Domain Expert:
1) This person is a manager at PetSmart. This person is young and has been working at PetSmart since she was 17. She is currently twenty years old.
2) Domain Expert
3) I am friends with this manager. I knew her in high school, and I am still in contact with her on a weekly basis.
4) I went out to lunch with this person and paid for it. In exchange for that favor, she allowed me to ask as many questions as I wanted about her time at PetSmart.
5) Having this person in my network will allow me to catch trends that are developing in other dog toys. Also, she can tell me what customers are buying on a daily basis.
Expert:
1) I contacted Koltin Hammer of Kong Dog Toys
2) Expert
3) I contacted Koltin through LinkedIn because he is an online marketing coordinator for one of my competitors: Kong
4) I contacted Koltin through LinkedIn. I sent him a request to connect, and I asked him about his online marketing strategies.
5) Having this person in my network will allow me to learn how to properly market my product online, which is absolutely necessary.
Important Supplier
1) I contacted the supplier for the "Pet Toy Dog Cotton Blend Rope Tug Dog Rope Playing Chew Toy." This toy has quite the name
2) Supplier
3) I Contacted the supplier using the option that is available on Alibaba because I wanted to ask questions about their process of being a supplier for that dog toy
4) Contacted the supplier using the option that is available on Alibaba.
5) This person will be available for any questions I have about have to deal with suppliers in the future, which will be beneficial for the business.
Reflection: I believe that these experiences will allow me to better prepare for future networking activities. Having a list of prepared questions when taking someone out for lunch would be a better approach for next time. Also, I will bring my computer or phone in order to take notes on what the person says. Lastly, these experiences did not differ that much from my previous networking activities.
Hi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteI think having someone from Petsmart as your domain expert can help you tremendously. They sell to pet owners daily and know what pet owners are willing to spend money on and how much money they are willing to spend. Also, I think it is great that you reached out to someone through LinkedIn because that is the more official way of going about things and many adults use that for job opportunities. Great job!