Course Reflection- MKTG-6000

12/01/2021

Javier Moreno

Objective(s)

Meet the requirements of the final assignment by submitting a self-reflection and examples of various projects completed throughout this course to support my learning experience. By the end of this document, I hope to have demonstrated a general level of knowledge I have gained from this course.

Preliminary Reading

Refer to the Future of Business & Marketing wrap up and reflect on at least 5 issues mentioned. https://rpubs.com/utjimmyx/wrapup2020

Introduction

I completed my undergrad in Business Administration many years back, and a personal goal was to complete an MBA program. After several failed starts and moments of discouragement, I took the first steps and began the CSUB MBA program in January 2021. However, because of my years in Business, I did not believe I would learn anything new regarding business operations. Instead, I was here with the sole purpose of achieving my lifetime goal. As I sat down to reflect on my learning experience for Marketing 6000, I realized how wrong I was.

Learned Concepts

Digital Transformation

Within a few minutes into the first day of this course, digital transformation was introduced and how it has revolutionized the way businesses operate and has created an entirely new sector in business. Companies are transforming themselves by incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the inefficiencies in operations and all else they do, including how they interact with customers. A company like Salesforce is able to help companies with their customer relationships by creating a customer relationship management (CRM) platform which brings together customer data from all departments.

Salesforce.com

It was helpful to hear how digital transformation has disrupted and reinvented the way businesses operate. Those who have embraced this transformation have a competitive advantage over those who have not. However, this was not the most important message I took away from this course.

Data Science

This course introduced me to data science and how organizations worldwide use data to drive decisions. From guiding daily business operations to urban planning, all the way to developing public policy, data is used.

Towardsdatascience.com InsideBigData.com

Collecting and interpreting data to drive the decision-making process is a good skill set to leave this class with, but this was not the most important takeaway.

Data Visualization

I learned to data story tell by converting data into visualizations using business intelligence tools such as Tableau and R programming. Tableau is a platform used to develop a variety of dashboards, graphs, plots, charts, etc… Tableau dashboards are used to watch, observe or interpret data needed to make business decisions.

Tableau.com

R is a language and an environment where statistical computations and graphical design can be completed. An individual without much knowledge of R can use basic chunks of code to program a computer to complete complex calculations such as autoregression and time series analysis or other business applications. More and more businesses rely on R to run their operations.

Companies who rely on R Current Job Vacancy for R programmers

Both Tableau and R are extremely useful as both can convert big data into manageable pieces of information. Simplifying data makes it easier to process and understand for the decision-maker and improves inefficiencies. Throughout this course, I built a strong understanding of these platforms while learning and practicing my coding skills. I leave this course with a fundamental understanding and new appreciation for data and analytics, however this was not the most important lesson.

Marketing Frameworks

I strengthened my knowledge of how to market a product efficiently. The first step in developing a new product or an effective marketing campaign is to conduct a market analysis. This analysis involves understanding the 5 Cs ( customers, company skills, competition, collaborators, and context). In this initial stage, we look to learn about the customers and other external factors that impact marketing a product, such as competition, distribution chains, and general environmental landscape, while looking inwards towards the company. Understanding the 5 C’s establishes the framework that guides the product, place, promotion, and pricing ( 4 P’s). The 5 C’s and 4 P’s set strategic marketing decisions.

Tableau.com

Digital Marketing

I have never been a big social media person nor had I ever created a social media account. The truth is I never understood the magnitude of the reach an online post or advertisement could have nor did I understand the importance. The fact is 40% of small businesses do not use social media, 92% of marketers do, and 78% of salespeople have out performed their counterparts because of social media engagement .

Best Time to Post on Instagram Facebook

The reality is we are living in a digital world, and the use of social media has had the same effect on marketing as the introduction of television. There is no other marketing channel where you are able to target your audience so precisely with relatively little to no cost. Fortunately, I learned the benefits of leveraging social media, but there was a far more critical takeaway.

Key Takeaways

By now, you may be curious as to what I thought was the most valuable takeaways from this class. I indeed learned quite a lot from this experience and will use this information in my career. However there are two takeaways that are the most important to me.

The first is that formal or advanced education is not necessary. As a society, we preach that without an education a person wont be successful nor will they have well paying jobs. However, I learned this is not the case, and there are endless opportunities for individuals who may not be interested in pursuing an education.Data analysts, programming and social media marketers are examples of careers which pay extremely well and have a positive outlook. Currently the demand is high for this skill set, and will only increase as more businesses adopt digital transformation.

Zip recruiter

The second and the most important takeaway for me is not to be embarrassed to market yourself. I had always thought it was strange to see individuals reference their social media links and other works, and then I realized its value. I quickly recognized in a moment of awaking that we may be experts in our domains, but any other person outside ourselves may not realize this. So for the world to recognize us as experts, we must intentionally and deliberately transform ourselves into a brand and market ourselves every opportunity we have. There is no other person with a greater interest in doing so than ourselves. With this said, I have emphasized the importance of developing myself into a brand and continuously updating my achievements on various platforms beginning with the following section.