If United Nations was fully funded, why would we need the Arc or social enterprise?

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The United Nations (UN) established a great foundation when it comes to addressing numerous world issues through its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Without a doubt, the MDGs constructs a framework that many non-profit and for-profit organizations are well aware of and create actionable plans for. This is where Arc and social enterprises come into play.

When it comes to the ‘big picture’, the UN creates a vision for everyone by first addressing the issues, and then continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the goals and actions being taken. The UN does this through annual statistical reports on the improvement of people’s lives, through the tracking of rates for HIV/AIDs, for example. Even if the UN was fully funded, the actions taken to address these global issues may become ineffective due to the various administrative and financial steps the process requires before plans can be executed. The money that may be intended to be used for certain purposes does not necessary arrive there, and can therefore be incredibly inefficient. However, programs such as Arc and social enterprise can take care of the smaller details that largely contribute to the success of the goals. More specific organizations and programs like the Arc generate more efficient processes that are created by passionate entrepreneurs who have the desire to do what they can to make a difference.

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/355sfc

I never thought a design principle from the US Navy would have its place in creating successful businesses. Keeping it simple may be all it takes to implement and explicitly show customers the company’s value proposition.

In response to Florence Fong’s blog post, I think Costco has definitely established itself as one of the ‘go-to’ warehouses for the most basic products needed for everyday life. Costco keeps it simple by striving to drive sales, by providing customers with the options of the most popular brands, ones that we frequently use. This not only decreases the its inventory and turnover rates, but also its ability to invest in other aspects that Costco perceives as more important. Customer service is probably a good way to go when deciding how to allocate your profits.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/highest-paying-jobs-retail-revealed/story?id=18872950

One idea I received from Wednesday’s class, is the fact that your employees can essentially be the company’s most loyal customers. If they approve of the company’s shared values, and have them in mind, they are like walking billboards, promoting the company to others through the word of the mouth. This can only be achieved if the company values their employees, which is exactly what Costco aims to do, allowing the company to be ahead of the other major competitors in the market.

Read more about it here.

http://jephmaystruck.com/10-quotes-from-the-new-marketing-text-book-brand-against-the-machine/

It makes complete sense to me when Ries and Trout indicated that being the first in the market, and simply letting customers know about your company and advertised product creates a position in their heads. Everyone is constantly being bombarded with advertisements about products, but to me, this doesn’t mean I will choose these highly advertised products over others that did not hard sell.

As this article revealed, many experiments have showed that just because customers were introduced to a first product, it doesn’t mean they are less likely to choose the second product when given the choice to. The fact that customers choose to continue searching for a different product demonstrates that the psychological idea of the self-perception theory.

I believe that this article didn’t necessary reveal advertising and marketing isn’t important, because it certainly is, as it allows potential customers to know about your products, and give them the extra option when they choose amongst the other competitors. As I learned in psychology class, people naturally need for control – the control of what to buy, instead of constantly influenced and forced what to purchase. Marketing plays with human psychology. Sometimes, the brand is not enough if your product does not satisfy the needs of customers. Other companies are more than willing to satisfy their needs or discover new ways to if your company can’t do so.

Read more about it here.

Great customer service can really help a company in the long run. In this external blog post, Perkins captures the essence of online customer service, and the impact it can make when used “consistently, effectively and correctly” (Perkins). I thought the idea Perkins was exploring connects very well with the concepts that our guest speaker, Danielle, explained in our lecture. The current fast-paced environment that we live in today requires quick, constant, and efficient transactions – a demand that has to be satisfied or customers will easily move along to do business with others. With social media, customers can show both their positive and negative feedbacks to other potential customers. I believe even with negative feedbacks, the company’s service representatives can always take advantage of these comments and proactively addressing the issue and commenting with a solution. Today, social media makes it effortless for potential customers to share their thoughts on a brand, and can help the company build a sustainable comparative advantage.

Screen Shot from Zappos.com | http://www.zappos.com/

Even Zappos, a company we talked extensively about in class, uses the most popular social media to intensify its customer relationships. So even if you don’t want to talk to a real person from the call centre for hours on end, you could always chat with someone on Facebook, Twitter, and many more to come.   Work Cited Perkins, Abby. “Why You Need Social Media for Customer Support.” Small Business Marketing blog from Duct Tape Marketing. 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.