What I've Learned So Far

1. Since this senior project has begun, I've learned how to take better research notes from textbooks. I am not the best note taker in the world, so I'm willing to any suggestions for note taking strategies. At first, I did all of my notes using alternative note taking skills that we learned in the beginning of the year. But the method that I was using slowed be down greatly, and didn't help me retain what I learned. I was a reader, not a writer, and this style of alternative note taking was torture to myself and my bad handwriting. I switched to Cornell note taking, and I can now finish my thirty page chapter in 1.5 hours, and retain a large portion of what I read.
2. Before and after of my notes [Pictures]
3. If it wasn't for my text book "Principles of Marketing", then I wouldn't have been forced to figure out how to do these notes. It's a standard school text book, and learning this skill will train me to read chapters even better to pick out all of the important information- a useful skill when I go off to college. Also, the Physics website helped me a bit in figuring out what Cornell Notes are exactly. (I originally thought that alternatitve note taking- or the way that I was doing notes- were Cornell Notes. Yep, I'm not the best note taker.)
   

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

1. For my first independent study component, I will be attending a Introduction to Economics (Microeconomics) class taught by Prof. Amrik Dua for the fall 2011 quarter at Cal Poly Pomona.
   
2. I go to class twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each class is 2 hours, and there are 20 total classes that I have attended/will attend. I also have to complete 4 assignments, 3 tests and one final for this class. It takes me about half and hour to complete an assignment, and an hour or two to study for the test. Total= ~42 hours (rough estimate.)
   
3. My independent study component relates to my EQ, because Economics is the study of how people satisfy their wants by using their limited means to obtain whatever can give them the most satisfaction. Moreover, microeconomics is the study of how the individual person spends and why they would spend the way that they do. Part of marketing, no matter what type of marketing it is, is researching your target audience, and if you know how they spend and why they spend the way that they do, then you could easily market to them to satisfy their needs.

Defining the Essential Question

1. What is the most important factor in successfully marketing a service?
2. Words to define:
• marketing- the process of creating consumer value by interacting with the consumer and exchanging a certain good/service/idea/product that satisfies their needs in return of some sort of object of value to the business.
• successfully- Reaching out to the right consumers so that the business is making a profit. If the buisness is struggling, usually, the marketing department gets most of the blame [even if it isn't the department's fault.]
• service- I'm going to be honest- I've been struggling with what this last word should be. Not only because I can't pinpoint a specific service, but it's because I've been playing around with the idea of marketing 'goods', 'brands', 'businesses', or 'services'. Although all can be sold to the customer, there are differences between each one [even though I sometimes use some terms interchangeably]. A good [or product] is something that you see- it's physical. A service can't be seen, but it can be felt. A business is an organization set up to sell for a profit. And a brand is an image with which you associate one of the previously mentioned three with. Right now, it seems to be a toss between 'service' and 'business', but I'm hoping to figure that out this week.
3. Possible Answers:
• Knowing your brand and business, inside and out
• Research your services' target audience and demographic
  
• Having a solid mission statement
• Staying true to your core consumers
• Making sure that every employee is aware that they are also responsible for the marketing.
• Having a complete and through marketing plan
4. As of right now, my most important source has been the marketing textbook "Marketing: An Introduction" by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong. Yes, I will admit that it is sort of outdated [fourth edition, '97] and that some references are not as relevant to today's world as they should be, but it still has the main principles of marketing and outlines them in a very detailed manner, and they are still applicable in today's world.

Second Interview Questions

This week, I’m trying to look for different marketing or and departments to do my service learning with. When I’m trying to decide between places, some of the basic questions I may ask them will include:

1. Do you focus more on brand/product management, promotion, research, or advertising?

2. What companies/groups have you previously done marketing campaigns for?

3. What type of marketing do you focus on? Traditional marketing, or new media marketing?

4. How often do you have to work on marketing campaigns?

5. If I were to do my service learning for your firm/ company, what would I be doing that would help me learn more about the marketing business?

Once I decide on a place, I want to ask them the following questions, to learn a little bit more about them.

1. What are you responsible for in the marketing department?

2. What did you major in, and how did it help you get into this position?

3. What work experience did you have in business/marketing prior to your current job?

4. How is you marketing department compared to those similar to you in the area?

5. What Is your goal when you try to market a good/service?