Doug Kendal's Asthetic Modification...

Can you think of any products that have made Aesthetic modifications? Do you think these modifications are essential to saving a struggling product or too risky to attempt?

I think every company should give themselves a facelift when things begin to drag. Every company deserves a make over to reinvent themselves and to also let consumer's know that they are still there but new and improved and always aware that times also change and it's a way for customer's to realize that company again and know that, that company is staying up to date.

An example that comes to mind is Apple. Apple was an important company in the 1980's when computers first came out but they were put on the back burner when Microsoft came out. The company reinvented themselves with a artistic side to the regular computers as well as coming out with the ipod and now the ipad among other artistic kinds of products. The company turned themselves around by changing their asthetic apppeal and rebounded from being forgotten.

Good Services vs. Bad Services

Services as we discussed in class is diffucult to differentiate their quality because they are intangible. Often times a service can charge extra fees and charge alot of money where a customer is left completely blind in knowing if the costs are legitamate or not. For example if there is a fee with a weird title on your cell phone bill or your tuition for the semester it makes you often wonder if you really need this fee and if it's legitamate.

Alot of times we have to test the quality of a service. We have to try a few sessions to see if we really like the quality of it, if it feels good, and if we would like to continue or go else where. In my expierence there are differences in quality of voice lessons. A really good teacher makes things "click" in an educational sense, is not extremely expensive, and does not waste your time with small talk while they should be teaching. On the other hand I've also had bad exiperences with a voice teacher where they would charge me 60.00 an hour, put a timer on (and made this obvious that I was taking up their valuable time) which can make a client uncomfortable, and this voice teacher talked the whole time rather than taught as well as complained that accompianying my pieces was too annoying or diffucult. After three lessons I realized the quality wasn't their especially for the price. I wasn't about to pay 60.00 an hour for small talk when nothing even got done. I would have gladly paid the 60.00 for a quality lesson that made me feel good and allowed me to grow as a singer but not for that. In this regard its pretty obvious that services are diffucult to identify the quality. We as consumers need to try them out to see if they are worth it or not because they are not tangible.

Can you recall a negative expierence of services that you needed to try out to see if it was worth it? Did you learn something from it? Did you go elsewhere?

In response to Liz's Blog: Retail Vs. Wholesale

Do you think it is essentially easier to a buyer to go right to the producer, or although it may be at a higher cost, is it less of a hassle to go through retailers and wholesalers?

This may be easier for the customer to do but it also depends on the customer. If a customer wants a more direct route and they are independent in this decision it is safe to say that a customer should be able to take this action in order to make a purchase. On the other hand there are customers that don’t feel safe and secure in doing this. For those customers who want this security that option should be given. In other words both options should be given to customer’s based on their tastes, life choices, and what would be less annoying and most convient for them. Its hard to say which would be better but both avenues should be given to all customers which would make customer’s the most happy. The more choices there are the better off customer’s and business’ will feel.

Poor marketing to employees not customers by Friendly's...

At Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation to revamp their image they instated a new marketing plan to make themselves seem as though they are a reinvented and a "hipper" company. Along with this new marketing plan they also added a theme song that they play at the restaurant on every hour as well as movie theatres. Among the song being annoying and extremely out of tune the method of their marketing of the theme song doesn't seem to be serving it's purpose. For example customers know what Friendly's is and if they are going there to eat they are already there and there is no point in wasting valuable time and money marketing to someone who is already there and knows who they are. So by marketing within the restaurant it is not marketing to new customers because customers are already there and they are just annoyiing the employees who also do not need to be marketed to because they already work for the company and know what is is all about. It would make sense to only play the song a few times a day not 12-16 times a day to annoy. Also advertising on billboards, the internet, on televison commercials but not in the restaurants.

Do you think its effective marketing to market inside the restaurant while customers and employees are already there? Do you think annoying people is an effective way to market a company?

In response to Doug Kendall's Branding:

Do brands matter to you, if so can you think of the areas where brands weigh heavily on your decisions? Can you think of any brands you have avoided because you didn't know how to pronounce or were unfamiliar with?

I am a avid person about quality. I will pay three times as much for a product if I know it will last a few years rather than one year. I also need to like to fit, style, or design of the product. I like some products for status but not all of them. I never have problems with products I cannot pronounce because I sing in several languages and am comfortable saying what the products are. If I don't know a product I would have to try it out. Sometimes consumers can imediately decide if they don't like a product by the looks of it and will not purchase it. If the new product is cheap the consumer can buy it and try it out but if its expensive it will take the consumer a longer time to decide if they want to try a product. But for the most part I analyze quality and longevity and make a very big deal of that when purchasing. If the quality isn't there I will be upset and boycott the item altogether if its really bad.

Exclusive Branding and Perception:

Branding can often be a psychological trick. People in all cultures believe some items are better than others and have a false sense of status through this. For example generic medicine can been seen as ‘not as good’ as the name brand products making customers purchase a more expensive product.

Some of the top elite products are Rolex, BMW, Mercedes, J. Crew,etc. provide a image and status for customers that make them feel like they are accomplishing something, as if they are important, and giving the owners a sense of self. These products are implied to have good quality. These products usually have good quality but in some cases the image of good quality is often given but is not acutally true. The customers may know that the quality of a J. Crew T-Shirt is the same as a Wal-Mart T-Shirt but they chose to purchase the shirt because of the name. This is a price the customer will have to pay for the name and lable. It is psychologically interesting with elite products which ones have good quality and which ones are are really just generic. One of the best ways for these exclusive products to leverage themselves over non-exclusive products is the statement that products are 'only sold here'. If people really want these luxiory products people will travel far and wide to get to them. For example someone would drive to Boston to purchase a Steinway & Sons piano for the status of the instrument or to New York City to purchase something from Dolce & Gabbana. This is a way businesses can set the standard that their products are expensive, elite, full of quality, to the point that they refuse to sell their products somewhere else because if they did the products and brand would not have the same kind of image.

Do you think exclusive brands are better than non-exclusive brands? Why or why not do you like them? Is the quality of these products actually better than not exclusive items? Have you ever been disappointed with a exclusive brands?

In response to Meghan Hardy's Easter Sales...

Do you think holiday sales are becoming too much?

Hardy asks the question if its too much that advertising and stores push holiday products three or so months before the holiday or event. Yes it is a bit much considering what the holidays were meant for. These Christian holidays weren't meant for materialistic reasons. If companies put products out a month and half or a month before the event it would be percieved in a less negative light and companies would not appear as greedy by not pushing items out into the market place earlier than scheduled. Within the recession people may be thinking about what these holidays really mean whether its Christmas, Valintine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, or Easter, consumers may be questioning the pure materialism of these events and if it's really nessissary to consume these things and people may choose not to impulse buy these products. Consumers may be thinking more clearly and making more conscious choices now with the recession it is a clear eye opener for consumers. Consumers may now consume what they want and not consume what they do not want.