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Week 5: Marketing Concepts Part I - Discussion
Market Segmentation (graded)
Segmentation is the process of breaking a population down into smaller groups and
marketing to it. Is it possible for a small business to oversegment its market? How might
that be dangerous?
Responses
Responses are listed below in the following order: response, author and the date and time the
response is posted.
Response
Author
414675372
Date/Time
0
Welcome
to Week 5! Professor Bryan
11/25/2012 3:09:09 AM
Hi class, and welcome to Week 5! Let's all join in the discussion early! Thank you, Jon
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OverSegmentation
0
Noel Ulep
11/25/2012 1:59:35 PM
I think it is possible to over segment a market. Its a businesses job to target and market to as
many possible consumers and when you over specify your target audience, the window in which
consumer will buy your product will get smaller and smaller since you created a product thats
meant for specific targets. A successful business would not discriminate their consumers and try
to appeal to every single one of them.
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RE: OverSegmentation Moira Johnston
11/28/2012 10:35:37 PM
I agree. My husband and I watch "Shark Tank" and you see all the time where one of
the "sharks" deny the entrepreneur a deal because they feel the product only targets a
small group of consumers. For instance, there was a guy who tried to sell a line of
"Cougar" products and was turned away almost immediately due to the sharks
knowing how limited the potential buying audience would be.
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RE: OverSegmentation Annie Haro
11/28/2012 8:01:35 PM
I agree Noel, I have seen many products today that are for only a specific type of
audience and they are not selling as they should. The product may be good but the
company needs to upgrade the product so it will work for all audiences that is were the
money is.
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RE: OverSegmentation Tonya Rojas
11/26/2012 1:16:02 PM
Nice response Noel. I agree totally. It's like Toyota segmenting their cars
only to a certain group of consumers. By cutting out some consumers on
certain products and services, you might be losing out on potential
business opportunities. Word of mouth goes a long way these days. If you
cut off a certain geographic area, they might rebel and you may lose out
on current customers as well. Never discriminate against paying
customers.
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RE: OverSegmentation Noel Ulep
11/26/2012 6:16:04 PM
Exactly my point, it is very unwise for a business that trying to be successful
to discriminate their consumers because everyone who who has money is a
potential client and in business it is all about getting revenue and profit. A
company can't receive the optimal revenue when they cut their consumer
base in half or more, sure the company is focusing on a group that will most
likely buy their specific product but it would be even better if their product
were available for every one.
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RE: OverSegmentation Bret Luckenbaugh
11/28/2012 7:41:15 PM
I think you two are on the right track, small businesses have to try
and appeal to the largest segment possible to create the highest
revenue they can. That is just good business as far as I am
concerned. I do disagree about the Toyota comment though, I
believe car manufacturers such as Toyota, GM, Chrysler, and others
need segmentation. They have subsidiaries that appeal to specific
market segments, let's take Toyota for example: They have the
Scion badge on the vehicle line that appeals to the lower to middle
class, Toyota badge for the middle class, and Lexus for the middle
to upper class. There may be some bleedover and gray areas
depending on the specific model, but that is their basic plan. It
would be hard for a small business to cover all the classes because
they would need to be recognized as producing high end products,
middle quallity, and economy quality all at the same time. That
would lead to a lot of overhead for a small business to cover.
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RE: OverSegmentation
Professor Bryan
11/26/2012 2:51:20 AM
Noel and class, excellent response! Small businesses almost never
have the resources to serve markets beyond niche ones, and
attempting to serve too many segments could dilute profits. This fact
demands that the total population be broken down into smaller,
more identifiable groups – through segmentation of some type, it
does not have to be demographic. Comments? Jon
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RE: OverSegmentation Fabromiya Monsanto
11/26/2012 12:47:43 PM
Although, there are ways for a small businesses to
segment their company but it is not highly
recommended. Unlike a large company segmentation
may be too expensive for a small business.
Segmenting is great since it opens opportunities in
marketing increase when segmented groups of clients
and customers with varying needs and wants are
recognized.
