Semester Project

Semester Project

Case 1.1 - Hewlett-Packard Reduces, Reuses, Recycles:

1. What kind(s) of marketing utility do you think Hewlett-Packard's sustainability efforts provide for its customers? Are there any downsides to these programs?

Hewlett Packard's sustainability efforts are aimed at introducing products that are more eco-friendly. As a result, the company has maintained a strong focus on delivering high quality products that are also recyclable (Doppelt, 2009). This provides marketing utility to consumers who are socially and environmentally responsible as it gives them a sense of pride in knowing that they are contributing towards the betterment of the environment and in the reduction of wastage of resources.

Case 4.1 - Proctor & Gamble's New Web Strategy:

2. Do you think personalization, customization, or behavioral targeting can help Web sites like the eStore to succeed? What sort of personal information would you be willing to share online to improve a retailer's ability to meet your needs?

Websites rely heavily on personalization, customization and behavioral targeting in order to maximize the rate of conversion ion incoming traffic. Behavioral targeting is used to great effect for the purpose of targeting visitors based mainly on their online behavior (Surhone et al., 2010). It involves techniques like product navigation, category navigation, keyword searching, and data entries in forms.

For a website like eStore that sells a wide range of products to an ever-expanding clientele, it is clear that customization, personalization and behavioral targeting will enable the company to maximize revenues by increasing the conversion rate on incoming traffic of visitors. This is because customization and personalization techniques allow a company design the product portfolio based on the tastes and preferences of the customers (Surhone et al., 2010).

This increases the chances that the customer will make a purchase since the products and services available on the eStore will be according to what the customers prefer and want. Moreover, by assessing the profiles of customers and determining their behavioral patterns regarding behavior, eStore will know which be able to devise a more effective marketing strategy (Surhone et al., 2010).

Case 5.1 - How color is used in Marketing:

2. Should a global firm like McDonald's or General Mills change the colors of its logo or packaging depending on the country in which it is marketing? Why or why not? How might this affect consumer attitudes toward the company and its products?

A logo is a very important part of a brand. This is because it helps to establish an image of the brand in the mind of the consumer and consumers are then able to identify the particular brand by simply looking at the brand. Therefore, the importance of a logo and packaging in terms of establishing brand identity among consumers cannot be overlooked by companies as these are the two main factors that effectively market the brand in different markets (Kurtz, 2012).

Keeping this in view, it is clear that changing the color of a logo to enter a particular market is not a good decision for either McDonalds or General Mills since this affects the ability of ...