Werkspot, in English meaning ‘Taskspot’, is an online platform that connects people with tasks that have to be done around the house and then connects them with suitable craftsman. But how does it work exactly? Imagine that your wall needs to be plastered and painted. You do not possess the right equipment and/or maybe not capable of doing it in a proper manner. Here comes Werkspot, where you can place this task on their website or application. Werkspot informs the registered craftsmen, after which they can reply on this task. The man or woman who needs this job to be done, can then contact the craftsman who came with the best deal, based on i.e. price, experience or their reviews. After this connection it is a matter of (little) time before the task is executed. The tasks vary a lot from placing simple fences, to whole kitchens or bathrooms.

Nowadays the company has completed over 2 million tasks, by more than 8000 craftsmen, who are all certified at the chamber of commerce. Homeowners have left approximately 237000 reviews from the start of Werkspot in 2005 until now and employs 60 people  (Werkspot, 2018). Werkspot include both reviews and ratings on their platform, which give an indication of the quality of the particular craftman. The better the customer rating, the more a craftsman could ask for his work, comparing it for example with hotels in London and Paris, which get 2,68% more revenue per room in case of an 1%  increase in customer ratings (Ogut & Tas, 2012).

Due to this interesting business model and a constant growth of the company, they arouse interest from other parties, which resulted in a takeover in 2013 by the American company called HomeAdvisor, which is part of IAC, a multi-billion revenue concern. This meant that the company searched for ways to enlarge their market, after which they decided to go international. In 2014 they chose to enter the Italian market, above all Milan, and with a focus on painting. In the beginning they decided to continue with their own name in Italy, as a North-European connotation gives the idea of quality and solidity in Southern Europe (Boogert, 2014). This name worked in Italy, in which they have 2000 tasks to be fulfilled on monthly basis, versus 25000 in the Netherlands. However, in 2015 Werkspot still made a pronouncement to change their name, to the name called InstaPro (Boogert, 2015). With this name they think it would be better to expand, without creating confusion.

By being the connector between households and craftsmen, Werkspot earns money by mediating between these two parties. With a 30% earnings increase yearly they are fastly growing. In two year, their top-of-mind awareness grew in the Netherlands from 6% to 14%, whereas the brand awareness grew from 22% to 50%, meaning that 1 out of 2 Dutch people know the company now. Due to the fact that Werkspot just started in 2017 with radio and television campaign, the idea is that this will increase even more rapidly (Mirck, 2017). In Italy they are busy trying to create this same improvements.

Next to that, I think it is also important to mention that the company also contributes to society. Being sustainable and socially involved become more important these days for companies; Werkspot adopted a concrete project in Cameroon, where they educate young people to become a craftsman. Afterwards, they receive their own tools to be a craftsman in practice. With a shortage on craftsman education and tools in Afrika, this is a nice way of Werkspot to contribute something extra to the world (Geredgereedschap, 2018).

This company is getting bigger and bigger, they are hard to copy due to their already established (size of) platform and they are also taking their environment into account. Altogether, a bright future in the horizon in my eyes.

References:

Werkspot (2018) Retrieved from https://www.werkspot.nl/. at 10 march 2018.

Ogut, H., & Tas, B. K. O. (2012). The influence of internet customer reviews on the online sales and prices in hotel industry. The service industries Journal

Boogert, E., (2014). Retrieved from https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/werkspot-start-itali at 10 march 2018

Boogert, E., (2015). Retrieved from https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/werkspots-buitenlandse-naam-instapro at 10 march 2018

Mirck, J., (2017) http://www.marketingtribune.nl/bureaus/nieuws/2017/01/lisbeth-gruppen-werkspot-is-niet-eenvoudig-kopieerbaar/index.xml Retrieved at 10 march 2018

Retrieved from http://www.geredgereedschap.nl/doe-mee/bedrijven/ at 10 march 2018

The shift from brick and mortar store to online store was shift and sudden. The new online e-commerce environment provided consumers with endless possibilities especially for the clothing industry. With a total amount of US $332.1 billion in 2016 this industry accounted for 28% of the total eCommerce market. Additionally the industry is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 13.8% (Bohnhoff 2016).

Despite this increase in online sales and ecommerce there are still consumers that are hesitant to order online. The biggest part of this hesitation is the distrust in technology and the supply chain involved, but next to that little is known about online “innovators” and “early adopters” (Goldsmith and Goldsmith 2002). Enter the Cloakroom, a Dutch start-up determined to change the scene!

What is the Cloakroom?