References:
http://marketing.about.com/cs/sbmarketing/a/smbizmrktseg.htm
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RE: OverSegmentation Stephen Nichols
11/27/2012 8:08:17 PM
I think there is an direct relationship between the level of market
segmentation and the quality you need to provide to make your product a
winner. Each additional quality that you use to segment your market means
that you have to go above and beyond what that group has available to be
the clear choice. For example, if we sell bikes to paraplegics then it has to be
hand driven and steerable. However, if we market the bikes specifically to
paraplegics with use of only one hand then we have to ensure that the drive
chain and steering can be operated with only one hand, a much more
significant challenge than the two handed version. Without this additional
consideration the bicycle would not be the best choice in this market and not
nearly as likely to succeed in the defined segment but it will cost additional
development time, especially if there are other segments that require their
own customization.
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RE: OverSegmentation Oscar Coroy
11/27/2012 10:33:09 PM
I agree. By being able to identify different segments of ones market, it can
help an owner better serve their target market. Instead of being diverse in
product, they can have one product marketed differentl to their different
segmented markets.
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RE: OverSegmentation Eric Underwood
11/28/2012 6:23:52 PM
In the Simpsons, Ned Flanders opens a store catering to left handed
individuals and carries products that make things easier then the same
product designed by right handed person. This is a great idea of a smaller
business operating in a niche market. All of his hypothetical resources can be
concentrated on meeting the needs of southpaws. As a sole proprietor he
would not have to stretch his limited resources and clutter his limited storage
space by carrying products that could be purchased by 100 percent of the
population. He could find a need and meet it with the fullest efficiency.
The phrase "jack of all trades master of none" comes to mind when thinking
of the small business. Take home repair for example. A person, or small
company, can develop a basic working knowledge of all the various parts of
the house or become highly skilled in one area, for example Air Conditioning.
A company that had basic skills would not be able to charge as much money
or perform advanced repairs and would have to look for a large number of
basic jobs. They would also have to have a larger number of tools, chemicals,
products and supplies on hand, which must be paid for up front. The master
would have a smaller tool base, perhaps more expensive tools, but by
concentrating their resources they could keep operation costs down and
increase profitability.
In a service based business the type of client is very important to the
company. We discussed this often at our auto center. There is a risk when
offering a loss leading special like a 15 dollar oil change. Yes the promotion
will increase footsteps, but there are only so many service bays and so many
hours in the day to perform service. If the shop is filled with cars getting only
15 dollar oil changes, a customer looking for a more profitable repair may
decide not to wait and take their business elsewhere. My manager always
argued with marketing on that. His idea was to work on 5 less cars per day
(25 instead of 30 for example) but be able to spend the proper time and put
full attention into those customers and create better relationships and
perform work that created better profit for the shop. He would say it is not
the quantity of the customer it is the quality of the customer that he was
looking for. So in our case it was much better to try to limit our scope and
not try to work on every car in the Atlanta Metro area.
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Concepts
0
Sheena Davis
11/26/2012 7:16:04 PM
It is possible to over segment in the small business market, due to the business may be
targeting a particular group. It can over or under target which is where the danger can possible
come in. If you over target then you are capable of losing dividends verses gaining dividends,
and if you are losing that can put your business up for force close or as we call it bankruptcy.
Also why doing this you want to make sure that what you are offering you will have enough
product to meet the quota, if not then you can tend to lose business if there isn't enough for the
customers.
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RE: Dangerous
of Over
Segmentation
0
Betty Nelson
11/26/2012 7:43:57 PM
Modified:11/26/2012 7:48 PM
A danger of segmentation and target marketing is that it
encourages the belief that those segments and markets will
stay the same but they won’t. Specify how you will continue
to evaluate consumer needs so that you can identify market
trends and, based on that information, improve your market
lines and aid new product development. (Hatten, 4th Edition,
2009,Small Business Management, Entrepreneurship &
Beyond) The danger is thinking those markets and
segmentation WILL stay the same.
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RE:
Dangerous of
Vincent Hyatt
Over
Segmentation
11/28/2012 11:01:37 PM
Markets change constantly and trends change constantly. Segmenting towards a
certain target market makes the business experience tunnel vision, negating the needs
of the overall population as a whole. To fix this problem, a business must have strong
a strong research and development division to forecast market changes and trends.
Segmenting is risky.
