll be the first to say that I didn't learn much from the material we studied. That's not to say that I didn't learn anything at all. It was just the opposite; the class opened my eyes to some ideas that are going to be very valuable for me in the future.

The first thing I learned about is the shifting of the current culture. There are experts in areas that are willing to put up content for free like Wikipedia; the only price being that they enjoyed creating the content (for sheer joy/stress relief). Also there are people with thousands of connections online and are not shy to blast a company on a customer service mishap (And friends that will trust their word and take it as their own). So I guess I learned that the our online behavior is shifting our culture into one that is more sharing and giving (communal). People are beginning to trust online gurus and reviews on products, and a lot of power is being given to the common man because of this.

Also, with the changing and adapting technology (Google TV, iPad book), products still have to continue to appeal to our basest senses. Things like storytelling, sounds in advertising, and tapping into someone's emotions (over logic) have always been effective in selling ideas and products, and will always be. The key though, as a marketer, is to adapt to be creative with the current media that is widely accepted. The successful campaigns will be able to transition from radio and TV advertisements, to using Facebook, Youtube and Twitter to create buzz in order to reach audiences. These things were very important for me as a future marketer, and I am very grateful that I was able to take this course.

What I learned in this class

Think outside the box

The field of marketing has endless opportunities. All it takes is some creativity to discover these opportunities. The marketing strategy of the tongue scrubber brand OraBrush is a great example. There isn’t a set rule of how to make a viral video, or a rule of thumb for how to make people talk. One must not be afraid to try things out. Ideas that are unconventional can receive tremendous attention when presented at the right time and the right place. Marketers should not try to appeal to all segments of the market; sometimes focusing on niche market is more profitable.

Be the forerunners in technology

Marketers must utilize the latest technology to keep the brand fresh and updated. Today, purely one-way advertising such as TV and radio is outdated. If a brand is not on social networks that yields two-way communication with consumers, it doesn’t exist.

Listen

Whether we like it or not, consumers have the most power and the loudest voice right now. Marketers should listen to what consumers want, what they think, what they like or don’t like, and strategically build relationships with customers. Business is not transactional. Your best ambassadors are not hired agents but are your most loyal, happy customers. Simply telling your consumer to buy doesn’t work anymore.

CRM

Make Every Contact Count

My client does not currently use a CRM program to integrate data into one source. Although she does manage this information, it could be done with greater detail. She knows her clients so well and helps them with such a large purchase in their lives, I believe a CRM program would benefit her business by organizing all the information in one location. Additionally, number three on the "Ten Rules for CRM Success" says that incorporating a CRM program should generate more deals and drive sales effectiveness.

Measure & Manage the Marketing Return

Even though my client has successfully survived the poor economy and downtrodden real estate market, one area for improvement is measuring and tracking the return on investment in marketing tactics. This could be done through the use of a CRM program where it will automatically monitor expenditures and returns. So, in the end, a CRM program would be helpful but I'm curious if it is worth the investment for an independent specialist.

Chapter 15 E-Marketing

Feathered Friends is good at out particular CRM facet and that is Sales Force Automation. SFA enables companies to drive sales productivity, increase visibility, and expand revenues with an affordable, easy-to-deploy service that delivers success to companies of all sizes. The salves force solution for customer service gets companies up and running in a matter of weeks with a call center application which Feathered Friends has.

One of the things Feathered Friends lacks which I tend to improve coming in as a marketing consultant is there valued customer experience. Most customers want brand loyalty as much as the firms they patronize want it. Consumers want to patronize the same Web site, social network, and online booksellers because doing so is efficient. Many consumer are "loyalty prone" searching for the right product or service and then sticking with it as long as the promises are more or less fulfilled. Users believe that company cares when they get an email about upgrades to their PDA addressed to them by name that refers to the exact product purchased.

Organization collaboration is key to gaining valued customer experiences. Marketers should collaborate both within and outside the organization. Within the firm, cross functional teams join forces to focus on customer satisfaction to create a CRM culture. Outside the firm, when two or more companies join forces, the results often exceed what each firm might have accomplished alone--whether it is in the distribution channel or a non-transactional-type collaboration.

--Tim McCauley

What I have learned from this class

The main thing I have learned from this class which is how to encourage audiences to have conversation on social media. I never think that saying “Thank you” can encourage them to have conversation.

Also, ethical issue is the good thing to know about because we don’t often know about what we are doing is ethical or not. I still remember don’t try to change the conversation or on social media. Let customers to express their opinions. Although this is very difficult by doing it because their conversation might damage the reputation, it is necessary to protect free speech on the internet.

QR code is another new technology which I learn from this class. Although I always see it on Japanese magazine, I still don’t know what it is. After this class, I feel that QR code is a very priceless and useful tool to use.

The other new thing I have learned from this class is "Social CRM". Using social media to connect customers is very a very new CRM, and I believe that after I know this concept which can help my future job. Since now more and more companies have their own Facebook page, but they don't how to use this resource to connect with customers.

Ichiro Restaurant

Leverage the loyalty effect.
Customer service is very important for every business. But, I believe it is even more important for restaurants. It is doing a good job at providing friendly and pleasant customer service. As Ichiro has lots of regulars, it may do something different to increase customer loyalty, which will lead to profitability.