Launched in a small apartment in Amsterdam the cloakroom is dedicated to bringing curated shopping to the public. With a simple vision: “We believe that every man deservers the luxury of having his own personal shopper”, founders Asbjørn Jorgensen & Kasper Petersen set out to become market leader in their own curated shopping niche.

How does it work?

Instead of focussing on the logistic parts and providing customers with an extensive amount of choices, the cloakroom focusses on the consumer and provides him with the personal shopping advice necessary. Customers apply through the website and fill in an online survey regarding preferences, these preferences lead to a profile which in the next step is discussed during a phone consultation. Based on the customer information and extensive knowledge of personal shoppers the customers receive 10 to 15 pieces of apparel. This apparel is send for free and can also be returned without any costs, this provides those customers warry about online purchases with an extra certainty. After a customer has ordered a box, picked out his favourites, and returned the leftovers,  he is provided with the opportunity to provide feedback to his personal shopper. This feedback is hence forward used to alter the customer profile and future apparel choices (The Cloakroom n.d.).

The Customer-Centric Cloakroom

What makes the Cloakroom customer centric is their intricate knowledge of their customers, before being send a clothing box customers are thoroughly analysed through surveys, phone interviews and store visits. This allows the Cloakroom, and its personal shoppers, to identify and provide the customer with their preferred product. The personal approach whereby the customer can get in touch with his personal shopper through both online, Facebook and WhatsApp, and offline, phone and store visits, allows for the building of customer trust. Trust which is deemed crucial for the growth and success of mobile commerce (Siau and Shen  2003). Additionally, the Cloakroom is able to take returns, a major pain point in eCommerce, and turn it into an opportunity. First of all it allows them to gain a better understanding of their customer, and secondly customers who have had good return experiences  will spend significantly more on return trips than other customers (Rivero and Zhu 2016).

Apart from providing customers with the experience that suits their needs, The Cloakroom also leads to joint profitability in the ecommerce sector. The company absorbs part of the risk traditional ecommerce companies have with regards to returns, additionally it provides consumers with a hassle free shopping experience and excellent service. Part of this risk absorption is possible due to the customer centric approach of the Cloakroom providing them with information about their customers traditional ecommerce companies do not have.

Since the founding of the Cloakroom many traditional ecommerce and clothing companies have started their own ventures (Zalon from Zalando, The Box Office from Suitsupply etc.) This is to show that the model employed by Cloakroom is a promising new model. A business model that is customer focused, allows for quick adaptations and feedback, and provides join profitability.

Bibliography

Bohnhoff, T. (2016). E-Commerce: Fashion. [PDF] Hamburg: Statista. Available at: https://statcdn.com/pdf/ca_study_readsample/DMO_sample_38340.pdf [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018].

Goldsmith, R. E., & Goldsmith, E. B. (2002). Buying apparel over the Internet. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 11(2), 89-102.

Siau, K., & Shen, Z. (2003). Building customer trust in mobile commerce. Communications of the ACM, 46(4), 91-94.

Rivero, P. and Zhu, Z. (2016). Online Clothes Shopping An Industry Landscape Study Focusing on Returns. [PDF] California: Sutardja Center. Available at: http://scet.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/zhuzihan_late_4894259_68726594_IEOR-290-final-report-1.pdf [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018].

Introduction

In general, it is relatively easy to obtain a loan. However, the interest rate differs significantly between, and even within, countries. The interest rate fundamentally reflects how expensive a loan is, which is often too high for the borrower to accept, especially in developing countries (Fernando, 2006). This phenomenon is further thwarted by the fact that central organizations such as banks or other financial institutions, define the loan’s extent and interest. Many are consequently unable to realize their ideas or even sustain costs of life.

Kiva

Kiva, an international nonprofit organization, perceived these issues and decided to take action. Founded in 2005, Kiva aims to connect people through lending in order to alleviate poverty (Kiva, 2018). They specifically focus on underdeveloped regions and are active in 84 countries. Kiva recently surpassed the $1 billion mark (Price, 2017), which bears testimony to their success. But why does it work? To answer that question, we will dive deep into Diva’s business model, the value system surrounding Kiva, and how Kiva organizes its operations in order to facilitate that value.

The process of borrowing

Kiva is best described as a platform for microfinancing, where borrowers can apply for loans with 0% interest rate. Borrowers have to pass strict application criteria in order to be posted on the platform. Thereafter, basically anyone can lend this applicant funds through a “crowdlending” system. After everything is in operation, the borrower starts to repay the exact amount that is borrowed. As Kiva is a nonprofit organization, they can simply cover their costs through voluntary donations by Kiva lenders (2/3) and other foundations and supporters (1/3). This business model allows them to re-envision charity and stimulate growth in previously deserted regions.