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RE:
Dangerous of
Nicole Mendez
Over
Segmentation
11/27/2012 6:57:50 PM
I think segmentation is the only way to diversify a company to be able to reach more
customers. Without breaking down the population into smaller groups and marketing
to those smaller groups there would be to much product that might not be wanted or a
product not being sold that is wanted. Older people need different soaps and lotions
then younger people do so there needs to be that breakdown of marketing. Too much
or over segmentation can lead to too many products or too mu7ch marketing and be
over stimulating and confusing for people. As well as costly for a company. Knowing
just the right amount of segmentation that needs to go on is a key benefit in any
company.
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RE:
Dangerous of
Moira Johnston
Over
Segmentation
12/1/2012 11:46:50 AM
Nice examples, Nicole! I agree especially with how too much segmentation
may confuse an audience. If you take the cell phone industry, for example.
Many people are confused by what their plan includes, what phones work
with what plans, why there are so many upcharges, etc. I think some
industries excel when their product is difficult to understand and the market
is limited. Although there are many cell phone providers, the number is
shrinking due to all the buyouts, making some companies more able to take
advantage of a confusing segmentation.
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RE:
Dangerous of
Audrey Dawson
11/29/2012 7:41:49 PM
Over
Segmentation
Nicole,great post...I couldnt agree with you more there is nothing more
fustrating then a company consistantly trying to prove to you their product is
the best. Not all people like the same things. Referring to your example that
not every one may like the same lotion or soap.. Older people may want a
strong musk smell, while a younger consumer might want a fruity scent that
is ligher. Different strokes for different folks:)
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Marketing
concept?
0
Professor Bryan
11/27/2012 3:51:54 AM
Class, new question from Chapter 11. Marketing plays a key role in a small business’s
success. Can a small business succeed without adopting the philosophy underlying the
marketing concept? Why or why not?
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RE:
Marketing
concept?
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Betty Nelson
11/27/2012 4:46:40 PM
My opinion is NO The answer is in the question, but to
read the book; A marketing strategy that is offbeat
can gain more attention than a traditional strategy if
you need to know how
tolerant your target market is, tolerance
being measured in money. “`Crazy’
becomes `too crazy’ when the cash
register stops ringing.” So you need a
marketing strategies to draw attention to
your business. (Hatten, 4th Edition,
2009, Small Business Management,
Entrepreneurship & Beyond).
done carefully,
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RE:
Marketing Vincent Hyatt
concept?
12/2/2012 11:28:24 PM
You are never in control of the market. It is constantly changing depending
on demand. In order to become successful as a business, you need to have
your products known by the public. In order for this to happen, you need a
sound marketing strategy. Especially if you're a small business, you want all
the publicity you can get. Therefore, I don't think a business can succeed
without adopting the marketing concept.
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RE:
Marketing
concept?
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Sheena Davis
11/27/2012 8:08:30 PM
This is a yes and no question.
Yes because a if a small business target the right group of people in the right area they
are able to stay around for years. for example I'm from a small town home of the
Texas Burger, yes they are only in Texas and are about six total who has been in
business since 1967 and are still booming till this day.
No because we could take the store for example Wiener's a clothing store Inc. who was
in business since 1926. This store had its first scare of bankruptcy in the early 1930's,
and managed by opening up about 12 more stores. Then other business caught on to
the gig and then Wiener's was faced with competition, such as K-Mart, Target,
Marshall's... etc. These businesses was booming so greatly that Wiener's faced its
second bankruptcy in the early 1990's again. The industry was so wide fetch and they
were not able to keep up so in the early 2000 they was forced again with a Chapter 11
Bankruptcy.
With that being said this is a two fold questions depending on what you have to offer
to the customers as a product and in the market world.
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RE:
Marketing
concept?
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Fabromiya Monsanto
11/27/2012 11:28:53 AM
I would think the can succeed. There are many mom & pop
stores that have been around for many years who are
successful.. They are convenient stores that sell a little of
everything and people form the neighborhood are used to
going to them for all their needs.
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RE:
Marketing Sheena Davis
concept?
11/28/2012 10:58:57 PM
I think that is true, and I know of a few mom and pops stores where im from.
