What is Internal Marketing?

By Shuting Qi

Internal Marketing is a term to describe when a company’s employees are treated as “internal customer”, the employees as the customer as well. The business must make sure their employees know their business value. I will give an example to illustrate how does a successful business practice their Internal Marketing-Four Seasons Hotel.

The founder of Four Seasons Hotel, Isadore Sharp, realized that the external customer and internal customers both need to take care. In order to make sure their internal customers realize the significant of hotel’s principle, Four Seasons chooses to trust their employees, motivating every one of them and giving them authority and responsibility.

In another word, Four Seasons lets their internal customers be self-concerned, spreading out its values: respect, fairness, honesty, and trust. Only by training such people who consider their jobs extensively in a way put them into customers’ shoes, Four Seasons could be a success. Therefore, the responsibility of every employee holds up Four Seasons’ long-standing position.

Internal Marketing, in a word, is hiring the right employees and tell them their business value. The purpose of this strategy is let every employee thinks working is not for anyone else; instead, it is working for themselves.

None the less, providing employee benefit is important as well. For example, Four Seasons provided Company-Wide Benefits to their employees:

1.        Career growth opportunities

2.        Unique strong culture

3.        Best-in-industry training

4.        Luxury environment in magnificent locations worldwide

5.        Incentive bonus/competitive salaries

6.     Complimentary stays at Four Seasons properties (based on availability), with     discounted meals

7.        Paid holidays/vacation

8.        Educational assistance

9.        Dental and medical/disability/life insurance

10.     Retirement benefits/pension

11.     Employee service awards

12.     Annual employee party/social and sporting events

13.     Complimentary meals in dedicated employee restaurants

The reason why I typically talk about Four Seasons as an example of internal customers is that Fortune Magazine named Four Seasons is 70th on the ranking of “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2016.

http://jobs.fourseasons.com/home/working-at-fs/benefits/

Brand Positioning: Nokia 3310

By Allison Zwarka


Brand Positioning refers to the strategy a company uses to convince a person to buy thier product over another company's. HMD Global has completely changed their brand position of the Nokia 3310.

The Nokia 3310 is being marketed as "standing apart due to its human centricity". (Vizard 2). The phone is back due to popular demand from customers. The company believes the phone has a purpose and isn't just going along with the trend of finding the latest technology. The company is using brand positioning to change who they are selling to. Some don't think there is anyway this phone can compete with the latest smartphones and the reliance we have on them. Nokia is thought to be extremely successful by trying to reach that market that still doesn't own a mobile, or smartphone, device. By creating such an efficient, easy to use phone they may truly be rewarded. The reason brand positioning is so important to marketing is that it sets your company or product apart from everything else. In order to have an effective marketing campaign you must have a clear reason and strategy for your product in order to effectively market, and sell it.


Vizard, Sarah. "The Nokia 3310 Is Back as a 'modern Classic Reimagined'." Marketing Week. N.p., 26      Feb. 2017. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

MSG Experts. "MSG Management  Study  Guide." Brand Positioning - Definition and Concept. N.p., 2017. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.   

www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Will Nokia 3310 Survive in the Smartphone-obsessed World? - ET BrandEquity." ETBrandEquity.com. N.p., 26 Feb. 2017. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.                                                                                            

How Marketing Has Evolved

By Lindsey Murphy

With the vast increase in social media and technology use in the past decade, the ways companies interact with consumers has surely changed as a result. The seven key ways that marketing has changed recently include:

1. Marketing and its tools change so quickly, that your marketing team needs to become a research department. In order to keep up with the always-changing modern society, marketers must constantly remain aware of consumers's needs and patterns. Always using different platforms such as Pinterest or Facebook is essential in the cutting edge of marketing.
2. The changing tools of marketing mean that your initiatives have to shift. Using different tools of communication is a good way to interact with consumers. A new inexpensive form of marketing is video, which can help introduce a website, for example.
3. Your entire business has to accommodate the use of social media. Customers are more in control now than ever because of the growth of social media use. Being flexible and open is a key component of being "social."
4. Your marketing department needs to become a media and education department. Marketing has changed to producing content that requires writing, video editing, analytical skills, etc.
5. How you spend your marketing dollars is different. With social media sites costing nothing, money can be used in different areas such as digital media.
6. The four Ps of marketing have changed. The four basics of marketing, or the four P's, are product, price, place, and promotion. But Brian Fetherstonhaugh believes that marketing is now centered around experience, everyplace, exchange, and evangelism.
7. People have changed. People are different because they expect fast responses, rather than being on hold for half an hour. People now also have shorter attention spans, with higher standards from marketers. Consumers don't just want a great product, they want their life to be changed in a meaningful way.

Rabinowitz, Ilana. "7 Ways Marketing Has Changed." Social Media Explorer. N.p., 24 Aug. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. <https://socialmediaexplorer.com/content-sections/news-and-noise/how-marketing-has-changed/>.

Prompt 5: Observing Community

By: Jen Mylett

Campus Organization: Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity

What is Alpha Kappa Psi?

Alpha Kappa Psi is a national co-ed, professional business fraternity that was founded in 1904 at New York University. Michigan State’s specific chapter, Gamma Mu was founded in the early 1950s. At Michigan State, they are the only business fraternity to have a chapter house and be actual members of the Greek community. Alpha Kappa Psi hosts and attends events throughout the semester focusing on professional and social development, and improving and giving back to the community. 

How Does Alpha Kappa Psi Represent themselves?

As of January 2016, Alpha Kappa Psi holds the highest average GPA among all Greek fraternities on campus. They are really an organization that cares about their member’s well-being as well as how others perceive them. 

As a pledge of Alpha Kappa Psi, I have definitely gotten the gist of the regularities and expectations. I am a marketing major, so the fraternity definitely acknowledges that. They make sure your Big also has the same major as you and helps you with your school work, job planning, and other factors that may affect a student in the marketing field. Alumni from various background come to speak to us as well. For example, a graduate from MSU that graduated with a marketing major, told us about her job, how she obtained it, and everything that she can basically do with that major. We also can run for various positions in the fraternity, some being beneficial for my major may include: event planners and organizers who want outside individuals to attend their events, and the philanthropy which is responsible for creating a good name of the fraternity.

When attending business professional events or meetings, everyone is well dressed and taken care of, and we must show up a little early. This may seem like a natural thing for the brotherhood to do, but it takes a lot of time management to finish school work, take off time from a possible job, or plan future events accordingly. Pledging is equivalent to a three or four credit class on top of our schedules we have now. Of course, school comes first, but the organization truly stresses the importance of getting everything done earlier than later. I feel as this is an example of how one could market themselves by changing how other perceive them.