As stated by Cooper D. & Schindler, P. S. (2008), the sampling frame is closely related to the population.

It is the actual set of units from which a sample has been drawn: in the case of a simple random sample, all units from the sampling frame have an equal chance to be drawn and to occur in the sample. Consider, for example, a survey aimed at establishing the number of potential customers for a new service in the population of North Miami Beach. The research team has drawn 1000 numbers at random from a telephone directory for the city, made 200 calls each day from Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm and asked some questions. In this example, population of interest is all inhabitants of the city; the sampling frame includes only those who satisfy all the following conditions: -has a telephone; -the telephone number is included in the directory; -likely to be at home from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Friday; -not a person who refuses to answer all telephone surveys (statistic.com). Another example is the four surveys carried out by BRIDES, an Haitian agency, before the last election of November 28, 2010. The sampling frame in this case is the people who could vote (18-year old and up men and women from different category of the population).

Reference: Cooper D. & Schindler, P. S. (2008). Business Research Methods. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Statistic.com (n,d) Retrieved November 29, 2010 from http://www.statistic.com

Researchers usually cannot make direct observations of every individual in the population they are studying. Instead, they collect data from a subset of individuals a sample and use those observations to make inferences about the entire population. Ideally, the sample corresponds to the larger population on the characteristic(s) of interest. In that case, the researcher's conclusions from the sample are probably applicable to the entire population. This type of correspondence between the sample and the larger population is most important when a researcher wants to know what proportion of the population has a certain characteristic like a particular opinion or a demographic feature. Public opinion polls that try to describe the

percentage of the population that plans to vote for a particular candidate, for example, require a sample that is highly representative of the population. Cite two examples of marketing communications (advertising, personal selling, public relations, sales promotion, or direct marketing) that led you to purchase two products in the past.

The first purchase should be one that required the expenditure of a significant percentage of your income, such as a car, house, computer, or large television. The second is an everyday purchase: milk, toilet paper, diapers, etc.

What aspect of each marketing communication spoke to you? How does the product type influence what marketing communication mix the company will use? Do you believe these companies used the best promotional tool? If yes, explain why. If not, share what promotional tool you feel would be better and why. Be sure to bring in applications from this week's lesson to back up your opinion.

Two months ago my little sister told me that she wanted to buy a black Mercedes Benz ML Class. I have explained to her that car could cost her a fortune. She said Ok. While we were driving to a Mercedes Dealer, by curiosity we stopped at a Ford Dealer. In a twinkling of an eye, we have been caught by a salesperson. The salesperson played a key role in providing us information about Ford Motors. In less than three minutes, we have been introduced to the manager. In the automobile industry salespeople represent the customers main link to the firm. The guy dispensed relevant information to us about the high technology uses by Ford Motors. He was a source of knowledge for the management. The guy has not only devoted a lot of effort in merchandising the brand, but also served as the conduit through every steps of the transaction. I understand why Peter and Donnelley (2009) stated, through the efforts of the successful salesperson, a company can build relationships with customers that continue long beyond the initial sale. Personal selling is a strong and integral part of the marketing system. We cannot imagine the existence of an automobile dealership without a strong salespeople staff. As our text book says salespeople are in the best position to act as the intermediary through whom valuable information can be passed back and forth between product providers and buyers. My sister was amazed by the first class service she received. On the Thanksgiving Day, she told me that black Ford Expedition was exactly what she needed. The salesperson changed my sisters mind. Generally speaking I shop at Publix, and I usually buy Publix Orange Juice. To be candid with you I love orange juice. Most of the time Publix orange juice is buy one get one free. To kill two birds with one stone, the taste is excellent, the product is fantastic, the price is good and the customer service is wonderful. Customer loyalty is probably the number one strength of a company. Once a person buys a good brand, it seems as though he/she becomes trapped in the entire products of the company. Once the customer is satisfied, he or she usually never buys another brand. Reference Peter, J.P., & Donnelly, J.H, (2009) Marketing Management: Knowledge & Skills. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Thank you Ciryle.