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RE:
Marketing Noel Ulep
11/27/2012 1:11:09 PM
concept?
I agree with Fabromiya to a degree. While small business can survive without
adopting the philosophy underlying the marketing concept, it is almost
impossible for them to keep up with successful business that have taken that
route. Even though those ma and pa's stores exist, people still go to Walmart, K-mart, Ross and etc because they are more known to the public than
the other stores which are seen as just holes in the wall despite having
competitive products and prices to match Wal-mart.
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RE:
Marketing Derek Taylor
concept?
12/1/2012 5:46:14 PM
A lot of factors need to be examined before determining how
competitive a small business can be with a larger company. A large
factor would be location in regards to the larger competitive
company. Some small businesses are able to be more successful
than others based on their location. The larger the number of
potential customers that you are closer to than the competition the
better. You also must take into consideration that a small business
would never be able to directly match the traffic and consumer base
that a large corporation like Walmart or Target. The goals of the
two industries are not the same. What a small business may seem
as a success a would not be the same as what a larger company
would consider a success.
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RE:
Marketing Professor Bryan
concept?
11/28/2012 3:59:04 AM
Fab and class, great answers! Many businesses have been
and will be successful being driven by other philosophies like
the selling or production concept. They are served well by
focusing their attention on making their product and all is
well as long as consumers continue to want that specific
product. MOST businesses need to keep a close watch on
determining what customers want and then provide for that
satisfaction, but a case can be made that not every customer
knows what they want or what is possible so some
businesses need to follow other philosophies. Comments?
Jon
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RE:
Marketing Bret Luckenbaugh
concept?
11/29/2012 8:15:45 PM
I think they could be successful for trying to create a product that
the market may want in the future, but it would come with much
higher risk than supplying what the customer has already shown
demand for. You may hit a goldmine if you create a product that
turns out to be extremely well received, however it could also be a
flop and cause enormous stress on the business and possibly
bankruptcy.
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RE:
Marketing Audrey Dawson
concept?
12/1/2012 2:10:11 PM
Bret I agree with your statement, If a product is
developed it has to be well thought of and the target
market should be kept in mind, so that like you stated the
product will be well received and can make a profit.
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RE:
Marketing
concept?
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Tonya Rojas
11/28/2012 11:39:25 AM
Depending on the product or service you don't really need to adopt this
concept. If you have a product or service that is already established in
the market place, you just need to better your product rather than
concentrating on other things. If you have something that is working and
is in demand, your already half way there. You can keep the customer
satisfied by continuing to make a good product.
On the flip side, I'd say you must go with the marketing concept if you
are in the customer service field of the business. If your thing is satisfying
customer at any cost, then marketing is the way to go. They know how to
get the word out, what groups to target.
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RE:
Marketing
concept?
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Nicole Mendez
11/29/2012 7:23:10 PM
I think they can depending on the type of business for example beauty salons and nail
shops. There are so many around that they do not have to market and so many
women and men get manicures and haircuts so there is always a demand for those
services. In my experience it is actually the hole in the wall regular type nail salons
that do the best work for cheaper prices. They do not have lavish work stations or five
t.v.s on at once, it is just you and your manicurist and they seem to take pride in their
work. Obviously marketing would help the majority of small businesses out there but it
can be over done and just too much.
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Marketing
concept?
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Ddungu Wasswa
12/1/2012 7:18:09 PM
Marketing is a broader term it starts well before production of the good and
goes on after the sales in form of customer feedback. With the growing
intense competition in the market it is difficult for the small business to
achieve their targets. To obtain success, small business have to come out with
better strategy through marketing and try to create brand name of its own.
Brand name helps in earning better profit. It helps in delivering to the
expectation of the customers. It creates relationship with the customer.
Marketing does not only know what the customer wants, it also about knows
what rivals are doing.
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RE:
Marketing
concept?
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Derrick Woodley
12/1/2012 8:21:39 PM
I think small business would not survive long if they didn't adopt the philosophy of the
marketing concept. In today's market you have specific customers that purchase
certain products based on there needs. In order for a small business to take full
advantage of the market share the must adopt the marketing concept. (Relationship
marketing)
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Marketing
concept?
