College Kids Cannot Start Businesses...Or Can They?

While in college, students have a vast amount of resources to start up a business- should they desire, and a good amount try. Equipped with time, direct access to large amounts of quantitative/qualitative feedback, fresh concepts learned in class, and even mentors such as professors, faculty, and even other students themselves- it seems many more great start ups would come out of colleges.

But generally, this is not the case. So why is this? Despite so many resources students are exposed one would expect naturally for there to be more business start ups across the world.

According to blogger Greg Skloot in his post The StudentStartup Dilemma there is a common problem.

First off he said the problems were not from a lack of talent, drive, or resources*(cough). Rather they were a result of one underlying problem: they do not solve problems…

So what are some remedies to aid this issue, well here is what Greg suggested:

• Think Outside the Campus- A problem for a college student is different for the rest of the world.

• Use the Three Problem Points- "Does my problem cost people money? Does it cost pain? Are people                    seeking solutions?

• Gather a ton of feedback- The people are there and can be accessed in class, via social media, or countless other means. If you think you have and idea, get feedback.

• Build something quickly and see if people will use or pay for it- What better way to see if someone will buy a product or service than seeing if they will buy your product or service?

• Ignore the consumer-web giants like Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, etc.- Not everyone will be the kid who created Facebook from an algorithm written on a piece of glass at Dartmouth, so don't try to be. The truth is even the least cutting edge businesses: painting houses, mowing yards, babysitting- can be built into a profitable empire-so lets be practical.

In using these five points as references, Greg argued students will be able to check their logic and make sure their ideas could be sound business and not just…well a good idea.

Tangibilizing Your Company's Offering

In being a service predominant company, especially in IT, there can be a limited amount of tangibility offered to customers. Why does this matter?

Tangible clues provide direct evidence as to how the service is going to be for a customer. Don’t believe me? Compare the last experience you had in a 4 star restaurant vs. an old Hardees. Aside from the service itself, there are many differences in the setting such as the quality of the silverware, the seating, and also the bathrooms. If you went into the bathroom and noticed it was well kept, higher expectations will ensue for the service, now if it is the opposite and your sifting through sewage water- well the expectations will likely drop.

So where am I going with this? Well if you want your customers to have high perceptions of your business, give them solid tangible clues.

Here are some brief examples of tangible objects to keep updated:

• Brochures- Don’t spare expense with objects such as brochures- Keep them updated for customers
• Your Website-Your Company is as good as its website, remember that.
• Handouts- Whether it is mouse pads, t-shirts, or mugs. Have some promo materials to hand out to clients.
• Documented Service- Provide customers with a clear diagram of where your time is spent in delivering their service
• Clean Bathrooms- You get the idea

 As obvious as these may seem, many business owners lose sight of the experience they put their customers through, and all the aspects which can affect their overall perceptions of the experience. So in this case, sweat the small stuff, improve them, and benefit with more satisfied customers.

All the Hoot with HootSuite

In dealing with managing a company's social presence, especially in dealing with a smaller company dealing with less staff, it can be difficult handling all the different social media outlets. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube  Google+,...well you get the point- there are a lot of sites to manage. Dealing with log in passwords can be a hassle enough, let alone actually adding content and maintaining users engagement as well.

So what happened, well another website was built to make this process easier-and so it did.

The site is called HootSuite, the quintessential platform to use in order to manage every social media site one see's fit. Click the link to check it out: HootSuite.

What is the benefit in using this product? Well, for one it makes it easier with simply accessing one's multiple social networking sites simultaneously. However, the true value is being able to view comments, access analytics, and develop a sense of the engagement that viewers have in accessing your sites.

And as usual, another cool benefit is the price-Free. You can start-up a 30 day online free trial, then opt in for either the Free service or Paid Subscription which adds additional analytic tools and methods to gain more insight.

Despite my excitement, there are a few consumers who would speak out against the service-mainly when it comes to price. This is in large part due to the expense of generating reports from the data. Although this is an important consideration, in starting up and being content with the free service-these issues will not pose any problems financially, but will in turn provide less insight on your customers who view you. Check out what Ian Gray had to say.

What We Can Learn From Terrible Customer Service

Prior to My Experience
I have always considered myself an understanding consumer. Especially when it comes to service providers, in cases of accidents or faults on their end I am willing to comply and work with the provider as long as I receive some sort of solution. This patience I thought I possessed went out the window the day I got cable.

The Terrors of Comcast
After a month of using Comcast  I have come across countless problems, zero customer support, experienced more time waiting on the phone for automated support than I'd like to admit, and have developed a strong enough grudge to join the I Hate Comcast Page, here is what I learned from my experience.

