Month: September 2012

Categories
Insight Tips and tricks

Pitch It to Win It: 15-Second Elevator Pitching Tips from Forbes!

We’ve all heard it. The first impression. The elevator pitch. The adjustment of your voice a few tones higher. So what does it really take to capture someone’s attention in the first 15?

It sounds so easy… You just tell them about it … what’s so hard about that? But have you ever tried picking up something sitting next to you, perhaps a mirror or a cup, and trying to pitch that to someone? I certainly haven’t. So I thought, how better to learn about effectively pitching something than to research, practice, then blog about it? I literally took the closest thing to me and tried to pitch it – my tissue box, Scotties Supreme. 

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Forbes claims there is a method to achieve a wholesome 15 second pitch. How? Through the three-step message map consisting of the following:

  1. Create a Twitter-friendly headline.Can you give the gist of your product/service in one succinct sentence?
    • Scotties Supreme produces various types of soft, family-friendly facial tissues.
    • The sentence has the brand name, what they do, who they target, and what they provide all in one sentence.
  2. Support the headline with 3 key benefits. There’s a reason why it’s called the Magic Number Three! Highlight the benefits – psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally…
    • It’s great for your nose and bum, great for the environment, and great for your wallet. 
    • Physical benefits, psychological benefits as well as potential to a background story, and money-saving incentives.
  3. Reinforce the benefits with stories, statistics, and examples. These are your “bullet points.” Since I don’t have any stats, I went with a simple sentence.
    • They are dermatologist approved, packaged in 100% recycled fibre, and saves mothers lives! Yes, they support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation too. 
    • Confirmed “good-for-you” quality by authority, some proof that it’s good for the environment, and a quirky remark that generates a brief emotional attachment.

Scotties Supreme: Good for bum, good for mum. Motto ties everything I’ve mentioned into a succinct, fun and rhyming statement that’s easy to remember.

So I spent about 5 minutes reading through Scottie’s FAQ on-line, and typed out the statements in under 10 minutes.  The results: my 15-second tissue pitch, which according to the video actually refers to just the first two steps, comes to a little over 8 seconds. With the addition of step 3 plus the motto I came up with, it was just under 21 seconds. 

There you have it, my under 30 second pitch for Scotties Supreme tissues.

I’ll definitely have to practice this more, and hope this helps give some of you an idea of how to do it to!

Categories
Business Ethics

Quick Case Studies #1: Preventing Millennials From Chegg-ing Out

 Category: HR |     Who: Chegg Inc., an online textbook-rental service based in Silicon Valley.

This is Chegg! How cute is that logo?

 

Problem: Employers are in high demand of millennials, but millennials also have their own high demands. In addition, baby boomers are retiring. Employers are trying to replace them with millennials, but have been encountering high turnover rates. How can they attract and attain the young generation emerging into the job market?


Analysis: Gen Y’s are ” tech-savvy, racially diverse, socially interconnected and collaborative.” They have high demands themselves – they want good working hours, they want additional benefits, they want to be heard, they want to contribute something useful, and they really want to like their jobs.

Solution: Chegg “eliminated some middle-management positions to give younger hires more exposure to projects, and they introduced an unlimited paid vacation policy. He said no one has abused that policy.” Another company,  Aprimo, guaranteed “recent college graduates a promotion within one year, assuming performance is up to par.”

Results: For Chegg, “the annual turnover rate among millennials has since fallen by 50% each year for the last two years.” As for Aprimo, “100% of participants have received a promotion and salary bump,” not to mention “helped double the share of millennials at the 1,200-person company to roughly 20%.”

 

 

Personal Learnings, Comments, and Recommendations: To retain millennials and not upset their seniors, unique incentives should be implemented but not without strategy. It is important to effectively and clearly negotiate to all employees to make sure no group feels segregated or mistreated because of new policies or incentives that they are not receiving. How? I would dive back down to assess the basics of human nature starting from McClelland’s Human Motivation Theory and Sirota’s Three-Factor Theory and then make executive decisions on what incentives to implement after:

 

 Millennials 

Achievement (more dominant): 

They want to feel like they are contributing, and they want to receive active feedback for how they are doing. They are motivated by challenge and the chance to fully use their talents. They like being directed with goals, and want their jobs to be non-routine. 

Affiliation: 

Millennials were brought up in a diverse and collaborative environment, so they are comfortable. At the same time, millennials prefer change and a little risk. They are more likely to hop companies and try new things. 