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Robert Smith
12/1/2012 9:48:26 PM
Modified:12/1/2012 9:49 PM
I think it depends on your specific business, area that you operate, and the type of
consumers your business caters too.
As some of my classmates have mentioned, many of the "mom and pop" stores have
survived the introduction of large corporate super stores. I think these businesses
often operate in smaller towns with people who are more loyal to their community
operated stores.
However, I think that in larger cities where there are a large number of citizens that
are less concerned about things like preserving "mom and pop" stores, small
businesses will need to pay more attention to the marketing concept. They would have
to set themselves apart from the giant companies like Wal-mart. My town is not the
largest nor smallest town in the world, but mom and pop stores have to compete with
the likes of Wal-mart, Target, Best Buy, Lowe's and other large chain stores. We see a
lot of mom and pop stores in my community not succeed, Especially after the
recession.
http://www.netmba.com/marketing/concept/
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Segmentation
0
Ddungu Wasswa
11/28/2012 12:36:09 AM
Segmentation is only about breaking things to a smaller group but into the specific
group that boost the company’s product and services. For instance, who is the
customer, what is his requirement, how we are going to sale. It is possible for the
small business to over segment their market by outside measurement services, keeping
a bird eye view on the rivals effort, qualitative and quantitative research of its clients.
It is somehow dangerous too because if the small business is not able to specify the
segmented market then it can go into bankruptcy and cannot have a back up plan.
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Market
research
process?
0
Professor Bryan
11/28/2012 4:02:20 AM
Class, new question from Chapter 11. Explain the market research process
from a small business owner’s perspective when he or she is trying to assess
competitive advantage.
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RE:
Market
research
process?
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Ddungu Wasswa
11/30/2012 6:00:32 PM
The market research process from the small business point of view and is as
follows: -
The primary step of the small business is to know the purpose of why the
research has to be done.
2) Designing the layout of the research
3) Searching the information to support the conclusion of the research
4) Collection the final information and analyzing the information
5) Preparation of the final report
6) Submission and execution of the final report
There are the certain steps that small business could apply in order to gain
competitive advantage from the market. Since their scope is less it are able to
cover more matters in order to have better advantage over the marketer.
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RE:
Market
research
process?
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Fabromiya Monsanto
11/28/2012 2:08:35 PM
There is something known as"guerrilla marketing strategies"This is an unconventional, low-cost, creative techniquesSmall
companies can benefit much more out of their marketing
bucks using this strategy.
Reference:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29016029/Chapter-7-Entrepreneurshipby-Zubair-A-Khan
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RE:
Market
research
process?
416152954
Betty Nelson
11/28/2012 7:26:30 PM
Small businesses can achieve the success that Godin
discusses by avoiding the traps of convention and not
being afraid to stand out from the crowd by offering
unique products and marketing practices. “Purple
cows” represent the creation of a competitive
advantage or a unique selling point (USP).(Hatten, 4th
Edition, 2009, Small Business Management,
Entrepreneurship & Beyond)
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RE:
Market
research Professor Bryan
process?
11/29/2012 4:29:23 AM
Betty and class, great comments! Indeed, the market
research process can help a small business develop a
competitive advantage by providing a picture of what people
currently know and expect from your products or services.
More examples of some of those companies from the
Internet? Jon
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RE:
Market
research Audrey Dawson
process?
12/1/2012 3:27:39 PM
Betty, that is correct a product has to be unique. I think of some of the
infomerical that come on with trending little gadgets that people developed
that are actually useful. These ideas have the consumer in mind. Not to
mention these products has the consumer in mind, and that is the selling
point the marktter has to have in mind.
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RE:
Market
research Vincent Hyatt
process?
12/2/2012 11:32:04 PM
Unique products offer the business to have differentiation and gives
you a competitive edge. It's the businesses responsibility to keep
up to date products and to start specializing their products to
further increase their competitive edge.
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RE:
Market
research
process?
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Oscar Coroy
11/28/2012 10:36:15 PM
A small business manager should first understand what the research objective is. They
should then choose & analyze their primary and secondary data sources. They must
then select a sample size and the amount of data needed. Lastly, they must create a
data analysis report and a final report. A company should not be afraid to stand out
and offer something that is different than their competitors.
