MARKETING MANAGEMENT 1101 Lecturer: Eric M. Phillips…First assignment …10 marks

TITLE “I am the Perfect Product”

Each of us is a “unique product” .The Principles of Marketing provide a framework for each of us to

understand “who we are” while Marketing Management allows us to strategically plan our future by

applying techniques that are used in strategic marketing planning/ This assignment is an opportunity to

learn both marketing principles and marketing management approaches through self-assessment. The goal

is twofold: understand and know yourself through the learning of marketing principles; the use marketing

management techniques to plan ones future; and dramatic growth of each student as Young Adults

navigating through the many transitions that are necessary for a successful university experience leading

to a better life. The following structure should be used in your assignment.

1. COVER PAGE. Should have the appropriate information and your best photograph . This is your

advertisement of what you are saying to the world ‘”This is me, I am the Perfect Product”.

2. INTRODUCTION. Your name and Mission Statement is all that is needed here together with

why you have been asked to perform this assignment. For example,

My name is Eric Phillips. My Mission Statement is “SERVANT LEADER” or My name is

Karlina Persaud and my mission statement is

“To excel and strive for perfection in everything I do. To gain wisdom, strength and

knowledge and to shear what is learnt through my humanitarian duties, the services I

render to others. To assist those less fortunate than I am and to love my neighbors

as I do myself”.

3. ANALYSIS OF THE ORIGIN OF YOUR NAME.

Your name is your identity. Your “brand”, your “heritage” and oftentimes, your “image” and

“destiny”. It is a window on your culture and self. Your name links you with your past and your

ancestors. Often, it is a part of your spirituality.

Globally, much importance is attached to the naming of the child. The hopes of the parents,

current events of importance and celestial events that may have attended the birth are all given

consideration in naming a child. It is believed that the name chosen will exert an influence for

better or for worse on the life of the child and on the family as well.

Your name defines who you are to most people. Research the origin of your name to understand

what it means, why your parents gave it to you. Ask yourself if your name reflects who you are as

a person. Does it define your personality? For example, Felecia means “happy, cheerful”. In

performing this research, you will have to develop a “family tree”. This will also help you to

assess your current career choice.

For, example, you may want to be a doctor because there are many doctors in your family line.

Or you may want to be an entrepreneur because many on your family line are businessmen and

women.

REHANA…..The name Rehana comes from the Indian word which means “Sweet smelling

plant”. It also means “a beautiful, pure, balmy, scented flower”. It is pronounced Re-ha—na.

R is for relish, you seek a challenge

E is for enchant, for enchant you will

H is for handy, the helpful you

A is for Altruism, the helpful you

N is for nice, need I say more?

A is for affirm, the certainty of knowledge.

JAEL….(Hebrew YA’EL) is a character mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible,

as the heroine who killed Sisera to deliver Israel from the troops of King Jabin She was the wife

of Heber the Kenite.

ERIC……Eric is of Norse origin and means “eternal ruler”. Eric \e-ric\ as a boy's name is

pronounced AIR-ik. It is of Old Norse origin, and the meaning of Eric is "forever or alone, ruler".

The original form is Erik, which has been borne by nine Danish kings. Scandinavian legend

relates that the Viking sea rover Ericson (son of Eric the Red) landed on the shores of America

500 years before Christopher Columbus.

4. NUMEROLOGY

There are many mysteries in Life. Some of them shed insights into ones personality and destiny.

Most people ignore universal coincidences because of religious and other reasons. Yet many

people are intrigued by the sense of mystery and delve in astrology and other fields. Numerology

is a rather intriguing topic. Many people have lucky numbers, play the lottery and gamble using

also sorts of intuitive and structured systems based on numerology. For this assignment, you are

asked to use the Paulsadwoski.com website to investigate yourself .Discover your “life path, soul

urge number and inner dream number”. Inquire of yourself if there are any truths to these

revelations about you. Think about the coincidences that are revealed through numerology and

query whether this topic provides you with another “window” into yourself. Are there any truths

about yourself in what you have discovered? Discover what your birthstone is. Is yours Ruby

because Ruby is said to open one’s heart to Love.