Power: 

They look for opportunities for growth and, well let’s be honest, more money to buy their iPhone 5’s and ultrabooks.

  Baby Boomers 

Achievement: 

Baby boomers have more years in the field, and thus they tend to follow the system for feedback.They have good work ethic and are alright with routine. 

Affiliation: 

They tend to be more independent, and would likely would find motivation in passing on their knowledge and exemplifying their skills to the younger, arrogant generation who couldn’t properly wear a suit if their lives depended on it. 

Power (more dominant): 

They want to feel important and respected, and could feel threatened when they feel as if their seniority is not being enforced. They are more likely to enjoy a bit of competition and are quite good at communicating their needs.

  Both 

Equity/fairness: 

At the same time that millennials should be able to receive incentives, baby boomers must not be neglected because ultimately, “they were there first.” They want to ensure job security. 

Achievement: 

In that sense, incentive programs that could promote/motivate millennials should be countered with programs to recognize seniors. Boomers want to know that their wages are still relatively competitive. 

Camaraderie: 

Of course, the best case scenario is that the two generations get along. This will help increase employee morale and productivity. 

It’s really interesting to read about the actual trends in employee attraction and retention as I prepare to emerge into the job market as a Gen Y myself. How fast will the market change in 2 years?

 

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About Quick Cases:

In order to train my critical thinking and analysis skills, I have decided to blog about case studies at least twice a week. The ultimate challenge? Complete each one within an hour. I will summarize the case and comment on any ideas I absolutely loved, or anything I would have done differently. Stay tuned for another!

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Update:

Just came across another case study talking about youth unemployment and Benetton’s solution: the “Unemployee of the Year” campaign. Interesting read!

Categories
Product Positioning & Branding Technology Top News

My Top 5 Most Anticipated New Touchscreen Laptops of 2012

On a crazy new hunt to find a new personal laptop, I have been roaming the tech forums. According Computex reports, the trend this year is a series of hybrid, multi-purpose Windows 8 laptops that boast of their light weight, long battery life, and high processing power. I personally believe that, with the rise of Windows 8, the trend for computers in the future will move towards not just touch screen now, but towards “All-In-One” –  screens not restricted to phone/tablet/laptop that allow multiple inputs (fingers, palms, pens) by multiple users at a time, allowing more use for the laptop. The new Microsoft Office was an upgrade long overdue, and it will be the perfect finishing touch.

1. ASUS Taichi

I first saw this laptop on Tech2’s post. After some intense Googling, I came across Engadget’s photos and reviews of the beast.

  • Two screens (one of which is a touchscreen), both LED backlit, IPS panels with Full HD resolution
  • tablet when notebook is closed, but apparently Asus claims you can use both screens at the same time
  • lightweight, offered in  11.6-inch and 13.3-inch
  •  Intel’s 3rd Generation Ivy Bridge CPUs
  • matte silver and black interior, backlit keyboard
  • SSD

 

2. Samsung  Series 5 and 7 Hybrid PC

I have personally never been a fan of any Korean electronic product for their constant poor quality and short life span, but I’m trying to be hopeful about this hybrid PC for its pen integration. Crossing my fingers that it will not be laggy. This is supposed to be a Transformer-style tablet PC with a S-Pen (yes, like the ones from Galaxy Note).

3. Surface by Microsoft

So this doesn’t officially count as a tablet PC, but its amazing specs and functionality have rendered it onto my consideration list. The difference with this compared to other tablets, regardless of Android or iOS, is that besides Windows RTS, it will also offer Windows 8 Pro, which means that it should have capabilities comparable to a laptop. With a quad core and up to 128GB of internal storage, it should be an extremely amazing student companion device. It is set to release October 26, 2012.

4. Asus Transformer AiO

What astounds me is ASUS’s ability to dual boot Android and Windows 8 on a tablet. Surprisingly, this device is neither laptop nor tablet; it is a giant 18.4 inch desktop.

5. Acer Aspire S7

A beautiful, sexy and sleek laptop that duals as a tablet! Good thing they offer it in 13.3 inch models, as tablets are usually 10-some-odd inches. Not many specs have been released about this laptop yet, but it looks very promising. However, as ultrabooks as this usually use SSD, I am gauging prices to be expensive even for 128 GB. Still better than 32GB on a tablet though!

 

 

That’s it for now. I’m sure there will be more as the time goes on, but I am very excited to see how this trend progresses. Perhaps I’ll make an update entry!

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