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0
Over
segmenting a Audrey Dawson
business
11/28/2012 11:24:15 AM
Yes, you can over segment simply by selling to a market who is not
interested in your product. A business that is catering to a particular
market or generation will be well received, but if you are selling a
product that younger people are interested in, and you try to sell
that same product to a senior citizen the over marketing could drive
that consumer crazy. So know your target market and doing your
research will cause less frustration and keep your business from
getting a bad reputation.
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RE: Over
segmentation
0
Christopher Akpan
11/28/2012 6:33:22 PM
Modified:11/28/2012 6:35 PM
Yes, it is possible that a business can over segment its company, which can be deadly for them.
Possibly catering to the wrong crowd, trying to sell a product would be a great example. Offering
products that offer weight loss, but its for someone that is trying to gain some weight. You have
to remember that you have a product that your consumer is actually interested in. Some
businesses survive, but its hard.
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Segmenting
0
Derek Taylor
11/28/2012 8:48:53 PM
The only thing that I can see that could potentially be harmful to a small business who over
targets their customers is not being able to keep up with the competition. Some businesses may
try to specialize in a specific market and they may not have the resources to compete in that
market with larger companies.
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Market
Segmentation
0
Auneidra Jefferson
11/28/2012 8:58:19 PM
I think a business can oversegment for sure! By directing your focus one a very
small demographic, it can backfire if that demographic doesn't reciprocate by
becoming patrons of your business. That means you've spent money that
you're not recouping.
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RE: Market
Segmentation Audrey Dawson
11/29/2012 7:34:48 PM
Auneidra,
I couldn't agree with you more. There is nothing more irritating then a business that is
contuniously baggering you to use their product. I can think of this massage therapy
company that was in a office building we us to work at. They would come into our suite
almost everyday to get us to come a used them. At first it was a thought, but after
seeing them too often you would do your best to try and avoid them.. I think over
stimulating a consumer is bad for business,and not to mention you are spending
money on flyers that are being thrown away or used for scratch paper.
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RE: Market
Segmentation Christopher Akpan
12/1/2012 3:30:46 PM
Audrey clearly that sends a signal to the customer that the company is
almost desperate. Its not a good look at all for the company. I have even
seen some companies continusly call you all the time trying to get you to
check out there product. And like you said, I, for one am bad about throwing
flyers in the trash because its almost a neuence to me.
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RE: Market
Segmentation Audrey Dawson
12/2/2012 10:08:59 PM
Yes, I am too amazed how the companies call you at home,,, I
could better handle the flyer, but calling me on my home phone to
try and sell me something! And not to mention the flooding of the
emails is a neuences as well.
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RE: Market
Segmentation Auneidra Jefferson
11/29/2012 9:51:24 PM
ABSOLUTELY! Not to mention, eventually you begin to
wonder if they have any clientele. If you have enough time to
badger me daily, then you don't have too many customers. So
why should I come if no one else is?
416495520
Market
Segmentation
0
Derrick Woodley
11/28/2012 9:05:28 PM
I think small business owners have to be very careful with market segmentating. First of all they
are called a small business for a reason. This means they only have a small group of customers
that support them. So therefore I would say that small business owners have to make wise
business decisions not to over-segment. Whenever the see that a specific product is not selling
or turning within the inventory levels these items should be cycled out of the inventory process
to make room for the items that are selling.
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416587189
Limitations
of research?
0
Professor Bryan
11/29/2012 4:29:57 AM
Class, new question from Chapter 11. What are some of the limitations of
market research? What can the entrepreneur do to offset these limitations?
417017578
RE:
Limitations
of
research?
416587189
Oscar Coroy
11/29/2012 11:22:49 PM
Here is a great article on the limitations of market research:
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/limitations-marketing-research.htm
An entrepreneur can try to get data from a trusted source. Data should not be vague;
it should help the entrepreneur not confuse them.
417077739,417543
416960147
RE:
Limitations
of
research?
416587189
Tonya Rojas
11/29/2012 9:16:29 PM
Limitations of market researsch such as the limited ability to
indicate what people will want in the future as well as what
they want now. But the idea is to concentrate on defining
markets rather than reacting to them. An entrepreneur must
go beyond what market research can tell.
