Some Sauderites will pursue investment banking; some (like I) have our hearts set in CPA accounting; some will be brilliant, shiny marketers, however at the end of the day, we are all consumers regardless of stance we take in the business world. This post refers to an entry by business blogger Guy Kawasaki, where he illustrates ten strategies that allows a business to “enchant” customers.

Here are my top three from his list:

1. Hire amiable, well-versed staff. Possibly the most obvious of the ten, this contention nonetheless holds its value. In any given environment, smiles and courtesy goes a long way. Kawasaki drives this point home, however, when he describes how wishing for the best while placing poorly paid, poorly trained associates at the cashier may not fare well with your business’ image.

2. Build trust. Zappos? Free shipping, to and from. Nordstrom? Customer’s word is key, no questions asked. Amazon? 7 days to return a book, regardless of length. Yes, these policies do open up a grey area for mishaps, but if you put your trust on the table, so will the customer.

Trust = Profits

3. Acknowledge all parties at hand. Kawasaki claims that his daughter influences his buying decisions. As for me, I know I can’t buy certain articles of clothing without my mother nagging. Don’t just appeal to the person browsing your store – also appeal to the person who will be swiping their card at the register.

Allow me to introduce Luxy, a spin-off from Tinder… for the 1%. A dating app strictly for the Porsche-driving, Louis Vuitton-carrying populace. The app is free to download on iTunes for Applers and Play Store for Androiders, but membership costs you a sports car, a million dollar mansion, and high social capital.

From Luxy’s mobile cover.

Unethical? Yes.

Supercilious? Indeed.

Innovative? Debatable.

Never before have I encountered a company so open about its low-income prejudice. Sure, Aritzia’s employees stare me down whenever I meekly browse their store, but particularly in the online dating industry, a company with such an elitist background is unheard of.

Nonetheless, the cheeky app probably won’t last long. With the help of Porter’s Five Forces (I’ll only be discussing two), we can intelligently rate their attractiveness among the industry.

At a glance, this company fails to pass the rivalry test. With little competitive advantage in supply chain management and no outstanding channels, the app must fight for itself with product differentiation. Indeed, ostracizing the less wealthy creates distinction. It doesn’t seem to be working that well either, with an outstanding average rating of 2/5 from 30 different users.

Amazing. From the Google Play store.

It’s also fair to assume that the 1% have high enough social capital to… Meet people in real life at Jay Gatsby style parties. Or whatever rich people do these days. Simply put, the substitutes for this mobile app are limitless.

Anonymous CEO proclaims,

“With the rise of high-speed digital dating, it’s about time somebody introduced a filter to weed out low-income prospects by neighborhood.”

Thoughts?

All information comes from hyperlinked sources and this Business Insider article.

A few days ago I wrote about the entrepreneur company, Jack Erwin. 

Brand logo. Simple & sophisticated.

Today, I will be referring to the nine components of the Business Canvas Model to outline their business approach. It all started with one question:

“Where did the simple men’s dress shoe go?”

So without further ado…

1. Key Partners – overseas manufacturers; investors (i.e. Brown Shoe)

2. Key Activities – website maintenance, marketing, customer service

3. Key Resources – inventory, funds from investors, six employees

4. Value Propositions – QUALITY + CURATION + EXPERIENCE + FAIR PRICES

Jack Erwin prides itself on its limited supply. Each shoe is unique and high quality as they are each individually hand crafted. The company seeks to become a brand name with heritage and history. Likewise, the secret to their “honest pricing” is the direct sales strategy.

5. Customer Relationships – “We make buying shoes simple. And fun. No more shopping around to find the right size or style. All of our styles are available only here. Plus, we’re always around to chat. For us, it’s more than just a making great shoes thing – it’s a building great relationships thing.”

Need I say more?

6. Channels – items are sold online exclusively to the 48 contiguous US states with no middlemen

7. Customer Segments – men who desire high quality yet affordable dressy footwear. Generally ages 18-40.

8. Cost Structure – inventory purchase, marketing, administration

9. Revenue Streams – transactions through selling merchandise

Clearly, Jack Erwin is not an unordinary business. Applying clever tactics like the direct sales strategy and marketing shoes towards a grandoise target market surely cultivates a readily booming enterprise.

From Jack Erwin, Facebook

All information used in this post can be found on the official Jack Erwin website, their Facebook page, or this Business Insider article. 

You may have heard of the Enbridge Pipeline debate, numerous boundary disputes, Indian Act… The list goes on. First Nations controversies are limitless.

This article from National Post explains how a First Nation chief was paid close to $1-million, tax-free, according to salary disclosures. $800,000 came from a bonus concerning one land deal. Massive debate ensued, many questioning how and why. Financial statements also uncovered that revenue had soared from $2.8-million to $12.6-million in simply a year.

First Nations people were left outraged. Band member Kathleen Joe demands, “Please tell us why you deserve an $800,000 bonus when the leaders before you put footprints before you to get us here; you did not do this all by yourself”. 

We can evidently see that business ethics come into play once again. Sometimes things that you’re legally entitled to are politically, ethically, and morally wrong.

Ultimately, the lesson learnt is that the decisions and judgments of stakeholders are important; in any business project, concerning parties must be informed. Leaving the band completely unaware of this sum of money was definitely a dishonest practice in this event.

The question I ask is, where do we draw the line? Can the band chief’s million dollar salary be justified?

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I would make that kind of money on [capital] projects like this” (Ron Giesbrecht, 2013)

The life of a busy university student: rewarding, challenging, yet nevertheless exhausting.

Fortunately, driving down this busy path in addition to attending every COMM101 lecture has given me additional insight on what productivity really is.

Stephen Covey’s productivity method

The above chart was featured in one of the required pre-readings several weeks ago. Looking back at it now, Stephen Covey’s productivity method definitely makes many tasks, from planning a schedule to manipulating a business plan,  far more clear-cut; divvying up work and sorting them by importance and urgency is certainly helpful.

I was reminded of this chart while I was browsing the net. I came across this article on Forbes, Nine Ways To Jump-Start Your Life.

Mr. Boss provides a great summary of nine key ideas everyone could practice to be better goal setters and lead more enriching lives. From finding a daily personal challenge, to practicing the art of speech, to maintaining an exercise routine (something I should really work on…), this list combined with Covey’s handy chart act like salt and pepper.

They’re also great tools to uphold a future-forward, goal setting, and above all organized lifestyle; a necessity for any young chap aspiring to make it big in business.

Now it’s your turn – what keeps you organized? Share your stimuli in the comments below!