Social Media

Communication has become astoundingly easier. Before the rapid innovation of technology concerning connecting people, there was a prevalent communication gap between varying cultures and regions of the world. Snail mail and pen-pals have become an treasured antique which has been quickly replaced with tweets and Facebook posts. Beyond reconnecting with old friends and merely keeping in touch with family across the globe, social media, in its entire entity, has made a significant impact in the business world. According to the book entitled Groundswell, companies should concentrate on the facilitation of relationships rather than the ever-changing technology. I agree that creating relationships is pivotal for success in business. Running a business or working for a company requires human ingenuity and creativity. A complex robot cannot craft together ideas and spark passion into the community as how clever entrepreneurs or employees do. So, in order to have ideas come into fruition and products reach markets, the members of a respective company have to invest time and effort in building relationships. Social media enable professionals to dive into their consumers and learn more about their ideas, attitudes, beliefs and even response to various types and products and services. One company, who I feel did a great job of using social media as a insightful leverage into solidifying relationships with the community is L’Oreal. As I mentioned in class, I was first introduced about their opportunities for interns during the McCombs Fall Career Expo. The recruiter mentioned that there was a Facebook page where I could find more information. As I began the application process for summer intern position, I came across some trouble on the actually L’Oreal website. So, I decided to go to the company Facebook page to see in there was any information posted regarding the technical errors on the company website. Before posting my comment of the page’s wall, I began browsing other user comments. I was amazed to see how each and every comment had a response from L’Oreal. I saw a fellow student who expressed her difficult with the application and I read L’Oreal’s response to her inquiry. There were even MBA students and admirers of the brand who wanted either ask about potential job opportunities or express how much they valued the brand. L’Oreal was using Facebook as a direct line of communication with their consumers. In addition, by creating a Facebook page that is a visible to the public, L’Oreal can even expand their market with people who are simply browsing through Facebook and just happen to land on their page. More specifically, L’Oreal has a separate Facebook page for those who seeking careers with the company (which is the page I interacted with). Furthermore, because L’Oreal is a such a wide-scale company, there is a Facebook page for each of their divisions. For example, Red-Skin, one of the brands in their high end division, has a Facebook page. In addition, brands in their consumer brand such as Maybelline have a Facebook page that can be used as a form of communication and research for their consumers. Social media has enable a more direct route of communication between corporate entities and the consumers. Products are able to now fully cater and fulfill specific needs in the market.

Mailbox
Primary purpose: A structure that is used to store mail.
Mailboxes can also be in the form of a tin structure nailed to a wooden stick in the front of your house. Or in a large tin structure with slots which stores mail for a houses on an entire street. Also, those who have a business or would rather have mail forwarded to another location can employ the use of mailboxes at a UPS store. Initially, when my friend texted me the word “Mailbox,” I immediately had the associated feeling of having to do work. My father owns a UPS store and one of the services he provides for his customers is a mailbox service. Everyday an employee of the United Postal Service comes to the store with a container filled with mail. Once the mail is delivered to the store, my dad has to go through the huge stack of letters, magazines, coupons, and packages and places the items in the respective customer’s mailbox. Whenever I come to Houston for a weekend so return home for the holidays, I receive the duty of sorting and placing mail into the customer’s boxes. Surprisingly, the task takes longer than one would think. You have to be very accurate in double checking the box numbers and clearing any discrepancies so that you do not receive complaints from the customers.

Chair
Chairs come in all shapes and sizes. Even within a home there are so many different variations. In the living room, there are usually large, plush chairs to facilitate a comfortable environment. In the dining room, chairs are usually wooden so that they are sturdy and generally easy to clean. There are also chairs in the library or at a job designed specifically to give ample lumbar support because in those environments people sit in chairs for long periods of time. In addition, rocking chairs are a special type of chair that often has fond memories associated with it. I have recently become an aunt so when I have the chance to make a trip to Houston for the weekend, I enjoy spending time with my precious nephew. To lull him to sleep, I take him in my arms, sit on a rocking chair and gently rock back and forth until his heavy eyes close into a peaceful slumber.