Value creation

Kiva is a crowdfunding platform, consisting of borrowers and lenders. As the term value is distinctly different for each, we will elaborate on both entities separately, and in a jointly manner thereafter.

Borrowers – This entity usually represent entrepreneurs who want to contribute to their local communities or simply sustain costs of life. As such, most of the borrowers are located in developing countries. Borrower’s value within this system is acquired through three components:

• Access to capital – borrowers can obtain much-needed funds through Kiva, which were previously inaccessible for them.
• No additional costs – loans are given to the borrower for a 100%.
• Realize ideas – a somewhat softer value component for borrowers is the fact that they are able to realize their dreams. The sole notion of gaining capital would be insufficient to account for the total value created for this entity, as it neglects the emotional component.

Lenders – This entity is formed by anyone who is willing to lend money (for any amount) and is usually located in developed countries. Their value is depicted by the following components:

• Feelings of altruism: lenders participate on Kiva, mainly because of altruistic reasons and is of crucial importance to Kiva’s existence. After all, lenders receive no monetary reward, despite evident risks.
• No middleman: knowing that 100% of the loan goes to the borrower adds to the lender’s feeling of righteousness.

Kiva as operating mechanism

Kiva’s role is one of provider service logic (Saarijärvi, Kannan & Kuusela, 2013), as its limited to facilitating interactions between these two entities. Generally, It is inherently difficult for firms like Kiva to become part of the interaction process (Grönroos, 2011), but they have succeeded by a twofold of operations. First, the platform acts as a catalyst by connecting them. As the user base grows, additional value can be created due to network effects. That is, lenders have more projects to choose from, whereas borrowers’ chances of success increase. For Kiva, such positive network effects increase switching costs, allowing them to keep users (Farrell & Klemperer, 2007). Second, the screening and structured loaning procedures provide lenders with much needed security as they bear substantial risks. Most of Kiva’s resources are devoted to the latter, which we will scrutinize in further depth hereafter.

Mollick (2013) estimated that over 75% of crowdfunding projects do not fulfill their initial obligations. In Kiva’s case, such numbers are incredibly relevant since lenders’ value is created through acts of altruism. Even if loans cannot be repaid in full, it inherently means that the project was unsuccessful. Knowing that, as a supporter, your initial feeling and drive of supporting entrepreneurs is diminished.

Furthermore, projects are diverse in nature and vary substantially in terms of potential. As is the case with unsolicited ideas, these are of high quantity and often low potential. Alexy, Criscuolo & Salter (2012) recommend both a filtering beyond submission process and adjust a central-decentralized approach, which Kiva adhered to. Their local presence is fitting for small local ideas, whereas the filtering is fundamentally a two-step process. Potential is roughly assessed by Kiva itself, but the eventual filtering is conducted by the lenders in the form of reaching crowdfunding goals (Zvilichovsky, Inbar & Barzilay, 2015).

Conclusion

Thus, Kiva is a microfinance non-profit organization that brings entrepreneurs and funders together. Their business model allows them to connect previously incompatible partners through means of altruism and screening operations. On the other side, entrepreneurs rely on funds in order to realize ideas and contribute to their local communities. The platform is a unique case of how crowdfunding mechanisms can be deployed in order to further good in the world and is therefore a worthwhile consideration in addition to commercial crowdfunding platforms.

Bibliography

Alexy, O., Criscuolo, P., & Salter, A. (2011). No soliciting: strategies for managing unsolicited innovative ideas. California Management Review, 54(3), 116-139.

Farrell, J., & Klemperer, P. (2007). Coordination and lock-in: Competition with switching costs and network effects. Handbook of industrial organization, 3, 1967-2072.

Fernando, N. A. (2006). Understanding and dealing with high interest rates on microcredit: A note to policy makers in the Asia and Pacific region.

Grönroos, C. and Ravald, A. (2011). Service as a business logic: implications for value creation and marketing, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 5-22.

Kiva. 2018. Official website. Retrieved from http://www.kiva.org

Mollick, E., 2014. The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(1), 1-16.

Price, S. (2017). Lending Pioneer Kiva Hits The One Billion Mark And Launches A Fund For Refugees. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanprice/2017/07/06/lending-pioneer-kiva-hits-the-one-billion-mark-and-launches-a-fund-for-refugees/#76dc79025dfe

Saarijärvi, H., Kannan, P. K., & Kuusela, H. (2013). Value co-creation: theoretical approaches and practical implications. European Business Review, 25(1), 6-19.

