Candace Coker Blog

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During an in class activity nearly two weeks ago, my Commerce 101 group was challenged to develop an idea for a product which could potentially solve a problem that we as students face. Eventually, the idea behind ‘Check-Mate!’ was birthed. We recognized that students, and individuals in general, often struggle with determining what to wear in order to look their best. Check-Mate is our new app designed to provide users with unbiased feedback on what they are wearing. Sam Massooleh, a fellow group member, further discusses this in his recent blog post entitled “…but it’s not personal!”.

After presenting our product to the rest of the class, we generated a favorable response from the majority of our classmates, who generally preferred our product over the products that other groups developed. I believe that the idea behind Check-Mate was attractive to our classmates because of its practicality! It directly solves a problem that many students face, and it directly targets their desire for self-esteem and recognition which, in a recent article, Brian Eisenberg argues are core drivers of consumer purchases. This in-class activity reminded me that successful products are products that meet consumer needs and add value!

In her blog entitled ‘Can artists and musicians also use brand positioning?’ Alice Wo argues that “artists don’t often cater their products toward consumers, they create abstract forms of value and hope that it will appeal to an audience.” I would like to examine this statement from a musical standpoint.

Music is a versatile product because its value proposition varies from person to person. To customer X, music’s main value proposition may be that it provides entertainment, while to customer Y it provides an escape from the mundane. Musicians recognize that the product is not the sound mixes or the lyrics, but the value that these things collectively generate.

Therefore, if applied to music, the validity of Wo’s statement is dependent on what ‘the product’ is believed to be. As a musician myself, I agree that, although my style of music is not universally favored, I create it anyway hoping that the market will appreciate it. However, I ensure that I sing about issues that my audience can connect with and extract meaning from. I propose that many musicians freely challenge music trends because they believe their product’s value proposition is strong enough to attract their target audience.

It is statistically proven that most start-up businesses fail within the first three years of operation. In his blog post entitled ‘Stop trying to be like everyone else- grow your business faster!‘, Brian Morris proposes that a major contributor to business failure is poor marketing; specifically, the employment of old and overused marketing strategies that prove ineffective in modern times.  He suggests that many start-up firms have become copycats, mimicking the marketing strategies of existing businesses, in the hopes that they would work for their businesses as well. However, this has done more harm than good to many a small business.

At first glance, imitating the marketing tactics used by up-and-running firms seems like the sensible thing to do, especially if you are a start-up business. However, many small businesses do not even have the financial capital to invest in extravagant marketing campaigns. Rather than using the typical (and costly!!!) marketing strategies such as television, newspapers and radio, start-up companies should experiment with unique, low-cost but impactful marketing methods. Mimicking disregards two core aspects of entrepreneurship: innovation and risk-taking. Truly successful entrepreneurs explore creativity and bear the risk of experimenting with fresh ideas.

During 2005 and 2006, HP board Chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, oversaw a corporate spying campaign to identify top officials who were allegedly involved in leaking internal company information to the press. Secret investigators were hired to impersonate the targeted individuals in order to get private telephone records from phone companies, many board members and journalists were placed under physical surveillance and spyware was emailed to several journalists in an attempt to identify the traitors within the company^[1].

Since 1957, co-founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, had established a set of shared values for the company, one of which was ‘uncompromising integrity’^[2]. Therefore, the fact that this campaign was approved by Kevin Hunsaker, the company’s Chief Ethics Officer, is evidence that, in HP, the philosophy of the founders had not been adopted by many top managers.

The norms and behaviors of those in authority usually filter down through the organization and influence organizational behavior and culture^[3]. This scandal sent a strong message to lower level employees that honesty, loyalty and trust was of little value in the organization. Rather than exploiting their positions of authority, top managers should have set a good example for those in the organization to follow.

References:

1)      http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2006/10/hepa-o02.html

2)      http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/about-hp/corporate-objectives.html

3)      Organizational Behavior by Nancy Langton, Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge.

4) Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/HP_New_Logo_2D.svg

http://www.marketingmob.com.au/blog/market-research/what-benefits-should-a-distributor-promote/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12581446

Primitive market research techniques involved testing products on a sample of consumers and asking them their views on the product. However, with these methods, the underlying assumption is that consumers know what is going on in their own heads. Studies have shown that this is not always the case and according to Rob Stevens, co-founder of UK market research company Bunnyfoot, 80% of businesses have failed due to weaknesses in traditional market research techniques.

Stevens suggests that ‘facial coding’ gives much more insight to the inner workings of a consumer’s mind. Therefore, his staff is trained to track eye movements and facial expressions. However, doing this manually is both time consuming and exhausting.  New software is being developed so that ‘facial coding’ can be done worldwide via the computer, which will improve the accuracy and credibility of the information gathered.

Market Research is a vital part of business strategy as it allows companies to gather valuable information about consumers’ needs and preferences. Therefore, flaws in the market research process can threaten the success of a product and the business’s profitability. These new technologies can revolutionize business’s ability to satisfy consumer demand and may potentially eliminate the chance of product failure!

