Week 4 Reflection

Welcome back everyone,

Week 4 was seemingly the first two-period week we have had in ages! After meeting on both Tuesday and Thursday, we covered a solid amount of new material. On Tuesday, we covered chapters six and eight as a class, which highlighted consumer decision making and market segmentation respectively. On Thursday, we covered chapter nine which covered marketing research. After reading the chapters and attending class, it became quite apparent that these three chapters go hand-in-hand. Based on consumer decision making, marketers can narrow in on a "target market" by grouping individuals that share the same needs. There are numerous sub-conscious and conscious decision making processes that go on in the heads of consumers. Companies have mastered positioning themselves to meet the underlying expectations and needs of consumers. Based on these essential needs and purchasing decisions, companies can hone in on individual's exact purchasing decisions though marketing research. This research allows for company evaluation on service, product, and placement. Using this information, companies can alter their marketing strategy and price points for their goods and/or services. I thought the piece in chapter nine that examined the use of databases in marketing research very interesting. After taking an introductory course last semester in using business tools for gathering information and then making relevant suggestions based on the data, I realized how crucial databases are to a business. This information allows for informed, real-time decision making that can give companies a tailored look at trends within their own company. The management of these databases in business is crucial to the success of a company.

With regards to the engineering and business honors program collaboration, things are going well. Sometime today, our team will learn of the one "pain point" our team will be exploiting. After we learn of the final pain point, our team must develop an interview and observational area to gain more insight into the "BUG." This is a crucial part of the collaboration because this is where the business students can provide a fresh look on the product, based on the collected research. After relaying our observations to the engineering students, our team will be able to effectively target a potential market and develop a product to fix the problem at hand. I will keep you updated... Until next week...

Best,
Chris