Ways to combine these two products
• Chair attached to mailbox post in front of the house
• Chair that has a slit in the arm for mail to be dropped into
• A notification on your chair that would let you know when mail has arrived
• Sales paper about chairs inside a mailbox
• Having a motorized chair that could drive you to your mailbox
• Having a motorized mailbox that, when full, would drive to your chair
• Being able to have a remote control arm that would extend from your chair to the mailbox to grab your mail
• Having comfy chairs next to your mailbox at the UPS store so that you could sit and look through your mail
• Having a compartment in your chair to store mail.
The most viable product option would be the chair that would receive a notification when mail has arrived. The mail carrier would press a button on the mailbox to notify the resident that mail has been delivered. The electronic notification has the same principle as having the mail carrier raise the wooden flag attached to the mailbox to indicate that mail has been delivered. Only when the mail carrier presses the button, the resident immediately knows when their mail has arrived. Furthermore, I think all of us would love having a motorized chair that would drive us to the mailbox to pick up mail but the walk to and from the mailbox could be a great source of exercise!

Chairs come in all shapes and sizes. Even within a home there are so many different variations. In the living room, there are usually large, plush chairs to facilitate a comfortable environment. In the dining room, chairs are usually wooden so that they are sturdy and generally easy to clean. There are also chairs in the library or at a job designed specifically to give ample lumbar support because in those environments people sit in chairs for long periods of time. In addition, rocking chairs are a special type of chair that often has fond memories associated with it. I have recently become an aunt so when I have the chance to make a trip to Houston for the weekend, I enjoy spending time with my precious nephew. To lull him to sleep, I take him in my arms, sit on a rocking chair and gently rock back and forth until his heavy eyes close into a peaceful slumber.

Ways to combine these two products
• Chair attached to mailbox post in front of the house
• Chair that has a slit in the arm for mail to be dropped into
• A notification on your chair that would let you know when mail has arrived
• Sales paper about chairs inside a mailbox
• Having a motorized chair that could drive you to your mailbox
• Having a motorized mailbox that, when full, would drive to your chair
• Being able to have a remote control arm that would extend from your chair to the mailbox to grab your mail
• Having comfy chairs next to your mailbox at the UPS store so that you could sit and look through your mail
• Having a compartment in your chair to store mail.

The most viable product option would be the chair that would receive a notification when mail has arrived. The mail carrier would press a button on the mailbox to notify the resident that mail has been delivered. The electronic notification has the same principle as having the mail carrier raise the wooden flag attached to the mailbox to indicate that mail has been delivered. Only when the mail carrier presses the button, the resident immediately knows when their mail has arrived. Furthermore, I think all of us would love having a motorized chair that would drive us to the mailbox to pick up mail but the walk to and from the mailbox could be a great source of exercise!

Project blog

Generally, product and service based companies are started because a person or group of people recognized a need or want in society and decided to make the product or service available to the market. From that point onwards, firms are constantly figuring out new ways for their company to minimize their expenses and increase profits. According to the shareholder business philosophy, the corporation has only one purpose: maximize shareholder wealth so that shareholders can use the wealth created as they believe is most appropriate Soon money and competition become the driving force in many company decisions. Sitting in my accounting and marketing classes, I wondered what it would look like for a company to have a completely different business plan and strategy: comprised of different market elements and motivation. For an organization to have their profit measured in terms of how they impacted someone’s life or how successfully they distributed materials in a crisis situation is truly remarkable.

For this research project I would like to explore the inner-workings of non-profit organizations and its unique respective consumer insights and experiences. Through my investigation about non-profits I hope to discover how the operational facet of a non-profit works.

