Prompt #9: Public Relations Taking Center Stage

News reporter Lindsay Stein from AdvertisingAge claims Public Relations has always been a part of the marketing process, but most often light is never shined upon it. However, according to AdvertisingAge, this is about to change with the rise of the following:

• Skippable 
• Blockable
• Opt-out-able advertising
• Integrated campaigns

These four factors have allowed for the rise in Public Relations in 2016, starting to steal the lead role from advertising. More money has been filtered into PR by using partnership with social media and improvement of teen financial literacy. PR practices that have been working to climb the mountain of success in their firms include:

Source: linkedin.com

• Coldwell Banker sent their PR teams as well as CooperKatz & Co. to promote smart tech in residential buying as a result of a challenge to the PR team. The team moved behind practical public relations and into a more digital and strategic form-better for today's transformative market. 

• Adobe is now being partnered up with the largest independent PR agency, Edelman, and they're not just "getting a seat at the table, but they're getting half the table." 

Source: meghannwitthoft.com

These two, alongside countless other businesses, are adding new capabilities to continue the rise of the PR practitioners. They're waking up to the power they have beyond media relations. The rise of PR is just beginning, and they're not slowing down now. 

Join back next week for another week of exciting information regarding PR!
-Grace

The Effects of Technology on Supply Chain Management

It is no doubt that technology is changing all aspects of the world drastically. One aspect of the world that has changed dramatically over the past couple of decades due to technology is the business field. With more efficient ways of doing certain tasks and calculating data, businesses are saving time and money by adapting to technology. This week, I learned a lot about how technology is expected to revolutionize supply chain management over the next few years.

Photo Credit: jliebertz.com

Supply chain management has many new aspects of technology including mobile computing, analytics, and cloud services. These types of technology are helpful for companies because they save the company time and money, and they are more likely to be accurate than if people were completing the tasks.  Technologies like these are extremely helpful with asset tracking. One piece of technology used to track assets are active and passive RFID tags. These tags provide data on items that they are attached to. These trackers are connected to the internet and use long-range networks or Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) to let companies track items throughout journeys. According to Business Insider, there are also satellite trackers, Bluetooth tags, and near-field communication (NFC) tags that complete the same types of tasks as RFID tags. All of these tools have proven to be very helpful for companies and it is likely that they will be used more and more in the future.

Photo Credit: uofamis.com

These types of technologies are already being used by companies and businesses across the United States of America. The author of an article found at Business Insider, explains, "In a recent study, GT Nexus and Capgemini found that 70% of retail and manufacturing companies have already started a digital transformation project in logistics and supply chain operations". This means that these technologies are already widely used. These types of technologies are also expected to become more and more common. The author of the article found at the hyperlink above also states, "Delivery company DHL and tech giant Cisco estimated that Internet of Things technologies such as asset tracking solutions could have an impact of more than $1.9 trillion in the supply chain and logistics sector". This is a massive amount of money that would be impacting the supply chain and logistics fields. Hopefully these types of technologies will be extremely helpful to companies, consumers, and the economy as a whole as they continue to grow.
-Brianna

6 Habits of Highly Effective Marketers

Business owners and experts understand the importance of providing non-promotional, educational content in the beginning of a relationship with a potential client. In fact, there many different strategies from business owners that are used in an attempt to create effective marketing. The challenge for marketers is the fact that they need to translate their products information that has a perception of high value. According to design damage, here are some habits that effective marketers use in order to create this perception.


1. Effective Markers Make No Assumptions
 
People don't question their own assumptions about what will work. A good amount of marketers spill out their solution before asking their customers what they "think they want". They go deep into asking questions to understand what problems and urgencies the customers have. Effective marketers talk to their customers on a regular basis to understand what's really going on inside their reality.

2. Effective Marketers Are Storytellers

Once a marketer is educated on the customers problems, they then create a logical connection between their needs and your solution. Effective marketers know how to connect the dots by using narrative techniques to get peoples attention. The key is to find a way to ensure your solution sounds like whats going to solve their problem. Customers aren't worried about your product, all they truly care about are their specific wants and needs.

3. Effective Marketers Build Relationships

A relationship is a way to continue to relate until we feel related, and have full thoughts and emotions with the individual. Great marketers focus on building relationships to increase trust, admiration, and credibility that extends beyond business transactions. A strong relationship between business and the customer will also create more opportunities for sales. People will buy more and refer to others if they have trust in you.

4. Effective Marketers Are Givers

In order to introduce your product, you need to earn the right to ask for the sell. This is the framework of the "freemium" model. The freemium model means that you offer so much value to your prospect that their respect for you increases immensely. This requires you to supply your best value that contains relevant information and products to the customer. Effective marketers aren't afraid to give up their best product. They believe it will all benefit in the long run.

