If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them.

WSJ Video
I have included this WSJ video that gives insight to the affect of Facebook on companies such as Yahoo. 

Facebook has become a huge social networking scene that had been catching not only the attention of the general public, but also of different corporate companies. Yahoo for example is trying to incorporate Facebook tools onto their website. They have seen a 10% decline with their users and are being affected by the various Facebook capabilities. They have now incorporated a Facebook 'like' and 'share' button onto their Yahoo site in order to have people share their Yahoo sites via Facebook.
Yahoo considers their relationship with Facebook as a 'Frenemy', which is part friend, part enemy.

"The friend part is that Yahoo has stopped trying to get people not to go to Facebook and decided it was better off enabling that, largely because it didn't have a real choice" -WSJ

The CEO of Yahoo called Facebook its top competitor. They do not feel that they can 'beat' Facebook, so they are using Facebook as a way to get more promotion. Do you think that this is a good idea? Will this encourage more Yahoo users?

In Response to Nicole Perry

There may not be any rules in business but morally there may be.  Do you think this stealing strategy is right in your mind?

What Nicole is talking about here is Mike Vitone's plan to take business away from his competitor E&R. The question at had is if it is moral to plan ahead of time to steal business away from a competitor. I agree that it seems a bit harsh to want to 'steal' business from others. However if Mike wants to become profitable or make Campus Mom become more well known, that may be what he has to do. If he offers lower prices than his competitors he will be likely to steal away some of their business. Like he said in his presentation though, that may not be as easy as it sounds. If he remains at Keene State or at public colleges he knows that he will not have a profitable business in the long run, so I believe his only chance is to have him 'steal' away the private school business. I wonder if there are other ways to get business without having to steal it away? Maybe working in an area that doesn't have this service? Or with different businesses?

In Response to Abby Hajec

"It costs anywhere between $2 and $3 million dollars just for a 30 second commercial. With the economy on the upturn, do you think people are really in the market for buying a brand new Mercedes?"

I agree with you Abby about how incredibly expensive it is to buy only a 30 second commercial! It's outrageous, but they must be doing it for a reason. The Superbowl is one of the most watched events on television, so marketers see that as an excellent opportunity to show their products, no matter the cost. I don't think that in the economy today people are out rushing to buy new cars, however the commercials are very eye catching. I like The Force commercial by Volkswagon, it kept me intriged because I had no idea what it was going to be about. The other commercial that stood out to me was another Volkswagon commercial for the Beetle. 

 

It will be interesting to see if car sales actually rise or not after all of these Superbowl commercials. How much money  are car companies willing to spend on their advertisements?

A Virtual Shopping Experience?

Marketers are finding new ways to be more effective within stores and improving customer satisfaction. Retail store customer satisfaction is decreasing 15% each year, which raises a huge problem with marketers. I found a lot of information about this from a Wall Street Journal Article entitled, Luring Shoppers to Stores. They are now finding new ways to market not only outside of the physical store, but inside the store right when you arrive. They are using new virtual technology in order to be more intriguing to customers. Some examples are as followed:

J.C Penney uses a “Find More” feature in some stores which allows customers to view a wide range of their merchandise, e-mail themselves or others different items from the store, and get product recommendations

In 289 Stop and Shop stores they are incorporating a hand held scanner which allows customers to see the discounts on certain items, view a history of scanned items. They can even place deli orders and pick them up once they’re done shopping for convenience; it’s almost like a FASTPASS at an amusement park!

IPG is incorporating avatar mannequins that you can virtually dress and choose outfits before you try them on, or buy them. They are also intruding a virtual mirror which allows you to scan clothes and virtually project what it will look like on your body shape before even stepping foot into the dressing room.

Other stores are trying to use mobile phones to send discounts and promotions straight to their phones. Stores such as Dunkin Donuts and Best Buy are trying to incorporate this into their marketing strategy.

