Customer Value Essay

Customer Value can be explained in simple terms by knowing the difference between what the customer gets from the product/service and what he or she has to exchange in order to get it (may be money). It is very important for any company in the market to understand this difference; if failed to do so, this can be one of the biggest reasons for the product/service failure in the market. According to many researchers, in this ever growing world of technology and social media the organization’s inability of establishing unique and convincing value to their products/services is the main reason for its failure. Keeping its importance in mind, many companies tries to understand what is their customer valuing. However, this can also be one of the most difficult things to understand. There are many factors causing it to be difficult for the marketers overcome this issue. However, for this task we will focus 3 main aspects. Firstly, every customer values different product/service differently. It might be situational or might be only for a definite period of time. Secondly, the market itself! Technology and economic nature change the pace of the global market. With the competition aggressive as never seen before, it is important for the marketers to change their strategies with the ever changing market. Thirdly, some internal factors which make it difficult for organization to bring in customer value. Gist of Customer Value No one has made it clearer of this word â€Å"Customer Value† concisely than Lamb et al. (2008, 2009) who wrote, â€Å"Customer Value is the relationship between benefits and the sacrifice necessary to obtain those benefits. Which means – if a product is of very good quality and is only obtained by paying a very high price will not be considered as of value by the customers, just like a low quality product which can be purchased for cheap price; but a value of a product is only seen by a customer when the quality of the product meets their expectation at an affordable price. Let’s take an example of coffee; some people love to drink coffee at Starbucks which may cost $10 and some people like to drink coffee from a local coffee shop which may only cost $4. Now, people who drinks coffee at Starbucks expects them to use premium offee beans (Arabica) which tastes better and so are willing to pay $10 which worth (value) for Starbucks customers. On the same note, people who drink coffee at local coffee shop might just need to satisfy their caffeine addiction and they feel that it is worth for the price they pay. According to Butz and Goodstein (1996), a customer value is the emotional bond between the customer and the company (service/product provider) developed by means of the used service/product. The emotional bond is only developed when the service/product meets the customer’s expectation. Different researchers have defined â€Å"customer value† in different ways but it all revolves around words like â€Å"benefits†, â€Å"satisfaction†, â€Å"expectation† and â€Å"worth†. If a company who wants to understand â€Å"customer value† for their product/service they need to understand more about these words with respect to their customers. But it is not as easy as it seems. Perhaps, even in dictionaries it’s difficult to find synonyms for these words because these words depend on situations. Challenges for marketers For companies to operationalize â€Å"customer value† in marketing their product can only be done by learning their â€Å"customers† and â€Å"market†. These terms can be very challenging to learn or to understand because of its diverse nature. * Customer’s change is inevitable Customer’s needs or wants can be situational. Different customers can seek same products/service for variety of needs. Vodaphone has a pre-paid mobile plan that allows customers to make international calls at a cheaper rate and also allows making free calls to local Vodaphone customers. As an international student I choose this plan to make international calls at a cheaper rate but my friend who is a local chooses the same plan because most of his friends are Vodaphone users. Further to this, a customer’s needs may change with change in their circumstances. Just like, if I secure a part-time job which gets me constant income, I will consider changing my mobile plan to post-paid service which has more offers. Customer’s needs are dynamic and can change over time. We humans have different needs at different age. Products brought by a person from a shopping mall will be different when he was single and when he gets married and more so when he’s a father. (Don Peppers & Martha Rogers, 2010) It is difficult to predict or to foresee these changes in the same customer with the change in situation. At every point of time, customers are trying to actually achieve their needs for that point of time (Hultink and Atuahene-Gima, 2000). There is no single system to understand or to foresee customer’s need and to categorize them. Marketers should learn their customer’s needs beforehand