Build the team and Seek outside help.
Ichiro Restaurant is a very small family-owned business. I have learned that they do not have a website, do not engage in any marketing including mobile and QR codes, and just recently launched its Facebook page. But, they do engage in cause marketing by working with many student associations at UW. I would say they can engage in more marketing by starting a Facebook page and Twitter account. They may consult other restaurants about how others are catching up with all the buzz marketing and social media.

Moe Bar CRM

Although I understand the importance of salesforce.com and various CRM tools, I must point out that it is not feasible for a small business such as Moe Bar to utilize those data. Yet there are many ways for Moe Bar to manage customer relationship without large investment upfront.

Keep up the good work: Targeting and acquiring customers

Moe Bar targets a specific group of people and it has been very effective. Neumo, the parent company, is a well-known entertainment venue.

Things to improve: Recognize customer role

Moe Bar has always done a good job at targeting and acquiring customers; however, its small size and limited booth space has turned away many new customers, especially in the summer when the bar has no AC. I recommend Moe Bar to hire marketing/communication interns to listen to the online conversation of customers and timely provide feedback and reply to those who are influential in the online community. The Internet has shift the power from companies to customers; and customers listen to their peers' opinions. Retaining a customer is always cheaper than acquiring new ones.

Customer relationship management

Old School Frozen Custard is executing well on recognize the customer’s role which is about the customer, as evidenced by the rise in social media and the balance of control shifting from companies to customers. Companies provide technology so that customers can manage their relationship with companies. Old School Frozen Custard has Facebook and Twitter. Consumers have relationship by following on these two social networking website. Old School Frozen updates special events, new flavor or discount on Facebook and Twitter. It leads consumers can easily and quickly to get there new events or news on social networking website. Also, they have their own website which has everyday’s special flavor calendar every month. Consumers can download and print out the calendar to keep tracking their new flavors.

On the other hand, I think Old School Frozen Custard needs to improving on “make every contact count.” For example, they can build the member system to keep in track their members. Sending out the coupon/special discount or event to members makes them feel special, and we care about them. Old School Frozen Custard needs to build the relationship with members by knowing what their favorite special flavor ice creams are. So, when the day has that special flavor they can send the message such as e-mail to remind them.

Tara

What Jones is Doing Well

Authenticity: Jones is seen as an authentic company. What helps cultivate this feeling is the small size of the company. I believe it is easier for consumers to trust smaller companies as opposed to large corporations like Apple and Microsoft. The small size of Jones allows them to establish more personal relationships with their fans. Also, Jones does a good job with responding to questions/comments/concerns through Twitter and Facebook. This aids in solidifying an authentic and trustworthy reputation among consumers.

Cultivate Relationships: Going along with this idea of authenticity is the process of cultivating positive relationships with your customers. Once consumers trust you it is essential to build relationships with them. This is done by responding to customer feedback, which Jones does well, and creating campaigns that foster consumer interaction. Jones fulfills this second requirement by offering video contests (i.e. Whoopass advertisement), trivia contests using Facebook, and continuing the policy that requires every bottle to have a fan-submitted photo on it. All three of these actions develop positive relationships with customers as well as build the desire to be a part of Jones Soda's "inner circle."

What Jones Could be Doing Better

No Digital Litter: Let me start by saying that Jones has done a quality job with their website. However, there is always room for improvement, and cleaning up the website would be a start. It is artistic, enjoyable, and reflects the company perfectly. Nevertheless, it is somewhat cluttered. There are far too many pull-down menus, and it can be overwhelming when you are looking for a specific piece of information. The homepage looks great, but the second you want to browse the rest of the site, you get lost. Jones should start by deleting several of the pull-down menu options, thereby allowing individuals to more easily navigate and find what they are looking for. This is the only area that immediately stands out as a weakness. Other than that, Jones is doing everything right and my hope is that they continue to build their brand in the global marketplace.

CRM

A well implemented CRM business model offer structure, process and tool, managerial knowledge and commitment in support of the customer-centric culture. In the other word, CRM is a comprehensive business model for increasing revenues and profits by focusing on customer. With Sales force CRM; managers can easily manage the sales process, with visibility into information about prospects and customers. CRM also enters the picture as a process that provides internal formalization for enabling successful customer marketing and one-to- one marketing. The following information could be the most helpful for the sale force to be able to access about the relationship between New World and its customer:

Customer perspective	Company perspective
· Customer retention · Customer acquisition · Customer satisfaction · Customer profitability · Customer order history · Collect and store customer data · Analyze and understand individual customer preferences	· Lead management and · Sales order entry · Order history · Improve services · Better- informed decision · 24/7 access · Decision support

For my client Experience Shoes, they should really build up customers’ shopping behavior and contact list in order to increase their customers’ services and provide more personalized shopping experience. Since my client already using some of the social media such as Facebook, website and YouTube, they should really build up a team to manage and respond consumers’ opinions and complains. It would be meaningless, if those social media did not interact with their consumers and it definitely will be hard to understand current market situation.