Week 5: Defining Your Target Market (Part 2)

My target market for Pawsibly Purrfect Pets will be pet owners, and animal lovers, between the ages of 30-70. I use this range of age because the products are quality and custom, meaning that the prices will be on the higher end.

Psychographics:

• Men and women
• Ages 30-70

Demographics:

• Pet owners
• Animal lovers
• Individuals who appreciate quality product and are interested in purchasing homemade custom products

Week 5: Defining Your Target Market (Part 1)

Subway takes an approach towards advertising their product as a healthy, and balanced, nutritional meal. The feel of their website is that it is targeted towards a younger crowd but also directed towards kids and middle aged adults. They use vibrant colors, light hearted attitude, and witty phrases which signifies that they are geared towards a young, "hip" crowd; who would find these things attractive when making a decision on where to buy their food.
Some psychographic descriptions I would use, for Subway, would be:

• Men and women
• Ages: 13-45

Some demographics I would us, for Subway, would be:

• Individuals interested in health and nutrition.
• Individuals trying to lose weight.
• Individuals who are interested in saving money and earning rewards.

Additionally, Subway adamantly promotes a healthy lifestyle and is involved in helping the community. They include separate sections to call attention to the policies and commitments that they implement into their everyday operations. They also offer a rewards program to appeal to people who are interested in earning extras and saving on their products.

Hungry Bear is a smaller scale deli than subway and adamantly focuses on the quality and taste of their product; as opposed to nutrition. They focus on letting the customer know that they use generous portions. Instead of using tactics like savings and rewards, they want their customers to know that they are getting what they pay for; in terms of portion and quality.

Some psychographic descriptions I would use, for Hungry Bear, would be: 

• Men (I would say this is the most accurate because I feel men tend to eat a little more than women), but also women as well.
• Ages 25-50 (I use these ages because the sandwiches tend to be a little higher in price; the younger the less likely you are to have disposable income for eating out...and the older you are the less likely you are willing to spend $10 on a sandwich)

Some demographics I would us, for Hungry Bear, would be:

• Individuals who are not as concerned with nutritional facts but more concerned with taste and flavor.
• Income not a factor when choosing a place to eat.
• Foodies 

Hungry Bear has a less vibrant feel and more of a call for attention by promoting the quality and deliciousness of their food. They do offer salads which gives options for those trying to eat healthy. There is not focus on community or social responsibility but I believe that is in part to the fact that it is a one location, smaller scale shop.

Both restaurants aim to attract customers by quality of their food, in different ways. Subway with nutritional facts and Hungry Bear with food quantity and quality(always fresh, never frozen).

Week 4: Aesthetics, Design, and Branding (Part 2)

I do a lot of online shopping and one of my favorite shoe brands is Puma. At www.puma.com I see another example of less is more, as with Apple and Toyota. The website is well contrasted in colors that are simple but effective. The logo appears in the right spot and on every page allowing for maximum brand exposure and allowing for ease of navigation.

The header stays fixed at the top of each different page so that the viewer always knows how to return to the home page. I come back for the product because I like it bt I am comfortable with the online shopping process because it is simple and visually appealing. When I am looking for a certain style or line, on the website, it is easy to find exactly where it is.

Another site that I use fairly often is www.amazon.com . Despite the fact that they sell and advertise a vast amount of products, I feel that they make them easy to find. They provide great tools to navigate the website, with specificity. This is another example of simple design and, in this case, the emphasis is on the display of products.

The various search options makes it convenient. Even with all the product picture displays on the front page, they still categorize items for simplicity. They tend to place things of relevance, at the moment, higher on the hierarchy scale and those are the first things you see when visiting the site.

Week 4: Aesthetics, Design, and Branding (Part 1)

The first website I visited was http://jamilin.com/ . I immediately notice that the website is very loud. The colors don't seem to have any good contrast. You notice the tabs as many different bright colors that don't really pair together well, causing for the page to appear very chaotic. I don't even know where any brand or logo appear as so many random things fill the page. It's overwhelming and definitely not practical. Half of the page, in my opinion, appears to be ads and if they are I'm too scared to click on them and find out. I find there is too many options on the drop down menus, making it very disorganized. I notice an abundance of exclamation points after some of the phrases and slogans, which literally SCREAM messy and unprofessional to me. It just seems like the website goes in so many different directions I don't even know what the purpose for it really is. Things are aligned in a sloppy way and it is extremely hard to tell where one section ends and another begins.

