I think the only thing in this week's reading that surprised me was the use of co-marketing and banner ads and their usefulness. I did not realize there was co-marketing on the internet. I know I have seen it with products on the shelves in stores, but not with marketing on internet.
I am mildly confused as to why anyone would want to use the secondary data, when it can be old information and really may not entail the demographics needed for my business.
My questions I would ask Kuratko:
1. Why don't entrepreneurs just adopt the consumer driven philosophy right off the bat if they want continued success?
2. When is it appropriate to surpass the recommended 10% or less of revenue for marketing expense? Or as a rule of thumb should this be followed through lifetime of firm?
3. What are the author's thought on email marketing? I'm interested on his position for or against because I know I find it useful for businesses I frequent, but then I do hate spam.
With this week's reading there was nothing I necessarily disagreed with because most of what I read was already confirmed in previous marketing classes.
Hmmm, to really take the time to talk about me (my favorite subject) and define what I think makes me different in only five examples:
1. I believe someone has something to offer and I believe stepping back and reassessing the individual (even those you do not care for at all) you can find that value. I make every attempt to do such in my life
2. I make attempts to ensure all people feel included at work, social settings, or whatever environment. Even if it is my first encounter of the event or individual.
3. I consider "no" to a position, as an opportunity to improve and overcome that obstacle for the next go round.
4. In my professional life as a woman, I am not afraid to ask for what I want, such as more money, more responsibility, whatever it takes to help me reach my goals.
5. I believe in nurturing and developing those that come behind me. I want someone to want my job. I like ambition, I am not afraid to share my knowledge because that means there is someone who can take my place and thus should not hinder me from moving to the next level..
My daughter, Alexus, sees me as driven. Her idea of me is that I go out of my way to help other people even without having to ask. Good and bad, I am heartfelt and emotional. In her opinion at times not so warranted.
My friend Kerry actually has known me for 14 years and sees me as genuine. She states I would give the shirt off my back and have the ability to make someone feel they are the only person in the room.
I never met a stranger. I am trusting, but usually a good judge of character.
Jana has worked with me for 13 years, not the twelve she mentions. She thinks what makes me unique is my ability to see both sides of a situation and be objective. I don't jump to conclusions or make knee jerk reactions. She thinks at times I have a tendency to be too nice, but that has not hindered me.
Lisa is my friend who I have known for over 20+ years. Her thoughts on what makes me different is my power of persuasion. She states I am detailed and want to do my research prior to acting. Not sure if this is a good thing or bad, but she described me also as "strong willed". Heartfelt and sincere were words she utilized to describe me and honestly, who am I to disagree.
Nadine has known me for 15 years. Power of negotiation and ability to get teams to work together is what she thinks makes me unique. Ability to look at all sides or the whole picture
Mahal is my friend that has known me for 15 years. She describes me as passionate and it comes out in my work. My belief in people and give many chances, and after they fail I give them many more (sounds like a weakness when she said it out loud). I invest in people to get what I need.
I had early on decided what kind of person I wanted to be and always believe in treating others as how I would want to be treated. In my life and due to my age, I have had lots of opportunities to self-examine and it would seem, that my family, friends, and co-workers and I are on the same page.
I can step back and relate to what Mahal stated in her video and that is "our greatest strengths can also be our greatest weakness". I am at times an overly positive individual about others and want to always hope for a brighter tomorrow (that sounds corny-like it came from Annie).
In any case, I think you now know more about me than you ever wanted to know, but don't blame me, blame Dr. Pryor.
Just because I put an idea on this napkin doesn't mean that change is imminent. This is just a canvas for ideation. It's what I do next that counts. Brian Solis
I am individual that always attempts to find the good in any situation. Even if I have associates that say something negative about an action plan, I believe there must be something we can do to improve the process. It may not change significantly, but enough that the associates see that management is hearing their concerns and are willing to make some concessions. This is what I see will also be helpful with my business.
Too many families are being told or think they lack the needed tools for owning their own home. I want to show these lower and middle income working families that homes are within their reach. Not bottom of the barrel homes, but a real home that is in a safe neighborhood, close to shopping and schools. Just because they lack the understanding of education of the home buying process should not exclude them from reaching this goal.
My business, Trans-It-Home (transition to your forever home) will first just start as a service offering assistance in overall home education as well as meeting the financial requirements for our lenders. We will require two hour classes to be taken for two weeks in which we educate about green resources and the benefits of spending more money up front for lighting and other tangibles in order to lower utility costs. We will educate about recycling, composting, and upkeep of home such as filter changing and keeping the air conditioner and heater serviced at least twice a year. Ways to clean the dryer vent yourself to ensure the appliance is not having to overwork (which adds to utility costs). These families need to have an understanding of the total cost in owning a home, not just the principle and interest.
Our families work hard to get by every day. These families have aspirations for their children to do better than them. Their hope is they work hard so their children do not have to work as hard to reach their goals. These lower income and middle income families have pride in their work ethic and everyone in the family has a part to play in order to keep them cohesive. These are the families that will be successful in our program and will value the service offerings.
We are not a brokerage firm, we offer a service to assist these families in reaching a goal. The lending companies (only a handful) we work with are the partners that pay most of our fees because we are providing them with families with stable working environments and certifications of what they can really afford and automatic payments for assurance of payments. Our families will have a fee to pay, but what they do not know is this will be put away for an excursion of shopping for their new home they were approved at course completion. We are not just going to educate, but we are going to examine and ensure they understand the concepts taught.
Feedback memo-
1. Limited lenders to a few in order to gain best pricing for clients
2. Starting the business off with a limited service offering for now and then expand ideas as we go along
3. It was not clear how we will make money without hurting the families we are attempting to assist. I believe the above has cleared that up
4. Confusion how we will actually differentiate ourselves from a broker
5. Most feedback I received was positive of the clientele I am serving and there is a need for this offering that is cost effective to our customers.
