wikibuy.com

Learning with Natasha Rajan

The most valuable skill I have learned in this class is developing personas.  A persona is a fictitious character that marketers develop to represent a certain type of consumer.  In our group project we created Natasha Rajan, a first generation american millennial who is conflicted by the clash of her traditional upbringing and parents’ expectations with her aspiration to live her own life and make decisions based on her own rationale.  In order to truly understand Natasha, we created different types of social media accounts, including Twitter, Instagram, a blog, and Facebook, to truly understand the content she consumes and produces.  As a future marketer, I understand that empathizing with your consumer is one of the most important traits.  Personas are a tool that I will use to more strongly empathize with consumers and understand how to connect with them on a deeper level.  Currently, I am competing in the L’oreal Brandstorm case competition and have been developing a persona to understand our consumer more deeply.  Role playing as our persona Drake and analyzing the market and the Kiehl’s brand from his perspective has unleashed a number of very important insights.  The persona has become so deeply ingrained into our analysis, that we have decided to lead our presentation by introducing Drake and to tell the story through his eyes.  

The next most valuable skill I have learned in this class is gaining insights through generative circles.  Generative circles are a research method used to understand consumer values and motivations.  In our group project we used generative circles to generate insights on our target market’s loyalty in everyday life, towards specific types of products, and towards specific brands of products.  This process gained insights that helped us understand what loyalty meant to our target market and how what aspects we should emphasize in developing a new marketing plan for that consumer.  Through this method, we learned that our target market was deeply influenced by friends and family and had a passion for learning, both formally and informally.  These insights were significantly leveraged when designing our new offering, an addition to the mobile application which increased consumers’ ability to gain real-time information on products in target stores and allowed consumers to shop virtually with friends and family.  I think generative circles are useful because they uncovers consumers motivational foundations.  Rather than asking consumers specific questions that will be answered with their conscious thoughts, generative circles let you unveil more unconscious thoughts that can be tied into almost every decision they make.  

Although I believe the idea of soliciting feedback from the target consumers we interviewed could be very useful, I wish there was much more emphasis on this stage of the project.  In a real product development cycle, multiple iterations of prototyping and beta-testing with target markets would occur before releasing the product.  To more closely resemble this reality, I believe an entire new phase of the project should be added .  In this last phase, teams will be tasked with working with the individuals they interviewed to review their initial prototype and and solicit honest opinions about what works or not works.  Then, teams will use this feedback to alter components of their prototype before presenting it to class.  This phase will help teams incorporate more consumer insights, gain additional experience with proto-typing, and overall increase the value of the final offering.  Under the current standard, it’s easy for teams to overlook this portion of the project and miss out on feedback that is more constructive and relevant than any classmate or professor might be able to give you.  

At first, it seemed like there might be a lot of heated discussion amongst members of the group.  Although after a couple successful team meetings, it was obvious that the heated discussions were, in fact, extremely beneficial for the team and forced me and other team members to think about important areas from different perspectives.  At the end of the project, I was happy we had spent so much time in meta-level discussion regarding our persona and our idea, because it really helped us rationalize and justify the decisions we ended up making.  Working with a group also helped show me how other people would apply techniques learned in class different, such as the use of generative circles.  I would definitely say working with the group contributed to my learning and enjoyment for the project.  I was also very happy to have grown close to individuals that I hadn’t known before-- this is something I have not experienced as often in other classes.  The days that we got to work with our team in class and ask questions to our TAs and professor were also extremely beneficial.  It truly helped to hear their thoughts and explore areas that we hadn’t considered before.  My only feedback for the working with the professors/TAs process, would be that I thought more feedback should have been provided at the end of phases. There were a couple phases where my team didn’t really understand why we got the grade we got (even when it was a 10/10) and we wished that feedback resembled our in-class discussions more.  Overall the project was an extremely beneficial experience and one of the most educational in-class assignments I’ve had at UT.    

