In Response to Kevin MacArthur's consumer buying process

Interesting topic to blog about Kevin. I am all for new technology and the newest and best gizmos, however I will not be waiting in a line to buy a brand new product. I feel that it is always better to wait for the "second generation" product, for example not buying the IPAD, but the next version that is more troubleshooted and that has consumer feedback. Sometimes, you will never win though, especially with phones and computers. Lots of companies like apple, Sony and LG make new products just so people want to be able to be the first one to own this technology. It is always more expensive for a new technology and if it is/was successful then there will almost always be a "second generation or version" of it. That is why I am interest in seeing if the new 3-d TV by Samsung or Panasonic is going to be successful. I would never buy a new technology like this because there is no way to really use it, even though it would be cool to say I own a 3-D TV. So to answer your question, Yes. I plan my purchases to buy a TV or a computer after the first generation has come out or if a slightly different technology is available to lower the price of my purchase.

What would be the single most influencial marketing scheme Panera can do?

After pretty much finishing up our marketing class, we now have the tools to analyze a company and help dissect what their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are. With that information, we can then formulate a plan to help them capitalize on their strengths. With this in mind, I feel that from what I have seen and what I have researched about Panera Bread Co. is that they need to increase their advertising/promotional budget. Their competition, Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's and Starbucks all have large advertisement campaigns and they have a stronger brand recognition than Panera. Panera needs to play to it's strengths, promote their healthier food and convince the public that they are better off eating a Panera meal than their competitors. What do you think? If you had to choose one weakness to have Panera focus on what would it be?