Example

Numerology Reading FOR ERIC DORNSFORD MCLAREN PHILLIPS

Your Life Path Number is: 1

The Innovator

The number one is associated with new beginnings. You are an original person.

You constantly get ideas about doing something new. You are full of positive

energy and very ambitious in life. You love to take initiatives and are most

likely to assume leadership position. You prefer to be self-reliant and don't take

help of others.

Your Destiny Number is: 9

The number nine is associated with luck and accomplishment. You are a

charming person who can make friends very easily. You like to be in control of

any situation you are in. In a group of friends, you are likely to be the most

entertaining person. You are a compassionate person who goes out of way to

help others. You are sensitive but few know it.

Your Soul Number is: 5

The number five is associated with curiosity and enthusiasm. You love to

discover new things and new places. Your questions never stop. You love

taking risks and hence your unpredictable nature leads you into problems at

times. You are a progressive individual. You love your freedom. You have a

very versatile and attractive personality.

Your Birthday Number is: 1

5. MASLOW’s HIERARCHY (5 and 8 stages…..Self-analysis)…Where are you on Maslow’s

Hierarchy? Maslow Hierarchy of needs is a theory of human motivation. It consists of a pyramid

or tree as illustrated below. It depicts the various levels of self need which each human is

subjected too. It a way to estimate the level of progress through ones life with the first basic need

being the need for food, shelter, security and survival. It progresses through the the final stage

which is Self actualisation. Only a few persons have reach this level with Mahatma Ghandi being

said to be on of the few.

N.B In our Marketing Management Class, Maslow represents in a real and abstract manner, a macro and

micro-depiction of a market, market segmentation and market positioning of products/services. Each level

is a market segment and each segment can be further subdivided in sub-segments. All products/services

can serve these needs . A watch can be bought for G$1000 or Guyana $ 500,000. Need versus function

versus class.

6. THE 4Ps OF MARKETING.

The 4Ps of Marketing is a very basic principle of the course. As a unique product, one can

analyze oneself in the context of this marketing principle: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place.

Questions such as “What type of product am I”? “What is my market value and what price would

an employer place on you? How do I Promote myself? Where do I hang-out (church, clubs,

organizations, areas) or what type of networks do I have that will help/hinder my career and life.

Remember the old adage: you are known by the friends you keep. Am I displaying “cognitive

dissonance’ with my 4Ps. Do I have a plan to improve my “unique Product” (education, speech,

dress, friendship and business networks etc.)

Describe in whatever creative form you choose……your 4 Ps of Marketing.

•Customer service

•Trained Tour Guide

•Professionalism

•Family circle

•corporate network

• volunteer organisation

•humanaterian,

•skilled professional,

•degree in tourism

•Self Motivated

•Passionate

•very expensive and of high value based on knowledge, skills and experience

Price Product

Promotion Place

7. SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method that is a very important concept in Marketing

Planning. In the same manner companies are analyzed using SWOT, use this process to identify

your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats as a person. Your Strengths and

Weaknesses are Internal while Opportunities and Threats are External.

Perform a SWOT analysis of yourself so you can have a better understanding of your current

situation. This information can be collected with the help of family and friends so that you have a

more comprehensive view of yourself. In involving trusted family members and friends in this

analysis, after you would have first done it by yourself, you will have a more balanced view of

yourself as well as engaging them in helping to plan your life.

8. STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS.

In class, we discussed Product Portfolio of companies using the Boston Consulting Group matrix

of Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks (problem children) and Dogs.

We discussed the following concepts

Business portfolio – the collection of businesses and products that make up the company.

Portfolio analysis – a tool by which management identifies and evaluates the various businesses making up the company.

SBU – a unit of the company that has a separate mission and objectives and that can be planned independently from other company businesses.

And I said

The company must

1) Analyze its current business portfolio and decide which businesses should receive more, less, or no investment.