Ethics of Insights

Consumer data has become a cornerstone for every successful business in the modern age.  The power of turning gargantuan sets of complex data into useful information has revolutionized commerce by allowing companies to better evaluate successes, learn from failures, and more effectively plan and strategize for the future.  Companies have long understood the importance of using customer data to more effectively target consumers, but the evolution of powerful digital and online technologies which passively and actively extract this data have led many firms to reconcile their insights strategy.  Cookies, which emerged in the late 1990’s, were used as a means for companies to keep track of a customer’s interaction on its website by notifying the website of the user’s previous behavior.  Eventually this harmless technology was transformed into “tracking cookies”, which compile long-term records of individuals’ browsing histories across multiple website and give advertisers a more complete idea of how to target an individual consumers.  In the article, “They Know What You’re Shopping For” by Jennifer Valentino-Devries, this process is highlighted when analysis of the auto websites a consumer named Mr. Morar had anonymously visited were paired with his real name and studied by his local car dealer.  The use of tracking cookies have become a core part of online marketing strategies for many firms over the past half-decade, but new technologies which blend the physical and digital insights process like Bionic Mannequins represent the newest wave of insights technologies.  In Andrew Robert’s “Bionic Mannequins Spy on Shoppers to Boost Luxury Sales”, he details a new retail technology that features a camera embedded in the eye of a mannequin which feeds data into facial-recognition software to record age, gender, and race of consumers.  Revolutionary technologies like this prompt the question: At what point does extracting consumers information became unethical?

The argument for insights technologies and why our society is better with them rather than without is three-fold.  First, these technologies allow advertisers to become more effective at providing relevant information to consumers.  Decades ago companies had very few choices but to mass-blast consumers with advertisements over mediums such as the television and radio.  This practice often led to many consumers facing commoditized and often irrelevant advertisements on a daily basis.  The information provided by these insights technologies have enabled advertisers to significantly reduce the noise associated with mass-blast advertisements and show consumers only products and services that are relevant to them-- products and services that can actually help them.  Second, these technologies allow many amazing and useful internet services to be provided free-of-cost to consumers.  Companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, which provide free services to hundreds of millions of people every day for free, can operate because of the money they make off of advertisements.  In 2013, close to 97% of Google’s Revenues were associated with online advertisements.  Without technologies that effectively leverage information from consumers, these companies would arguably have to charge their consumers for their offerings, or worst, shut down completely.  Aside from the aforementioned large internet firms, many small local businesses are able to succeed because of the success their limited online advertisement presence has from targeted ad technologies.  Finally, many firms argue that these tracking technologies gleam only basic information from consumers and always keep their identity protected.  Valentino-Devries notes that although the definition of “anonymous” has shifted over time, advertisers still practice a high level of anonymity by removing, protecting, or separating personal identity information from browsing histories.  

Although there are many benefits of advertisers’ ability to track insights, there are also serious downfalls and ethical questions.  First, although every company says it does its best to protect consumers’ personal identity information, hard facts show otherwise.  In Valentino-Devries article, she states, “A Wall Street Journal survey of 50 popular websites, plus the Journal's own site, found that 12 sent potentially identifying information such as email addresses or full real names to third parties.”  This information leakage causes a multitude of different problems ranging from unwanted and unprecedented advertisements to criminal purposes such as fraud.  Gathering data on consumers is a practice many consumers and firms have come to accept, but the risk of private information leaking has caused many consumers demand that firms be more transparent with their data policies.  Next, many people question how relevant this information is to advertisers and if its worth the massive efforts taken to extract it.  The internet allows consumers the luxury to “window-shop” on a scale unlike any before.  Many consumers spend hours browsing for products and services that they can’t afford merely because they are interested.  In turn, the insights gleaned from these habits often portray a consumer that is very aspirational and not a very accurate representation of who he or she really is and what he or she might be interested in.  Finally, advertisements that are fueled by these insights have created a lot more noise than there once was.  Sure these advertisements are more relevant and effective, but because my information can be accessed through my phone and computer, I am no longer safe (from advertisements) in my own home.  Consumers have already become remarkably skilled at tuning-out advertisements, highlighting their aversion to advertisements.

Online advertising and collecting user data has become so crucial to the success of the internet that it is pointless to sit here and say these practices shouldn’t exist.  Firms and politicians must now work together to ensure that this information can be used safely.  The important practice to emphasize moving forward is accurately separating personal identity information from everything else.  Politicians need to crack down on the expectations set forth for firms gathering personal information and tune out the commercial lobbyists who keep these standards lax.  Not only should standards for tracking insights be more highly regulated, firms should also explore the opportunity to reward consumers for agreeing to share personal information.  SafeWay, CVS, and many other traditional retail stores have used loyalty cards to gather information on customers for the past decade.  Consumers rewards?  Discounts.  This practice can undoubtedly be utilized better in the digital environment.  Online business could offer consumers premium benefits or discounts in return for personal information, perhaps even richer than the information already gleaned from tracking cookies and other tools, that could help them better plan for and target their consumer.  By increasing transparency and actually negotiating directly with the consumer, firms can gather more relevant information to their advertising needs and do it in an honest manner.      