to make their product valuable to their customers. To achieve this, organizations needs look at their products/services through customer’s point of view (Don Peppers & Martha Rogers, 2010). As the changes in customer’s situation can be quiet fast, organizations needs to be quick in changing their strategies and innovations to meet their ever changing customers. Technological drawbacks Climbing the technological ladder too quick might pull down the organizations efforts in boosting customer’s value for a service/product. An excellent customer service is very important to maintain or to boost the value of the product/service with regards to customers. Traditional human to human interactions have been replaced by human to machine interactions by the help of technology. These changes force customers to embrace self-service technologies which can create discomfort among some low-tech savvy customers (Parasuraman, 2000). There may be customers with limited knowledge in technology or may not be willing accept the technological introduction (Walker, Lees, Hecker and Francis, 2002). Almost everyone has experienced this scenario when they call a customer service center of telecommunication provider. The call keeps bouncing to different automated machines and still our problems are not solved until we speak to a customer service executive. Similarly, online banking system with tight security measures some people still prefer to visit banks personally for some services. This is because either the customers are not willing trust these technological services or lack of knowledge to use these services. Secondly, Internet world made it easier for customers to compare the quality, product/service details, and cost of same/similar product from different companies (Bakos, 1997 & Lynch & Ariely, 2000). Customers can comfortable get information about the various products using internet at home without physically going to the market (J. Nielsen, 2000). This increases the competition exponentially and any company is vulnerable to this situation if they do not keep up with the hanging market trends. Companies have to constantly indulge in innovation that meets their customer’s expectation and introduce strategies to keep the customers excited about their current and upcoming product. Even a speculation of an upcoming product of the competitors can adversely affect the company’s current product in the market. Like the speculation of Samsung III (latest mobile phone) with more and better specifications tremendously reduced the sales of iphone 4s current product, even to a point that the recently released iphone 5 didn’t reach its expected sales mark. Barriers within Organizations Every organization has its own culture and employees working will be very comfortable with those culture. This culture may not be aligned with the ever changing customer’s expectations and needs. Using their own employees, organization tries to understand their customer’s needs by merely guessing it. By doing so, organizations come up with customer’s needs through employee’s perspective (or sales point of view) and not customer’s perspective. Now this â€Å"guessed† customer’s needs might be exactly opposite to what the organizations actual customer’s needs. This creates a difference between the customer value and service/product offered, which in turn results in unsatisfied customers (Woodruff, 1997). Example, Kodak Company was reluctant to change with the change in the market and customer’s needs. Customers were finding it easier to use a digital camera over a film based camera. However, Kodak Company expected its customers to use film based cameras which are not user friendly. This gradually resulted in Kodak losing its customer base to its competitors those who embraced to this change in era. Now even if the organization decides to move towards the customer’s needs by proper findings and learning their customers. It depends on managers to implement these finding in marketing their product and also in future products. Managers might be too busy with their normal duties to implement the learning on customer value. Thus the adapting to change becomes a problem when it is not in line with the introduction of new information on market change and their customers. This can also happen when the organization is reluctant to continuously train their employees on the market and customer variations. Conclusion:  There are many other factors such as market variations, globalization, wide variations in customer’s psychology, brand image etc. that makes it challenging for a marketer to show value to customers in their products/services. Theodore Leavitt of the Harvard Business School explained this idea by saying that â€Å"The customer is not interested in a quarter-inch drill. Rather the customer is interested in a quarter-inch hole†. By understanding the results preferred by the customer, an organization can invest its marketing and innovation in the right direction for the customers to achieve their desired results.