5. Effective Marketers Know Everything Is A Test

The main goal of marketing is to focus on the long term strategies to get customers. Great marketers look for data and facts that enable them to make incremental improvements. This is a reason why direct marketing direct response marketing creates better results compared to institutional advertising. Direct marketing has more benefits in small and medium size businesses. Investments in marketing should be looked as making progress, not perfection.

6. Effective Marketers Are Laser Focused On A Niche

Successful marketers choose a niche and stick to it. They put all focus and all knowledge they have towards content, and master it. It is narrowly focused so it speaks out to those who are looking for solutions for that certain topic or product. Marketers pitch tiny pieces of information at a time so the audience has time to process and take action. The goal is to pitch solutions, not suggestions. Effective marketers are able to establish their own techniques that create an understanding between the solution and the product.


To be able to be an effective marketer, you need much practice. In this day and age with the internet, learning marketing has become easier. All of the information you can learn is on the internet, you just need to follow basic steps prior to beginning your marketing campaign.

-Jackson

Prompt #4: Delivery and Style

This week while learning about Supply Chain Management, I came across one newspaper article and one scholarly article. The newspaper article is published by WWD News and discusses some of the issues in Supply Chain Management today. With a higher demand for high quality leisure goods, such as purses, many resources, such as cashmere, are becoming scarce causing prices to skyrocket. This means that it is growing more and more important for Supply Chain Managers to buy resources from a supplier with high quality resources and then to form a relationship with the supplier in order to continue buying from that supplier at a fair price.



Photo Credit: usascholarships.com

The scholarly article, published by Science Direct, was written by professionals, and discusses Supply Chain Management performance based on sustainability, internal operations, learning and growth, and stakeholder. The article ultimately states that “The top-ranking aspect to consider is that of stakeholders.” The article also describes a case study that was done in order to measure the performance of Supply Chain Management within a business.

The delivery of these two sources differ in a couple of ways. First of all, the newspaper article’s delivery style is much more casual and easy to understand for an average person. The scholarly article has a much more formal style and is much harder to understand because of the vocabulary used. I think that it is clear that the newspaper article was written for an audience of anyone wanting to learn a little bit more about supply chain management or the economy; however, the scholarly article seems to be written for an audience that is already educated about supply chain management and some of the concepts within supply chain management.

Photo Credit: linkedin.com

I think that it is much easier to trust the scholarly article instead of the newspaper article for a couple of reasons. First of all, the scholarly article was written by three scholars that are much more trustworthy. Tseng MenLang is from the Department of Business Administration from Lung-Hwa University of Science & Technology in Taiwan, Lim Ming works in the Derby Business School at the University of Derby in Kentucky, and Wai Peng Wong works at the School of Management at a university in Malaysia. Based on this information, it is evident that each of these authors are very educated about the topic. The author of the newspaper article is simply a journalist with little formal education about Supply Chain Management. Next, the scholarly article included citations about where they had gotten information, and described the results of a case study, which is another source of how they got their information. The newspaper article simply stated quotes from companies and people working in supply chain management.
-Brianna

Public Relations Survival Guide

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" 

It's another Tuesday morning. The sun is shining on your window pane, birds are chirping sweet harmonies, and the coffee pot is brewing as you tame your bed-head hair. However, this Tuesday morning is a little different than most. It's your first day on the job as a Public Relations professional. You may think, "I've had three internships! I am so ready for this; it can't be much different!" This is where you are wrong. As a PR worker, you will be thrown countless curve balls and learn much more in a few months on the job than you have your entire life. Scary, isn't it? Fear no more though. I'm here to give you seven tips from The Hoohirewire on how to hit these curveballs right out of the park. 

1. Read the news:

Whatever form this qualifies as for you, read the news. Whether it be with some coffee and a paper, or just skimming through the news tab on your iPhone in a traffic jam, be aware of what is going on in this world. It is your job to be informed of latest events and trends so you're able to solve issues and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

2. Quick learning is key:

You should definitely spend time learning in the office and outside of the office, especially with a lack of experience. The best way to learn the quickest is to put in the time, ask relevant questions, and schedule time for personal training. Keep up on these too; nobody is to blame besides yourself for the lack of experience. 

3. Understand the industry:

Know what you're talking about, why you're talking about it, and what comes of it. Work to understand the business's product and all the aspects that go with it. That way, you can start to train yourself to promote the product to audiences which is what most firms are going after.

4. Socialize in person:

Step away from the keyboard and speak with the clients. Although most of the socializing work can be done online, force yourself to make a personal impression! This can be as simple as a clarifying phone call, or self-delivery of a message. Brush up on the skills now so you have them when you manage your own accounts.

5. Don't be afraid to voice your opinion: 

The first few months can definitely be intimidating when it comes to speaking up and stating your opinion. Don't let it get to you though. Engage yourself, make it seem like you want to be there. You may have more validity than you believe you do.