2) Develop growth strategies for adding new products or businesses to the portfolio.

For this portion of the assignment “I AM THE PERFECT PRODUCT” , I would like you to

define your PERSONAL SBUs and understand where each of them fits on the BCG matrix. Do

you have Stars in your portfolio? Do you have “Dogs” in your portfolio? (Some females may think

their boyfriends are (be subtle). Think about possible areas in your life, which, even though

Interdependent, may be separate SBU. Is EDUCATION an area? Is HEALTH another? BASIC

NEEDS? ENTERTAINMENT? SPIRITUAL/EMOTIONAL…………where does MASLOW fit

into all of this. Is your rich Da your Cash Cow (lol).

How many SBUs do you have all wrapped up in your complex body, mind, spirit and soul? Do you

manage them independently? Are they dependent on each other?

Or perhaps, in our first set of notes, when we discussed ABSTRACT thinking, we talked about the

vision map. We also discussed that as a Product, Human being have many dimensions”…the 4

Centered Framework.

Here Is mine:

Order of importance in My life cycle

9. PRODUCT POSITIONING

What type of Product are you? Are you a common low cost product where volume and low price are

your attritributes. A Volkswagen In Marketing theory (Porter’e generic strategies) This is achieved

by offering high volumes of standardized products, offering basic no-frills products and limiting

customization and personalization of service.

Are you a Nike brand product or a product that has differentiated itself in some way in order to

compete successfully? A differentiation strategy is appropriate where the target customer segment is

not price-sensitive, the market is competitive or saturated, customers have very specific needs which

are possibly under-served, and the firm has unique resources and capabilities which enable it to

satisfy these needs in ways that are difficult to copy.

Are you an expensive product (Bentley Lexus) targeted to a specific high end market?

A product strategy is the ultimate vision of the product, as it states where the product will end up.

The product strategy forms the basis for executing a product roadmap and subsequent product

releases. The product strategy enables the company to focus on a specific target market and feature

set, instead of trying to be everything to everyone. Similar to making effective use of a map, you

first need a destination, and then you can plan your route. Just as a business has a strategic vision of

what it wants to be when it grows up, the product has its own strategy and destination.

Think about what type of Product you are today and what type of product you want to be in 5

years. Yes. Your 5 year career plan.

10. PRODUCT STRATEGY

As you are First year students , you have an opportunity over the next several years to create your

own success strategy depending on your career aspirations

What are you selling? Describe how potential customers will perceive your product compared to

competitive products. Understand what makes your product unique in the market .

What value do you provide your customers? Determine what problems your product solves for

customers. You cannot be everything to everyone within a particular market, but you can help to

solve specific problems. Create a value proposition to position the value you provide and the

benefits that customers will receive with your solution.

How will you price your product? State how you will price the product. Include its perceived

value and a pricing model.

How will you distribute your product? Describe how you will sell your product, and how your

target market will acquire your product.

11. MY CV and 5 YEAR CAREER PLAN

Do you have a CV? What does it say of you today? Write down your CV and then spend

sometime evaluating where you are and where you want to be in 5 years. Use the Vision Map to

define 8 things you want to accomplish in 5 years.

THE VISION MAP

12. 1 YEAR CAREER PLAN

If you knew you were going to die in 1 year, what would be your one year career plan?

13. ANSOFF MATRIX AND GROWTH STRATEGIES

Now that you have a better understanding of yourself as “A PERFECT PRODUCT”…….use the

Ansoff Matrix and the Boston Consulting Group options to re-position yourself and create your

ideal future.

14. MISSION STATEMENT

Create your own MISSION STATEMENT based on everything you have discovered about

yourself and your future aspirations. Mine is SERVANT LEADER.

15. CONCLUSION

I AM A UNIQUE PRODUCT AND WORK-IN-PROGRESS, SOOM I WILL BE THE

PERFECT PRODUCT

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond

measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be

brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to

make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as

we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're

liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson “The Age of Miracle: Embracing the New Middle life” January 2008