Free Essays on The Rise Of Divorce (CAUSE AND EFFECT)

Proven by recent studies, the marriage rate has fallen thirty percent and the divorce rate has increased forty percent. Of all marriages, divorce rates sit very close to fifty percent. In today’s society, it seems almost normal to get a divorce, or to know of someone who is in the process of one. Divorce can be caused by the committing of adultery by one partner or both, rushing into marriage, two people simply growing apart, or ultimately, marriage not being taken seriously in the first place. Affairs seem to be a regular happening today in the United States. One person, or even both partners in the marriage can be guilty of such a sin. The bible labels adultery as a considerable means for divorce but obviously does not suggest that either divorce or adultery should take place. Most commonly, opinions towards adultery are extremely negative prior to any sort of an encountering of it. People quickly jump to say, when asked their opinion on subject, that there is no reason for an affair to occur under any circumstances and that they would never allow it from their partner. In an actual situation, though, some might excuse an affair under specific conditions, some may forgive it and forget it, and very few others may actually get a divorce. This may be why Maggie Gallagher has stated that â€Å" 80% of all divorce rates of this country (the U.S.) are unilateral, rather than mutual decisions.† Gallagher emphasizes the popularity of blame placed on one partner, rather t han on both for the cause of a divorce. Falling in love is noted imaginable by some and very real to some others. Regardless of it’s being, falling in love is heard to happen commonly among teenagers. What sometimes happens when relating to marriage is that two people may feel they are in love with one another just two months after meeting and end up rushing into marriage. Marriage was considered a very sacred entity, once upon a time. Once the ceremony was performed... Free Essays on The Rise Of Divorce (CAUSE AND EFFECT) Free Essays on The Rise Of Divorce (CAUSE AND EFFECT) Proven by recent studies, the marriage rate has fallen thirty percent and the divorce rate has increased forty percent. Of all marriages, divorce rates sit very close to fifty percent. In today’s society, it seems almost normal to get a divorce, or to know of someone who is in the process of one. Divorce can be caused by the committing of adultery by one partner or both, rushing into marriage, two people simply growing apart, or ultimately, marriage not being taken seriously in the first place. Affairs seem to be a regular happening today in the United States. One person, or even both partners in the marriage can be guilty of such a sin. The bible labels adultery as a considerable means for divorce but obviously does not suggest that either divorce or adultery should take place. Most commonly, opinions towards adultery are extremely negative prior to any sort of an encountering of it. People quickly jump to say, when asked their opinion on subject, that there is no reason for an affair to occur under any circumstances and that they would never allow it from their partner. In an actual situation, though, some might excuse an affair under specific conditions, some may forgive it and forget it, and very few others may actually get a divorce. This may be why Maggie Gallagher has stated that â€Å" 80% of all divorce rates of this country (the U.S.) are unilateral, rather than mutual decisions.† Gallagher emphasizes the popularity of blame placed on one partner, rather t han on both for the cause of a divorce. Falling in love is noted imaginable by some and very real to some others. Regardless of it’s being, falling in love is heard to happen commonly among teenagers. What sometimes happens when relating to marriage is that two people may feel they are in love with one another just two months after meeting and end up rushing into marriage. Marriage was considered a very sacred entity, once upon a time. Once the ceremony was performed...

DLL and ActiveX Controls From a Delphi Application

DLL and ActiveX Controls From a Delphi Application A popular feature of Delphi  is the project deployment of an application with an executable file (exe).   However, if the DLL or ActiveX controls in your project are not registered on the users’ machines, an â€Å"EOleSysError† will be displayed in response to running the exe file.  To avoid this, use the regsvr32.exe command-line tool. RegSvr32.exe Command Manually using regsvr32.exe (Windows.Start - Run) will register and unregister self-registerable   DLL and ActiveX controls on a system. Regsvr32.exe instructs the system to attempt to load the component and call its DLLSelfRegister function. If this attempt is successful, Regsvr32.exe displays a dialog indicating success. RegSvr32.exe has the following command-line options:   Regsvr32 [/u] [/s] [/n] [/i[:cmdline]] dllname /s - Silent; display no message boxes /u - Unregister server /i - Call DllInstall passing it an optional [cmdline]; when used with /u calls dll uninstall /n - do not call DllRegisterServer; this option must  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   be used with /i   Call RegSvr32.exe Within Delphi code To call the regsvr32 tool within Delphi code, use the â€Å"RegisterOCX† function to execute a file and wait for the execution to finish. This is how the RegisterOCX procedure could look: procedure RegisterOCX; type TRegFunc function : HResult; stdcall; var ARegFunc : TRegFunc; aHandle : THandle; ocxPath : string; begin try ocxPath : ExtractFilePath(Application.ExeName) Flash.ocx; aHandle : LoadLibrary(PChar(ocxPath)); if aHandle 0 then begin ARegFunc : GetProcAddress(aHandle,DllRegisterServer); if Assigned(ARegFunc) then begin ExecAndWait(regsvr32,/s ocxPath); end; FreeLibrary(aHandle); end; except ShowMessage(Format(Unable to register %s, [ocxPath])); end; end; Note: the ocxPath variable points to the Flash.ocx Macromedia OCX. To be able to register itself, an OCX must implement the DllRegisterServer function to create registry entries for all the classes inside the control. Do not worry about the DllRegisterServer function, just make sure it is there. For the sake of simplicity, it is presumed that the OCX is located in the same folder as where the application is. The ExecAndWait line in the above code calls the regsvr32 tool by passing the /s switch along with the full path to the OCX. The function is ExecAndWait. uses shellapi; ... function ExecAndWait(const ExecuteFile, ParamString : string): boolean; var SEInfo: TShellExecuteInfo; ExitCode: DWORD; begin FillChar(SEInfo, SizeOf(SEInfo), 0); SEInfo.cbSize : SizeOf(TShellExecuteInfo); with SEInfo do begin fMask : SEE_MASK_NOCLOSEPROCESS; Wnd : Application.Handle; lpFile : PChar(ExecuteFile); lpParameters : PChar(ParamString); nShow : SW_HIDE; end; if ShellExecuteEx(SEInfo) then begin repeat Application.ProcessMessages; GetExitCodeProcess(SEInfo.hProcess, ExitCode); until (ExitCode STILL_ACTIVE) or Application.Terminated; Result:True; end else Result:False; end; The ExecAndWait function uses the ShellExecuteEx API call to execute a file on a system. For more examples of executing any file from Delphi, check out how to execute and run applications and files from Delphi code. Flash.ocx Inside Delphi Exe If there is a need to register an ActiveX control on ​the user’s machine, then make sure the user has the OCX the program requires by placing the entire ActiveX (or DLL) inside the application’s exe as a resource. When the OCX is stored inside the exe, it is easy to extract, save to disk, and call the RegisterOCX procedure.

