Tuesday Newsday

I have decided that on some Tuesdays I will feature news stories relating to this blog that I find interesting. Below the links to the articles, you will find my commentary about the article and how the article might relate to business practices and theories.

1) Fortune, Conan 2.0

I found this article interesting in light of yesterday's post regarding efficient use of social media. Conan O'Brien has successfully used social media to make a comeback. Part of the article discusses the various social media forms that Conan uses. What is even more interesting, is that social media was working for Conan on some level without him even having to do anything. In other words, fans drove a marketing campaign for Conan through social media forums. Betty White similarly benefited from a fan driven facebook campaign to get her to host Saturday Night Live. The article also discussed generational marketing. I also found this interesting and hope to feature more about generational marketing and generational dynamics in the organization on future posts.

Customer based marketing is one of the great benefits to social media that business and individuals alike can take advantage of. If you develop enough fans on social media bases, your fans will potentially market your products and services for you. Historically, this was called "word of mouth" marketing or a referral. Social media gives "word of mouth" a whole new meaning as the mouth takes the form of blogs, tweets, facebook posts, fan groups, etc. This is a tremendous benefit for businesses as it is exponential free marketing. At the same time, a disgruntled customer can proliferate their dissatisfaction about a business just as easily as a fan. In light of this, businesses should work to engage customers more to garner their feedback before the customer can express dissatisfaction on social media. For example, ask the customer about their experience at the time of checkout. If the customer is dissatisfied, they have the option of venting this to the business, instead of on social media. I think that if customers feel like the company has actually heard the customers' opinions, they are less likely to seek sympathy on other forums. Additionally, businesses should emphasize customer relationship management. Keeping customers happy is especially important in light of social media.

2) Bloomberg Businessweek, Business Plan Contests: Where Are the Women?

This article focused on disproportionate number of men compared to women at entrepreneurial competitions. The article reported that formal statistics are not kept, but women represent at most 20% of entrants. As a female entrepreneur, I found this to be interesting. I have to say though, that while I was in MBA school, I did not participate in any entrepreneurial contests. Lack of time was the main reason that I did not participate; as I was also attending law school at the same time. The article discussed historical gender roles as contributing to fewer women participating. For example, the article reported, quoting an expert in entrepreneurship, that women are not generally assumed to be the primary breadwinners. It also reported that women are less likely to join organizations that engage in competition. I thought this was interesting, although I personally have never been averse to competition. The article reports that women make up over half of graduate students. However, the article did not clarify whether this statistic referred to all types of graduate school students, or whether this statistic was MBA specific. It it is my understanding that there are still more men in MBA programs than women, although I have not verified this with a source. I am also curious about the percentage of women in entrepreneur specific concentrations within MBA programs. I wonder if you compared the percentage of women in entrepreneur concentrations, if participation in the contests would still be disproportionate? Readers: what do you think?