MBA Geek

It’s interesting to see how new products evolve, sometimes out of innovation, sometimes out of a gap in the market. It’s particularly interesting when the gap in the market is artificial, created by legislation that couldn’t even have been conceived a few years earlier. Take for example, the e cigarette market. It’s highly unlikely that unless legislation was created that stopped people from smoking indoors, this market would never have really materialised. Instead today, the market is booming and new products keep getting developed all the time to extend it.

I’ve never really seen one of these, but I’m curious to think what a real smoker thinks of them. Are the adequate in times of need, or are they just a fad?

There’s a lot in the news today about the profit that energy companies are making. Now, while it’s fine for companies to make profit, the man in the street takes a dim view of companies that make exorbitant profit and his expense. And this is just how this energy profit is seen. Wholesale prices have dropped, while retail prices have stayed pretty much level and consumers are feeling cheated by what has happened.

Perception is a very strong thing, and just like you need to do employee screening before you hire someone new, it’s always worth keeping an eye on public perception. your PR team should know all about this, so I’m surprised these big companies have been caught out like this.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of eSmart Tax. All opinions are 100% mine.

Here’s an interesting promotion that’s being run by an American Tax filing company called E-smart tax. They have a product that lets people file their tax returns online walking you through all the steps that are needed, collecting your information and preparing all the forms you need to submit. They have a number of different offerings ranging from Basic service which is free, all the way to a Signature service that includes tax advice and actual time from a Tax Professional. As I said, the Basic service lets you file for free, but they’re introducing a promotion to make the Deluxe offering available for some people.

So, how do you know if you’re eligible for the free Deluxe service? All you have to do is answer one question “Is your last name Johnson?”. Yup, they’re making the product available for free to anyone who’s last name is Johnson, which is apparently the 2nd most common name in the USA, with more than 2 million people fitting into this bracket. It’s an interesting spin that will definitely get people talking .. especially if their surname is Johnson; and it’s one way to introduce your product to a cross-section of the population spread all around the country. So, now that you know that Johnsons file free, the question I have for you is: Are you a Johnson?

Have you ever considered that your clients may get the wrong idea of what your business is all about? Perception is pretty important and the impression that clients get of you can be tantamount to getting new business. Whether you’re talking about your store front, or even something as simple as your office supplies, all aspects that your clients meet should have a consistent image that reinforces your brand.

Can you think of any good examples of this?

I went to an interesting talk earlier this week and I was introduced to an interesting personality matrix called Firo-B. It stands for Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation and is theory useful for analysing interpersonal relationships. It’s based around three different criteria which are Inclusion, Control and Affection, where people exhibit both Expressed and Wanted traits. Different people operate across different measures of these scales and it was interesting to see how these factors affect people’s behaviours.

It was interesting to see how different personality traits will affect behaviour. Obviously, these are all intrinsic factors, but there are others that also take their toll. The interesting thing is how you can apply these ideas to marketing. Say you’re trying to sell the best acne treatment around. You can appeal to different people based on their behaviour and what they’re looking for. You may consider it all psycho-babble, but if it can help you market your product better, it’s worth taking a look.

How many brands can you list off the top of your head? Well, I’m sure there will be quite a few in the list of Top 100 Best Global Brands of 2009. The last on the list if Campbells, but you might be interested to know the top 10 which are:

• CocaCola
• IBM
• Microsoft
• GE
• Nokia
• McDonalds
• Google
• Toyota
• Intel
• Disney

It’s interesting to see just how many technology firms there are in the list. You’re probably not going to find mundane items like companies selling FMCGs or fat burner in the list; the companies that make it have to be on everyone’s lips; so it’s a pretty prestigious list.