Blog - page 59

Social Media changes the way consumers interact with organizations

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 16, 2019 Business
Social media has changed the way people review and recommend products and organizations. It has changed the way we interact with organizations. How we get help and report issues. If used right social media can boost an organization’s reputation. An organization can post news and initiatives that promote a good image. It can increase the transparency of organization. Since social media is incredibly fast organizations also have less control of what gets out there. Organizations may have policies that do not allow employees to post to social media however employees can post about their organization using anonymous accounts to get the word out. Organization information can be leaked and once it is out there it is there to stay, be coped, forwarded and re-tweeted. Rumors spread. Consumers can backlash. Consumers use social media to talk about the brands they use, like or dislike. They rant. They blame. It is important...

Servant leadership

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 16, 2019 Leadership
The servant leader’s first priority is to serve the organization. They put the needs of the organization and their followers before their own. They assist their followers to grow both personally and professionally. Leaders encourage trust between themselves and their followers. Unlike traditional management style which uses different types of power the servant leader shares power through collaboration. Leaders must have good vision of where the business is going. They provide goals for people to focus and this gives them a sense of purpose. Servant leadership style is my favorite leadership style. I like how it treats the follower in a homeopathic way by treating the whole person.

Sabotage of change initiative

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 16, 2019 Business
A change initiative may face many possibilities of resistance, among the greatest possible resistor is sabotage. Sabotage, occurs when someone tries to make the change fail on purpose and it happens more often than you think. In any change initiative there can be many stakeholders involved. The change agent must perform a stakeholder analysis to determine all those who have a stake in the initiative and what their level of power toward the impact of the project. The change agent must be aware of the motivations of each of the stakeholders. The knowledge of each stakeholder’s interest in the project, as well as the power they can provide. The key stakeholders are those with great power and interest as they can change the initiative on a whim. A disgruntled employee who may have low power and low interest can be a thorn in the initiative, the change agent must be...

Companies need to monitor their online presence

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 16, 2019 Strategy
For the last few years, online shopping has taken off but with smart devices, local presence has become important. Google search ranks results of local higher and it is based on the location of the user. In fact, many websites and applications are asking the user to reveal their location to give a better experience. Business must be aware of their online presence. How their website appears and functions on a user’s device. Mobile technology is thriving. In developing markets, the use of mobile technology is far easier since there is no setup of the entire infrastructure. It is likely in these markets that online browsing and shopping will be done on a mobile device. Social Media such as Twitter and Facebook give another medium for customers to give feedback whether it is wanted or not. Businesses must pay attention to what others are saying about their business and brands....

Focus group for market research

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 15, 2019 Business
A focus group is a research technique to collect feedback from a small group of people. It is done in a group discussion where group members respond to questions given by the researcher/group moderator. It allows for the collection of qualitative data. A survey for example is designed to get large number of responses to often closed ended questions where respondents pick from set answers. This gives numbers that can be charted and analyzed to get a representation of a larger group. Focus groups on the other hand delve deeper to expand on issues. When used for market research it allows for collecting people’s view, understanding, attitudes and behaviors of the chosen topic. The group members, up to ten people, are a selected group of people who have experience of the topic. The researcher has chosen these individuals as they have met the target requirements of the type of members...

Empowering people to meet their higher needs

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 15, 2019 Leadership
Empowerment falls under transformational leadership. Empowerment is different from traditional management. Instead we are trying to develop people in to high level critical independent thinkers. Followers that are able to think outside of the box. They are capable of great innovation and creativity. Followers that have a sense of purpose and are aligned with the goals and values of the organization. We are trying to create new leaders. Leaders allow followers to take risks and get their hands dirty, which helps them to carve out a place in for themselves in the organization. Leaders through open communication and providing constructive feedback ensure that followers are in positions that are appropriate to their skill set as well as their personal goals. Leaders can seek lasting change for the organization over the long term. Advantages of empowerment for the individual follower is they can grow and develop ion the career and their...

Consumer behaviour – decision making process

Darryl Bachmeier Mar 15, 2019 Business
Consumers make their decisions of what products to buy and what factors have lead them to make their decisions. In order to be successful companies must try to understand all that they can about how consumers make buying decisions. They must also know how to segment consumers into groups that are most likely to buy certain products. Culture, subculture, group associations all have varying degrees of influence on our decision making process. We pick up new behaviours and attitudes from those we associate with. One of the first groups to set our orientations is the family group. As we go through life our attitudes, beliefs and values change. Major life events can cause us to increase our spending on products or services we may never think we needed. When it comes to making decisions we can make both rational and irrational decisions. Consumers usually follow methodical methods to determine their...