Monthly Archives: November 2011

Why Offering Less is a Great Business Strategy

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As I read the recommended blogs over the weekend and did so for several hours, (it was too interesting and informative to stop), I noticed there were several topics I would like to comment on, but the one that got my attention and interest most was ” HUMAN SIZING: WHY OFFERING LESS IS A GREAT BUSINESS STRATEGY”

http://www.rohitbhargava.com/        (Friday November 18th)

This post reflects on the fact that in our daily lives we are being offered more than we want, which can sometimes be negative to us. For example at the movie theatre, we are sold large popcorn bags that the average person can not finish, and does not desire to finish. However I believe since the individual has purchased the item, they feel more inclined to finish it to get their money’s worth. The problem with that is they end up eating more than they wanted, which causes going over calories. This has been one of the biggest causes of obesity, along with the introduction of junk food.

Personally I believe this epidemic is more apparent in the United States than Canada. Within the last month I visited the US on two different occasions and both times I was overwhelmed by how much food was served to me at restaurants. I ended up eating more than I needed in most causes for the same price I would have paid for a lesser portion. As the article mentions, it would be a smart idea for places to start providing less than the current state on average. Not only would they be able to make a greater margin of profit, but also help the society as a whole but decreasing obesity.

One thing I found very interesting in the article is the mention of offering less for more. Now this idea seems realistic to me, because it is both in the companies interest and the individual’s heath interest. Less for same, might not be in the companies best interest because over the long run, people average consumption will drop which means less profit. Less for less is also not valid for the same reason. I would personally be willing to do less for more, for healthier options, for a healthier society.

 

Irrigation Association 2011

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During the exhibitiion of the annual Irrigation Association Show in San Diego on November 6-8, I was constantly reminded of  Federico Fasano’s blog post about how Cariboo’s new marketing tactic was to be more green and attract contentious customers, https://blogs.ubc.ca/federicofasano/. I remember my first reaction when it was showcased in class and it was something along the lines of, had the green movement gone too far? Could Cariboo possibly sell more beers because of this? I doubted their efforts because I personally would not change beers just because it is more “green.”

How this ties into my story is during the exhibition one of the dominant themes that I noticed was “water conservation, recycled plastic,” or in other words the “green” movement. It was new to me, even though I have been working as a sales associate in an international Irrigation Company, Irriline, for the past year I had not come across such strong green marketing strategies being used by various companies. At first I thought it was a possibly a useless tactic, just like Cariboo’s “Support Reforestation.” However as the exhibition began and visitors started entering, it became visible that those companies were getting higher volumes of attraction than companies without those types of advertising. Our entire staff team was confused, as to why all of a sudden green movement had grown during this event.

It soon became apparent that this years event farmers were invited as well as the usual distributers which I had been familiar with. This change the playing field, and the companies that knew it would, had the ability to change their market target efficiently by attracting the farmers, who were big on environmental contentious as opposed to distributers who only resold items for profits.

All in all this made me reconsider Cariboo’s effectiveness, I was looking at it subjectively and did not think of the other types of market segments that it could potentially bring it. Just like how the green Irrigation advertising did not necessarily attract new distributers, it brought in a different segment all together, the farmers. Lastly I noticed that this years website had even changed! the background had turned green, different pictures, all focusing on the environmentally friendly theme.

Irrigation Association Website:

http://www.irrigation.org/irrigationshow/