In this course, the last assignment was to make a video regarding the marketing strategies and recommendations for the assigned company. It had to summarize the analysis and effectiveness of the company’s current marketing strategy. For our group, we had assessed MEC, previously known as Mountain Equipment Co-Operation.

The assignment was very interesting to work on, as it had challenged the group in teamwork, critical thinking and creativity. I felt as though the most difficult part was to communicate the information we had found in an engaging manner without leaving out any important details. This was especially apparent when completing the last part of the assignment, the peer reviewing. Most of the videos either had a strong analysis and reconsiderations and a less-than-engaging video, or a highly engaging video, but lacking depth and solid recommendations. If I had a chance to work on the assignment again, I would have put more effort into making the 5 minutes as engaging as possible.

The two most enjoyable courses I had taken this term at UBC were, Introduction to Marketing and Cultural Psychology. Interestingly enough, both have much in common in their content and context. The two topics are both ever so dynamic and applicable to everyday surroundings, it has given me much insight into what the future has to offer.

One of the main topics that I had found interesting was the difference in how Americans differ from the rest of the world’s holistic thinking. They are they only nation to perceive the world from a viewpoint with the subject as the focal point, and the environment as the background. This can be seen from politics, human interactions, art history, as well as practices of medicine.

When asked to describe the scene, holistic thinkers would describe the fish as being chased. In comparison, analytic thinkers would describe the fish as leading the school.

Now how does this apply to marketing? As an increasingly multicultural world, marketers must be exceptionally sensitive to cultural trends, to find out exactly how people do things and why they do things to create the biggest impact on the consumer. By identifying the cultural trends, products and services can interact and communicate to consumers in the most powerful context. Predicting the future is stepping in to the unknown, but by inspecting patterns of behaviours, we can find the best approaches.

Coined the term “melting pot”, there is an  increasing ethnic and religious diversity found in North America. Communities are less likely to force assimilation of immigrating cultures, rather, to encourage traditions and ideals of the two different cultures. This also increases a different population with different points of view, becoming increasingly open-minded and creative. As an immigrant to Canada, I identify with both Canadian and Taiwanese culture – this type of East and West thinking is quite new, and the best companies would be able to pinpoint exactly how we behave and cater to our emotions and psychological needs. In a blog post by Connie Zhu, she explains her attitudes towards being an Asian American.

The Body Shop is definitely not the average beauty retailer. From their ethical moral to their active and ongoing social activism, value is added to the customer’s entire experience.

They build their competitive advantage around their 5 core values:
1. Against animal testing
2. Support fair trade
3. Activate self esteem
4. Defend human rights
5. Protect the planet

While keeping their media and advertising to a minimum, they managed to have an impact, securing a place in the skincare, bodycare and cosmetic markets, by differentiating themselves. The founder, Annita Roddick, had a natural and environmentally-conscious vision for the company, and it is inspiring to see an entrepreneur’s dreams being built and growing strong through 40 years. Value is added in many ways to benefit not only the customer, but also tracing back to the roots of producton, to the farmers who get fair pay to harvest ingredients for the company. Most of the time, exceptional customer service comes from intrinsic factors from the sales associates and management themselves, because the employees have a strong cultural identity with the company.

It is very apparent that the values are incorporated in every aspect of their operations, and it is very inspiring that fair trade stories are spread through word-of-mouth within the company, from employees to customers. My favourite fair trade story that I have heard of is fair-traded honey from Ethiopia. The handcrafted bamboo hives hung by the farmers in remote areas receive fair pay for the high quality honey, in which you can smell the floral scents from the bee’s pollination efforts.

Personally, as an aspiring entrepreneur, Anita Roddick is a woman I look up to dearly. Her passion and determination to do business in an ethical way is not just a front, but it is from her beliefs! Working for something you value so dearly is where I see myself in ten years, where passion is fuel for hard work, and thus, having influential results.

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1192974/loreals-jeremy-schwartz-lead-body-shop-international
http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/values/ingredient-honey.aspx

As the new generation is growing in financial power to make more consumer choices, the technological aspect of marketing is also an emerging and uncovered sector to be explored. Email marketing, done in the right way, will be a quick and effective medium to communicate value to the masses for B2C business consumers. As assessed by a Guest Contributer in Reuter’s Blogs, email has to be done in the right way, to communicate the right message. Content marketing is key to avoiding the junk mailbox, to a message that sparks intrigue, emotion and most importantly, engagement.

Email marketing is misused in many ways, as it must be a part of content strategy, not just exposure. Remember target consumer, what would provoke their attention? What are they willing to take a moment to read? “A good brand is pervasive – it runs through all communications your company has with prospects and clients, right down to your email marketing.”

1. Personalize the message
Use the information you have on the consumers to segment the market and create content that is valuable to the individual. You are emailing as a friend, (Likability Principle) not a salesperson.

2. Engagement and social media incorporation
It is not a one-sided story. To really engage the consumers, you can contact them personally and have conversations with them through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media networks. Effective and thoughtful campaigns falls under this category as well.

3. Do not spam!
As elementary school had taught you, “If you do not have anything nice to say, don’t speak.” As soon as the consumers find that there is nothing of value to them, they will unsubscribe, or send the emails to their junk list. This is why it is important for emails to be verbally communicated as well, to give the medium a personable aspect as well.

http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/2011/03/14/mix-it-up-trends-and-fads-in-email-marketing/