Ciscos Building of Brand

Ciscos Building of Brand Building a brand in a business-to-business context is different from doing so in a consumer market. The case study given about Cisco demonstrates this fact. When Cisco started its operations, its main target market was corporate bodies. It was selling its products to firms, which needed systems that could help them run more efficiently.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ciscos Building of Brand specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The firm has however, grew exponentially over the last decade and it has come to appreciate the fact that consumer market can no longer be ignored. The approach taken by Cisco to build its brand when it was targeting other business units has changed following its decision to include consumer markets as part of its target markets. The approach taken to attract organizational consumers is different from the strategy taken to attract consumer markets. One of the difference comes in the way building the brand is concerned. When dealing with business-to-business market, the focus will be on the decision makers within the targeted firm. This can be the chief executive. In such cases, a firm will make an effort to ensure that the decision maker understands the brand and its superiority over other existing brands. This is because the decision maker is known (McNally Speak, 2011). It is very different from the case where the target market is a consumer market. In consumer market, the target audience is undefined. A firm will always try to build its brand by trying to communicate to everyone in the consumer market. This is evident from the case study given about Cisco. When Cisco was targeting other corporate bodies as its target market, it would focus on the main decision makers in the companies and sell its brand to them. This changed when it focused on the consumer market. The management realized that the only way of making its brand strong in the consumer market is to ensure tha t the public knows it. It is also apparent from the case that when targeting consumer market with the brand, more advertising would be necessary than when dealing with business-to-business market. When Cisco targeted organizational consumers, it found it easy to visit the companies and explain to the decision makers the importance of using their system. This changed when the firm expanded its market to include consumer markets. It had to use social and mass media to popularize the brand. Cisco’s plan to reach out to consumers is viable. For a long time, Cisco had been a popular brand in the United States and other regions around the world. However, it was very unfortunate that this brand was popular but most people did not know its specific products. This was understandable because the main target market for this firm initially was organizational consumers. The management would advertise this brand in the market, with their target being the decision makers in various organiza tion.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, this has to change given that it has decided to target consumer markets. The management must devise ways through which it can make its products known in the market. The plan to reach out to consumers is viable and very timely. In the past few years, the firm has been popular with its brand, and not its products. The management must make an effort to ensure that the popularity that the brand has generated is translated into popularity in all its products. According to Pride and Ferrell (2011), a firm can only benefit from its strong brand if its consumers are able to relate the brand with the products. This is the only way that a firm will be able to make its products gain a competitive edge over other firms in the market. Cisco has been keen on expanding its products line through acquisitions and takeovers. The firm ha s acquired many other firms that have helped it increase its market share and the products it offers in the market. It is therefore, prudent to ensure that whenever such acquisitions are made, the customers are informed about the new product that have been introduced into the market (McNally Speak, 2011). Cisco had depended on mass media to reach out to the customers. The television commercials were used to attract customers and inform them of any changes that could have taken place and the new products that the firm could have recently introduced. Currently, the firm has decided to use social media to reach out to the customers. The decision is very timely. This is because when targeting the consumer market, it is important to know the attractive market segments. The youth make the most attractive market segment for electronic product or any technology-oriented products. They get fascinated by the power of technology, and can easily make purchase of a product if they get convinced that it has what they need. This target market is easily found in social media such as Facebook, Tweeter and other blogs that Cisco has decided to use. This is a strong indication that this plan is very viable. References McNally, D., Speak, K. D. (2011). Be your own brand: Achieve more of what you want by being more of who you are. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Pride, W. M., Ferrell, O. C. (2011). Marketing express. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ciscos Building of Brand specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

