Summary of What We Have Learned This Semester

In this semester's Introduction to Marketing class, students have learned about the four P's of marketing- Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. In the first month we discussed both Product and Price. Students learned that before you can market any good, you must first have a product. Students learned that in order to be successful in business, new ideas must be just that- new! One you have developed something innovative or unique to a given market, you must next set a price. We discussed many concepts of buyer perception, price fixing, and pricing strategies that are often used when setting prices of products in the business world.

In early October we spent several weeks discussing the third "P", Place. Students were shown examples of why placement matters through pictures of local Walmart and Target stores. We discussed concepts of how child's items are usually placed on the bottom shelf and why. Then, we discussed how every day items are categorized on the shelf based off of the how they sell, with the best selling items placed right in the middle. We concluded this section by have students go and visit stores to come up with their own theories of why certain segments of local stores where placed in specific areas- such as why produce was at the front of most grocery stores.

We just finished discussing Promotion in class to top off this section. Students were shown many super bowl commercials and local adds in the first few days to see examples of how different companies market products. We discussed how a great product will go nowhere if no one knows it exists. Students were taught that promoting a product is expensive, but also an art. There are many ways to do so other than simply putting ads on television such as social media marketing and bill boards. All in all, it has been a great semester and we are excited to dive into the next sections of the class where we utilize all of this learning through projects and presentations!