What is Business really about? Economists believe that business is all about profit maximization. In Commerce I’ve been taught to develop the tools to realize this goal. To me, Business has always seemed heavily focused on money and profitability. But I am a Business student who has never been overly motivated by money. My motivation comes from the desire to make a difference, to reach out to those who are struggling, and I’ve always wondered where my servant’s heart would fit in the business world.

Recently, I discovered Social Entrepreneurship: the perfect marriage between Business and community service.

What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Social Entrepreneurs combine principles used in both the Business and Non-Profit world to create effective solutions to social, cultural or environmental issues. While Business Entrepreneurs measure performance in monetary terms, Social Entrepreneurs focus on their impact on society and the value added to communities. They recognize society’s needs and innovate ways to meet those needs.

Making a change through Social Entrepreneurship

I believe that this is what Business is truly about: Impact! Profitability is meaningless if a Business has added no meaningful value to the society in which it operates. Social Entrepreneurship has captured the heart of business and has allowed me to see it through fresh eyes!

Arizona Republic has recently adopted a new cost saving strategy involving mobile workers. Approximately 20 of its community reporters were given laptops to work remotely. However, rather than expecting workers to operate from home, Arizona Republic has been encouraging them to get out into the field and work in public locations, for example Starbucks or McDonalds ⁽¹⁾.

Often time, when businesses are faced with increasing costs, the default response is to lay off workers. In this case, Arizona Republic’s response to rising costs was highly innovative. It allowed Arizona Republic to eliminate the costs of setting up and maintaining the offices, facilities and offices supplies of several extra workers. Instead, the burden of those operating costs were transferred to businesses like Starbucks and McDonalds which both offer excellent wireless internet services and are especially designed to accommodate individuals who would like to work away from home and the office.

The hope is that this freedom to work comfortably and flexibly would also improve employee morale and loyalty. However, the idea of forcibly becoming a mobile worker may be unattractive to some. Nonetheless, the cost benefits associated with this strategy are unprecedented.

 References: 

(1) Sending Employees Out to Starbucks—and Telling Them to Stay

Pepsi vs Coke: The Power of a Brand

As humans, we all have our own unique styles that reflect aspects of our personality.  I like to think of a company’s brand as what reflects its personality and distinguishes it and its products from all others on the market. The above article highlights the brand design evolution that Pepsi and Coke have undergone over the past 128 years in response to new technologies, new ideas and new consumer tastes. In the case of Coke, however, its attempt to redefine its brand from the original coke to the New Coke generated a negative response from consumers. This is due to the fact that Coca Cola was not staying true to its ‘Brand Heritage’. As a brand grows and establishes its personality over time, consumers develop an emotional relationship with and attachment to that brand and the values it represents ⁽¹⁾. In this case, Coca Cola’s attempt to revamp and redefine its brand backfired, and created conflict with consumers who related to the brand, because the changes were so atypical of its established brand personality.  Therefore, although experimentation and development are important aspects of branding, especially in a rapidly changing world, they should not occur at the expense of brand consistency.

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A Snapshot of a road in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a small West African nation, known for its dreadful roads and unreliable but pricy transportation services. In fact, when 30 year old Canadian, David Dobrowolski, moved there in 2008, his frustration drove him to establish Flash Vehicle Rentals (FVR).

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1038621442

Seeking to satisfy Sierra Leoneans’ need for reliable transportation, FVR invested in 70 four-wheel-drive Toyotas that can all be tracked by GPS systems and that can withstand the harsh Sierra Leone roads. It established its own store of spare parts, imported a mechanic and promised to send a replacement if any of its cars malfunctioned anywhere in Sierra Leone.  Naturally, these services came with costs attached. However, Sierra Leoneans welcomed the firm, despite high service costs.

This shows the power that a firm’s value proposition has on consumers’ willingness to buy a product (or service). Truth is that Sierra Leoneans were tired of worrying about whether their vehicles would malfunction while driving, especially since the area was not very safe. FVR managed to zero in on what the consumers truly desired: safety, security and peace of mind as they travelled on the roads. This bundle of benefits is what will continue to make FVR invaluable in Sierra Leone.

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Department store found raising prices before sales (Video and News Article)

In a recent investigation done by the ‘Problem Solvers Team’ in Portland, Kohl’s Department Store was caught marking up the price of sale items before marking them down. Shockingly, for some items, the price after discount was actually HIGHER than the original price!

Firms often use sales promotion to attract customers.  However, making false claims and giving customers the ILLUSION that they are getting the best price for a product is highly unethical. In fact, this is trickery at its best!

Stakeholder Theory, a fundamental component of Business Ethics, indicates that the interests of all stakeholders, including consumers, should be considered when a firm is doing business. In this investigation, Kohl’s seemingly exalted its desire for profits above the interests of its consumers. In light of this, Kohl’s reputation and future profits could be adversely affected as many of its customers may lose trust in the firm and boycott its products.

In all fairness, Kohl’s indicated that increased material costs contributed significantly to increased prices. We can only hope that this explanation is true. However, businesses must ensure that core values, such as honesty and integrity, govern the way that they do business.