“My Take on Inbound Marketing”, a blog by entrepreneur Chris Brogan comments on his opinion that inbound marketing has great value. Brogan comments that the greatest aspect of inbound marketing is “earning the right outbound market and directly sell”. He draws examples from Reebok offering shoes only available to those who have completed the Trifecta ( a Spartan race). This along side the many people who post their great experiences of completing these races is all inbound marketing. It is drawing customers to Reebok and the Spartan Races, while they are not necessarily pursuing them.

This blog gained my interest through its use of the word inbound marketing. This was a term new to me, and seeing Brogan mentioning its values lead me wonder,what is inbound marketing? Brogan mentions his personal use of inbound marketing to sell tickets for his webinar. He claims he is able to do so by providing valued material for free, which then results in consumers wanting to see the webinar due to all that positive exposure.

Brogan acknowledges many don’t see the value to inbound marketing as they find it to be too time consuming or too custom.  While I do agree there are some faults to inbound marketing, I think it should be employed as a tool for most businesses.By offering value propositions that create satisfaction companies can expect customers to return as well as spread a good word to draw more consumers. This creates no effort in marketing terms for the business as they are simply employing their business strategy aimed to please customers.

Sources:

External Blog: http://chrisbrogan.com/inboundmarketing/

Images: http://charisestevens.com/5-inbound-marketing-strategies/

http://www.runningforkicksandgiggles.com/2014/04/15/reebok-all-terrain-series-spartan-race-giveaway/

Jonah Rudy’s blog, How Music Artists Are Shaking Off Their Old Value Propositions  comments on technological advancement posing as  a threat and opportunity for the music industry. The obvious threat comes from the ability to down load music, which Jonah admits does decrease revenue channels for artists. However Jonah argues that new opportunities have emerged primarily to the internet’s ability to spread awareness at a incredible rate, and allows artists to reach icon statuses.

I agree with Jonah however I also believe this increase of awareness is due to social media.  Artists need to capitalize on using social media to increase fan bases and brand name. Social media is providing artists  low cost  methods to be incredibly accessible to their fans. Those who utilize social media are essentially increasing their marketing and its results play a role in increasing sales for records.

Various Social Media Sites

Social media is especially a benefit to upcoming artists who need to increase their reputations. Unlike pre-existing artists who already have an avid fan base, new artists can be proactive and bring themselves to consumers. This is evident through first hand experience as there have been many times where aspiring artists have used social media to request a follow or favorite of their pages and music. These aspiring artists are using social media to their advantage and attempting to create a brand awareness in means that was simply not available just a few years ago.

Lady Gaga’s Tweet to Appreciate 18,000,000 Followers

Sources:

Articles:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-clayton/celebrities-social-media_b_2529151.html

Jonah’s Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jonahrudy/2014/11/06/how-the-music-industry-is-shaking-off-its-old-value-propositions/

Images:

http://pursuitist.com/lady-gaga-rules-twitter/

http://www.dmconfidential.com/companies-will-pay-for-10-15-of-social-media-reviews-in-2014/social-media-logos/

United Nations Economic and Social Council

The United Nations has recognized the essential need of social and economic expansion in order for developing countries to advance. While the United Nations has invested a great amount of effort into creating sustainable development, even if they were fully funded the need for social enterprise would still exist.

Social enterprises are created by entrepreneurs who solve issues and create sustainable opportunities to diminish these existing issues. The United Nations follows a similar concept but the tasks are not carried out as directly. The United Nations creates generalist approaches and methods to problems developing nations are facing. Developing nations are given ideas and methods to increase economic efficiency and reduce social problems thus the United Nations efforts help resolve issues at their surface.

While there is undoubtedly a benefit to the United Nation’s actions, problems can arise in sustaining the solutions. This is where the role of social enterprises arises. Social enterprises create a method of sustainable development and focus on specific communities and organizations. Such as seen with the Arc, as it teaches entrepreneurship skills and provides assistance to individuals attempting to succeed in their own business ventures. Their existence alone has ensured several businesses remain running by offering advice to deal with specific problems they are facing. For example Salem Kassahun was advised on how to expand her boutique, Salem’s Ethiopia while maintaining a fair trade operation. Initiatives like this are what ensure the success of economic and social development; where as the United Nations can only provide the basic tools for solving economic and social issues.

