Response to Allison Ray

Do you buy things specifically because you have a coupon for it? Do you go out to eat at a restaurant because you have a coupon for it?

I personally find myself not using coupons for things like groceries, electronics, and restaurants. I find myself using coupons at clothing stores that I receive for using the rewards card. I know that almost weekly I have coupons being sent to my house and as soon as I get them in the mail, I have to go out and use them right away. If I don't do it right away, I find myself loosing the card at the bottom of my purse to just expire and to not be used. This is something I should probably get better at. I should also start using coupons as I get them for restaurants and grocery stores. The thing that absolutely blows my mind is the show, "Extreme Couponers" where people can save 99% on a $500 tab they just ran up. They buy 200 rolls of paper towels, 100 cans of soup, and hair shampoos and conditioners that will last them for up to five years. I find that as I get older and have a family of my own I should probably start to use coupons to save money, but I could never see myself doing something as extreme as that. 

Boston Marathon

A little over a week ago, a horrible tragedy struck Boston that we never saw coming. This is something that really hit home for me because I live about 40 miles outside of Boston and this city is somewhere I have been to many times in my life. In middle school and high school I always looked forward to Marathon Monday not only because it was the start to April vacation, but because I had many family and friends running this marathon and I loved going out to support them and show my support for the amazing accomplishment. I always remember this day being filled with smiles and laughter and would never think that something this horrific would happen to the city I call home.

These attacks on Boston had some absolutely awful outcomes. From the death of 3 people, hundreds injured with life altering injuries, its hard to even see where any sort of business or marketing would come into play. From Monday to Friday, public transportation sales were low, not only because Boston shut the MBTA down, but also for fear another deadly attack would happen. Bolyston Street was shut down for the week and business could not be opened and operated. Many local Boston area business put signs on their front windows, "Will not open until terrorist is found." This greatly affected their business and the people of Boston. Since Monday, the Boston Strong Fund has raised over $20 million to help victims and their families pay their medical bills, support families who have lost a loved one, and just aid those who need it. The Boston Bruins along with all the other Boston city teams have done their part in donating to the charity, visiting patients in the hospital, and paying their respects to the first responders and law enforcement officers who kept us safe during this difficult week in the city. The other night at the Bruins game, the players did their riutal, "Jerseys off our backs" and gave their game jerseys to Boston Police Department and those who helped the city during this difficult time.

Over the course of this week, Boston has been slowly and surely getting back to the lively city they will always be. It gives me great hope that one day this city will be back on their feet and be a stronger place than we once were. I am amazing at the support and generosity that has been shown to Boston over the past week and a half and what is to come for this amazing city. In President Barack Obama's speech made Thursday, he stated that Boston will not live in fear, "That when the Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox win a championship, we will line up on Bolyston Street to celebrate." I know that after all this happened that it may seem difficult to get back into the swing of things and for Boston to really become to city that it once was, but do you think that business should have closed and stay closed until law enforcement caught whoever did this? Do you think that this time next year the city of Boston will be quieter and we won't see as much activity and business? Are you on the other end, do you think that this time next year Boston will be busier than anyone has ever seen it and income to businesses will be higher?

Response to Greg Mathew's post

Do any of you agree with this? or do you feel you are benefiting from a product endorsed by a celeb?

I don't find myself buying products specifically because a celebrity endorsed it. I find myself buying a product and then see what people have to say about it. I'll see an add for a perfume or a pair of shoes, but not immediately go out to the store to get the product. I think that there are people out there who need to do that when they like certain celebrities but I don't find myself buying a product just because someone's face is attached to it. 

Telemarketers

Today, I find myself getting super annoyed when the 1-800 number shows up on my phone and its telemarketers are calling my asking if I want a free trial of a new product. This is something that I immediately pick up the phone and then hang up the phone right away so that I don't have to talk to them. I begin to wonder if this is helping or hurting the companies that are calling me. I can only imagine that this is hurting the companies because when I do pick up I tell them to take me off the calling list. And I wonder when people answer if they will really try the product or not. As the technology progresses, I wonder if companies will switch the sending text messages or if they will opt to use Facebook or Twitter.

Do you answer the telemarketers when they call? Or do you let it go to voice mail, or pick up and hang up? Do you think that companies will switch to texting or Facebook?

Name Brand or Generic Brand?

Before I came to college, and I wasn't on a very strict budget, I found myself going to the grocery store and buying all of the name brand cereals, pasta, juices anything that I would get. After coming to college and being on a budget, I found myself instead of buying the name brand, buying the generic brand that the store carried. I know for things like cereal and pasta, there was at least a $2 difference in the product. Two dollars may not seem like a whole lot, but when it comes down to it, it adds up very fast. If you took every product in your cart and took $2 off everything, you could save a lot of money.

Do you find yourself going for the name or generic brand? Do you need to spend the extra money on the name brand to have the brand or do you just not even think about it?

In response to Kristen Shae

Do you find yourself in need of a constant new item or toy? Do you find yourself to be a big spender or saver?