Zvilichovsky, David and Inbar, Yael and Barzilay, Ohad, Playing Both Sides of the Market: Success and Reciprocity on Crowdfunding Platforms (2015). (available at SSRN)

Have you ever struggled to explain where you are, get a package delivered to a wrong address, or have a taxi taken you to the wrong address? This is an occurrence in everyone’s daily lives. How do you describe where you are, or how do you explain it when the addresses are unclear? What3Words aligns with your struggles and believes that the addressing system can be, and should be better.

How does it work?

What3Words found that the current addressing system isn’t suitable for everyday needs. Street addresses can be incorrect, ambiguous, or even non-existent. Businesses and homes are located nowhere near a zip code. And a large chunk of the world doesn’t even have an address. What3Words came up with a solution to this problem by dividing the world in a grid of thee square meters, each with its own unique three word address. If you need a package delivered in the slums, you’re looking for your friends at a festival, or you need medical aid in the middle of the Sahara, What3Words can guide you there. With worldwide partners as UNICEF (medical aid), Mercedes (navigation), and Domino’s (off the grid pizza delivery) is What3Words becoming ready to conquer the world. The below video shows what it’s all about.

Business Model

What3Words believes in a better addressing system worldwide, and therefore provides its algorithm through an API to everyone that is willing to use it. However, how does this provide joint profitability? What3Words mainly acts as a service provider, a platform where businesses and non-profit organizations can utilize their API to provide a better service to individuals. Lives can be saved by locating people faster, but also businesses experience an increase in value through this new addressing system. One example is a pilot study at global logistics and transportation company Aramex who tested the system with 100 deliveries in Dubai, comparing both the old system and the 3 word addresses. They found that the deliveries with 3 word addresses were 42% faster and reduced the total distance travelled by 22%, proving the profitability of the system in this segment (What3Words n.d.). However, how is What3Words profiting as their API is up for grasps? Firstly, What3Words basically crowdsources the application of its system, lowering its own innovation costs (Bockstedt et al. 2016). Governments, organizations, individuals, everyone can contribute to the application of 3 word addresses. Secondly, What3Words generates revenue by offering its API for free but charging for high volume usage (Henderson 2017).

The switching costs of the 3 word addressing system are currently influenced by only two alternatives. Individuals either return to their old addressing system, or secondly, switch to regular GPS coordinates. However, does What3Words suffer from these alternatives when its addressing system is already adopted? This system is developed as such to be comprehensive, easy to use, and to fill the gaps that other systems leave. The old addressing systems are incomplete, ambiguous, or even non-existent, and GPS coordinates are difficult to communicate. Once adopted it is expected that the switching costs of this system are high as alternatives cannot live up to the same standard.

When evaluating the institutional arrangements it can be seen that What3Words adopted cleaver restrictions. By providing an open API it can limit the customization possibilities of its technology to such extend that users act within boundaries that not harm the purpose, or the company. Furthermore, What3Words provides flexibilities to organizations by providing personalized pricing mechanisms that never transfer any ownership of the technology. As discussed earlier there is a free tier for low volume use of the API, and a payed tier for high volume usage, but on top of that offers the organization also special arrangements for qualifying non-profit organizations Henderson (2017). The institutional environment, on the other hand, does not has an answer to this system, as there are no restrictions being placed nation – or worldwide yet.

Great stuff! Why not use it?

Saving lives, never missing out on a delivery, and always getting where you want to be. Is this reality, or is this too good to be true? Although many practical implications already have proven its value (e.g. Aramex delivery pilot) and many businesses started leveraging 3 word addresses, there still are some concerns to the applicability of the system. One of the main concerns is that the 3 word addresses only provide you with an horizontal location, but does not specify the height at for example a multi-storey building. Another downside is the randomness of the word combination. Knowing where you are now doesn’t help you in getting somewhere else.

To conclude it seems that What3Words has a system in hand that could truly benefit the world. Those locations that lack reliable addressing systems, possess remote locations, or encounter a natural hazard seem to be well suited, however, the system may not be as applicable to all.

References:

Bockstedt, J., Druehl, C. and Mishra, A. (2016) ‘Heterogeneous Submission Behavior and its Implications for Success in Innovation Contests with Public Submissions’. Production and Operations Management, 25(7): 1157-1176.

Carson S. J., D. T. (1999). Understanding Institutional Designs Within Marketing Value Systems. Journal of Marketing Vol 63, 115-130.

