Internet scam occurrences increase along with the explosion of e-commerce

Recently, I had blogged about the upsides of e-commerce. The technology explosion would see the shutting down of malls and common places where transactions and in-person demands take place. Ironically, I had come across an article in The Globe and Mail suggesting the not-so-easy transition into a wholly virtual business world. As e-commerce becomes increasingly popular, many are quick to exploit the fairly new business opportunity to scam unsuspecting customers. Not being the first to do so, Tony Wilson, suspected that he had been a target of a scam that disguised itself as the well-known Canadian brand, Canada Goose. While home-shoppers constantly have to remain alert for increasingly frequent scams online, this might be one of the remaining issues that keep physical shops and shopping centres in business. As for businesses that provide online shopping apart from in-store shopping, the implications of going virtual require thorough planning on operations. These businesses might consider allocating part of their expenses on strong internet security in order for their website to be verifiable by customers. Attention to imposters on the web must be paid thoroughly, especially for businesses that do not already have a website of their own.

The Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/day-to-day/my-christmas-goose-dont-get-scammed-like-i-did/article16088567/

Undoubtedly, the agreement between BC Hydro and opposing stakeholders regarding the construction of the site C dam will not reach a consensus any time soon. As the Globe and Mail article has mentioned, it will take convincing argument backed up with just as convincing data to assure the First Nations and many environmentalists that the construction of Site C will leave a sufficient amount of natural land in tact for wildlife to continue to thrive. Part of what makes this project so difficult to execute is the subjectivity of the issues. Concerns range from basic “to build or not?” questions, to “how far into nature can we build?” The good news is that, contrary to popular belief, the First Nations people of Canada are not an unreasonable community. It is a fact that with differing cultures, differing values and opinions will arise. However, it is important to remember that the First Nations are, also, Canadians. And if they are anything like most of us, they are community that is non-static, a community that is willing to progress and advance with the rest of the world. Since the industrial revolution, the slowing down in technology (as the First Nations people of Canada carefully consider BC Hydro’s proposal) might, in fact, be a challenge to research an even more sustainable approach to energy.

Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/first-nations-challenge-to-site-c-approval-could-make-dam-a-test-case/article21121456/

“What is the difference between an evangelist and a salesperson?”

In Guy Kawasaki’s article, “The Art Evangelism“, much light was shed upon my perception and what I understood of successful marketing. It is to no doubt that successful marketing produces successful companies, and in many companies, in the form of salespeople. But what exactly is the difference between evangelists and salespeople? As Kawasaki points out, “A salesperson has his or her own best interests at heart: commission, making quota, closing the deal. An evangelist has the other person’s best interests at heart: “Try this because it will help you.”

A concept like this is too often skipped over by even the top companies in the world, insisting that the sole job of the employees designated to promote marketing is to shut the briefcase, seal the deal, and be rewarded accordingly. From my own  experience, dealing with pushy salespeople in retail stores, car dealers, real estate, and many other departments that revolve around a single transaction, have too often created the opposite effect — a guarantee that I will not buy what you’re selling. A tip to all companies that hope to succeed — in order to reduce the adverse effects of sadly, badly-executed marketing, the root of the problem must be tackled, that is, convert salespeople into evangelists. Hire people who really care about the customer’s pains, and people who can genuinely relate to them. It cannot be emphasized further that these are the people who are key to the direct success of the business. By providing deep insight into the pains of unique and quirky customers, businesses can pinpoint exactly what is needed to be provided. From there on, the next step would be to focus on the companies’ flexibility to accommodate to each individuals’ demands.

Getting up close and personal with a kangaroo!

Fences, cages, and glass barriers — typical components built into my schema of a zoo. And not a bad concept it was until (very often) the animals would simply turn away and retreat into hiding. Not to mention, the incredibly large spaces of the enclosed areas, just enough for excited zoo-goers to squint their eyes and make out the little animal in the corner.

After coming across Featherdale Wildlife Park, a hands-on zoo mentioned in Elaine Au’s blog, I could not wait to do some research of my own. From an animal-lover’s perspective, it is certainly most appealing to come across a zoo that permits interactions with the wildlife. While I am curious to find out how Featherdale has established a way to deter potential issues that may arise from removing barriers between customers and animals, I think this is a fantastic way for the zoo to separate itself from the competition. While it is fairly ordinary for zoos, globally, to have some sort of distance and feeding restriction, as Elaine mentioned, a common value for customers is simply not being fulfilled — the want to get up close and personal to these creatures. Unfortunately, to many zoos and similar organizations, the risk of having one radical customer putting the wildlife at harm is enough to decline the general public such a value proposition. However, if Featherdale Wilfelife Park is able to sustain a unique value proposition that many zoos fear to provide, it will be able to retain it’s competitive edge and change the way many of us view a “zoo” to be.

Elaine’s Blog: http://blogs.ubc.ca/auyikningelaine/
BBC article: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29369091
Featherdale Wildelife Park Website (Image taken from here): http://www.featherdale.com.au/

As economic issues such as poverty, civil unrest, and epidemics persist, it can sometimes feel odd to encounter news articles of luxury brands and the issues that they currently face. While global issues remain the core topic of news, I thought it would be interesting to take a new view of things and observe the status of the high-end market.

A Louis Vuitton store in Macau

In her post, Vivian Lee touches upon Stuart Weitzman’s strategy for competing in the high-end market. By keeping costs at a fraction of what most other shoe brands would, Stuart Weitzman provides customers with products of high-end quality at much more affordable prices. Though, in theory, this strategy appears logical and most advantageous to the company, realistically, the company may face certain unforeseen challenges. In contrast to recent news, Michael Kors, another luxury brand, had began to lose value in it’s brand name merely by becoming too accessible to consumers. In much the same way, Stuart Weitzman’s decision to sell at lower prices may ultimately devalue its high-end brand image and if continued to sell under a luxury label, may actually put itself at a disadvantage. What customers may end up regarding the brand as is a luxury brand with low perceived value, making it difficult to compete in this industry. If Stuart Weitzman is to stay competitive, it should (a) reconsider it’s pricing strategies, (b) differentiate it’s products, or (c) remove itself from the luxury goods industry and compete in a lower-end goods industry.