Practice Speaking French Every Day

Practice Speaking French Every Day Daily French practice is a must since its only by practicing and using your French that youll be able to develop fluency, which occurs slowly over time. Aside from talking in French class and reading French books, there are a number of other ways you can incorporate French into your daily life. The basic premise is to use French whenever and wherever you can. Some of these ideas might sound silly, but the point is to demonstrate how you can easily introduce French into everyday situations. Thinking about French every day will help you learn how to think in French, which is a key element of fluency. You want your brain to go straight from seeing something to a French image, instead of going from object to English thought to French thought. Your brain will eventually process French faster, which facilitates fluency.   Fill your home and office with French Things Surround yourself with French things.  Make French labels for your furniture, appliances, and walls; buy or create French posters, and use a French calendar. French first Make French the first thing you see when you connect to the Internet. Set a high-quality French entity, such as  easy French news on Radio France Internationale, as your browsers default  homepage. Practice Your French If you know other people who speak French, practice with them whenever you can. Dont let speaking anxiety hold you back. For example, you and your roommate can declare Mondays and Fridays French day and communicate only in French all day. When you go out to a restaurant with your spouse, pretend youre in Paris and speak French to each other.   French Lists Need to make a shopping list or a to-do list? Do them in French. If the other people you live with speak French, write notes to them in French. Shopping in French When you go shopping, practice French with yourself.  For instance, count out your apples or your cans of tuna fish in French, look at prices and imagine how to say them in French. Routine French Think in French while performing routine actions. When walking to the refrigerator, think Jai soif or Quest-ce que je vais manger  ? Consider the conjugations of se brosser while brushing your teeth and hair. State the French name of each item of clothing as you put it on or take it off. Vocabulary Building Keep a notebook handy so that you can write down new words and keep track of ones you need to look up. This can also be part of a French journal or language scrapbook. French Internet If you use Windows, you can set your computer to display menus and dialogs in French. Mots flchs (Crosswords) Print out free mots flà ©chà ©s  and see how well you do. How Students Themselves Practice Speaking French Lets look at some of the great ideas students themselves have  for practicing spoken French. The following comments were taken from a French learning forum:   I challenge myself by picking a few objects around me and playing I spy with myself or others around me who also speak French. For example, I see an umbrella. Using circumlocution, I describe the item without using any of the words, such as pluie (rain), to give it away.  Because Im so self-conscious about speaking French, I find myself speaking it to my mother, who speaks no French. A live person allows me to put myself out there and I can practice my pronunciation without feeling so uncomfortable. Speaking to someone live forces me to form the word order in my mind along with the pronunciation. Ill say it out loud in her presence, then switch over to English so that she can understand me.I make sure to find things in French that really interest me so that it doesnt feel like school. The Internet is a great source because there are so many avenues to explore. I read reviews of things Im interested in, like books and movies. I go to French language message boards that deal with sub jects Im interested in. Ive also started a journal which is slow going but fun because I get to write about whatever Im interested in. I have books on tape in French and I listen to them while driving. I also have a teddy bear that a French friend gave me. When you press his jaws, paws or stomach he says things like Je mendors...Bonne nuit, or Aà ¯e  ! Ça fait mal; his left paw says Bonjour. Every morning, I touch his paw, he says Bonjour and I proceed to tell him, in French, my plans for the day. It gets me in the mood for French for the remainder of the day.  I try to skim the French newspaper Le Monde on the Web several times a week. If I have time, Ill read one of the articles out loud, which is difficult because the stories are written in fairly sophisticated written French, not in the style of a newscast. Occasionally, I play their aural stories. And I get daily and weekly horoscopes in French from Yahoo. They usually have a lot current French expressions in them.I listen to a series of Hachette pronunciation tapes, Phonà ©tique, in the background. I try to do the exercises, but they sometimes are ve ry difficult even when I can give them my full attention, and its easy to get frustrated. If the International Film Channel or the Sundance Channel is showing a movie Ive already seen, Ill try to keep that on in the background to see if I can pick up the French.  I often try to think of the French equivalent of something and articulate it, but Im often worried about speaking in phony French and  making mistakes, which would be easy to do since I havent studied French in quite some time. Were these ideas promising? If any seemed useful, try them yourself. The more you practice, the more youll train your brain to think in French. And over time, that leads to fluency.  Bonne chance.