I think one of the best things they could do, from a visual standpoint, is to tone down the colors and use shades that don't clash. The menus need to be categorized better to where there is not  so many page links on each drop down. I feel that this just makes it hard for people to navigate. Since practically everything stand out on the page and has an overwhelmingly close proximity, it is hard to rank the importance of what is being read. I think that a simple overview of the content to weed out some of the unnecessary information could do this site a lot of good. Like they say, less is sometimes more.

Another site I chose was http://www.roverp6cars.com/ and again I find the same degree of chaos on the page. One of the first things I notice is how they use photos of cars as backgrounds for the links. This is a bad tactic because it takes away from the readability of the words. It is also very repetitive and long and, again, contains too many links. In one particular part they even use different coloring on the words in the same sentence. The colors are all too loud and don't mesh well together, but the biggest problem is it is confusing to the reader. At one point there is a large blue link which boasts "CLICK HERE" and I am not even sure what it is meant to be for.

I feel that they need to use less imagery and more of a plain canvas for the wording on the pages. They should improve upon the alignment and proximity of the content. I think a good idea would be to take the various car photos and make a clickable gallery in which the viewer can scroll through instead of overwhelming them with all the pictures at once. I also think that using colors that contrast better would make the site more visually appealing. Again, as in the other site, I think that making broader categories for their internal links would make it easier to navigate. Using a few drop down menus would be more effective than the long list of seperate ones they have displayed.

On the other hand, https://www.toyota.com/ is visually appealing right when you open the page. The colors contrast well and go together making it easy on the eye. They use the gallery option, as I suggested for the other site, and it works well to display the different car models and styles. Their logo is placed in a noticeable spot and aligned against the menu items with just enough emphasis. They keep their logo displayed, in the same spot, on every page. The design is convenient as it includes a search option allowing for user convenience. Here the design strongly influences the way I feel because it simply makes it easy for me to comprehend what I am looking at and simple to figure out where and how I can get where I want to go.

https://www.apple.com/ is another site that is an example of a well put together website. The design is sleek and it is not too loud, yet catches your attention I like the way they have the large image of the iPhone's plastered against the all black background because it looks sophisticated and gives me a feel for the type of quality company they are. The hierarchy of the site is well set up as they display the newest product on the market with a catchy phrase;"Welcome to big screens" in large writing as a marketing tactic for their new cell phone design. the site is straightforward in that the menu is simple and right to the point.  Each internal link is categorized by the various products and support offered and, once clicked, shows the different available versions. The design and branding make me feel like this is a company that has it together and is about quality.
 (Links to an external site.)

Week 3: Communication-Business and Consumer(Part 2)

1. Adidas:
https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/profile/

Adidas actively uses Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Instagram.

Last Twitter post: September 10, 2018
Last Facebook post: August 2, 2018
Last Instagram post: September 9, 2018


2. Puma:
https://us.puma.com/en_US/home?locale=en_US&mktID=PL:Brand%20Marketing:Puma.com-CatchAllPage:United%20States-en&plinkID=Brand

Puma actively uses Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Last Twitter post: September 4, 2018
Last Facebook post: September 4, 2018
Last Instagram post: September 10, 2018
Last YouTube post: September 10, 2018


3. New Balance
https://www.newbalance.com/

New Balance actively uses Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Last Twitter post: September 10, 2018
Last Facebook post: September 9, 2018
Last Instagram post: September 10, 2018
Last YouTube post: September 7, 2018


4. Nike
https://www.nike.com/us/en_us/?ref=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.searchencrypt.com%252F

Nike actively uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Last Twitter post: September 5, 2018
Last Facebook post: August 21, 2018
Last Instagram post: September 9, 2018
Last YouTube post: September 10, 2018


5. Under Armour
https://www.underarmour.com/en-us

Under Armour actively uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Last Twitter post: September 11, 2018
Last Facebook post: September 11, 2018
Last Instagram post: September 11, 2018



I choose several popular shoe companies for my research. Each company seems to have the same scope of social media platforms, in which they use to promote and stay connected. Several use YouTube as a way to promote product through videos that exhibit their values and company attitudes. Instagram is used as a consistent way to post pictures of new product and promote things, such as campaigns and sales. A couple of the companies use Pinterest as a link on their sites. I think this is a good tactic as it allows exposure and promotion of product through customer pictures and displays.

