Product

" In some situations, as when competition is weak or demand exceeds supply, a production-oriented firm can survive and even prosper. More often, however, firms that succeed in competitive markets have a clear understanding that they must first determine what customers want and then produce it, rather than focus on what company management thinks should be produced and hope that the product is something customers want." MKTG Page 4
Our product is a simple circular piece of chocolate, and it's plain, no fun colors, or flavors yet. We package it in clear bags, and tie it up with a tie with our label hanging from it. Very simple, and easy. But we want it to be eye catching so we add like a little paw print, to let them know that it is pet friendly, but also on the back of the tag it will say "Pet friendly."
"The two orientations can be compared in terms of five characteristics: the organization's focus, the firm's business, those to whom the product is directed, the firm's primary goal, and the tools used to achieve the organization's goals." MKTG Page 6

Target Market Strategy

''The target market strategy identifies the market segment or segments on which to focus. This process begins with a market opportunity analysis (MOA)—the description and estimation of the size and sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm and the assessment of key competitors in these market segments.'' MKTG Page 26

Our product focuses more on young adults to adults. Children wouldn't be the ones to see the chocolate and think of sharing it with their pets, because the mindset of "It's my candy and nobody else's." I would focus mainly local, maybe keep it in our small town, but if it grows to where more people want it, then we will spread maybe across the United States, and maybe globally later on.
"If the target market is international, it is especially important to describe differences in culture, economic and technological development, and political structure that may affect the marketing plan." MKTG Page 27

Situation // Analysis

"Performing a SWOT analysis allows firms to identify their competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to those of the competition." MKTG Page 23 Our strengths are that we communicate and deliver to our customers on a regular basis. One of the main weaknesses I would say our company has is we aren't well known so getting our name out there and getting returning customers would be the hard part. The opportunities we have are endless with having a website, or setting up various social media accounts to help get our name out there. Our main threats would be other chocolate companies trying to make a similar product, or even pet treats companies as well.
"When examining internal strengths and weaknesses, the marketing manager should focus on organizational resources such as production costs, marketing skills, financial resources, company or brand image, employee capabilities, and available technology." MKTG Page 22

Objectives

Sweet Treats Objectives:

"Societal marketing orientation is the idea that an organization exists not only to satisfy customer wants and needs and to meet organizational objectives but also to preserve or enhance individuals' and society's long-term best interests." MKTG Page 6
1. Profitability: It's going to be a difficult start with maintaining our profitability, but i believe we can make it, and do our best to stay ahead and move forward with our business.
2. Customer Service: Our obvious goal here is to make sure the customer is happy, human and pets! And if their is a problem, we will do our best to resolve it and make sure you are happy in the end.
3. Productivity: The training of our employees, the purchases to make the chocolate, and purchases to make the environment pet friendly, all go into the business' productivity.
4. Growth: based on our future outcomes, and data, and how well we are doing.
5. Marketing: more than creating advertising and getting customer input on product changes. It is understanding trends when it comes to buying, and being able develop partnerships.
"objectives form a basis for control: the effectiveness of a plan can be gauged in light of the stated objectives." MKTG Page 26

Mission Statement

• Who is your company?
• My company is Sweet Treats, it's chocolate you nd your pet can share.
• What do you do? What do you stand for? And why do you do it?
• We make chocolate not only you can eat, but your pets can eat too. I stand for making the chocolate edible for cats or dogs, so they don't get sick, if they happen to get into the chocolate bowl.
• Do you want to make a profit, or is it enough to just make a living?
• I would honestly just like to do it to make enough for a living, but if it gets bigger than that then that's okay too.
• What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them?
• People and Dogs or Cats. That dogs and cats can share in the joy of eating chocolate that their owners have.
• What kind of internal work environment do you want for your employees?
• Pet friendly of course! Dog and cat friendly, where you have a pet bed next your desk, or the dog leashes hanging like you have your coats hanging. A bin with dog toys, and cat toys. A couple cat towers. Just all around fun environment. 

Week 7 EOC: The Pitch!

My idea is to make chocolate not only that you can eat, but that your pets can eat as well. The main thing in chocolate that makes your pet sick is Theobromine, but i want to make a chocolate that takes that ingredient out and makes it safe for your cat or dog to eat.
"The theobromine in chocolate, one of the substances that makes it so pleasant for us, is toxic to many animals, including dogs and cats. They are unable to digest this chemical, and, as it circulates in the bloodstream, it damages the central nervous and circulatory systems.
Animals, especially cats, are curious about all foods. They usually want to try what you are trying. Always worrying about your pets ingesting chocolate can be very stressful. But if there is a way to take the toxic chemical out of the chocolate, then it can be safe for them to eat. You can enjoy the chocolate and so can your best friend.

Week 5 EOC: This is what has my interest

Halloween Photo Trend
https://twitter.com/amylargephoto/status/789232835362033664

                This caught my interest because I’m a lover for Halloween and everything that comes with it. At the time of finding this trend, I was looking for ideas for a photoshoot with friends. I wanted to do something spooky, creepy, eerie, but all around fun and easy. In the article it explains how you can take a boring background, add lights or don’t add lights, add some creepy details in Photoshop, all while still being affordable and not really leaving your home unless you have to. Needless to say, I did not get to do the desired photo shoot, because almost everyone dropped out, but I am definitely keeping this in mind for next year or for whenever I feel like doing a spooky shoot.

The Best National Parks for Photography

https://twitter.com/amylargephoto/status/789228970428407808

                I like to travel. And when I do my traveling, I try my best to visit a National Park. But so far I’ve only been to one, and that was The Grand Canyon, it’s nice the first time, but once you go four or five times it’s extremely boring. Anyways, I found this article to be very interesting because it tells you the best places to go. A couple that I really want to go to, and were mentioned, are Yellowstone National Park located in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Fun fact about Yellowstone, there is a super volcano located in the park, and there is even a movie on it. The next park I am dying to go to is Yosemite located in California, my brothers have gone, and it’s just a beautiful park.

Check out 14 Hottest Wedding Photography Trends

https://twitter.com/amylargephoto/status/789232307731177472

                I found this list of trends to be very interesting because I have recently become a fan of wedding photography. It’s what I want to do before touring with bands, if I ever get there that is. But showing a list of trends in the wedding photography world gave me a whole bunch of ideas. Shooting the Proposal for starters, it sounds amazing! Capturing that moment of excitement, and capturing the person’s reactions, it’s priceless.  Another interesting trend the article spoke of was “Day After Shoots” and that’s obviously done the day after your wedding. I think it’s a good idea, you don’t have to stress over picture on your special day, you can just relax and get through everything at your own pace. But it is also an iffy idea because the next day you have to redo everything. yours make up, hair, getting dressed, getting the bridal party and all the groomsman. It’s very stressful, but an all-around fun idea.