Ref:
Hatten. Small Business Management: Entrepreneurship and
Beyond
417543571
417077739
416960147
RE:
Limitations
Professor Bryan
of
research?
11/30/2012 3:16:37 AM
Tonya and class, great feedback! Market research is good for
known products, but it does have some limitations. It can
help when your customers lack foresight in asking for
unknown needs or about what might be possible in a new
product. Market research can tell us the most about the
spoken needs of a served market, but a lot of room for
growth exists. Comments? Jon
417543571
417077739
RE:
Limitations
Stephen Nichols
of
research?
12/1/2012 10:35:47 AM
I think most of my business ideas come in this form. They are
products and services that simply don't exist. I can't really know
whether people will decide they need them when they do exist. Like
the book says, you won't know if people want it until you do it. One
of these ideas is the concept of "people food". Like pet food but for
people! It can come in bag or bar form, will meet all your nutritional
requirements, easy to store, easy to eat, no thought required. Need
food but don't have time/energy/money/kitchen? Just eat a
bowl/bag/bar of your food. To some I am sure that sounds stupid or
even revolting and others will balk at it because they think cooking
is "easy enough". But reality is that the need for ready to eat food
that fits into our diets that we perceive as healthy exists in our
culture and the only way to find out if anyone wants it is to make it
and see if anyone buys it.
418026747
416587189
RE:
Limitations
of
research?
Christopher Akpan
12/2/2012 1:32:43 PM
Some of the reasons limited market research is the results of MR are very vague as MR
is carried out on consumers, suppliers, intermediaries, etc. who are humans. Humans
have a tendency to behave artificially when they know that they are being observed.
Thus, the consumers and respondents upon whom the research is carried behave
artificially when they are aware that their attitudes, beliefs, views, etc are being
observed. MR is not a complete solution to any marketing issue as there are many
dominant variables between research conclusions and market response. MR is not free
from bias. The research conclusions cannot be verified. The reproduction of the same
project on the same class of respondents give different research results.
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/limitations-marketing-research.htm
417403883
Market
Segmentation
0
Robert Smith
11/30/2012 9:10:32 PM
Segmentation is a great tool for businesses. It can hep a business branch out and appeal to
more consumers than it would if it tried to appeal to everyone at the same time. The "you can't
please everybody" philosophy applies to segmentation. Rather than try to please everyone with
one product, a company will try to please everyone with multiple products designed for
individual. For large companies with plenty of money to invest in segmentation research, this
can be beneficial. However, the cost can be too much for a small businesses to do a lot of
segmenting. If a small business over-segments its market, its finances could be spread too thin.
This will make the risk of loss if any one segment should fail. I like to think of it like a balloon.
Under normal conditions, an inflated balloon can endure normal wear and tear. however, if the
balloon is over-inflated, the rubber becomes overstretched, and its stability is weakened.
417454019
market
segmentation
0
Seth Schwable
11/30/2012 11:51:29 PM
A small business has to be mindful of the fact that if they break their market down too much,
they will not allow themselves room for growth. And for a small business with limited resources,
this could have detrimental consequences.
417860905,417908
417472439
Shirnkage?
0
Professor Bryan
12/1/2012 4:20:21 AM
Class, new question from Chapter 12. What impact can shrinkage have on an
inventory system?
417908031,417971
417860905
417472439
RE:
Shirnkage?
Eric Underwood
12/1/2012 10:50:31 PM
When you walk into a retail store product can be seen far and wide. All of that product
that you see is not just a TV or a pair of jeans, it is part of the company's capital. I
worked for a time in the Automotive department of a large retail company. Part of my
role was inventory management and ordering. We dealt with shrink all the time. I was
constantly assigning product line counts to keep inventory as accurate as possible. The
problems of shrink came in two main forms. There was the loss of revenue on a
missing or damaged product that had already been charged to the P&L. The second
came with the potential loss of sale and perhaps even loss of a customer if they came
in for a product that was supposed to be in inventory but could not be found. Some of
the products had automatic ordering and did not re-order until inventory dropped to a
certain count. If the count was inflated due to an inventory problem caused by shrink
then the item would not be correctly resupplied.
