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After reading Sean Goodall’s blog post Add Value, Boost Profits, I was reminded of the importance of adding value to consumers in order to remain profitable. Sean talked about TOMS, and how they have been successful in adding value through their “One for One” campaign – where for every pair of shoes you buy, a second pair of shoes is donated to a child in need.

Another company that offers a wide range of value added services is FedEx. They offer services such as package pickup and money back guarantees, which has helped FedEx become a popular company among consumers. In fact, FedEx has been ranked the number one company for consumer satisfaction in the express delivery market for 17 consecutive years!

Even though it is difficult to measure the value of having satisfied and loyal customers, it is undoubtedly one of the biggest strengths a company can have. The company will be less affected by changes in income, and it will be harder for new companies to enter the market and increase their market share.

In order to create a high degree of customer value, companies must successfully differentiate themselves from their competitors. They must carefully identify the needs of their customers, and create a strategy and corporate culture which aligns with the needs of their consumers. They must then create an effective value delivery network which enables the company to meet the needs of their consumers.

Imagine a world where the price you pay covers all the negative externalities. When buying gas, part of the price you pay offsets the negative impacts on the environment. Similarly, when you buy lumber you simultaneously help to saving the rain-forest, or when buying food you are paying the farmers a fair price, such that they can continue to farm in an efficient and planet sustaining way. Is this way of living a utopia or is it just common sense?

The problem lies in three main areas: The cost of the societal damage is difficult to measure, it is difficult to allocate the costs to various businesses and, most importantly, people, businesses and countries are greedy. Although the general consensus is that climate change needs to be counteracted, it is still difficult for countries to agree on a feasible solution. The climate talks in Copenhagen in 2009 epitomized the aforementioned. Going into the conference, most people were optimistic and pleased that action was taking (or at the least starting to) take place. Despite of the optimism, the talks ended in failure, primarily due to the US’s and China’s unwillingness to act. Even though new targets were set for reducing carbon emissions, there there were no legally binding contracts, and there were no consequences of not meeting the targets.

So, how can business be conducted in a more just and sustainable way? The answer is that we need to come up with a quantifiable measure to set prices on ecosystems. But how do you set a price on fresh air? And what is the value of pollination from insects? At the end of the day, it’s an accounting problem. According to the Harvard Business Review, companies are beginning to price the “unpriceable”. Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy are working together with PriceWaterhouseCoopers to come up with ways to value ecosystems. Perhaps accountants will become one of the greatest contributers to counteracting climate change.

As mentioned by Laura, Apple did an excellent job of commemorating the memory of Steve Jobs after he passed away. (https://blogs.ubc.ca/lauramacdonald/2011/10/10/remembering-jobs/) His life was celebrated through numerous events and the Apple homepage displayed a large image of Steve Jobs in honor of his memory. However, Apple was not the only company to tribute the life of the Apple founder. On the day following the loss of Steve Jobs, Google decided to commemorate his memory by posting a simple epitaph on the webpage.

The majority of Google’s revenue comes from advertising. Whenever you use the search engine “sponsored links” will appear, and for every click Google charges the website a certain fee. You may have also realized that Google sponsored links appear on various web-pages. These links generate revenue for Google in the same way that their search-related links do.

Even though Google’s revenue is mainly driven by advertisement, the company chose to commemorate Steve Job’s memory using their “prime advertisement space” for no charge. Even more remarkable is the fact that the hyperlink was to Apple’s homepage, not to their own search results. On the same day, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt stated” “Steve was so charismatically brilliant that he inspired people to do the impossible, and he will be remembered as the greatest computer innovator in history.” (http://www.marketingpower2.com/blog/marketingnews/2011/10/googles_display_of_class_and_h.html#more) This respectful response is likely to have further strengthened the company’s popularity among consumers.

After reading Drew McLellan’s post on mixing media to achieve maximum impact on consumers, I became more interested in learning more about the research surrounding this topic, and to see if McLelland indeed does have support for his claim in the academic community. McLelland argues that in order to really reach the consumers and create a lasting impression on them, one must “access more of the audiences senses.”

In Christian Gronroos’s academic paper entitled “from marketing mix to relationship marketing: towards a paradigm shift in marketing”, Gronroos explains that the marketing mix theory and the 4 P’s (Price, Product, Place, Promotion) was first introduced in the 1960’s. This theory quickly gained a lot of support from the academic community, and before long it became an “indisputable paradigm in academic research.” (from marketing mix to relationship marketing) However, the 4 P’s is by many considered too simplified. The theory was created 50 years ago, and it hasn’t integrated the changes in technology and the new ways in which marketing is being conducted. For instance, industrial marketing and international marketing are areas of marketing where there is still much dispute among academics – there is no general consensus regarding what strategies are efficient.

It is clear that there is a lot of uncertainty, and still a lot of research that can be done on what marketing strategies are successful in today’s society. Nielsen Media Research found that 50% of people remembered a brand they saw in TV ads, but 74% of people remembered the same brand after they saw ads from the company on TV and online. However, this “mixing marketing channels” strategy is only consistent if the ads provide the same key message. There is still much research to be done, but it appears that the 4 P’s & Marketing Mix model is too simplified to fully accommodate the needs of modern day consumers.

In year 2000, Amazon became heavily criticized in the media for offering different prices to consumers for the same products. Amazon used “cookies”, a collection of information, in order to track each individual customer’s interest and usage of the website. They then used this information to make use of price discrimination. Amazon charged first time users a discounted rate, while their long term customers where charged a higher price. According to BBC, the difference in charges could amount to as much as $15 on a single product.

