week 10: Product Concepts

The packaging behind certain products are what makes them top sellers. For example the shape of the box that your shoes come in, the kind of cardboard that makes the box or the colors that are on the box. The brand behind the product such as the name and the spelling of the name can also launch a product. For example Apple and the iPhone..when the iphone first came out there was nothing else quite like it on the market. From the sleek small black box that the phone came in to the apple logo stickers you could put on the back of the phone. In tom's shoes case..Tom's comes wrapped in a hemp bag and an eco friendly recycled box. Inside the box there is a brief history of the company and then an explanation of how the purchase of one shoe helps to provide shoes to a child in an underdeveloped country.

Week 9: Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

It is said that a good product needs no advertising and will sell itself. This can in fact be true but a good product can be a greater product if it is introduced to those beyond it's target market. A great tool used in trade to promote a product is giving out free samples of the products. For example if your company specializes in household products like soaps and lotions you can pre-package samples to hand out in front of your store. If your product is something that people generally have an idea about already such as shoes and clothing, you advertise to set your brand and company apart from the others that are selling in the same category as you. There needs to be something special or different about your product that is going to make customers want to wait in line to buy your shoes rather than going to the next store where there is no line and no wait to buy a pair of shoes. The purpose of shoes is to protect your feet and get your from point A to point B..but in Tom's Shoes case their shoes are known for an entirely different reason. Tom's Shoes is known for being the shoe that gives back and for being the environmentally friendly shoes. The founder of Tom's Blake Mycoskie has done a number of interviews and has had his shoes seen on the likes of well known celebrities. There is also a good chance that if you own a pair of toms that you will make a second or third purchase, because their shoes really are comfortable and the fact that your helping a child in a third world country that cannot afford shoes is the icing on the cake. One of the largest promotional events that was held by Toms was "a day without shoes" event. It is a day where you go without shoes to get a feel for what thousands of children suffer through day after day. It was talked about in many news articles and featured on Oprah. I personally attended "a day without shoes" event and it was an eye opener and cemented my place as a loyal Toms customer.

Retail Experience

Earlier this month i walked into an Urban Outfitters in search of a new comfort shoe. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Urban Outfitters had Tom's shoes available at their store. There was a wide selection of Tom's to choose from and they were also outside in their window display. The Sales associate was helpful when i asked to see a pair of the gold glitter Tom's espadrilles in a size 8. I tried on close to 4 different pairs of Tom's, all of which were new designs that i had not seen before. I continued to browse at the other styles of Toms and some other shoes that where in the store. All in all it was a great shopping experience. 

Week 8: Advertising & Public Relations

In our everyday lives we are bombarded with advertisements from our commute to school or work to the short distance we walk to the train station there are ads everywhere. Advertisements are the companies way to let us know what new products they have or what new locations they are at. Advertisements can be humorous and make us laugh therefore making us associate happiness with that company. Some Advertisements are informative and teach us about how their companies are giving back. In the case of Tom's Shoes their advertisements are not all over the city and it is rare that you see them on TV advertising. There Advertisement comes by word of mouth. Celebrities such as Oprah, Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba are all fans of Tom's and are photographed in them. There was also a feature article of Tom's in Vogue magazine.

Week:7 Retailing

Retailing is the sale of goods or services that benefit our lives. It can come in the form of clothing, accessories, to electronic goods. In New York City alone there are over 100,000 different retail boutiques that specialize in different goods. Retail employees more than 24 million people across the United States. There are a great deal of different characteristics that can define a retail store from what their selling to their actual store design and their prices. In Tom's shoes case their product is a moderately priced footwear. Tom's shoes does not have an actual store in which you can shop at, but their shoes can be found in other stores. For example Urban Outfitters, a chainstore that supplies clothing and shoes usually directed at younger fashion conscious public. They have Tom's shoes in their retail stores because they saw the trend in the environmentally friendly comfort fashion shoe.

Week 6: Consumer Decision Making

Each and every single one of us is a consumer in one way or another. Some of us spend our money on just groceries and the necessities while others spend big bucks on clothing, shoes, and the latest electronic goods. Our preferences are forever changing and our opinion of a shoe one day can be altered and change the next. A large majority of us are products of our surroundings. For example there have been many occasions where teenager peer pressure has an affect on purchasing decisions. In Tom's shoes case they recognize that there was an untapped market in the environmental going green consumer market. With their shoes being made from recycled materials such as hemp it puts consumers at ease and makes them more likely to buy a second or third pair after wearing them for the first time. Post Purchase Behavior is the expectations that a consumer has about a certain product that they buy. In Tom's shoes case their shoes are known for comfort and style. Consumers that invest in a Tom's shoe know that they are going to be wearing a comfortable shoe that is environmentally friendly and that their purchase of one pair allows for a child in another country to have a pair of shoes as well. Tom's shoes is a win-win situation.

Week 5: Developing a Global Vision

Global marketing is defined as marketing that targets markets throughout the world. Globalization can be beneficial for the company and those surrounding it. The company is building it's empire and outsourcing the company provides jobs and the opportunity to rise out of poverty. In toms shoes case they are based in California in the united states but their also marketing largely to south America and many third world countries.