When to Turn Down a Job Offer Even Though Youre Unemployed

When to Turn Down a Job Offer Even Though Youre Unemployed People have always been reluctant to turn down a job offer, especially after spending long periods of time pouring through classified job ads. However, there are many reasons to turn down an offer that isn’t suitable even when you are unemployed. Learning some of these reasons may help keep a job hunter from getting stuck with a really terrible position. You Get Bad VibesThere are several ways you can get bad vibes when applying for a job. After you’ve soared through your interview on the wings of eagles and go in to meet your potential new boss and the other employees, something just doesn’t seem right. The office environment doesn’t feel warm and friendly, and the boss and employees are standoffish. Maybe your questions don’t get answered the way you think they should, or the staff appears unprofessional and lacks the seriousness you want in a work environment. Any of these red flags should signal you to think twice about taking that job.You Donâ €™t Believe in the CompanyBelieving in the company you are working for helps to ensure you’ll do your best. However, if you don’t like the company, taking a job there can be a bad move. For example, say you are a widget salesman and believed strongly that the widgets sold by your former company were the best on the market. Going to work for another widget company when you believe the product is inferior does a disservice to the company and to yourself because you won’t perform your best.The Financial Offer Doesn’t WorkYou’ve done your research and have a ballpark figure on what you should be earning in a similar position with your education and experience. However, the job offer comes in with a salary well under what you think should be offered. You can try to negotiate your salary upwards, but a really lowball offer isn’t likely to go up enough to pay you what you merit. Another reason is that you realize you can’t live on the sa lary offered, even though you like the job. In this case, you may want to keep looking.The Company Has a High Turnover RateOne red flag is when a company has a high turnover rate in employees. Happy people stay where they are, so something is afoot when people leave their positions in droves. Think twice before taking a job with this type of company.You’re Getting Limited Job OffersWhen you’ve been unemployed for awhile, you can become more desperate to take any job that comes along. When you have multiple jobs to interview for, accepting the first offer that comes along can be a mistake. At least give yourself enough leeway to think and perhaps go on other interviews before accepting a position.Taking a Dead End JobYou’ve been offered a decently paying job, but you don’t see any opportunities to advance your career or build on your skillset. This can turn into a downward spiral of plodding from one day to the next and never getting anywhere or realizing your dreams. You would be better off looking for positions that can challenge you, offer opportunities to learn new skills and have advancement opportunities.Be Careful of the Personal CostSay, for example, you’ve been offered a great job with a good salary, but it requires a lot of time on the road or away from the family, something for which you were not prepared. Ask yourself if your family is going to find it difficult for you to be away from home for long periods. If you see it straining your personal relationships, this might be a good time to turn down the job.Finding New Ways to Job HuntFinding an easier way to job hunt can give you more opportunities than searching job ads, so you don’t become tempted to take a job that offers you no satisfaction. TheJobNetwork is a great way to find a job, while all you have to do is list your qualifications and job interests. We work around the clock to find you the latest job openings and send them to you in the form of ema il alerts. This way, you can apply right away and not waste time applying to job ads. Sign up with TheJobNetwork to get started.