6. Learn to balance priorities and responsibilities:

It's going to get hectic with all the tasks you'll have to juggle. Everyone is going to consider themselves your first priority, so you'll need to develop a system to meet deadlines and cater to the client's needs. It will take some time, but work at it every day so you make the most of your time and complete what needs to get done that day.

7. Propose your personal brand:

Most workers tend to leave their employers in five years or less, so if you plan to go beyond PR jobs, track what you do. Start a page online that future employers can access so your name can start to be known. 


With all seven of these tips combined, you're sure to hit that home run every PR worker desires to hit during their first level entry job. Tune back in next week for more information regarding the magnificent field of Public Relations!

-Grace

Prompt #5: Sports Marketing Community

If you have a sports marketing degree, there are many different career fields you can be apart of. You can work for a company that reaches out to teams or organizations, or you can be apart of an organization reaching out to companies. My family has been well represented in the Michigan State athletic community and I have been fortunate enough to go behind the scenes of the major athletics here at the university. With that being said, I have had the opportunity to see first hand how a program works and what keeps it going.
     
Growing up, I was always around the Michigan State basketball team. I got to be familiar with the players, managers, and staff. During this time I have gotten an understanding on what each staff member does for the program, outside of coaching and basketball knowledge. Over the years, I got to become familiar with the former Director of Basketball Operations, Kevin Pauga. This is the most important behind the scenes position in the program, due to the workload and number of responsibilities. They are responsible for schedule maintenance, travel plans, and mostly every other little thing necessary for the team. Kevin is now working with the athletic department as Assistant Athletic Director of Administration and is finding ways to represent the university, and running its athletics.

Source: lansingstatejournal.com

Witnessing the behind the scenes aspect of the basketball team really helped me decide what I want to do for the rest of my life. When I was little and had little knowledge about the business side of the sport, I didn't really know what to expect. My first impression was that the program basically ran itself. The most important figures to the team was simply the coaches and the players. But after understanding the difficulty of running an elite basketball program such as Michigan State, I realized that none of it would work without the people we don't see on the court. Every single possible thing you can think of that doesn't involve the actual game of basketball is influenced by these staff members. 

What brought me to really enjoy these close up opportunities was my love for the sport. Pretty early on I knew that my chance of actually playing for an elite program was very slim to none, so I looked for a way to still be a part of the sport. Once I saw what I could possibly do, I fell in love with it. 

-Jackson

Supply Chain Management Careers

One benefit of majoring in Supply Chain Management(SCM) is the variety of career opportunities that are presented. I was able to learn a lot about the different careers that a person with a SPM degree can get from a website that I found. A Supply Chain Management degree opens the door to so many different careers because all businesses, whether large or small, rely on getting supplies in order to get their product or service to customers. In this blog post, I will be explaining three different job titles that a person with a SCM degree can get according to Rasmussen College.

The first job that a person with a SCM degree can get is an Industrial Production Manager. An Industrial Production Manager basically finds ways to make manufacturing plants better. They can do this by doing some of the basic things like figuring out how to hire and train plant workers, decide when new machinery is necessary, make sure products are quality products, and making sure that production stays on schedule. They can also do more complex tasks such as analyzing data or planning ways to make the plant more efficient. Industrial Production Managers' average starting salary is $89,190.00 per year. This salary can vary based on the company, location, and other factors.

Photo Credit: careercast.com

Another job that a person with a SCM degree can get is a Logistician. A logistician is likely the career that most people think of when they hear about SCM. Logisticians are important for every part of the supply chain. They think about, analyze, and plan every step needed in order to make a product. From ordering the supplies for a product, minimizing costs, suggesting improvements, developing relationships, and understanding customer wants and needs, logisticians are a part of every step. The average starting salary of a Logistician is approximately $72,780.00 per year (Xu). Once again, this salary likely varies based on the company, location, and other factors.

Photo Credit: bls.gov

The last job category that I will be describing is Purchasing Managers, Buyers, and Purchasing Agents. The jobs of these types of people are to “find and evaluate suppliers, determine the price and quality of goods, negotiate contracts with suppliers, and determine when products should be delivered”. Basically they decide where it is best to buy supplies from for the cheapest price and a high quality. The average starting salary for people with these types of job titles is about $65,550.00 per year. Similar to the above two careers, this salary varies based on the company, location, and other factors.

Photo Credit: careerrelay.com

These are just three different job categories that a person with a Supply Chain Management degree can get. Like many business degrees, SCM opens the door for many possible jobs within the business field. I think that getting a degree that makes it possible to have different job titles is important because it probably makes it easier to get a job, as well as find something that you enjoy doing. Learning about these three careers have made me interested to learn about more career options and it has made me excited to learn more about Supply Chain Management.
 -Brianna