Visualizing Insights

Sidecar: A Cheap, Reliable, and Effective Travel Alternative

Sidecar is an “on-demand peer-to-peer rideshare community”.  Normal people, like you and me, can sign up to be drivers to gain extra income during times of leisure.  These approved drivers create a network from which people in the city can access for on-demand rides.  The entire service is provided over a mobile application that allows people in need of a ride to see real-time locations of available drivers in their area and estimated time of pickup, view ratings of different drivers in the city, and pay for the ride (often at a much lower price than a taxi) virtually.  Sidecar pays its drivers a flat rate plus gas and keeps all of the “donations” received from the service.  The company operates somewhere between the taxi-cab industry and the emerging “shared services” industry.  Although peer-to-peer shared services have only recently begun emerging, Sidecar faces competition from Uber and Lyft.  Uber offers the same experience through a mobile application, but has its own fleet of vehicles and employees and also only offers rides from upscale vehicles.  Lyft also offers users the experience through the mobile application, but like Sidecar, it’s rides are sourced from people who drive their own vehicle and only when they want.  

Sidecar is one of the many peer-to-peer shared services that I have become fascinated with in the past few years.  As a technology enthusiast, I am constantly exploring disruptive products and services and have become particularly interested in the shared services moment.  HomeAway, Airbnb, Munchery, Lyft, and Sidecar and other emerging peer-to-peer shared services are disrupting traditional industries such as property rentals, car rentals, and food and drink.  The primary reason I am fascinated by these new technologies is their ability to optimize individuals’ lives by allowing them to extract more value from their present resources.  As an efficiency freak, it has often bothered me when I have had to make a significant investment in things I need, but know I will not use often.  I obsess over efficiency because I grew up in a low-income household and was taught from an early age that being wasteful is wrong.  As college students, we are faced with the eternal debate of whether it is worth having a car on campus or not.  The debate usually ends in students succumbing to having a car on campus and paying absurd parking fees, because when you need a car, well, you REALLY need a car.  As a future consultant, I know that I will usually be traveling more than half of the week and away from my home.  Even as this is so, I want to move into a nice apartment downtown because, well, I will finally be a real adult with real income and goddamnit I want to live like one.  Although, deep inside I cringe knowing that half of the $1000+ a month I pay for my apartment will be wasted while I am away for work.  With services like Sidecar and Homeaway, I can now increase the value I received from my resources by allowing others to use them.  We live in a consumerist culture where people spend absurd amounts on items they don’t always need, but as these emerging services penetrate other areas of our lives, there is extreme potential to reduce waste in the world.  

Sidecar’s fast, cheap way of getting around town is appealing to many customer segments.  The first is students.  The aforementioned debate of having a car on campus or not could potentially come to an end with this new efficient and cheap way of travel.  The value proposition for students is Sidecar as a low cost alternative to having a car.  The next customer segment is people who are going out for the night.  One of the biggest hassles of going out in any city is scrambling to find a safe ride to and from your destination.  Additionally, cabs are extremely unreliable and are subject to being stolen by other people looking for a ride.  The value proposition for people going out is the safety and reliability provided by Sidecar.  Another great customer segment is people who live in large cities with poor infrastructure for cars.  San Francisco and New York city, where these services have exploded, are two strong examples of areas where people often choose not to have a car due to the hassle associated with using it.  The value proposition for city dwellers is the cost, speed, and efficiency offered by Sidecar as an alternative to having a car.  

Sidecar has innovated in many areas on the Business Model Canvas.  A few of Sidecar’s customer segments, such as students who need rides for things such as going to grocery store, are segments that have traditionally been attractive to taxi cab companies.  Its value proposition is unique in the sense that it offers a reliable, cheap, and timely travel alternative, which are attributes that have not been commonly associated with traditional competitors.  By offering rides through a mobile application, Sidecar has also innovated the channels through which customers can order and pay for a ride.  Because customers’ and drivers’ information is stored through the mobile application, Sidecar has also innovated by allowing customers to see who the best drivers are and drivers to see who the best customers are.  Sidecar has created customer relationships in a space where there usually has been none.  Sidecars’ key resources are also new and creative, because its service is sourced by employees who opt in whenever they want to and thus, do not receive benefits and do not need to be managed.  Sidecar has revolutionized travel in a number of ways and is a primary example of a business who is adapting to its customers needs to provide a better offering.   

Generative Research

What I can’t live without

Computer: I use the computer to access the internet which allows me to listen to communicate with peers and colleagues, gather news, and stay up to date on new music and movies.  All of these activities are very much so at the center of my life.

Food: Food is one of my favorite things in the world and provides an important creative outlet and means of relaxation in my life.  

