Blog Post #15: Closing Time/Reflection

My fifteenth and final entry for the semester is going to be a critical reflection on the marketing lessons that I learned throughout the semester. I always find it useful to reflect on a previous experience in writing, as it brings further clarity to the experience. Without critical reflection, it is easy to miss the big take home points. Below is a list of some of the learning outcomes of my marketing class and this blog. I will elaborate on some of the list further later in the post. I want to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures (I wasn't sure what was alright to put for a personal reflection), but here is a symbolic video to take a look at:

•  I have learned and grasped that the marketing process starts and ends with consumers.
• I have gained a better understanding of topics like the marketing mix, market segmentation, target markets, pricing, consumer behavior, service marketing, and social media marketing.
• I have gained a better understanding of the role that marketers play in the business world.
• I have realized how marketing can have an impact on environmental sustainability.
• I have overall realized an interest that I have in marketing, which has led me to acquiring an internship within the advancement department at Goodwill Northern New England in marketing and communication.

I believe that the most important takeaway from my marketing class and this blog is that the marketing process starts and ends with consumers. This may seem obvious, but it is something that is crucially important to realize in marketing. If you are working for profit, your main goal should not be to make money but to create value for the consumer. Without a reliable, happy consumer base, making money is not possible. This was really driven home for me with a simulation that was conducted in class called New Shoes. New Shoes involved changing aspects of the marketing mix in order to improve the sales of a footwear distributor as much as possible. When targeting growth in customer satisfaction-improving factors like consumer promotions and price (setting a low one especially) that is when the most success is found.

The overall growth in my interest in marketing is something that should not be all that surprising. I think that I have, in a way, had an interest in marketing all along, I just had not realized it yet. I cannot remember if I have previously mentioned this, but I have worked the past three or so years at the sports retailer Olympia Sports. I have been directly involved with relating with customers and creating value and positive experiences with them, and I have always taken pleasure out of delivering a positive customer experience to them. To me, that is what marketing is for a successful marketer: it is all about delivering positive experiences to customers. The nuances of marketing, though, are fairly complex. This means that the journey to becoming a successful marketer may not be easy, but if one seeks to understand the business of people, it is likely that success will be found. That’s what I believe.

So this is it, people. That is about all I have on my mind for today. The blog project has come to a close and I am definitely going to miss it. Look for me to start up another blog of my own sometime in the near future! Happy trails!

- Kevin J. Kenneally