Henderson (2017) ‘ How does what3words create revenue?’ Accessed on 10 March 2018 on https://support.what3words.com/hc/en-us/articles/207065989-How-does-what3words-create-revenue-

What3Words (n.d.) ‘ Simpler, faster, better: 3 word addresses take on Dubai’s street addresses in Aramex delivery challenge’. Accessed on 10 March 2018 on https://what3words.com/partner/aramex-delivery-challenge/

Video:

What3Words (n.d.) ‘About’. Accessed on 10 March 2018 on https://what3words.com/about/.

Always dreamed of being one of the coaches of The Voice or X Factor, but your lack of musical talent is the thing keeping you from this? Or have you tried breaking through in the music industry, but has your beautiful voice not yet hit the masses? In that case the platform ‘My Major Company’ will enrich your life. This platform gives everyone the opportunity to help an artist produce his or her album, eventually resulting in the artists being able to break through in the music industry.

How does it work?

My Major Company involves consumers in the selection and the eventual success of new and upcoming artists, since 2007 and reached their peak of contributors in 2010. The website portrays an increasing amount of musicians, containing detailed information about their music and themselves. (Ple et al., 2010) Moreover, consumers can listen to work of musicians, help them with funding and comment on their songs with strategic decisions, development or appreciation. This makes this customer-integrated business model a combination between a community driven business model and a crowdfunding business model. When a project is funded enough the albums will be produced, distributed and advertised, which can be a dream come true for many artists. As the winning amount an artist received from backers was €150.000, which can be seen in the following figure.

Figure 1: Lay-out for online platform ‘My Major Company’ (MyMajorCompany, n.d.)

Crowdfunding business model

Using crowdfunding as business model reduces the importance of traditional geographic constraints for consumers, but gives access to funds and avoidance of financial risk to the musicians. (Mollick, 2013; Matinez-Canas et al., 2012) Moreover, for musicians this is positive because pooling contributions of crowdfunders, and thus redistributing risk, opens up possibilities to release records that would else have never been published. In return backers in the platform will be paid 30% of the net income generated by artists they funded. (Ple et al., 2010) However it has been studied that there ought to be a significant amount of backers, making repeated contributions in order to make the crowdfunding campaign a succes (Galuszka et al., 2014). However, there will always be the disadvantage that rivals will be able to copy ideas developed on the platform (Ple et al., 2010).

Online community business model

Having a community on a crowdfunding platform can be very beneficial as this encourages new customers to join, increases quantity and eventually the quality of the product offering (Ple et al., 2010). This shows that not only the financial aspects are vital, but also the social network ties between potential backers and the musicians in this business model have been shown to be extremely important in crowdfunding business models (Agrawal et al., 2012; Galuzka, 2014). Mollick (2013) adds to this the dynamics of success and failure lies in personal networks and project quality. Finally, this business model gives the opportunity in an early stage to identify the actual target audience, for instance the songs people listen to within this business model (Matinez-Canas et al., 2012). Nonetheless, it is found that 75% deliver products (in this case albums) later than expected by the backers (Mollick, 2013). Therefore it is of great importance that founders will be encouraged to set appropriate goals and careful planning. Moreover, outsourcing the firms’ control can be negative due to non-relevance posted within the communities such as spam (Tsekouras, 2018). This might be problematic for firms, as this might not comply with the institutional arrangements set.

Produce the new artists you like!

The combination of a crowdfunding and online community business model has proven to be very beneficial for companies, however, for backers this can be of high potential too. Its value proposition lies in of making music your business concerns a broad amount of stakeholders interested in the music industry. By having a say in what music will be produced and helping musicians by funding the and giving them advise, backers’ perception of the music industry will change completely. For just €10,- it is possible to help an artist break through in the music industry. However, bear in mind that it is not possible to buy more than 100 shares of the same artist. (Ple, 2010) Even though this business model has not expanded their business in the last years, in my opinion, this business model was a pioneer of communities and crowdfunding in the music industry and should therefore not be forgotten.

References

Agrawal, A., Catalini, C. and Goldfarb, A. (2014). Some Simple Economics of Crowdfunding. Innovation Policy and the Economy, 14(1), pp.63-97.

Galuszka, P. and Bystrov, V. (2014). Crowdfunding: A Case Study of a New Model of Financing Music Production. Journal of Internet Commerce, 13(3-4), pp.233-252.

Martinez-Canas, R., Ruiz-Palomino, P. and Pozo-Rubio, R. (2012). Crowdfunding And Social Networks In The Music Industry: Implications For Entrepreneurship. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER), 11(13), p.1471.

Mollick, E. (2014). The Dynamics of Crowdfunding: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Venturing, 29(1), pp.1-16.

MyMajorCompany. (n.d.). MyMajorCompany – Tous les projets à financer. [online] Available at: https://www.mymajorcompany.com/projects [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].