I noticed that all five companies have the similarity of  Facebook being the least active. I think this may be because of the increasing popularity of other platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter. Each company is pretty consistent with posting every week or so to each popular site and generate many comments and likes when they do. I do notice that, as larger companies, they don't seem to be as active in response to comments, especially negative ones. I noticed a lot of negativity towards Nike, in light of recent events (not that I would expect any response to this particular subject). I think that just goes to show, though, how social media really acts as a place for customers to voice their opinion on any subject about a company; and may not always be positive. Sometimes companies have to deal with backlash and things of that sort and I can imagine that is probably tiring to see. However, in the end, any way that a company can get people talking, especially on social sites, will potentially generate more traffic to their page.

Week 3: Communication-Business and Consumer(Part 1)

I think one of the worst companies to deal with, for me, regarding customer service is Walmart.  I have had many issues with them, to the point I stopped even shopping there. Communicating in person, and over the phone, has been a hassle several times for me. In one event, I had an issue with receiving a product I had ordered online  (digital camera) and the amount of hurdles I had to go through with them was horrible. After all this, I only got told the item was now out of stock. I really think an extremely important part of customer service is, at least, being respectful of the customer. I have dealt with several rude employees here as well and it always seems to be hard to be able to communicate with whom I need to to get things resolved, in a timely manner.

I believe social media is a great tool for connecting people to companies. I have often used social media to grab the attention of a company and resolve issues. I notice that lot of times people make negative comments towards companies on sites like Facebook and Instagram. This is, in my opinion, a smart tactic to yield a higher response rate. One reason behind this is that, obviously, companies do not want other customers to see negative reviews. In turn, companies are more likely to resolve issues in a quick manner.

One very positive experience I had, using social media, was with a hair salon  I contacted, in Escondido. I, unfortunately do not remember the name but it was a very smooth and helpful exchange.  I was looking to get extensions done in my hair and had no idea about the subject. I contacted the salon and received a response within the first 15 minutes. This is notable because I had contacted several other salons beforehand, by telephone, and some did not even respond. The woman I messaged, over Facebook, gave me a clear and concise definition of each method they offered. She then asked if I would be interested in doing an initial consultation over Skype. Oh, the convenience of technology. All in all the experience was very easy and, i feel that the use of social media helped in that situation. I am usually very busy so, it is the little things that make life easier and I think social media serves as a great tool for that.

If I had a business social media account I would, first and foremost, be sure to yield a high response rate and make sure that the account is very active. This would ensure that customers would have a convenient way to stay connected with us. I would make sure to address any and all comments as often as possible. I would reach out directly to see what can be done to better the customers negative experience. I would also make sure to thank customers for their positive comments as I feel showing appreciation is a two way street. As a business you want to make the customer, always, feel appreciated. Social media is a good place to show your followers the kind of ethics you have, and making sure you display a good representation to your followers is a good way to score more business opportunities.

Week 2: Blog Replies

1. Nancy Niepagen

2. Christina Castaneda

3. Maria Lopez

Week 2: Social Media Overview

Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have become increasingly popular over the years. These two sites are big for sharing about your life, sometimes very personal aspects of it, and allow for your family and friends to stay connected to you. Sharing pictures of your weekend out on the town might not be something you want your business colleagues to see, but is something fun you may want to share with your friends. For that reason, I feel that sites like this, which encourage you to share your more "personal" endeavors, are considered "personal use sites". In example, Facebook statuses often consist of thoughts or feelings on particular subjects that you may not consider of interest or importance, in a business sense. Some more examples would include social media apps such as Snapchat and Twitter.

On the other hand, using sites like LinkedIn, Google+, and Glassdoor are specifically meant for purposes involving business. Since these sites offer resume sharing and allow you to share your experience and interests, in a professional way, they are geared at making business connections. Sites such as YouTube can also be used as a creative way to make a business impact. A site like YouTube is specifically good for sharing content that can serve as great visual material about you or your company.

Above I talk about the way these sites were created to relate more to either the business or personal spectrum, but I believe most social media sites double as both. It has become common, and smart, practice to use multiple social media sites as tools for building business and keeping up with your social circle, in one place. Sites like Instagram and Facebook allow pages to be created from a business perspective as well and are often extremely helpful for promoting new business endeavors! Google can of course be used to keep in touch with friends and family, in a personal manner. What I really feel is that there is not much limitation on how or what you use social media for nowadays. I think it is what makes it more popular because most of these sites double as business and personal sites.