Amazon was completely aware that they were putting their customer relationships in jeopardy as they sought to increase profits. Their customers expect Amazon to handle the customer information in a secure and ethical manner. The fact that Amazon’s scheme was published by BBC is likely to have significantly affected Amazon’s customer relationships in a negative manner. The company wishes to build strong customer relationships that in turn will generate cash flows for the company.

In the early 2000s, e-commerce was a completely new concept. Consumers weren’t used to purchasing products online. Amazon’s main competitors were the normal bookstores, so Amazon were in a position where they had to differentiate themselves from the other players. Many consumers were in all likelihood skeptical about using their credit cards to pay for products purchased online. By using the information given by the “cookies”, Amazon exploited their most loyal customers. As a result, the customer-perceived value of Amazon dropped and the firm ended up in a challenging position. Amazon was now forced to put down large resources in order to attempt to regain its customer loyalty.

My most important takeaway from Comm 299 is the importance of being professional in everything you do. As emphasized through various examples in class, you never know what people you meet that will give you opportunities in the form of internships, job interviews, advice etc.

Moreover, professionalism is one of the most important traits to convey during a job interview. By doing so, the interviewer will establish credibility and respect for you. By attending networking events and practicing my interview skills, I have learned how to approach recruiters and future employers in a professional and effective manner. Coming from a small suburb in Norway without any previous exposure to networking events, my development in presenting myself has been tremendous. Most of my development is due to Sauder School of Business and Career Fundamentals – Comm 299.

The greatest lesson I have learned throughout my life is an integral concept I was taught by my parents during my upbringing. It is simple, yet clever: to be humble.

When encountering new people and experiences, you must always approach it from an open minded perspective. By having this mind set, you will reduce the impact of your biases and stereotypes that can often act as obstacles to group performance. It is only with this mind set that you can become an efficient and valuable team member, with abilities to perform well under pressure.

It is a common saying that the greatest leaders will not call themselves the best. This reinforces the importance of being humble – in any position or career – in order to become successful. By doing so, you are likely to gain the trust and respect of your co-workers, which is a fundamental building block of all teams.

In the words of motivational speaker Jim Rohn, “the challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” In essence, the message is that strong leaders have strong abilities and traits, while still ensuring that their values and abilities do not make them believe they are better or more worthy than any other human. This is they key to success in any field.

In Europe today, most eurozone countries are affected by the Euro. Even though only 16 countries use the Euro directly, numerous other European countries are affected by the price of the Euro by pegging their currency. For instance, Denmark and the Baltic countries are part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, meaning they must follow the price of the Euro to a certain extent for their own currency.

In the aftermath of the Icelandic, Greek and Irish financial crisis, people are beginning to lose confidence in the Euro. Most investors were certain that euro-using countries in Eastern Europe, such as Cyprus, Slovakia, Malt and Montenegro, would be a larger threat to the Euro than its users in Western Europe – which are generally perceived as having stronger economies. The fact that Western European economies are failing is creating even more uncertainty and distrust for the Euro.

Moreover, the IMF has advised the European Union to increase its rescue fund (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/imf-to-tell-euro-zone-to-boost-rescue-fund/article1825700/), indicating that the Eurozone countries are predicted to encounter more financial struggles in the near future. Rumours suggesting that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, wishes to opt out of the Euro certainly does not help the Euro’s credibility (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11836514). The Euro is regarded as an important feature of the European Union and cooperation among its members. Therefore, the Eurozone countries will certainly not abandon the Euro without putting up a fight.

Over the last decade people have become convinced that global warming is a serious threat. The Kyoto Protocol is a good initiative towards reducing global emissions. The protocol was originally presented in 1997, and today 191 nations have signed the protocol.

Countries are currently trying to negotiate an extension of the Kyoto agreement, however, this is proving to be difficult. With so many countries with different economies, cultures and ways of life, it is difficult to reach a solution that is accepted by everyone. Even Canada, who has committed itself to the protocol, is now questioning whether or not they are willing to accept an extension with today’s terms. As written in The Globe and Mail, the Harper government is on the fence not only due to the US’s unwillingness to commit itself to the protocol, but also due to the “differing nature of the commitments between rich and emerging economies.” (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/rejecting-kyoto-extension-threatens-climate-talks-developing-nations/article1825499/)

Though countries disagree on many terms of the protocol, the underlying issue appears to be the lack of commitment shown by the USA, India and China, who are responsible for most of the emissions today. This problem is also reflected in the Copenhagen talks of 2009, which ended up failing due to this very reason. If there is to be any hope of reaching a global emissions reduction agreement, countries much put pressure on USA, India and China – who export products to countries all over the world. If not, the current reduction talks going on in Cancun will surely not lead to any substantial agreement.

The arrival of the winter is causing a lot of problems in England. As a result of the unexpected snow, roads, airports, train tracks and schools, and this has a large negative impact on the entire country.

First and foremost, this is a safety problem. The massive amounts of snow and ice are making the roads extremely dangerous. This creates a problem for everyone, but in particular for ambulances. “North West Ambulance Service said it could only respond to life-threatening cases due to the poor weather condition.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8440643.stm). And as airports close down, organs cannot  be transferred as quickly as they could before, which has life-threatening consequences.

As schools are forced to close down, children have no place to go. This means that many parents must take days off from work, which in turn has large negative effects on the economy. As the mass transit system shuts down, people cannot get to and from work – or anywhere for that matter. England’s failure to deal with the snow is a large problem, which negatively affects the economy, safety and lives of its inhabitants.