PLÉ, L., Lecocq, X. and ANGOT, J. (2010). Customer-Integrated Business Models: A Theoretical Framework. M@n@gement, 13(4), p.226.

Tsekouras, D. (2018). CUSTOMER CENTRIC DIGITAL COMMERCE – Session 6.

Coca-Cola is an enormous brand with a value of 69.73 billion US dollars (Statista, 2018b). In the US, an average person drinks approximately 275 cans of coke per year which proves that the company has already ‘’attained’’ most of the people in the US (Stocker, 2015). Therefore, it is naturally to shift the marketing focus from short term sales towards a more long-term customer connection. Coca-Cola showed with their ‘’Share a Coke’’ campaign that loyalty among customers can be achieved by focusing on emotions.  In this campaign, the logos on the cola cans were replaced by popular names among young people (Moye, 2014). Basically, Coca-Cola was inviting buyers to take a part in a massive social marketing experience. On the long-run, this campaign turned out to be a huge success with almost 345,000 posts on Instagram with the Shareacoke hashtag. After a couple years of silence, Coca-Cola made its come back last summer.

The competition between Pepsi and Coca-Cola is an ongoing and endless battle, but the latter made an attempt to be the number one in the holy Ramadan month of 2017. Coca-Cola Egypt has studied the process of persuasion in which a very well-trained team helps employees to get the vacation they want (ThinkMarketing, 2017). The first thing was learning to build solid arguments, followed by understanding the personality of the concerning manager.  The company itself made it clear that anyone could be convinced.

The campaign went as following: the campaign encouraged individuals to contact Coca-Cola and describe the manager’s characteristics. This could be done by sending a private message and using the hashtag “#الأجيزة” with the name of the manager (Imfnd, 2017). After analyzing the characteristics of the manager, Coca-Cola’s well-trained team constructed arguments which are convincing enough for the specific manager. However, the arguments are not the only crucial part of the convincing process. The delivery of the arguments also counts. This differs per person, since every person is sensitive for different things.  After the team had constructed the solid arguments and found a way to deliver it, Coca-Cola sent the employee a video to convince the manager in giving him/her a vacation (ThinksMarketing, 2017).

The timing of the ad was perfect, since it was broadcasted two weeks before the annual vacation of Eid. Next, the team was chosen well since the members varied in both skills and appearance.  Furthermore, Coca-Cola made a smart choice by reintroducing a hashtag campaign. The main reason is because the number of social media users saw an increase between 2014 and 2017 from 1.91 billion to 2.46 billion (Statista, 2018a). However, the campaign was not a success. The ad had received approximately 1.6 million views in the 19 days it was broadcasted. This is impressive for an average brand, but certainly not for a heavy weightier as Coca-Cola. For example, Pepsi had received almost 1.9 million views in 7 days in the same period. The question remains, why was the campaign not successful?

There may be several reasons. Firstly, the campaigns served as a reaction to the losing classic soft drink battle between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Pepsi has already managed to take over of almost 55% of the total viewership between the two and additionally 62% of the engagement (InsightHub, 2017). Thus, to fight back against the superior campaign ad of Pepsi, Coca-Cola released the discussed campaign. Coca-Cola switched from its original campaign towards the Ramadan campaign. Thus, the latter was basically a plan B. This indicates that there is a chance that due to lack of time, Coca Cola wasn’t able to prepare the campaign well.

Another reason may be because of privacy issues. Coca-Cola was only able to help if the description was detailed enough. This demands a lot of personal information from both the employee and manager. There is a good chance that employees were scared to be caught by managers and scared for the inherent consequences, like losing the job or make the relationship with the manager worse. Getting caught was a possible outcome since the whole foundation of the campaign was based on social media.

Concluding, the Ramadan 2017 campaign of Coca-Cola Egypt was not a success. Still, this was not a complete disaster. Coca-Cola, again, switched from focusing solely on acquiring as many new customers as possible, to engaging with its customers. Continuously engaging with customers is a crucial point here. Thus, even Coca-Cola has lost this battle; it still serves as a perfect example for many other companies.

References:

Imfnd, (2017). Coke Comeback: How Coca-Cola Use “Customer Participation” in a community campaign – imfnd. [online]

InsightsHub. (2017). Soft Drinks | Ramadan Insights Hub. [online] Available at: https://ramadan.thinkmarketingmagazine.com/brands/soft-drinks-ramadan-2017-campaigns/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].

