Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of myself. Because I feel like all the research and studying I did really payed off. Before my presentation I was really nervous because I felt like I would everything. There was so much to remember I was scared I would blank out. Thankfully though as I was talking all the information came naturally to me. Therefore I didn't stutter or I wasn't repetitive. I knew my information and I was able to deliver it in a way that kept my audience engaged.


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would give myself a P+. Because I felt I succeeded very well in really taking the time and putting the effort to know the information very well. Also present it in a way that was entertaining for my audience and showed my passion for my topic.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would give myself a P+ because with every component I felt like I had met the requirements and succeeded. I worked with a lot of different companies and did everything I could to gain the most knowledge so I could excel in this project.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
What worked for me was all the great companies I got to work with. Since they are totally different business I got to play around with different marketing campaigns and get different point of views and that was really helpful.
(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
If I could go back in time I would try to do something more than what was required. Often times I only met the requirements and I didn't really try to go above and beyond and I really regret that.
(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.
The senior project has been very helpful to my future endeavors because it has opened up so many doors for me through all the people I have met. It has also given me an advantage over other people trying to go for the same marketing position as me at a young age due to the all experience. It has also helped me prepare myself for the real world when I actually have a full time job and have to work with people 8 hours a day.  

Blog 21: Mentorship Log

Content:

LIA Response to blog:

    Literal

·     Vairon Perez

Atlantic Tax Company

    Interpretive

    The most important thing I have learned from this experience is the real life experience in a working field. Thanks to my mentor I was able to do some hands on projects were I learned a lot about what it takes to be a marketing manager. I also got to learn skills and tactics such as the correct way to deal with customers that can help me out later on in my career. 

   Applied

   What I did helped me answer my EQ because I got to be a marketing manager for a little therefore I had to find the most efficient way to reach my target audience and increase sales for the companies I was working with. Therefore all my answers originated from actual experience, as well as all my answers. 

Blog 20: Exit Interview

 Content:

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

How can a marketing manager best increase the marketability of an idea or service to a target demographic?

• The best way for a marketing a manager to increase the marketability is to create a competitive edge for its business so they can efficiently compete with their competitors.
• Forming strong relationships with customer will allow a marketing manager to increase the marketability of their service or product.
• Marketing through social media allows managers to be able to reach their target audience faster and for a cheaper price.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

      

            I came up with these answers through my experience of working with different companies and observing the certain strategies they chose for them.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

           The problems I faced were learning how to budget. Math is not one of my string assets therefore it was hard to calculate the correct amount of money a company should spend on a certain marketing plan to obtain the most profit. In order to resolve this I just turned to my mentor or any other professional that I knew could help me.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

            i. My mentor was a significant source because he gave me real world experience and knowledge in the working field. He helped me in the development of all my answers, and he always took the time to answer all my questions.

           ii. Another significant source was an article called, "Guide to using Social Media for Marketing." It explained the many benefits that social media has for marketing. As well as the social media sites that are the most populated by customers. It also explained the correct way to use social media for marketing.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

 Content:

LITERAL
(a) I, Vanessa Pacheco, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) Tijuanas Tacos in Pomona
(c) done.
(d) The boss of Tijuanas Tacos allowed me to come up with my own marketing plan to increase sales. After discussing with him, I managed to persuade him to invest in a plasma television for one lucky customer. The basic idea was to advertise this tv to encourage more poeple to come eat at our restaurant for a chance to win a television. The only condition being that anyone could participate in this raffle as long as they purchased something. At the end we got plenty of new customers coming into the restaurant to enter the raffle. We did this through the course of the two weeks that I was there. I only went during the weekends. I would put in 8 hours everyday I went.
INTERPRETIVE 
These are a couple of pictures of the plasma television that we raffled and the complementary fruit salad we were giving away to long term customers.

APPLIED
This component helped me answer my EQ because it allowed me to get a first hand experience to see what really is the best way to reach my target audience. This gave me the opportunity to start putting into practive everything that I had learned from my reaserch and mentorship into practice and start developing my own startegies.

Blog 18: Third Answer

• EQ: How can marketkng manager best increase the marketability of an idea or service to a target demographic?
• The best way would be recahing their clients through social media. 
• Almost every person is using social media, it is the fastest form of communication, it allows flexibility to the company. 
• http://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/marketing/online-marketing/social-media-business & mentor
• The best way to reach your target demographic in modern day is through social media. 

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

1. Which type of marketing do you recommend? Institutional marketing to build my own image or direct marketing to generate inquiries from clients?
2. Which marketing method is better for me? selling based marketing or education based marketing?
3. Which type of marketing do you use more often for your clients? 
4. How do you direct your marketing only to prospective clients so you won't waste money reaching the wrong people?
5. How do you get prospective clients to come back?
6. What college courses have you taken in marketing?
7. What was the biggest obstacle you faced when you began marketing for your company?
8. What is your marketing background?
9. As a marketing manager, do you prefer to work alone or alongside your team?
10. Besides marketing, in what other areas do you consult?
11. What's the longest time you've worked with any one of your client?
12. How do you measure your success?
13. What is your biggest marketing fail?
14. What is your most successful marketing accomplishment?
15. What part of your marketing program gives you, the biggest advantage over your competitors?
16. How soon does it take you to create new clients?
17. If your marketing program doesn't work, what do you think would be the most likely reason?
18. Describe a situation in which an innovative course of action was necessary.
19. If you were a brand which would you be and why?
20. Which is your best marketing skill?

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

My second answer is:
The best way for a marketing manager to increase marketability is by building relationships.

Reasons why:
1. You want to build good relationships with your customers because they have a lot of choices so you want them to choose you.  "The relationship doesn't start when money changes hands, but as early as the marketing phase. "

2. The companies that have really strived in the past are companies that have invested in ensuring their customers get the best experience. Now a days, because of social media, building relationships with customers is even more simple.