1. Voice Automated Services Only Anger Customers As soon as my devices were installed, multiple issues arose in regards to starting up the service. After 45 minutes of navigating through voice automated options taking me through the same steps and no resolution, one kicked couch and a stubbed toe later my grudge had begun.
2. Non Transparent Pricing Hurts Customer Relations Despite the seemingly straightforward prices provided, as soon as the first bill was sent problems resulted. The lost cash in being overcharged can be recovered, unlike the 20 minutes on the phone in order to do so.
3. Never Sell to an Customer with an Unresolved Issue After waiting on the phone for 45 minutes the first words said to me by an actual Comcast worker involved selling me additional packages, needless to say I turned them down, in addition to any respect for the Comcast I had left.
4. Asking for Customer Feedback before the Problem is Resolved is Bad In the midst of my impatient wait to be served I received an automated message asking for customer feedback. Putting a customer on hold, extending the wait, then requesting feedback is not a very good strategy for keeping them happy.
5. Invest in Employee Training on Problem Solving In the instances I wasn't interpreting the extended automated options and cursing my wait over the phone, I was dealing with workers who were given limited power to help me with my problem, forced to transfer me, or at times simply hung up.

So what does all of this tell you about customer service? Invest in real people who can help with problems. Mistakes and service errors happen, and customers will understand that if they are dealing with helpful workers, however this cannot be received via automated services and result in the creation of...well I Hate Comcast Facebook Pages.

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Spotify- The Best Way to Listen

I have always heard great things about Spotify, a free online tool which allows users to listen to pretty much any song, album, or artist streamed for free to their computer.

Already using similar web services such as Pandora and Grooveshark I found little incentive to expand to an entire new tool and essentially disregarded its potential. After a few months of hearing how great it was, I broke down, and started up a free account.

So what do I have to say about it?Nothing but great things. Here's why:

1. Easy to Access- It took 10 minutes to download Spotify and setup before I was listening to the new                     Mumford and Sons Album.
2. Don't have to share- One of the largest turn offs for me initially was seeing what people were listening to on Facebook. Littering the news feed with songs beings listened to is not valuable to me. However, with the click of a check box this information share is prevented.
3. Extensive Music Library, Really- I could not believe the sheer amount of content available. Dr.Dre to the Beatles, Niki Minaj to the Temptations, it has it all.
4. Limited Ad Commercials-The advertisements are restricted to just Spotify promotions and barely intrusive at all. Aside from an occasional side banner and radio ad, they go unnoticed.
5. Free- As mentioned earlier, the site is free. Which is always a plus in my book.

So how can this be used by small business owners  Well the content is so vast there are hundreds of helpful libraries where one can access files on starting businesses, managing online presences, in addition to a variety of other tips.

So in case you haven't already, go online, set up an account, and get some free tunes going along with helpful business advice. Feel free to go ahead an thank Spotify for such a great gift to music.

Here is a link to some great headphones which will go along with your new found source of music, enjoy:
Klipsch S4

Say Hello to Online Price Customization, it's Here to Stay

In the Blog The Dilemma of Variable Pricing by author Marc Emmer, the fluctuations of demand and its effect on pricing in the contemporary markets is discussed. Marc explains how the way of the future lies in variable pricing in which services can be charged fluctuating prices based on quick changing demand.

Although Marc relates this to tangible services such as NBA games and Hotel services, a large industry which is going to be dominated by customized pricing is e-commerce.

In the article How deep are your pockets? found on the Economist's website, the matter software which can provide personalized online pricing is discussed. Here are some key points:

• Online retailers are able to determine which consumers are willing to pay higher prices

• In interpreting data purchased from firms and online cookies they can determine product tastes and preferences

• In using discount targeting firms can get 2 to 4x more money than assigning at random

• 6 out of the 10 largest online retailers use customized pricing software

So what does this mean?

Well, for a long time websites have been evolving to be more customer eccentric, product recommendations  customization abilities, and now price will be able to become more personalized as well. With all the data that is being collected, it is relatively easy to determine the price sensitivity of a customer towards specific goods, and now they are taking advantage of it. Meaning, two people can be purchasing the same good on an online store, but be charged two different prices because one receives a discount targeted to them to ensure a sale for the company,

Whether its fair or not is a different matter, whatever the case it is not price discrimination so it is here to stay.

Price Discrimination is nothing new, but regardless of the platform the effect can be seen as the same- see the book The Economics of Price Discrimmination