417971617,418128
417908031
417860905
RE:
Shirnkage? Professor Bryan
12/2/2012 5:15:57 AM
Eric and class, great feedback and thank you for your
insights! Shrinkage can be very important to your business if
you deal in merchandise with a limited shelf life or which is
susceptible to theft. The cost of items that are in your
inventory but are not available for sale comes directly out of
your profits. Comments? Jon
418128721,418287
417971617
417908031
RE:
Shirnkage? Stephen Nichols
12/2/2012 10:49:39 AM
It seems to me a lot of shrinkage problems can be solved by
keeping a lower inventory and using just in time supply chain.
Doing this leaves less inventory to manage, go bad, or get lost. It
does increase Eric's problem of potentially not having an item if it is
done poorly though. A JIT system for an automotive department
might be set up as a daily truck run from the supplier with order
amounts automatically calculated based on sales volume and
possibly shelf space.
418287394
418128721
417971617
RE:
Shirnkage? Bret Luckenbaugh
12/2/2012 5:22:29 PM
I think the just in time supply chain is a decent idea. This
is one of those tricky things where you have to rely on
projected sales for stockpiling inventory. Theft is a big one
that you can not account for. Shoplifters are a constant
threat to any retail store, and you just never know what
they are going to take or how much of it. This could
obviously have a big effect on keeping your inventory
accurate, especially if you are tracking specific items by
serial number. You have to locate exactly how much of
what type of product is missing and attempt to take
precautions to deter the instance from happening th same
way twice. As far as things like food, that will be a
constant headache for trying to stock inventory that will
sell before it expires, and just in time strategy is pretty
much the only route to go with that.
418287394
418128721
RE:
Shirnkage? Moira Johnston
12/2/2012 9:23:11
PM
Bret- good insight about theft. This is another
issue that didn't cross my mind. JIT would need
a high accuracy rate and depend on reliable and
competent employees. For companies that deal
with food, JIT needs to be a constant focus so
complications don't ensue. For example, if items
aren't off the shelves before they go bad in a
grocery store or restaurant, customers may get
sick as a result. For other companies like
clothing , jewelry or toy stores, JIT wouldn't be
as big as an issue as food stores.
418304389
417860905
RE:
Shirnkage? Nicole Mendez
12/2/2012 9:48:36 PM
When I was in the military there were a lot parts that were needed for repairs
that were not always kept on board which caused loss of man power and
machinery. Having a piece of equipment out of commission delayed not only
our department but the other departments that used out elevators to move
their shipments such as the ship stores and the products that got brought
down on the elevators from the flight deck. When an elevator was down
because a part was not ordered or because the inventory was wrong and said
that the part was onboard when it really wasn't not only caused issues for us
but also for the rest of the boat. The meaning one hand greases the other
rings true in instances of shrinkage and every aspect of an inventory system
counts and has a purpose.
418274274,418318
418260040
417472439
RE:
Shirnkage?
Derrick Woodley
12/2/2012 8:43:52 PM
Shrinkage has a very negative impact on an inventory system. This is inventory that's
lost/stolen in which the business owner has to pay for. Also its's lost revenue because
the is product that can't be sold.
418274274
418260040
RE:
Shirnkage? Auneidra Jefferson
12/2/2012 9:04:14 PM
Exactly! It's a business owner's worst nightmare. You can
justify not selling products and losing money in that form. But
when inventory is lost or stolen, there's no justifying that.
418318572
418260040
RE:
Shirnkage? Audrey Dawson
12/2/2012 10:11:56 PM
Derrick I couldnt agree more, this can cause a huge problem for the
customers. Not to mention the owner like you mentioned will have to pay for
it.
418329117
418260040
RE:
Shirnkage? Derek Taylor
12/2/2012 10:32:01 PM
In most businesses that sell a product that can be stolen there is a loss
prevention service that is incorporated into the company. All employees are
trained on how to act accordingly when a potential theft occurs. These
policies are reviewed frequently with employees to ensure and enforce the
seriousness of shrinkage and loss prevention. Larger corporations may
devote an entire department of the company to reduce shrinkage and enforce
loss prevention procedures.
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