The modern business environment embodied by the likes of Task Rabbit, Airbnb and Uber is often referred to as the Sharing Economy. This kind of an economy has some universal truths such as its impact on several industries such as consumer goods, services, taxis, travel, finance, music, employment, car rental and waste. Instead of buying cars, people are simply opting for mobility now. Another common point is the inception of this economy was powered as a result of the waste of the previous era as exemplified by the Recession. So collaboration now got emphasized. Management consulting giant PwC estimates that this industry will cross the three hundred billion dollar mark in less than a decade from now. These companies’ reach spans cross border markets. They have caused a complete shakeup of traditional forms of working. This entire process is also known as the Uber Effect as the ride hailing service has become ubiquitous with the sharing economy. It has faced scandals and accusations from existing players, but continues to stride forward.

Source:http://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu/2017/03/5-truths-sharing-economy/

Uploaded Date: 19th May 2017

In order to achieve goals, a lot of people tend to set themselves and others long term benefits. While delayed benefits do matter, business research conducted by the University of Chicago has clearly revealed that it is the immediate gains which tend to encourage the doers more. The study included gym goers and students alike. The former group confirmed that for those who had fun during the workout, exercised more than those who looked at long-term health benefits only. In the latter, it was clearly understood that students who enjoyed studying did more of it than those who were into it just for career building. Thus while goal setting, people must choose activities from which they derive at least a semblance of enjoyment. Focus on immediate gains must be included as part of benefits. Difficult tasks appear more fun when immediate benefits get factored in.

Source:https://hbr.org/2017/04/what-separates-goals-we-achieve-from-goals-we-dont?

Uploaded Date: 18th May 2017

The world is increasingly gearing up to the digital age as the present time is known as. Business research firm Gartner predicts that by the year 2020, more than two-fifths of enterprise revenue will emanate from digital business. This figure is double of what their own research pointed out just two years back. This will bring further opportunity to digital native millennials as well as companies such as Google, Uber or Facebook. A few leadership and organizational capabilities have been recognized that are needed for this digital age. Firstly there must be utmost disciple and focus towards the final goals. They must have a clear understanding as to what digital implies for them. Agility is another maxim they need to embrace to take quick decisions and leverage existing business opportunities. Such organizations need to be well connected, removing redundant communication lines that are hierarchical. There must be complete transparency in dealings within the firm. Communication must go beyond tight silos. Such firms must also make sure to empower the people in charge for better decision making and aligning their skill sets to the appropriate work. Thus marketing, HR, customer operations, R & D and IT must be allowed to own up to their areas of capability.

Source:https://hbr.org/sponsored/2017/03/how-organizations-can-thrive-in-the-digital-economy?

Business research conducted by ADP Research confirms the paradox that many commentators have felt. A substantial proportion of the workforce, forty five percent to be precise, fears that automation at work could eventually render them jobless. Yet ninety percent of the same sample considers greater scope for deep work relationships due to the increased digitization enabled connectivity. Cloud and smartphone based platforms are enabling work to be conducted from anywhere rather than a strict none to five time slot. Most organizations though aren’t satisfied by the pace of change and wish for greater adoption of technologies. Means to measure productivity now need to be more team based rather than individual. Professionals are now free to choose their own schedule and can opt for work that suits them.

Sourcehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2016/06/29/for-employees-workplace-technology-stirs-up-both-angst-and-exuberance/#672a453b697a

Business to business marketers also seek to develop buyer personal just as customer targeted ones do. Some methods have been listed which help in the process. Marketing research needs to be conducted on customers. Even past surveys conducted can be added to the pool on knowledge. One can go further back, retrieve lost customer data to enhance market knowledge. Sales managers must be interviewed before developing these personas as they are on the frontline of dealing with companies. Interviews must also incorporate top customers who have bought the maximum bulk as such buyers become advocates for the firm in the long run. A sort of loyalty loop develops for the best and most productive of customers. Similarly, the top management needs to be interviewed to understand the flaws, gaps and existing capabilities of the respective businesses. Social media and CRM data can be mined for accurate business analysis using sophisticated software to get better idea.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/b2b-marketing/9-resources-create-better-b2b-buyer-personas-01590066#I0e7PlEWKydXEJI8.97

Amazon has been eyeing the education industry and its latest offering Inspire is set to present it with the opportunity. Inspire is a free crowd sourced tool for sharing educational content. Teachers at the K- 12 level require tremendous amount of research to come up with the requisite study material, so this will provide a one stop solution for them. This couples with Amazon’s acquisition of Ten Marks, puts the company firmly in competition with Google and Apple in the educational space. More than the income earned which is negligible, these products wed in well with Amazon’s overall corporate strategy. It will also boost sales of related profitable products such as Whisper-cast or Kindle.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/27/amazon-jumps-into-online-learning-with-inspire-a-platform-for-free-crowdsourced-and-premium-materia

Today’s customer is less loyal to the actual product or service, more so to the content aggregator. A study recently concluded that just less than half of the consumers polled will not hesitate in changing brand if there is a service glitch next time and an alternative is found. Today’s consumers book rides via Uber, with the driver being less important. Similarly Seamless, Handy and Open Table have become more important to the customer than restaurants, contractors or hosts respectively. The aggregator wars between Apple, Google and Facebook are thus crucial to gauge upcoming business trends. Marketing research conducted by Pew clearly illustrates that average viewers to websites directed via Facebook spend far less time on the content than those directly accessing the respective sites. These aggregators have access to enormous amounts of data that are then broken down using business analytics for marketers to leverage. Harry’s, Warby Parker, Buffer and Macy’s are some examples of companies who have adopted unique approaches to beat off the advances of aggregators and still remain relevant to its audiences.

Source: http://marketingland.com/customer-experience-age-disloyalty-181590?utm_source=googlenewsstand&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed-channel&utm_content=socialmedia