Angela Liu’s blog mentions an article about CPI hoping to make a windowless airplane. Angela says that this upgrade “fulfills all social, environmental and economic aspects through the overall reduction of airplane fares, costs and emissions.”

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Indeed, she is right when she says that, but it seems to me that she has overlooked the huge competitive advantage CPI would gain from this. The mentioned article is a great example of taking a “consumer pain”, which is their desire to sit in the window-seat, and “relieve” them of this. It is a very customer-based competitive strategy where CPI not only reduces airplane fares, but also solves a customer’s problem in a much more creative way than the customers, or even the competitors, could have ever imagined.

If they can achieve this, they will surely gain a competitive edge in the market, increasing their market share and perhaps even changing the standards expected of a product/service from that industry. However, it is easy to “hope” to create a plane such as this, whilst in reality such a plane is not easy to create. The question that remains is whether such an idea can be turned into reality…

Yudan Liu’s blog brings up an interesting topic on the importance of customer-based design by reviewing the impact of Coke’s new customer-based strategy. Indeed, seeing my name on a coke bottle makes me want to buy it, as it adheres to a kind of personal feeling, and this feeling the new design instills in its customers has boosted sales “for the first time in a decade.”

Source: http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/1799682_358755310960167_1437984351_a.jpg

Right now, competition in the market is high, and in any market, firms will have to consider using transient advantage to increase or even maintain their market share. More and more, the strategy grows customer-specific, and we see that any original idea that appeals to customers can boost sales by a large volume.

As a commerce undergraduate, the prospect of transient advantage excites me with its endless prospects yet scares me with the level of rivalry and difficulty I will eventually have to face. However, for consumers, these competitive strategies can lead to benefits they could never have imagined. As a consumer, I eagerly look forward to what other new kinds of strategy firms will create to capture my attention…

Recently, a large concern in the world has been the deadly disease Ebola, and its effect is not only limited to people or governments, but to firms as well. Ebola presents itself as an unexpected external factor or problem that a company must adhere to within their Model Canvas. This article here states that both WestJet and FlyFrontier have made the appropriate changes to this external factor, such as requiring their employees to wear gloves and masks.

Source: http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1975381.1413397266!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/aptopix-ebola-ohio.jpg

Ebola brings up many ethical issues within a business, such as how they should value and protect their employees or how the ethical expectations of the public will affect the business as a whole. Here, an external factor like Ebola can disrupt business plans, cancelling flights and creating loss of revenue. It can also threaten public image if appropriate measures are not taken, forcing firms to spend more money on employee welfare, money that could have otherwise been spent elsewhere.

Ebola is not the only kind of external factor. Linking to my previous blogs, environmental and cultural issues are also gradually increasing their impacts on business decisions. Running a firm in reality isn’t as simple as one would have thought in theory, as there can be so many external factors that can show up unexpectedly. A good company should be prepared for this and be able to react swiftly to any external changes in society.

According to this article I read, First Nation chiefs protest against a new dam being built as they are concerned about the environmental and cultural loss the demolition caused by the project would create.

This article is a prime example of how external factors such as First Nations and their concern for the environment/culture can affect a firm’s business model and disrupt their plans. Here, BC Hydro should have, and will have to, take into account not only their project-related costs, but also the public image of their project and how people might react to it.

Source: http://archemdis.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/saskatchewan-first-nations-protest.jpg

More and more organizations such as First Nations are appearing world-wide that support the protection of wildlife and aboriginal culture, and firms must be able to tackle these problems as external factors when making their business model. A good explanation or compensation will likely be required if they are ever to maintain a good public image and attain public approval of their activities. BC Hydro is currently on the losing-side for its dam project as they cannot supply a good reason for their project.

Ethical issues are slowly increasing its impact on companies. Does this mean that progress in the world… slows down progress for individual firms?

Recently, consumers have been more and more engrossed in online shopping and I know the convenience of it, being one of the online shoppers myself. However, these have led devastating blows to large pop music supplies like HMV now faces an uncertain future with their £36M loss, as an article from The Guardian states.

source: http://cdn2.thelineofbestfit.com/media/2013/01/hmv-store.jpg

An interesting blog gives their opinion of it, stating that small chains are more likely to survive because of their flexibility to add in more physical products like toys and other goods. And it is true, as he says, that people often go into HMV stores to browse through their CDs so they can go home and buy it online.

What can they do? I think HMV faces no other choice but to cater online shopping as well, and to rely heavily on this rather than expect CD sales from their stores. Not only that, but perhaps they should also consider selling more physical products like T-shirts and collectibles of certain bands, although I hear they are already starting to do this. Finally, a focus on more customer service may lure customers in to the physical shop for the shopping experience itself.

However, whether these tactics will work or not is still uncertain, as it may be a little too late for HMV…