Christine Vanderpool's CSIT 155 - 2020 Class Blog

Art Crush My business is a fictitious business (that could possibly turn into a business) for crafting parties  (pinterest style projects) held in a hosts home for 90 minutes. The costs will run between $30 - $50 per person depending on the project selected.  All supplies will be provided.  The primary target market is women between the ages of 30 - 55 who are likely married, have children, an associates degree and higher and are the primary caregivers of their children.   My market consumes alcohol socially but they do not drink to excess as they are health conscious.  They are looking for an event to meet up with friends without the focus being just on eating and drinking.  Family income is $75K and higher.  They are looking for a social night out from raising their children.   My secondary market is for children’s parties.  The target market is similar to the above but the age range is 25 - 40.  The price point for the projec...

Subway and Hungry Bear Deli are two sandwich shops located in San Diego.  Subway has over 42,000 franchises worldwide and Hungry Bear Deli is a small business with only one location.  Both websites promote their fresh ingredients however Subway equally promotes value.  Subway even highlights their value pricing of a few subs as their opening visual.  Hungry Bear Deli on the other hand has slick moving visuals with mouth watering photos that invite you to try their large portions, fresh ingredients and high quality subs.  Taste and quality are their focal point compared to Subway’s focus on value and convenience.   Subway’s call to action to order online (order now) for either pick up or delivery is repeated in several places making convenience a draw for their market. Once you scroll down Subway’s home page they use sustainability and farm references to show freshness and nutrition as being important as well.  Hungry Bear Deli doesn’t seem to have...

amazon.com I hate to admit that I depend on Amazon far too much.  I am stuck in a rut of convenience and selection that I can’t seem to let go.  The amazon.com site has changed how society shops causing deterioration of America’s small businesses.   On Amazon’s home page, the branding is immediately identifiable.  There is a large amount of information on the page, yet the organization and navigation is well layout out.  The search bar is at the top of the page, to make looking for the product you need easy.  If you need to look for a past order it is also easy to find next to the search bar.  Then they offer everything from wishlists, registry, suggestions of products you may like, Amazon Prime video, grocery delivery, your browsing history and more.   Shopping for products on Amazon is beneficial too as shoppers have become dependent on the reviews of products.  There is also a helpful feature which allows the shopper to “look ins...

When creating a website for a business, you want to make sure the home page clearly identifies the business or product, is aesthetically pleasing, is easy to read and navigate.  Here are a couple of examples of sites that could improve their home page: www.gatesnfences.com The gatesnfences.com website is so busy with information that it is difficult for a visitor to find the main message and focal point.  They are attempting to show everything about their business and products on the home page which is overpowering and ineffective.  The organization of the site is also poor and would be frustrating for someone in need of their products.  Their use of color is not in harmony (in fact, using both primarily green and red from a psychological perspective causes agitation).  The navigation buttons on the left are outdated and there are too many .  Finally, there is far too much copy on the page, preventing any kind of message from being read. I’d lik...

This semester, I am going to focus my efforts on helping a friend launch her health and wellness business which is focused primarily on weight loss.   I have researched four top weight loss and wellness companies and one woman whose business is similar to what my friend’s business will be. WW (Formerly Weight Watchers) www.weightwatchers.com WW offers a scientifically proven program for weight loss and wellness, with Digital, Studio and Personal coaching solutions to help meet goals. For more than 55 years, WW has helped millions lose weight with the latest nutritional and behavior change science. Social Media Platforms linked from site:  Facebook (2.9M), Twitter (326K), YouTube (51.9K), Pinterest (10M/monthly viewers), Instagram (1.3M), LinkedIn (41K) Multiple posts per day on Facebook , Pinterest & Instagram (2/10/20).  Multiple posts per week on YouTube (1 month ago), Twitter (2/6/20), & LinkedIn (2/5/20). WW has been very effective wit...

I have nearly given up with trying to work with cable and internet companies.  I believe that with some companies, their strategy is to keep you on the phone for as long as possible so that you become frustrated and give up on trying to get your problem solved.  My greatest frustration has been with AT&T.  I have tried working with them primarily over the phone with their customer service and each time I have been on the phone for an unreasonable amount of time. I have considered leaving to go elsewhere but don’t really have the time to close my account and have them drag it out for an hour or more.  Although my experience is negative, they still have me as a customer.  For now. I often look at reviews in order to purchase a product. Going online to search for the reviews, both negative and positive will often be the deciding factor on which product I will purchase.  Certainly, if someone is unhappy it can really swing me in the other direction....

I commented on the following classmates' pages: Hannah  Burlingame Ashild  Roykenes-Pistole Dominic  Zamora