As a non-profit organization, it is crucial to be an entity that creates a sense of value for those individuals who decide to be a part of the organization through their donation of money or time.  In addition, concepts such as the Strategic Experience Modules still apply. How do we as an organization appeal to the individual’s desire for self-improvement or emotions of sacrifice? 

It is important to build trust with your client base so that people feel secure in knowing that their monetary contributions and efforts are being channel to a worthy cause. Thus, the anatomy of total customer experience is applicable to non-profits. How is one non-profit differentiated from another non-profit? Are there clear measures of integrity, value and efficiency within the structure of the organization?

Delving past the operational aspect of non-profits, it is important to create strategic experiences for the consumer. The mission of the organization needs to represented through the visual/verbal identity, spatial environment, web-sites/electronic media, and workers so trust for the organization is being built. 

Furthermore, the WSJ article titled "Helping Themselves" expands on some of the challenges non-profit organizations are facing and also how these organizations are trying to "use volunteer more creatively, garner new donations, strengthen ties with existing donors and create projects that generate additional income."http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124025204612335931.html

My interest for the non-profit realm of the business world was initially sparked by my involvement in a faith-based non-profit organization called Unity Fellowship. Our mission statement is to reach out and unite all of God’s children through praise, worship and fellowship. This organization was created to be a place for youths all across Houston to come and enjoy fellowship in a safe environment free from political or denominational differences. In addition, Unity Fellowship has been able to raise about $10,000 for various local and global charities. After two years of being an active member, I became a co-president at the young age of 15. Transitioning into college, I still had a heart for serving people, so I decided to apply for the Bridging Disciplines Program with a concentration in non-profits and social entrepreneurship in the health context. Also, I am currently on the founding executive board for a non-profit organization on campus called GlobeMed. As stated on the GlobeMed web page, “GlobeMed aims to strengthen the movement for global health equity by empowering students and communities to work together to improve the health of the impoverished around the world.” It will be interesting to compare and contrast my findings to how a student-led non-profit works.

In addition, this paper will enable me to build an informational-based foundation that will be used as a spring-board to delve into further study and understanding about the non-profit sector of the business world.

Consumer Experience

I could not agree more with the following statement:

“when we increase the value we provide to our customers, we can also increase the value they provide back to us”

The consumer experience is more than having a decorative store, calming music, or free samples. It is about creating an entire experience around your product or service so that the value of the product exceeds its monetary value. I believe it is a key marker of differentiation in the marketplace. For example, there are virtually thousands upon thousands of stores that sell clothing. But what makes certain stores more profitable than others? Initially, you may say price. Though price is one of the strongest indicators of value, customer experience is vital step in the purchase process and it greatly influences how the consumer perceives the brand. Wal-Mart is specifically constructed in a way that when consumers walk into the store they feel that they are getting a good bargain. Complete with white and blue vinyl floors, tall cases filled with a vast selection of inventory, bright lights and large signs with “roll-back” prices, Wal-Mart is creating a customer experience that is based on giving their consumers value by trying to seem that they sell their products at the lowest possible price point. In contrast, a consumer experience that made a lasting impression was  my experience shopping for sari’s and salvar’s in India. My parents are from the southern tip of India called Kerala. Kerela contains many different cities including the populous cities of Kottaym and Ernakulam. Deciding to go shopping in one of these major cities will turn out to be an entire day affair. After having the driver pick us up from my mother's house located in the rural jungles of Pathanvarum  in a family-sized TATA Sumo and catching a ride in n auto-rikshaw, we finally arrive at our first destination: Seematti Sari Store. Seematti is comprised of five floors of beautifully designed clothes ranging from bridal wear to men’s wear. As my family walks into the giant superstore, I look around see all of the elaborate Indian paintings, paisley encrusted clay jars, and the plush, royal couches. We were immediately greeted by the manager of the store and asked that we be seated next to a platform further into the store. In the picture, you can see how the platform is set up. The sales person stands on top of the “stage” and pulls different types of sari’s from the shelves behind them. As we were walking to our designated sitting spot, I am astounded at the number of customers and equally the number of people employed by Seematti. As we sit in front of our platform, a women jumps on top of the platform and begins analyzing my mother and I. We begin briefly describing the type of outfits we were looking for. The sales woman, smiles and prances towards the shelves and begins showcasing sari after sari after sari. While my mother and I were dissucussing our likes and dislikes of the selection being presented, another staff worker approaches us asks us for drink order. We both order hot chaiya (hot tea, similar to chai). While drinking our delicious chaiya’s, another staff worker asks if we would like some complementary snacks. We nod yes and within five minutes we were nibbling on our favorite Indian snacks which included samosas (triangular shaped, fried bread stuffed with potatoes, peas and carrots) and jalebi (fried dough coated with orange colored syrup). The quality of service was simply refreshing. Seematti’s goal to make the purchasing process enjoyable was remarkable. I could easily see how people who are not accustomed to such high quality service spend the entire day shopping. When people linger in the store longer, they are more inclined to purchase more products which means greater revenue for the store. Going to a sari store in India is much more than simply going to purchase a few items and return home, it is about enjoying a day in town, socializing with people at the stores, and enjoying great food. When you come back to the States and wear a sari, you immediately associate your product with the consumer experience you had in the sari store. 