Salem’s Ethiopia

Salem’s Ethiopia

Sources:

Article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/day-to-day/can-fair-trade-boutique-expand-without-alienating-customers/article4405520/

http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/index.shtml

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/aplaws/publication/en/publications/capacity-development/support-capacity-development-the-undp-approach/CDG_Brochure_2009.pdf

Images:

http://celinearc2012.blogspot.ca/2012/06/entrepreneur-3-salems-design.html

Toms and Bobs from Sketchers provide two similar shoe products. Not only are these products similar in appearance but also with the same social and ethical benefits from purchasing a pair of shoes. Both companies provide the incentive of  giving a pair of shoes for a child in a developing country with each purchase of their shoes.

As commented in Sara Chitsaz’s blog there is much controversy whether Sketchers lacks these so called ethics they are promoting, as Bobs were introduced six years after Toms had been created.  Sara comments Sketchers is in fact lacking ethics, as they produced shoes with a striking resemblance to Toms. She also argues that if Sketchers were truly socially responsible they could have offered to donate shoes with any of their other products. There is no need to only offer this service with shoes that look like Toms.

I agree with Sara. Sketchers is clearly not a company focused on social responsibility but more so on capitalizing on profits. This is evident by their exploitation of the Toms design and business strategy. Sketchers had clearly seen the profits Tom’s been generating and modeled shoes that rival the comfort and affordability Toms offers, as well as providing an opportunity to be socially responsible. Sketchers was founded in 1992 and has had 14 years to focus on corporate social responsibility but choose only to do so when it saw the need to match up with the success of its competitors. Overall nothing is ethical about Sketchers, as they are merely another large corporation attempting to create a competitive advantage.

Sources:

Article: http://www.ca.skechers.com/en-ca/page/corporate-info/

http://www.toms.ca/

Sara’s Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/sarachitsaz/2014/10/18/toms-vs-sketchers-bobs-the-ethics-behind-a-social-enterprise/

Images: http://ucmprwriting.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/toms-vs-bobs.png

http://alwaysshoe.com/xopenex-for-sale-lowest-prices-on-internet-guaranteed/toms-one-for-one-caojsg/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1696887/toms-vs-bobs-how-skechers-shot-themselves-foot

Recently Lego has put an end to its partnership with the corporation of Shell. This was the result of Greenpeace launching a campaign exploiting the reckless operating of Shell, in search for Arctic oil. With a powerful video and petition Greenpeace was successful in getting Lego to sever ties with Shell which have lasted for decades.

This move on Lego’s part showcases the value Lego places on being seen as a socially corporate responsible firm.  Lego has stated the corporation is “determined to leave a positive impact on society and the planet that children will inherit”.  However Lego’s actions don’t exemplify actual social corporate responsibility.

I believe that Lego is not truly a believer on solving environment issues, nor are they troubled with the possible destruction of the Arctic. Lego has dissociated themselves from Shell based on the negative media attention they were receiving due to the campaigns. This doesn’t make Lego a company concerned in the environment but rather concerned about maximizing profits. This idea relates to Milton Friedman’s theory of a business’s social responsibility is to increase profits. Lego has weighted the options of remaining in a partnership with Shell and has decided the benefits from ending this partnership will prove to be more profitable. The negative backlash most likely outweighs the profits earned from the Shell deal and as a bonus Lego is seen as a corporation concerned by environmental issues and sustainability.

Sources:

Article: http://online.wsj.com/articles/lego-to-end-shell-collaboration-after-greenpeace-campaign-1412845373

Images: http://brickset.com/sets/list-416

https://act.greenpeace.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1844&ea.campaign.id=29950

American Express is a company thriving in a difficult industry with strong competitors such as MasterCard and Visa. However American Express plans to provide excellent service to gain trust, loyalty and brand engagement, while others are primarily focusing on technological advancement.

American Express is attempting to form a value proposition which focuses on generating gain creators. This is exemplified by the increase in spending for advertising and “experiences”.  By giving special offers for concerts and restaurant experiences card members feel valued.  Customers relish in having exclusive offers only available to them and are drawn to a company that can provide them with these benefits.  This results with social gains that lead to happier customers who are provided with positive social outcomes.

This coupled with American Express’s ability to connect services directly to their users greatly impacts the customer’s value and trust of the company. The company is recognizing how important customer loyalty is for success. By providing this exceptional service, new customers will be more drawn to American Express because the will be ensured of excellent treatment.  This treatment also ensures that previous customers stick with American Express as they can continue to reap the benefits exclusive to them. This strategy is necessary in a industry filled with tough competitors all vying for the attention of consumers.

Sources:

Articles: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/amex-appealing-to-customer-needs/article21427902/

Images: http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/prints/american-express-petrol-15269505/

http://www.topdesignmag.com/inventive-newspaper-ads/