In reply to Joie Chan’s blogpost regarding SMS and MMS as a form of marketing, I believe that text message marketing isn’t a waste of time, but actually a more effective way to reach consumers.

Speaking for the majority of the student population, it is safe to say that we have reached the period of technological prosperity where we rely more on our phones because it is more convenient than a computer, while capable of doing most of the things a computer can do. We are always on our phones playing games or using different applications. The whole world of technology has gone mobile, so why not the world of retail as well?

As a shopoholic, I find it extremely convenient to be notified through SMS regarding in-store promotions. Marketing through SMS is more convenient than emails because many tend to ignore emails or not happen to have 3G.

Different stores have different methods of attaining customer phone numbers. I find it effective when there is an incentive to give your number such as texting to receive discount codes and free items. Abercrombie and Hollister use this tactic very well in targeting their young customer segment.

In a blogpost by Harvard Business Review, it is mentioned that Amazon constantly changes its business model according to the growth and demands of the customer.

• 1995- “sell all, carry few.”
• 2000- “sell all, carry more.”
• 2006- “Fulfillment” independent sellers can use Amazon’s warehouse
• 2013- Sunday Shipping and Deliveries in a few bigger American states.

As shown by the summarized timeline above, Amazon is constantly changing it’s business model so that the company isn’t outdated. I believe that it’s extremely to be aware of the market and it’s changes so that a company is always one step ahead, as Amazon did a good job of here.

Through constantly changing the business model, Amazon is able to create points of difference that sets itself apart from its competition, such as eBay, Target and various online shopping sites.  As Dave Clark, Amazon’s VP of customer service and operations puts it, “What really drives the company — it’s all about selection growth, lower costs and increased speed.”  Amazon’s implementation of Sunday Shipping is targeted to fulfill customer needs at higher efficiency and convenience with no increase in price.

Through adapting their business model, Amazon was able to successfully expand and increase value in the company shares.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-11/amazon-postal-service-to-start-sunday-package-deliveries.html

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/11/amazon-constantly-audits-its-business-model/

Facebook recently offered Snapchat $3 billion for its application but was turned down by entrepreneur and CEO, Evan Spiegel. Why? because leaks suggest it’s worth more. Snapchat is an application where users can send pictures to their friends for limited time frames with no digital footprint. Facebook is facing a drop in stock price and a decline in adolescent users.

For Facebook, this is a worthwhile investment because many teens are now using snapchat in replacement of facebook. $3Billion may seem daunting at first, especially with Snapchat’s current revenue at $0, but the costs outweigh the possible future profits because Snapchat is rapidly expanding with its users increasing at an exponential rate. Facebook’s offer to buy snapchat also shows its adaptability as a business to its industry and competition. Since Facebook senses a correlation between decline in teen users and an increase in Snapchat users, it has decided to buy Snapchat the way it bought Instagram in 2011. Snapchat has lots of growth opportunity with an increasing profit margin and that’s something Facebook wants to get dibs on.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/11/13/facebook-wouldve-bought-snapchat-for-3-billion-in-cash-heres-why/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/facebook-snapchat-3-billion_n_4268859.html

Last month, a food scandal erupted in Taiwan regarding cooking oil from the company Wei Chuan Foods Corporations. Employees of the company were caught adding coloring copper chlorophyllin and scent extracts to make cheaper oils seem more expensive to boost revenue and profit. 21 types of oils were tainted with metal and many bottles were recalled and taken off shelves at various markets. The owner of the company issued a public apology regarding the safety and authenticity of its products and also promised a 1.69 billion dollar (NT) subsidy to all who have bought these oils.

Being from Taiwan, this issue is disgraceful as it is the second case in recent years regarding the business ethics of companies substituting parts of food products with a cheaper “poisonous” alternative to boost profit. The decisions these companies have made to increase their profits have caused harm to many of its consumers and have made Taiwan’s food industry and regulations seem unreliable. This issue is relatable to management, marketing and accounting. Management needs to align its ethics, marketing needs to take care of publicity regarding this scandal, and accounting needs to work out costs with profit and subsidy.

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201310230013.aspx

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/master-kong-owner/875162.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2013/11/12/too-little-too-late-for-indicted-taiwan-billionaire/