Hello everyone!
As the semester winds down, it's time to reflect on the time spent in my marketing class and what I've learned throughout the semester. Before taking this class, I had a taste of marking in my Intro to Business class my sophomore year. While it was informative, it didn't really give me a sense of what marketing was all about. Now that I've almost completed an entire semester of marketing, I can easily say I've learned a lot throughout the course. This blog post will be dedicated to reflecting on my lessons learned and the connections to the course outcomes and objectives.
1. To have the opportunity to put marketing into action via team and individual projects, research, reports, and presentations
Our big presentation of the semester was the Ted Talk presentation. My Ted Talk was about Coca Cola's success and the lessons that nonprofits can learn from them. I thought it was a really interesting topic, because it turns out marketing for Coca Cola is similar to marketing for countries in need of medicine and vaccines: both are aiming to meet the needs and wants of the consumers. This presentation was an opportunity to tie in all of the marketing concepts I've learned thus far and present on an important topic in our world today. I incorporated marketing terms into my presentation, such as distribution, which was a key part of my Talk. This was also a timed 3-minute presentation without notes. I've never had strict guidelines to a presentation before, so I had to memorize my presentation and time it perfectly. It took time, but I finally got it down and felt confident during my presentation.2. Understand that the marketing process starts and ends with customers and consumers
The book definition for marketing is "the activity for creating, communicating, delivery, and exchanging offerings that benefit its customers, the organization, its stakeholders, and society at large". It all begins with a need from a consumer. Businesses first need to understand what the consumers need. Next, businesses must tailor their products and services to meet the needs of the consumers. They must understand the demographics of their target market and do other research to figure out what the consumer would value in their products. The end result, either a finished product or service, is bought by the consumer. Every aspect of the marketing process deals with the consumer and their needs. Without the needs of consumers, a business would not need to exist. 3. Analyze and evaluate basic financial statements and business formulas (profit, ROI, etc.)
4. Participate and communicate as an effective member of a team
Whenever I find out that group work is involved during the semester, I cringe. I'm one of those people who likes everything to be perfect and in order. Sometimes I feel other people's quality of work does not meet my standards. But with this group, I didn't have to worry as much. For the most part, our work was evenly spread out for big assignments. Often times when a paper was due, we would find a time to meet and work on the paper together. We were in contact through email and text messaging, because these were the best mediums to reach each other. Every week we also had a decision due. Much of the time we only made minor changes, but we all gave our input and decided as a team what our next steps would be. Overall, I would say our group worked well together. There were no arguments or anger towards anyone (that I know of). I'm glad I had my team members, because I could rely on them to get the job done in time.5. To set personal and professional goals, and positively contribute in an engaged class
One of my biggest fears is public speaking. In my mind, participating in class is a low-key form of public speaking, because all eyes are on me and what I say. I've never been one to participate in class. I usually wait for my professor to call on me. However, with this class I've grown more comfortable participating. My goal each class was to speak at least once without being called on. I would say I successfully achieved this goal. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but I soon realized that my input is always welcomed in class. Since our class was only 11 people and I knew a few classmates, I felt even more comfortable participating. I felt more confident answering questions that I knew, but occasionally I was asked a question I didn't immediately know the answer to. These instances, although daunting, pushed me to really think about the topic and construct an appropriate answer. I'm glad I pushed myself to participate more, because my words are valuable and deserve to be heard.To conclude, I've enjoyed writing this blog and letting my thoughts flow freely. It was a good way to show my growing knowledge of marketing and how it ties into our every day lives. I know once I step out into the real world, I will notice a lot more because of my new knowledge. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog!!
Courtney
Sources
https://tedcdnpi-a.akamaihd.net/r/tedcdnpe-a.akamaihd.net/images/ted/206290_800x600.jpg?quality=89&w=800
https://static-secure.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/7/30/1375180293884/Lifestyle-SKorea-retail-t-010.jpg
https://blogs.splunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/excel.jpeg
http://www.corrections.com/system/article/image/29953/Teamwork-b.jpg?1328816846
http://www.hercampus.com/sites/default/files/2015/11/05/girl-in-brown-shirt-raising-her-hand-in-a-classroom-with-teacher-at-the-front.jpg
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