Month: November 2012

In Jackson Wu’s blog, he said Zappos has tapped into the best of both worlds: Satisfaction on employees, satisfaction on customers. I totally agree with him that Zappos has a very unique business model and that it treats its employees in a very unique style as well. Zappos trains its potential employees rigorously and it makes sure that they are passionate towards the company. Zappos also provides an energetic environment for the employees to work in. For its customers, Zappos provides free shipping and full refund on returns if customers are not satisfied with the product. Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, has really built Zappos’ culture in that it benefits both Zappos’ employees and customers.

Employees’ working environment in Zappos is very energetic and spirited; while it suits some people, some people might not like the way the company works. Some customers might not like the way the employees talk over the phone. But all in all, it is really hard to satisfy 100% of people. I think Zappos did a great job in both providing an excellent working environment for its employees and satisfying the majority of customers with its excellent service and the Customer Loyalty Team.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0908_microblog/11.htm

Google partnering with LG released the Nexus 4 smartphone yesterday in US and UK. And reports have been shown that Google sold out all its Nexus 4 stock within 15 minutes of launch in UK and within 30 minutes of launch in US. The new Nexus 4 gains popularity as it is priced relatively cheaper than its competitors, Samsung Galaxy S3 and IPhone5.

The Nexus 4 is a top-notch smartphone that is beautiful and powerful. The device ships unlocked from the Google Play Store, so customers can choose their carriers. There is no doubt that the Nexus 4 will be a hot sale. Referring back to Class 15 where Mahesh talked about demand forecasting and efficiency, it raises the question “Did Google do the right demand forecast for Nexus 4?”.

Google did not reveal how many stocks it had on hand initially; it could be a big number or small number. Google’s wrong estimation of demand has led to many unsatisfied and disappointed customers. Although the launch of the new Nexus 4 is successful and its sold out status indicates that the smartphone is very popular in the market, due to the shortage of supply, it could lead to lost of potential customers and also damage the brand of Google.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/1114/Google-Nexus-4-sells-out-within-an-hour-in-US-UK

Sweaty Bands, a new innovation by Donna Browning a fitness instructor, is a headband that does not slip out during workouts. It uses velvet-lined ribbon and elastic so that the headband can hold its own. According to Amielle Lake, CRO & Founder of Tagga, one of the ten reasons to become an entrepreneur is because you see “the” better way. In this case, Browning sees an opportunity for success since non-slip headbands are very useful during workouts, and also they look colorful and attractive. She is also looking forward to introduce possible product additions.

Browning is pushing the product to the market aggressively by marketing in athletic events and doing wholesale business. The company is very successful in that it has a wide distribution of channels. Browning is a good example of an entrepreneur. She presents the sweaty bands to solve the problem that plain headbands always slip out during exercises and workouts.

I think that entrepreneurs are great thinkers, they create new product to solve an existing problem. Although they might take risks and challenges, if successful, the end result would be great. In this case, the company’s revenue double every year since the company’s launch.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224367

From Class 17’s prep material, the article on fake product reviews surprises me. As a consumer myself on Amazon and eBay, I often read the product reviews to see whether the rating is high or low and that will determine if I am wiling to buy the product. As I discovered that companies actually hire people to write glowing reviews that gives out 5 star all the time, I begin to doubt every time I see a 5 star review.

Companies are deceiving and lying to customers if they hire people to write reviews that does not really reflect the actual opinion of the customer on a certain product. With the increasing use of IT in the modern world, e-commerce is very common nowadays. And by applying IT to business, business can achieve better results and target a larger customer base.

As for review sites, the Stony Brook method can help weed out fake reviews better than the Cornell method, therefore giving customers a more truthful and reliable review than before. Management Information System (MIS) is very important for companies as it can gather relevant data and information for decision making and provide information that is needed to manage organizations efficiently and effectively

http://www.technewsdaily.com/5813-computer-program-spots-fake-product-reviews.html