This course was a little difficult for me.  I had a death in the family and had to suspend my educational efforts for a couple weeks.  So doing all the assignments in the last week was a little mind-blowing and exhausting.  However, I did learn the importance of how consumers think, and what they do before they purchase, as well as email marketing.  
COURSE OUTCOMES:
Explain stages in the online consumer decision-making process.
     R-Reach: extend your reach to as many potential customers as possible
     A- Act: to prompt action from your audience
     C- Convert: efforts focus on transforming user actions into more valuable outcomes
     E- Engage: stage focused on nurturing and maintaining long-term relationships with customers

Describe a target market and identify at least two online consumer segments.
      My main target markets are females ages 25-55 that have a keen eye for aesthetics and appreciate visually captivating home decor, those who value the therapeutic benefits of aromatherapy and are looking for innovative and hassle-free ways to incorporate fragrances into their daily lives without the need for water or electricity, people in search of distinctive and thoughtful gifts for special occasions or for expressing appreciation to loved ones and          Social Media Influencers and Bloggers to collaborate with influencers in the home decor, wellness, or lifestyle niche who can showcase your products to a broader audience.

Design a consumer-generated marketing plan for a company.
     By showcasing user-generated photos, reviews, and testimonials in marketing campaigns and on our website, we harness the genuine enthusiasm of our customers.  Our strategic embrace of CGC empowers us to tap into the organic growth potential of a satisfied customer base, amplifying our brand's reputation and impact in the digital landscape.

    

Part 1:
This month has been a very engaging process for my company.  My who are we statement has been cut down to the nitty gritty with the final result being: We are The Spookee Unikorn. We craft innovative miniature resin essential oil diffusers that operate without water or electricity.  Our products matter because people are seeking to take a more natural, convenient, and fun approach to health & wellness.

I have also learned that I have to learn to brand myself similarly to a company and have an effective branding statement for me that must include a target market as well.  My initial branding statement was: “As a unique and creative artist & designer, Luba Korduba strives to continually educate herself in the artistic fields of marketing, advertising, and design to create unique, thought-through, useful, honest, and fun projects.  She is very knowledgeable in what she does and takes her time to make the best decisions for every project.  She is passionate about advancing her skills and sharing what she has learned with others.  She will never blend into the background, her integrity will always radiate, and making people smile with the little things she does.”  As per my feedback, I am missing a target market but still am not sure who that target market would be.  Something I will have to figure out for future classes.

I know how my company is different than others and how to bring that out in my marketing.  I enjoyed the brand voice project of picking out a famous person who would closely resemble my company and my choice of Katy Perry really brought that voice to the forefront and made me understand the importance of the voice.  My brand story video was not as successful.  I had to step back for my research paper and really think about a good “story” and not a story about the company and its products.  This was an interesting project and helped me see things from a customer's perspective of why my products would be helpful to them.

This week's research paper was very time-consuming and research-heavy, but at the same time was exciting to write and see my company building up to little by little.  I look forward to my next class and what I will learn there.

​Part 2: