Response to Allison Rays Web Products Free Shipping

Have you ever gone to buy something online, and once you see the shipping price decide not to buy it anymore? Are you more likely to search for a product offered on a website with free shipping site wide, rather than a website not offering free shipping site wide?

I often shop online especially for clothing or school books.  Most of the time i do get free shipping but there are many occasions when i get a product and see the shipping price and decides its jsut not worth it.  I would definitely be more likely to buy something if i knew it came with free shipping.  I would even settle for a deal like spend more then $25 and shipping is free.  However a website that does charge for shipping would not stop me from visiting or purchasing from the website.  I do believe that shipping costs do influence customer purchases overall and should be studies by marketers.

Branding in America

As we have discussed in class brands play a huge role in how consumers act. this is evident when we hear things like Q-tips and Bandaids.  these products true names are cotton swabs and adhesive bandages but more people know them by their brand name.  Brands as mentioned in the Huffington post article have now taken a role in politics.  People are willing to pay much more for products with brand recognition.  so why not apply this theory to politics.  Simply by advertising Obama as the young persons candidate, and dubbing the slogan "Change" Obama was able to build of massive support.  the idea of Obama is not only that of a individual president but a simple of change and "moving forward".  The Obama brand will most likely carry far past his presidency and be remembered more of as an idea then an individual.

Do you think that Brand recognition comes only from advertising, or do the products also meet the standards the customer wishes better then available substitutes?

Response to Kendra Copithorne Globalization Relative to Businesses

What do you think is the biggest risk of becoming an international business? Do you think the benefits out weigh the risks of becoming an international business? 

As Kendra pointed out there are an infinite amount of variables that can affect a company going international all of which can cause it to fail.  I believe the biggest risk of a company going overseas is failing to understand the culture differences from country to country.  For instance as mentioned earlier in class when Disney tried to open a park in Paris, EuroDisney, they failed to realize a few cultural differences.  Mainly they failed to realize how frugal the french people are.  they also failed to serve alcohol in the park which had a huge cultural impact on the french.  this can easily happen to any other company.  Any food company opening in india must understand that pigs are sacred and are not eaten, well someone marketing in a predominately muslim country must know that muslim disapprove of alcohol.  Although all these cultural factors will affect the way a company does business i strongly believe companies should make an effort to expand overseas.  Just the sheer size of the market should allow them to find a way to be profitable.  the benefits will far outweigh the risks, if marketers can understand the culture and advertise appropriately.

Global Marketing- China and India

As the book mentions China and India have had an explosion in their spending power, especially in the young and upper class.  I believe in years to come their part in the global market will only become greater.  Also mentioned in the book in these classes wants for luxury products especially those america has to offer like Starbucks.  This is a huge market opening for marketers to take advantage of.  I believe organizations should start considering the best way to produce and market products in these developing countries. there were undoubtedly be many variables for marketers to consider the biggest of which being culture and the political structure.  However I believe that with such a young grow of consumers marketers will be very successful in marketing products in these areas.

What do you think will be the biggest challenges companies face in entering these new markets? Why?