I find myself always needing the new item or toy. I know that once everyone was getting into the iPhone, that my phone was just not going to be able to cut it for me. Since all my friends were getting iPhones and starting to "group message" each other, and my messages were coming as picture messages, I knew that I needed to keep up with the latest and greatest technology. As much as I want to always have the latest and greatest, I find myself being a saver when it comes to money. Being a college kid, you don't always have the extra money to go out and get the latest new thing, but I know when I'm able to save up a lot, I will so I can afford new things. But I find myself being an impulsive shopper. If I am just out at the store, and I see my friend's favorite candy, I will buy a bag, when I know I shouldn't be spending the money and I really should just be saving it. When I am out clothes shopping, I find myself buying things for other people as gifts and not just for myself. I wish I wasn't such an impulsive shopper and I know I should not just spend whenever I think someone needs something.

Generations Y

Generation Y is the large group of people who were born between 1979 and 1994. As a generation we have seen and been exposed to many things that most people in the generations before us have never seen. Not only have we witnessed the effects on terrorism on our country, but we have seen the first black president, technology that is way ahead of our time, and cures for diseases that scientists and doctors have long awaited to see. This is something that I find so impressive.

Technology has greatly affected our generation. This is something that is very obvious and prevalent in our generation. I think back to my history classes, when the model T car took months to make, and now Ford can build a car in minutes. Now we can literally ask our cars to make calls and find out our locations and offer assistants to where we have to be. Especially with our generation we rely on our cell phones, TVs and gaming systems to keep us entertained. It seems as though we need to be connect to our friends, social media and the world at all times. It is going to be interested to see where technology takes us and what is going to happen in the future as these technologies develop.

Do you think that you would be able to give up your cell phone for a day? A week and be able to get through the few days not being connected at all time?

In response to Ariana Barone's Post

At the end of Ariana's post she posed these questions: What were your opinions about the Superbowl 2013 commercials? Did anyone else find them disappointing?

In my opinion, this years commercials were very disappointing. Since the Patriots were not in the Superbowl this year, I was most excited to watch Beyonce at halftime and the commercials  The only thing satisfying about the Superbowl this year was Beyonce and her show. I was really excited to see the new commercials and potentially try these products. With the commercials this year, it made me not want to try any new products, especially see what Go Daddy was all about. The only thing I would have gone to try was Budweiser because of the horse commercial, but even that wasn't the best commercial I've seen. These commercials were very disappointing and I hope next year they can step up and make them better.

PRODUCT (RED)

Do you think a partnership with Product (RED) can improve Gap’s image? Is it a sign that they are making a commitment to corporate social responsibility or do you agree with critics who say their involvement is an attempt to spit-shine the company’s image while continuing to do business as usual?

I think that when any company, teams up with another company to make a difference in the world, can greatly improve an image. With a company such as the Gap, there are many other companies that are coming into the retail fashion scene and are making quality clothes more affordable for consumers. Not only are these companies making clothes more affordable but they are also keeping up with the latest trends. Gap was a company that was falling behind by keeping up with these trends because they had such a known style. Introducing this product was something that was going to improve their image and start to change their image to consumers, not just by helping out with PRODUCT (RED) but also with updating their style. I think that they are making a commitment to CSR because they are doing good for a company and for a certain cause. I think this is true for any company that partners up with another to make a difference. In October, which is breast cancer awareness month, Yoplait yogurt teams up with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation to raise money for breast cancer research. What they do is, every yogurt comes with a special code on the lid. You go online, enter the code into the website, and they donate 10 cents towards cancer research. This is something that has greatly helped Yoplait's image and more people are starting to buy their yogurts. I think every company should have some sort of CSR and do something to help raise awareness and money to a very important issue.

In response to Drew Farrar's post

At the end of Drew Farrar's post, he posed a question : Would you be satisfied with a product that is suppose to do amazing things yet it you take it home and it is a piece of junk? 

To answer his question, I would not be satisfied with a product that was advertised as supposing to do really well and ended up turning out to be junk. This is something that I know to be true about many products that are sold strictly from infomercials and just on TV. I have a relative who is such an infomercial junkie. They just love buying the latest and greatest product from TV. Time and time again they realize that some of the products are not what they expect. They always either forget a piece of the product or the product just doesn't work the way it is showed on TV. I think that this is a perfect example of customer satisfaction.

But I also think that this is very closing related to how advertising can either make or break a product. A product that is very well advertised could go either way of succeeding or failing. I think that sometimes, when a product isn't over advertised and people chose the product on their own, the product could be more successful. Advertising and marketing the product has a very big effect on how a product will do and customer satisfaction.

Question #2

Customer value and customer satisfaction are interdependent. I think that these two things go completely hand in hand with each other. Customer value is the relationship between benefits and the sacrifice necessary to obtain the product or service that the customer wants. As explained in our textbook, a high quality item that is expensive and hard to find will have a lower value than of something that is inexpensive.

 I feel that with low customer value there could be a low customer satisfaction and when there is a high value there is a high satisfaction. Items that are so easy to find however, and something that our book described as "bared-boned" will also have a low customer value.

Which do you think is more important: customer value or customer satisfaction? Which do you think is more important to organizations and business: customer value or customer satisfaction?