Moye, J., (2014). Share a Coke: How the Groundbreaking Campaign Got Its Start ‘Down Under’. [online] The Coca-Cola Company. Available at: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/share-a-coke-how-the-groundbreaking-campaign-got-its-start-down-under [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].

Statista (2018a). Number of social media users worldwide 2010-2021 | Statista. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].

Statista (2018b). Topic: Coca-Cola Company. [online] http://www.statista.com. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/1392/coca-cola-company/ [Accessed 4 Mar. 2018].

Stocker, M. (2015). How Coca-Cola, Yoplait Use Customer Participation – Marketo. [online] Marketo Marketing Blog – Best Practices and Thought Leadership.

ThinkMarketing (2017). How to ask for a vacation? Coca Cola super convincing team got the answer! | Think Marketing. [online] Think Marketing.

Stomach pain, headache, or simple pain in the toe; with all sorts of pains, discomforts and more we go to the general practitioners office. The steps are quite common for everyone and most ‘pains’. The GP sometimes asks questions, maybe gives some simple medicine and you have to come back in several weeks. The GP has had a general education on healthcare. This means they know a little bit about everything, but they don’t have a specialty that they know a lot about. This means they can give general diagnosis, but need to send the patient to a specialist when they cannot give an exact diagnosis. Some GPs are sending patients quite easily to a specialist, others are just giving some medication and see if that works in a couple of weeks. The diagnosis has to be made by combining the symptoms that a patient describes with the knowledge of the GP and sometimes a physical examination. But the main focus here is to treat the symptoms, so that the patient is no longer uncomfortable.

The financing for this process comes from the health insurance companies, at least for a large part. The patient has something that is calls ‘own risk’, which is an amount they will have to pay themselves first, before the insurance company will start paying. Healthcare like the GP is always covered by the insurance company, but the care by specialists is not always covered, as also the medication that is not always covered by insurance. So, with minor health issues that a GP can handle on his own, the costs for the patients are very low in general.

This process has worked for years, so why try to find another way to do this? I think we can do better and I got the feeling I’m not alone in this opinion.  The GP giving a general diagnosis does not mean that the cause of the problems is known exactly. So, treatment is solely to get rid of the symptoms. By not treating the cause, the symptoms can return and another visit to the GP and treatment will be necessary. Sometimes the diagnosis is not correct and the real issues are not treated.

How nice would it be to find out exactly what is wrong in your body within 5 minutes? This can be done by using a bodyscan. This method is sometimes used in hospitals, but not as a ‘standard procedure’. Using this technology in a GP office will make the work of the GP a lot easier and the results of a visit a lot better. The GP can find out what the problem is behind the symptoms and treat the real issue, and not only the symptoms.

How does it work then? There are multiple ways and multiple types of bodyscans. One of them works as follows. You put your hands and feed on special metal plates, you get a saturation meter on your finger and two electrodes on your forehead. These are all hooked up to a computer with a special program. This will measure the total body on cellular level. The program will show after the measurement where the deflections are in the body. Combining the outcomes of the bodyscan with the knowledge of the GP will give a more accurate diagnosis and a real cause for the symptoms the patient is experiencing. The GP will have to update their knowledge and get some experience on working with a bodyscan in order to use it correctly in making a diagnosis. All processes in the body are linked to each other, so with a deflection in one process, someone can experience problems within another process. So the knowledge on this links within the body will be crucial for the GP to interpret the bodyscan right.

Aside from making easier and better diagnosis by the GP, the bodyscan can also be used for prevention. It also shows small deflections that do not yet cause problems, but might in the near future. This way the patient can anticipate on this and prevent getting ill. In the Netherlands, prevention is not really the focus. The health insurance companies do not support prevention as much as other countries in Europe. We only go see a GP if we already have symptoms. Aside from being more comfortable for the patient, prevention can also ensure lower costs for the insurance companies. Less treatment with expensive medication will be needed if less people become ill. Next to that, if the diagnosis is that treatment is necessary, the patient can be directed to the right specialists and right treatment. So, no more unnecessary treatment.

So why is it not yet used? It isn’t a new technology, but it is not yet accepted. The GP (and also some other specialists) don’t have the exact knowledge for using a bodyscan. Also, using the bodyscan at the GP’s will change the healthcare because of the difference in diagnosis and the possibility of prevention. I think the pharmaceutical industry and health care industry are not ready for this change.

References:

Corpus Health. (2018). Bodyscan – Corpus Health. [online] Available at: http://www.corpushealth.nl/bodyscan/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2018].

Dracup, K. and Bryan-Brown, C. (2018). Doctor of Nursing Practice—MRI or Total Body Scan?. [online] Ajcc.aacnjournals.org. Available at: http://ajcc.aacnjournals.org/content/14/4/278.full [Accessed 16 Feb. 2018].