The question I must asks is how effective is this? I guess we will have to wait and see, it is definitely an expensive way to intrigue customers but the return may be worth it. Could all of the technology be a turn off to potential customers?

How Much Information Will You Share?

Today there is a large issue with Social Networking interfering with people seeking employment. Some companies are using social networks to screen candidates applying for jobs. Of the companies who use social networks 29% of them use Facebook to find information on people. I found this source from Consumer Affairs.
So who is on Facebook? EVERYONE! That's exaggerating a little, but there are a lot of people who use Facebook and other social networking sites. As of July 15, 2009 Mark Zuckerberg (the creator of Facebook) announced that there were 250 million people using his site, and that number has only grown since then. I can only think of a few of my friends who do not have a Facebook, and I can even think of family members who have Facebook. The age range on Facebook is varied as well. My younger brother who is 16 has one as well as my grandma who is 75!


Facebook can be entertaining and sometimes a good way to communicate with others. However I am always careful as to what pictures I am putting up or what I say on the internet. It can be a controversial site not only with companies using it to screen you but also with relationships or family members. There are privacy settings which I use, while others may choose not to. Only certain people can see pictures I am tagged in or things that I am saying to others. You can control what you put on Facebook, nobody forces you to put up a picture or say something inappropriate on there, and if you don't want people to see certain things, DON'T PUT IT ONLINE.

Companies want there employees to represent them, and they feel that they can get information on there employees through social networks. I just got an internship at a company and in the interview I was asked if I had a Facebook and knew how to use it because that company uses a similar form of networking. So being able to use this form of social networking worked to my advantage. It is not always a bad thing to have a Facebook, you just have to be careful as to what information you are willing to put on the internet about yourself.

So should companies even be able to use social networks to dig up dirt on people or in a positive way to see how well people can use social networking? How much information do you put up about yourself on the internet?

In Response to Dale Aubin:

There is nothing more annoying than a boring presentation, I absolutely agree. We have all been in a class where the presentation drags on and on, and you find yourself trying to stay awake.The first of the five presentation skills given is key. PowerPoint presentations when not done or used correctly can be incredibly boring. When there are too many words you don't even need the speaker you can just read the PowerPoint to yourself and get the same information. Only a few words on a PowerPoint help give emphasis to the presentation, but doesn's completely take over. In one of my classes my professor uses Prezi. Prezi is a different form of PowerPoint that is  less linear and makes it a little more exciting to watch. It has the same functions as PowerPoint but it is able to glide from one destination to another and seems a little more interactive. The second point is not to make the presentation boring which I think connects to the first point as well. There's nothing worse than sitting through a boring presentation, or a boring PowerPoint!

Using the Four P's to Market Yourself

The marketing mix consists of four activities that a firm can control to meet the needs of customers within its target market. Similarly you can you the marketing mix in order to market yourself to your 'target job'. The four activities or the four P's are product, place, promotion, and price.

Product- It is easy to think of yourself as a product. You have specific qualities that a 'buyer' or an employer may be looking for. Marketing yourself as a product would include selling yourself as a future high quality employee. Also as a product you may be able to offer an assortment of skills. Having an education, previous work experience, references that show you are a high quality product would all help in marketing yourself to a potential job.

Place- This could be the actual physical placement of yourself to the job location. If you are close to the job that would make it easier for you to get to work if inclement weather or any other circumstances. Also selling your 'place' could include reliable transportation you may have to get to the job.

Promotion-Promotion is used to inform buyers of what they are getting. Anytime you are applying to a job you are trying to sell or promote yourself to your potential future employer. You can promote yourself by a clean and professional appearance, being on time to the interview, having a good personality that will fit to the job you are applying to, and by making a good first impression.

Price- Employers compensate their workers. Therefore if you were to be hired at a job you would cost a price to that job. Placing emphasis that the employer will get a great value in hiring you and that you will be able to offer the job a great amount for their money would be the best way to use price to your advantage in getting a job.