Vivian’s Blog: http://blogs.ubc.ca/leeviviann/2014/10/25/mastering-mid-market-glamour/

Michael Kors News: http://www.webpronews.com/michael-kors-brand-losing-value-is-it-oversaturated-2014-07

Combining Nestlé trademarks, “Fun Dip” and “Drumstick”

A recent article from The Globe and Mail titled, “Toronto pulls anti-littering campaign over trademark infringement concerns”, brings with it yet another legal dispute between business organizations. By creatively combining brand names to form words like “lazy”, “low-life”, and  “selfish” – words that describe people who litter – the City of Toronto has faced numerous complaints from these big name companies, angered by the unconsented use of their trademarks.

Though, admittedly, a creative and effective strategy of marketing, I must say that it was completely careless for the City of Toronto to be operating in a business industry, and to not have been thorough with the boundaries of their marketing. With that said, I never would’ve expected the implications of these campaigns on the businesses had I not read the article. Unlike the banned Pepsi advertisement that displayed a direct attack on Coca-Cola, these anti-littering campaigns do not intentionally single out certain brands, but create a negative connotation of packaged goods in the minds of consumers. (Let’s face it, the trademarks are placed in manner that is meant to look unappealing, often torn up in a dirty environment.) Businesses within this industry will likely be impacted as consumers begin to subconsciously steer away from all packaged goods. Though cases like this are not at all uncommon, they remind me that marketing, though often seen as the “fun” side of business, can easily be entangled with the nitty-gritty aspects of the law.

The Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/toronto-ads-crossed-the-line-with-depiction-of-prominent-brands/article20379559/

Today’s shopping centre

It is not surprising to see that as time passes, many high-tech gizmos become outdated or become obsolete entirely. Today, physical markets such as the mall are just another means that may be coming to an end. In-person transactions may soon be a thing of the past! This, however, should not surprise anyone of us. After all, we, humans, currently sit on the ever increasingly steep slope of technology. In other words, our technology is only advancing faster as time passes. But what does that mean for the rest of world? What are the implications for the business world? For one, technology seems to breed isolation. Today, more and more people are able to work from the convenience of their homes, communicating with their boss, coworkers, customers, clients, by means of technology. Online schooling, is yet another technology-convenient form of education that is becoming widely popular. The same goes for shopping, with the birth of ecommerce business like amazon and eBay, technology has given us fewer and fewer reasons to leave the house! As businesses begin to see a shift from in-store sales to online sales, many will have to revise job distributions, allocating more workers to tech-related jobs, operating from behind the screen. This means more training and higher-level skilled workers. As mall owners invest to create incentive for customers to keep coming and making in-person transactions, the rapidly advancing technology today is becoming a force extremely difficult to compete with. Unless malls start to give us something that we can’t get from our beloved computers, tablets, and smartphones, they will soon be just another white elephant.

The Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/online-shopping-forces-malls-to-evolve-and-keep-customers-coming-back/article20777568/

In a scandal between the Canadian government and one of the world’s leading information technology corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, once again, the conservative government maintains that it will not tolerate any form of corrupt practices, stating that HP could be removed as the government’s technology supplier

A cartoon depiction of corporate crime

if allegations prove to be true. This situation has put the Canadian government in a great position to display it’s firmness on unethical business practices. Though the government has often been criticized as being too strict in it’s policies, the government appeared to control over the situation, establishing a serious conduct expectation from companies throughout Canada and those affiliated with the country. It is important that these companies realize that even large corporations such as HP are bound by the same laws and are not entitled to more lenient consequences based on its global recognition and prior success. However, with that being said, I still question whether a 10-year ban is an appropriate punishment for such a case. We have to consider the implications of the restriction on such a large corporation. If implemented, which parties will the ban really be affecting? Who loses out? HP? Or the middlemen? Suppliers who work to provide different levels of the Canadian government with HP products and services. As HP cuts sales with a fairly large consumer group, there will no longer be a need for jobs in this department, and thus, it is the innocent in-between workers who suffer the consequences. In this scenario, a fine – though a weaker message to companies to conduct moral practices – may be the better option.

The Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/hp-faces-10-year-ban-as-canadian-governments-technology-supplier/article20774807/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/loblaw-targets-food-savvy-canadians-in-major-marketing-overhaul/article20647658/

In today’s ever-competitive world, it is nearly impossible to escape the endless bombarding of advertisements. From billboards, to the less-than-appreciated ads along the margins of websites, we are constantly reminded that there are things to buy. But what do you do when a generation of people have become overexposed and accustomed to the cliched and almost identical marketing tactics employed by these companies? As many companies begin to wean off traditional marketing techniques in exchange for content marketing, Loblaw Companies Limited follows suit but in a slightly different direction.

Instead of taking to twitter and Facebook to promote their products, Loblaw’s strategy involves providing informative videos and interactive discussion boards simply for people to talk about food. Whether it is the best strategy is questionable, but in terms of effectiveness, if executed properly, could unlock great potential. I commend Loblaw for realizing and understanding the growing foodie culture in Canada. Especially in areas like Vancouver where people have come to adopt a more health-conscious lifestyle and who seek detailed information pertaining to their food, Loblaw’s being one of very few food producing businesses to allow access to traditionally unknown, and often, hidden information, could give them the edge in the industry. This is, provided, customers like what they see.