Personas

Marketers must be constantly getting to the “root” of their consumer base. Starting with the most basic question such as who are the people who are using my product service? Why do they use my product? What about them drives their need or want to use my product? Is there something about their personal character which uncovers other potential consumer markets? Knowing who your consumers are is a crucial part of properly implementing an effective marketing program. When my company is losing market share and I am losing the amount of people who come into my store, I may be looking to target a new customer. If I change “the type of person” who I am directing my efforts to, I need to spend a substantial amount of time researching and exploring my new customer. In the article “Looking upscale, Wal-Mart begins make-over” published by the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart uses the concept of personas to change their target market. Wal-Mart’s share price was down 17% in the past year: thus, causing a definite business problem for the company. Unfortunately, “[Wal-Mart’s] sales at stores open at least a year, a key measure of retailing performance, have been lagging.” More specifically, the marketing objective of Wal-Mart is to increase the amount of people who come into the store resulting in an increase in sales. In the context of the article, Wal-Mart was originally targeting lower-income rural shoppers. Economic trends that are affecting Wal-Mart are due to the “country’s uneven economic recovery over the past couple of years [which has] benefited high-income Americans more than the traditional Wal-Mart customer, who values price over image.” After surveying Wal-Mart’s vast clientele, customer’s claimed that they were “starved for fashion.” Through these surveys, Wal-Mart reveals an unfilled niche in their consumers. Because Wal-Mart has most commonly been regarded as a company with “roll-back” prices, The consumer who Wal-Mart is now trying to target is identified by the name of Gracie. Gracie is “at least 25 and spend a high percentage of disposable income on fashion apparel.” Gracie adores fashion, yet she is on a budget. The position that Wal-Mart is trying to communicate to consumers is that they can now be regarded as a retail store that carries fashionable items which was spear-headed by the creation of “Gracie”. Furthermore, with the example of how important personas are as supported in the example of Wal-Mart, marketers must take the time to learn the most they can about their customer. If a marketer were creating a persona about me there would by some key insights to be taken into consideration such as:

·         Name: Jessica

·         Age: 20, College Student who is Business/ Pre-Med.

·         I am a born-again Christian. I hope to live my life that will bring God glory.

·         Ethnicity: South Indian, first-generation American. (Being Indian and first generation American is an important detail for marketers because it means that I grew up in a traditional, conservative household where the importance of God and hard-work were the foundation of my home. Products that have characteristics such as durability and are in a sensible price-range are attractive because of my cultural background.)

