Which business do you think have no competitor until now?
The U.S. Post Office has had a virtual monopoly for over 100 years until now. The advent and rapid rise of the Internet, e-mail and text messaging has now become a virtual competitor to USPS. It has severely affected the post office’s ability to break even. It is losing billions of dollars every year.
I'm planning to start a fresh vegetable delivery business with a budget of $15K. Can you help me decide what’s best to put the money into (transport, technology, etc.) and how/where to market the business (offices, residential, etc.)?
Hi I founded Online Vegetable and fruit store in Pune, India.I started with 8000 Rs. as investment and today I have monthly turnover of 400000 Rs. So money doesn't matter in this business to start, things which matters acc. to my experience listed below :1) Product Knowledge: You must have the knowledge of veggie n fruits in other to serve it to people. i.e variety, shelf life, shape n color2) Quality of products : Which is key in this business. Quality must b like people can store it at least a week.3) Service : Time is money so keep eye on time slot.4) Offers : People want discounts n it becomes trend now a days. Keep special offers for loyal n regular customers5) Price : Keep less margin initially in order to grab customer. Once impress n satisfied with quality n service they will pay u more.Try to design zero inventory model. Avoid storage. Store as less as possible. Start with small part of city n scale it step by step to all over city.In this type of business mouth to mouth publicity plays big role as it is daily need. Our till date records shown, your quality n service reduce a lot marketing budget. Instead of marketing we invest in quality n service.Keep website UI fresh, as it also matters.About your question here is Ans. 1) Invest more on logistics than technology.2) Fliers are best marketing medium to reach people whether it is office or residential. But try to focus more on residential customers. It always easy to target office customer but they are not loyal.All the best!!!
Why are business ethics important?
Repeat business is important to everyone. Unethical business practices means no clientelle base. It could also mean jail time.
What is the positive and negative impact of online shopping?
Base on my experience the positive is…you can buy stuff that not available at your local stores.A variety of choice to choose.Some online shops offer cheaper price.Easy, buy stuff only in a few click on your pc or smartphones, it convenient for people that always busy.Save time, money, energy, well you dont have to spent money on fuel or pay for the bus fare.Negative:Addictive, you might spent more money and buying stuff that not neccessary( i have seen a lot of ridiculous item for sale online), it another story if you are rich people.Your item/parcel get stolen or lost( happened to me many times and i got no refund).Item might be different from what you see on the online shops (this one is so annoying )Problem with the qualityThe shipping is too long, i used to buy stuff on aliexpress and sometimes it took 2 month for the item to arrive, but it was free shipping.Scam, i get scam a few times on ebay but im able to get back my money from paypal resolution center.Well theres a lot more but i can’t write all of it , its 1.50am now i should go to sleep, bye.
What is direct and indirect competition in marketing?
The word “competition” and its variants are quite misleading in marketingThe concern is “what competes with me for sales?”Quite often, it's not even another companySo let's step beyond direct and indirect for a complete picture of “if someone doesn't buy my product or service, what do they do?”There are 4 types of competition:Direct competition: where someone has a very similar product as an alternative to yours. Coke vs Pepsi. Ford Explorer vs Toyota Highlander vs Chevy Tahoe. Arguably competitive similar products.Indirect competition: Here the buyer solves their “problem” or grabs the opportunity with a different category of product. Here fitness equipment sales compete with gym memberships and diet programs. Or the Ford Explorer might compete with a large sedan or station wagon or a cross-over like the Ford Edge.Alternate Use of Funds: Very often, when you don't get the sale the money goes to another use altogether. Remodel my home vs Go to Europe on vacation. Buy a gun for hunting vs buy a high end salmon fishing rod.Inertia: in many categories, your competition is a consumer choice not to do anything. For example this is Home Security system’s biggest competition.To consider only direct and indirect is too narrow. I've worked with many, many clients whose competition is the last two.But companies get obsessed by the first two because they are easier to think about and to develop cool strategies around. But those are losing strategies if the most critical competition is the last two.
Why would a company in the U.S. change from labor-intensive processes to capital-intensive processes?
Labor intensive processes, obviously, involve lots of workers, with wages being a big part of production costs. This can lead to problems, finding/ keeping the right people, plus disputes, strikes,etc. Capital intensive e.g. oil industry, requires a large amount of, usually 'start-up', investment before the product returns profits. They probably feel investors are less fickle than workers, you can get investors world-wide, whereas labor , by it's nature , must be local. You pays your money, you takes your choice ! By and large capital intensive IS more profitable, compare oil companies against auto manufacturing for example, where auto makers must compete against lower labor costs in 3rd. world countries.
I'm bad at job interviews - am I hopeless?
I cant get a job because I cant BS my way through an interview. Ive always worked very hard in school, almost too hard compared to everyone else. I went to college in the hopes of finding a job to support myself on. My grades in college were very good and I graduated in 4 years with a marketing major. I was the first person in my family to go to college and I did everything I was "supposed to" like taking on internships for experience. But now, cold, hard reality has hit me: I cant get ANY job. Ive looked everywhere for almost 2 years, and I have applied for simple jobs like mail clerk, dishwasher, secretary, etc. I dont get calls for interviews 90% of the time. Very rarely, I will get a call and when I go to interviews, I have a very rough time. Interviews are my BIGGEST weakness - I cant BS very well when Im under pressure. So everyone rejects me. And I desperately need a job, my parents hate me because they think Im being "lazy" since I cant find a job. And I feel worthless and depressed already, the job situation takes my depression to a whole different level. Im stressed out constantly and desperate for a job because I know Im really behind everyone else who is my age now. Is there anything I can do? Is this all my fault - what did I do wrong?