Floss: I am borderline OCD about flossing.  Whenever I run out of floss, I become anxious and feel like the rest of my day is out of sync.

What I care about:

Nature: Being outdoors is a very important part of my general happiness during the week.  After spending a few days primarily indoors, I become anxious and feel like I am being trapped in.  

Bed: My bed is the item in my life that reminds me most of home.  As I have moved from apartment to apartment every year, It is the only homely item that has been with me for the past four years.  I make serious effort to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.   

Blogs and Forums:

I use blogs and forums, specifically Reddit and Hacker News, because it is a source credible user-generated content.  Because of the ranking system, the sites only allow articles that are mutually agreed upon by the community as credible.  Because the content is often generated from users and not a for-profit media source, I trust that the articles and comments on them are representative of all opinions.  

Twitter and Facebook:

I use social media as a primary means of gathering information for a few reasons.  First, because this information is shared through a group of people who are my friends, I can often be confident that it will be worth the investment taken to consume it.  Next, Twitter, and Facebook to some extent, lets you directly tailor what people and sources of news you want to see on your feed.  This control allows me to further ensure that this news is relevant to my interests and beliefs.  Finally, because this information is user-generated, it often provides stories and insights before major media corporations can crank an article out.  

Online Video:

Video is source of media that introduces the elements of imagery and sound.  Being able to consume information through video and audio makes the process much more enriching than plain-text.  Video also ingrains the information in my head more strongly because it prevents me from consuming the information hastily such as when I am reading too quickly.   

Skylar's Journey to Finance

Journey  Map: Finance

CHILDHOOD

Skylar grew up helping out at one of the many Aaron’s furniture stores his family owned in Tyler, Tx.  As he began to apply to colleges during his senior year of highschool, Skylar’s childhood exposure to a small business piqued his interest in attending McCombs.  In addition to being relevant to his childhood, Skylar was a competitive student and was drawn to the business school at UT because of its prestige.  As a future Finance major, Skylar believed he would develop the quantitative skills necessary to run his own successful business one day.  After he was accepted into McCombs, Skylar’s confidence in his decision to study Finance in college was solidified.  Skylar resumed his life as a lazy college senior and spent the rest of the year either sprawled out asleep in the back of his chemistry lab or on the football field.  

ROLE MODELS

 As a competitive person, Skylar knew the importance of getting involved in academic organizations on campus.  When he was selected as part of the Freshman class for the Undergraduate Business Council (UBC), Skylar was exposed to a network of highly successful upperclassmen. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and the Boston Consulting Group, were just a few of the hallmark brands the UBC seniors boasted.  Like many bright-eyed and snot-nosed freshmen, Skylar was silently coerced into believing banking and consulting were the only acceptable career routes.  As he tried to emulate these upperclassmen, Skylar’s confidence in Finance, and Business Honors, as a major grew exponentially.  Instead of learning more about the major itself, Skylar let the apparent success of those influencers around him mold his future.  Due to the fact that most students don’t begin taking major-related classes until junior year, Skylar was able to claim the title as “Finance” major and follow the footsteps of those before him with very little conflict.             

AN EXCUSE TO GO TO SCOTLAND

During the summer after his sophomore year, Skylar decided he wanted to gain experience abroad.  Since the LEB Scotland trip was one the only summer abroad programs offered in the Business school, Skylar joined despite his lack of interest in Law.  After a summer of talking like William Wallace and drinking copious amount of beer, Skylar became decided he wanted to investigate a career in Business Law.  As a Finance major, Skylar rationalized that he would develop the holistic view of business required for Law more effectively than as one of the other majors.  Unfortunately his dreams of yelling “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH” in an old, mahogany court house were destroyed after attending law career fairs and speaking with tenured professionals.  After realizing that Law was not right for him, Skylar considered consulting as a profession because of it’s broad exposure to business.  Skylar’s confidence in studying Finance quickly shot back up as he realized this major would give him the best shot at consulting interviews.  

THE SUMMER OF SYNERGIES

After spending a summer racking up frequent flyer points and mindlessly repeating words like “synergies” and “apples-to-apples”, Skylar began his senior year of college debating whether a life in consulting is right for him.  He came back thinking that Finance had adequately prepared him to excel in consulting and knew that he was too far down the rabbit hole to change majors anyway.  During his senior year, Skylar had more opportunity to take Finance classes, like Real Estate and Entrepreneurial Finance, that he was genuinely interested in.  In retrospect, Skylar agrees that attaining a Finance degree from McCombs was the right move and ultimately flagged him as a very marketable college graduate.