Huisartsprotocollen.nl. (2018). praktische protocollen voor de huisartsenpraktijk. [online] Available at: http://www.huisartsprotocollen.nl/index.htm [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].

Toekomstvisie_-_nhg-standpunt_kernwaarden_huisartsgeneeskunde_juli_2011. (2018). 1st ed. [ebook] NHG. Available at: https://www.nhg.org/sites/default/files/content/nhg_org/uploads/toekomstvisie_-_nhg-standpunt_kernwaarden_huisartsgeneeskunde_juli_2011.pdf [Accessed 17 Feb. 2018].

Imagine you found a nice second-hand television online, but the seller lives in Groningen and you live in Rotterdam. Driving back and forth is not easy for everyone, but transferring money in advance and waiting to get your product delivered perhaps does not feel good either. How do you really know if someone does as he or she promised? And whether the product meets the expectations? This is where Pakkie comes in: a safe transaction platform arranging both payment and shipping.

The startup, launched one month ago (January ’18), combines payment via a third-party account (Pay.nl) and sending from one of the 5,500 connected parcel points of PostNL, DHL and DPD. This way, you can safely buy second-hand items via Facebook Marketplace or ‘Marktplaats.nl’, because the money is only transferred from the third-party account once the package has arrived at the recipient. As both payment and shipment are arranged via one party, there is control over every step of the transaction. Hence, Pakkie makes selling and buying online much easier (Pakkie, 2018).

How does it work?
Within a transaction, there are always two parties involved: a seller and a receiver. The transaction works differently for both. When a seller has made a deal online, the other party can pay via Pakkie. At this moment the seller will receive a shipping label. Afterwards, the seller can drop his or her package at PostNL, DHL or DPD and once the package is delivered the seller will receive his or her money. The shipment can be followed via the Pakkie app. On the other hand, Pakkie keeps the receiver informed about the shipping process and after the package is received, the seller gets paid (Pakkie, 2018).

Sending a large package (larger than standard letter post) with Pakkie costs 6,95 euros and you have to pay 4,25 euros for a small-volume order (standard letter post, shipped in an envelope). Sending a Pakkie costs as much as sending a package from a store, without additional service costs (Pakkie, 2018).

Efficiency criteria
Pakkie fulfils several efficiency criteria. Sellers can safely sell their goods online via Pakkie, without having to pay additional costs. Moreover, buyers can buy everything they like online in a safe manner. This way Pakkie removes the distrust of buyers and sellers and encourages people to buy and sell more second-hand instead of new products. In addition, Pakkie makes online trading easier, because it takes less time and effort to sell and buy second-hand products. Parcel deliverers could also benefit from Pakkie. With every distance of more than 30 kilometers, it is cheaper and more sustainable to send the purchase instead of picking it up yourself. On the other hand, users provide value for Pakkie as well by creating a bigger user base. Besides, Pakkie works with a commission business model: they charge a commission from each transaction. For every parcel that is traded via the service, the startup receives a fixed amount from the relevant parcel delivery service. This commission is below 1,00 euro per product sent, hence it is very important for Pakkie that more people will use this service. Furthermore, users are an essential part of Pakkie’s business model because without users the company would not even exist. This is the principle of value co-creation, where value is created in a multi directional way (Saarijärvi et al., 2013). Thus, the joint profitability criteria are met as both company (Pakkie) and users can benefit from the app (Carson et al., 1999).

Pakkie is feasible and takes care of several institutional arrangements. The company is fair, since it stimulates people to treat others the way they want to be treated as well.  In addition, the platform takes care of several concerns regarding security, fraud and scams, which no other marketplace platform has succeeded to do. Finally, the platform is transparent in a way that users can see where their parcel is and have full control in the transaction.

The future
Pakkie offers a solution to many people who want to buy and sell second-hand items online, but are reluctant towards the transaction process. The platform could lead to a more sustainable world with more second-hand trading. However, in a world where globalization is becoming increasingly important, especially within the European market, Pakkie should also start focusing on expanding abroad. Only if Pakkie gains enough users, the platform could expand all over the world.

References:
Carson, S. J., Devinney, T. M., Dowling, G. R., & John, G. (1999). Understanding institutional designs within marketing value systems. Journal of Marketing, 115-130.

Pakkie. (2018). Retrieved from https://pakkie.nu

Saarijärvi, H., Kannan, P. K., & Kuusela, H. (2013). Value co-creation: theoretical approaches and practical implications. European Business Review, 25(1), 6-19.