3. Building relationships with important people, not just customers opens up so many doors for your product. Not only do you get more connections, but you get more people talking about your product which works as a form of advertising that you as a manager didn't have to do anything or invest any money in really.

The sources I used that were really helpful were:
  "Managing Your Customer Relationships." Marketing Donut. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
 "Sign up for Our Free Weekly E-newsletter." In Marketing, It's All About Building Relationships. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014

And also my mentor contributed to this answer from first hand experience.

So in conclusion, my second answer revolves around the idea that buidling relationships with everyone not just customers helps to get your product out their in the market. It helps to have good relationships with your customers because they are then going to continue purchase your product as well as recommend it to friends and family. It's good to build relationships with other workers because they work as connections to help you advertise your product. 

Blog 15: Independent Component 2

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
For my 30 hours I plan to now work with Tijuanas Tacos. I chose this company because I want to work on marketing for a food establishment now. This will be totally out of my comfort zone since I'm use to working for a tax company.
2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
I will show my 30 hours of evidence with my log spreadsheet as well as pictures of my marketing plans and how I achieve them.
3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
This will really help me more with my topic because I will be able to put in practice everything I've learned about  with leading my team and working against my competition. I never had to do any of that before so I'll finally be able to get a hands on experience.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

Literal:

a) I Vanessa Pacheco, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

b) Carlos Pacheco

       -Vice President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

            (323) 804-4081

c) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlMzNOgFPiPXdHliYm5MX3lIcFlNOHhtY2s5b0hseEE&usp=sharing#gid=0

d) Mondays and Wednesdays I worked with Carlos. He gave me lists of companies and all their information I needed . With the information I received I created competition grids. I also went with Carlos to visit different companies and I got to meet a lot of people and here about their business plans. I then made a business plan myself with Carlos. We also worked together to advertise the businesses and try to get new customers.

Interpretive: 

These are photos from my days working with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Example of business plan I made for SuperChem. (apologies it had to be in spanish)

This is Minerva Hernandez. She is the President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

These are some of the business cards of the businesses I went to.

This is an example of the competition grid from a business. It lists all the products they offer.

Applied:

 This component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better because I got to work with actual businesses. I also learned a lot of new things about building relationships with workers and customers. I got to talk to a lot of people and get different ideas. I just feel like it opened up the doors for me because now a lot of people around my community know me. This component actually helped me with finding my first answer for my 30 minute presentation. 

January Blog Post

I feel like January was so packed with so many things that it just flew by. For example we started a new semester! Plus we had a lot of projects due. Overall though I feel pretty content with my work.
I really enjoyed the process and researching for my lesson 2 presentation just because I really like my topic. Tax season also started which meant that the environment where I do my mentorship is total chaos. Which kinda sucked for me because my mentor couldn't always provide with the assistance that I needed. However we both managed to pull through. I also used this month to really focus on my independent component. Therefore I worked a lot along side my dad since he is the Vice President of the Hispanic chamber of commerce of Pomona. Which is where I wanted to do my independent component.
Also thanks to m awesome tutor I got a 91 on my physics test which is the highest grade I've ever gotten on a physics test so I was extremely happy. It really encouraged me to keep trying.
So overall this month was hectic with all the things that we had to do but thank god I survived.
I can't wait to see m February has in store for me.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I'm most proud of my assignment. The reason for that is because it was the part I had most trouble in. However at the end I believe that I found the most efficient way to tie in my assignment with my PowerPoint.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P         AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I think I deserve like a P/P+ because  I met all if my requirements and I also felt that my work was quality and that I presented my PowerPoint to the best  of my ability.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

What worked for me was explaining  my first answer.  I knew my information very well therefore when I was delivering the presentation I didn't feel as nervous because I knew what I was talking about.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

At first it was somewhat difficult to create an assignment based off of what my peers learned from my PowerPoint.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be? 

I think my second answer is going to be crew importance of creating customer relationships with your clients. 

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

Third Interview Questions:

1. How can a marketing manager best increase the marketing ability of an idea or service to a target demographic?
2. From your experience in the field what method do you find to work best in persuading consumers to buy your product?
3. Tell me about a brand that you think has good marketing.
4. What are the characteristics do you think a manager needs to have in order to run their team effectively?
5. What part of your marketing plan gives you the biggest advantage over your competitors?
6. Who are your top competitors?
7. Who are your ideal customers?
8.   As a marketing manager, how do you measure the success of your team?
9. What is your company's mission?
10. How do you define marketing?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

Content:

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
At the Atlantic Tax Company in La.

2.   Who is your contact?
Vairon Perez, he is the marketing manager of that company.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?   
I'm basically done with all my hours since I go every Saturday to work with my brother for five hours. So in total I believe I have 80 hours already.

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
Most of what I do is, help with paperwork, answering phone calls, and also help my mentor with the making of marketing campaigns for the company. So that includes everything from the advertising we're going to do and working with the budget.

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

Content:

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
Unfortunately when I was on break so was my mentor, therefore I wasn't able to work with him. However that did not stop me from getting ahead on the rough draft of my lesson 2 template and getting ahead on some research. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
The most important thing I learned was that getting a head start and not procrastinating on your work is really beneficial. For starters you'er not stressed out about it, and also the content of my work is much better. 

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
I'm assuming we can choose any one regardless if we know them or not. Therefore if I had the chance to interview anyone I would choose the marketing manager of the coco cola companies. I would choose them because the coca cola company is one of the most successful and well known company ever. Their marketing campaigns are famous worldwide and I would love to get to talk to that person with such imagination, that was able to create that.