·           Interests: Indian dancing, singing and spending time with family. (Again, as a South Asian, my interests are driven by my cultural background. Generally, Indian families are very large and close-knit. For example, I have around 50 first cousins all around the world. So products that enable me to keep in touch with my family are very important.)

·         Family: Growing up in a household of two brothers, I enjoy playing and watching sports. I would not consider myself a “girly-girl,” but as a hobby I enjoy applying make-up for friends who are participating in weddings, engagements and prom/homecoming dances.

·         Apirations: I would like to use my resources and the knowledge I have obtained through school to impact people’s lives all across the globe whether it be through the medical field or working for a non-profit organization.

·         I value  the importance of hard-work and perverance,yet I enjoying having fun. I am not afraid to try new things and meeting new people.

In creating a suitable persona, marketers would need to flesh out the details of their customers to properly design a product that would clearly fill their needs or wants.

Industrial Design

As a business major at the McCombs School of Business, there are certain concepts that are reinstated in every course that I have taken. These concepts revolve around maximizing profit potential for the firm, decreasing expenses and increasing revenue. As supposed future CEO’s and CFO’s, we are trained to analyze how we can yield high earnings for our respective companies. So when Dr. Walls announced that we were going to here from someone who has a background in industrial design, I presumed that the lecture would be based on how one could manipulate a product to make it more appealing to consumers: thus, increasing revenues for a given company. When the first slide appeared on the screen, I paid close attention to all of Jeff’s titles. “Jeff Mulhausen, Designer, Thinker, Researcher, Strategist, Problem-Solver, Entrepreneur, etc.” At first, I was a little confused because I did not see the correlation between each of his titles. Intuitively, I did not see how someone who has a degree in industrial design can be deemed as problem solver. Before Jeff’s presentation, I perceived industrial design, or job’s with similar professional titles, to pertain to people who were strictly concerned with aesthetical features of a product.  I did not understand how selecting the color of a product or making a product look sleeker corresponded into being a problem solver. Furthermore, I could not see how one could solve any real problems while working under any component of design. Before this looming air of doubt began to manifest itself into utter disbelief, Jeff slowly but surely opened my eyes to see how design has a great role in the creation of a product or even the furtherance of a mission. Jeff began his presentation with a definition of industrial design which included a description that industrial design is  about “creating and developing concepts…optimiz[ing] function and value” and that industrial designers help in determining “how well a [product] functions.” I did not know that those who are in the field of industrial design had such key roles in all aspects of the product. In addition, Jeff continued the discussion by explaining three main steps that should be taken in order to design a product that can be useful in society. The process begins with problem seeking in which you look into the world around you and see how you can make a particular process easier or how you can create a product/service that can impact someone’s life. Essentially, you want to evaluate how you can use your capabilities to improve someone’s life. Next, you begin the problem solving phase in which you think about how to logically solve the problem. You start gathering data or background information and see if such a product/service currently exists in the market. Finally, you arrive at the implementation stage in which you turn your idea into a reality. The implementation is your solution to the posed problem. This process seems to be an effective way to create a product/service because it is simple yet equips an entrepreneur or a designer with all the necessary tools to begin their creation. Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, I was under the impression that industrial designers were only concerned in making sure that a  product looked pleasing to eye and that the product was jammed pack with numerous, yet often times, seemingly unnecessary bells and whistles. So, when Jeff explained that Dieter Rams, one of the key historical designers mentioned in the presentation, stressed the importance of simplicity, I was pleasantly surprised. Since a “good product should be one that can be used by the majority of people”, simplicity is crucial. Also, I was also pleased to hear that business success is now also translating into social benefit. Products such as the Life Straw and the TOM’s shoes prove that industrial design is not about creating more useless “stuff” rather it is using your capabilities to create a product that can improve someone’s life. Industrial design is not limited to the aesthetics of a product, but instead industrial design is a launching point to satisfy observed needs or even provide a solution for those with limited resources in developing countries.

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