Bazaar Ceramics Studio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bazaar Ceramics Studio - Research Paper Example Bazaar Ceramics has a wide range of products to meet the needs of clients both nationally and internationally. The studio produces exquisite one-off sculptural pieces for the individual and corporate collector. IT systems have become increasingly critical to the smooth operation of a company, and arguably the economy as a whole, the importance of ensuring the continued operation of those systems, or the rapid recovery of the systems, has increased. This plan aims to avert larger losses in the event that the businesses do not continue to operate due to the risk occurring. The objective of this plan is to document critical resources and personnel requirements to protect the company if all or parts of its operations or computer services are interrupted by an outage or disruptive event.   Information such as; critical business processes, technology components required, manual workaround procedures, identified alternate recovery sites, and key personnel contact information will be documented.   Vital. The business process areas under this category would include accounting and finance, and sales. The hardware under this category includes Cables, Router/Switch, PCs, Printer, and phone and fax machine. The software and data would include MYOB and MYOB Data file. These functions cannot be performed by manual means or can be performed manually for only a very brief period of time. In applications classified as vital, a brief suspension of processing can be tolerated, but a considerable amount of "catching-up" will be needed to restore data to a current or usable form. Sensitive. The business areas under this category would be purchasing and human resource management. The hardware would include: Cables, Router/Switch, PCs, Printer and the software and data would be the same as in the critical business process. These business processes can be performed, with difficulty but at tolerable cost, by manual means for an extended period of time. Sensitive applications also require "catching-up" once restored.

Yuan an international medium of exchange Research Paper

Yuan an international medium of exchange - Research Paper Example Presently, the United States Dollar is the global medium of exchange. Since the beginning of this trend, the United States has benefited greatly in terms of the economic stability that the country has experienced. Clearly, if traders all across the world are seeking to have access to the United States Dollar, the only implication is that the value of the Dollar would continue to be strengthened naturally. However, various national and international factors have given rise to a situation whereby the strength of the United States Dollar continues to decline as against other global currencies. Today, the United States Dollar has been tagged as a weaker currency and thus its preference for international trading seem to be dwindling sharply. Without any doubt, the impact of this current trend is a positive one for the ambition of the Chinese government to have the Yuan become a global currency. From an international realism theory perspective, the initiative taken by China would have to m eet a number of conditions, among which includes the fact that â€Å"there must be strong demand by world traders, investors, and central bankers for the currency as a medium of exchange for foreign trade settlement†. But once the Yuan becomes accepted as an international medium of exchange and thus becomes a global currency, it would become â€Å"a unit of account for denominating international financial transactions, and a store of value for central banks' foreign exchange reserves†.And this is by no means an enviable position wanting.

Diversity Day Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Diversity Day Analysis - Essay Example invest in diversity training in order to educate their employees about the different cultures so as to inculcate an appreciation of diversity and to reduce incoherence within the workforce. In the Diversity Day episode of The Office, a diversity training consultant, Mr. Brown arrives at the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Co., Inc in order to educate its staff about diversity and cultural tolerance. The diversity training is necessitated by the imitation of Chris Rock’s comedy routine called ‘Niggas v. Black People’ by Michael, which offends the staff due to its racist joke. This act prompts the corporate management to call for a diversity day seminar in order to teach the staff about racial tolerance. Ironically, after the diversity trainer and consultant, Mr. Brown arrives, Michael seems to steal the center stage when in fact the training was actually meant for him. In the diversity training session, Mr. Brown continuously tries to make an effort to create cultural sensitivity among the staff workers so as to generate a feeling of cultural Enlightment by putting each staff in the shoes of a co-worker with a different race. Here, the purpose is to spark tolerance and appreciation of the diversity present at most workplaces. Mr. Brown means to spur realization of other racial sentiments and hence greater tolerance for other races. A constantly interrupted diversity session that Mr. Brown holds, aims to present an insightful experience for the staff members. His speech talks about the cultural variations and tries to generate a more coherent feeling among the workers going beyond racial stereotypes. Mr. Brown shows much tolerance after Michael says that Mr. Brown really is his name, implying the coherence between Mr. Brown’s name and his African American origins. By displaying tolerance to many of Michael’s racist remarks, he tries to demonstrate how diversity training involves appreciation and recognition of the varied staff workers. In a varied workforce, it is